Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian season three, episode six, “Chapter 22: Guns for Hire.”
Last week’s episode of The Mandalorian gave Bo-Katan a new mission to reunite the Mandalorians. This week saw the first step towards that end goal as she and Din traveled to an opulent planet in the Outer Rim.
Wielding the Darksaber
In a fun episode that was largely a means-to-an-end sidequest (albeit a very fun one with excellent cameos), Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) and Din (Pedro Pascal) were able to meet with Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) and his band of hired Mandalorian guns.
Unsurprisingly, the mercenaries were reluctant to listen to Bo’s pleas for unity, so she instead had to challenge Axe to a duel, which she handily won. But he insisted she was fighting the wrong person, arguing she should’ve challenged Din as he wields the Darksaber.
The sequence brought to light further conflicting beliefs among the Mandalorian. While the Children of the Watch are deemed extreme and religious, the Darksaber is still viewed as a symbol of absolute power by other Mandalorians.
In short, Axe made it clear the Darksaber was the only way they would follow Bo-Katan. In a somewhat anti-climactic moment–no fight between Bo and Din–Din handed over the Darksaber, insisting Bo had earned it fair and square when she saved him in the Mines of Mandalore.
With Bo finally wielding the Darksaber, it seems she’ll, at last, have the chance to be the Mandalorian leader she was meant to be. With the brewing rebirth of the Empire–and Separatists still lurking in the galaxy–Mandalorian unity is needed more than ever, especially as Moff Gideon is doomed to make his reappearance before the season ends.
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