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Is Din Djarin’s arc satisfying or has he gone backwards?

By Mehwish Mahmood

(L-R): Grogu and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
(L-R): Grogu and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. /
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Any story is meant to convey growth in a character, especially a main character. This season of The Mandalorian, Din redeemed himself after being declared an apostate for removing his helmet. Now he’s probably never going to take it off, and this is like taking a few steps back. After he removed it twice in Season 2, many fans got the impression that he’d be doing it more often, or this rule might be something he starts to question.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case here, and as a viewer, one has to wonder what that says about Din as a character. If the situation again requires him to remove it, then what? Maybe the writers will avoid situations that force him to remove it, but that’s a bummer because Pedro Pascal is an excellent actor.

This also indirectly justifies the rigid, suffocating rules of the Children of the Watch. Is it acceptable to disown one of your own, one who is so faithful and honorable, over removing his helmet, and do they even deserve to have him back at all? These are questions the show never dove into and probably never will.  The Children of the Watch already have a number of foundlings as shown during this season, and they’ll all grow up following the same rule regarding the helmet.

There’s also the matter of the Darksaber and the idea of leadership. Before this Season, Pedro Pascal gave several interviews as part of promotion. He explained that Din is indeed “stepping into a leadership position” even if it’s reluctantly, and that it’s an aspect of his arc that Pedro is really enjoying. In Chapter 21 of this season, we did see some signs of those leadership skills when Din inspired his fellow Mandalorians to help Greef Karga and the people of Nevarro. He also got them land on Nevarro where they can live freely, without the fear of giant alligators attacking their foundlings.

However, it’s yet to be seen where he will go next, and what the first two seasons have set up for Din as a character, especially now that the Darksaber is no longer his.

The Mandalorian Season 3 is streaming now on Disney+.

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