Although Season 3 of The Mandalorian did not end with Din Djarin becoming the Mand’alor, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have done a great job.
Over time, Star Wars has gotten a lot better at portraying strong leaders who are both heroes and extremely flawed. While Bo-Katan absolutely earned her right to wield the Darksaber and lead Mandalore, Din could have done well for himself too. Not because he was a particularly skilled leader, but instead because he was imperfect.
Some of the greatest leaders, genuinely trying to do good and make their galaxies a better place, aren’t afraid to admit they’re not perfect. They make mistakes, own up to them, learn from them, and change their behavior in the future as a result. They don’t shy away from their past or try to erase where they came from. In fact, they often use their pasts to make them more relatable to the people they serve.
Din’s continued dedication to Bo-Katan is just one of the many reasons he could have been a great leader. He’d seen her at her worst and still believed she could be the best version of herself. He trusted her when he really shouldn’t have, because he could sense deep down that when it came down to it, she would always do the right thing.
A true Mand’alor, after all, isn’t in their role for the sake of power — though the power the title grants them does allow them to facilitate more change, if that’s what they’re after. A Mand’alor is a strong leader in that they recognize leadership potential in others and work to lift them up and develop that potential into something applicable. Din would have done that for Bo if their roles had been reversed – instead he just swore to serving her no matter what, which ended up pretty well for both of them in the end.
All episodes of The Mandalorian are available to stream exclusively on Disney+.
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