Messing with a winning formula
After season 3 settled in my brain, I was able to acknowledge that what it did wasn’t too far off the same path that season 2 took. Not so much the plotline or the atmosphere, but how it stepped so far away emotionally from the previous season.
When I think back on season 2, I almost find it funny how many beloved aspects of the first season were altered. The vast appeal of season 1 was manifold, but a large part of it was the mere concept. When you have an armored, mysterious Mandalorian side-questing his way through the galaxy while trying to keep his newfound kid safe, you’ve gained a lot of interest.
But season 2 took away so much of this. The driving force of the season was Din looking for a Jedi to train Grogu, but I was certain that this wouldn’t be the case. Surely the season would end with Din choosing to let Grogu stay with him, right?
But the Razor Crest is destroyed. Din takes off his helmet multiple times. He becomes linked to a duty he never wanted. And Grogu is taken away.
Some of these losses are remedied in The Book of Boba Fett. Din gains a new ship, Grogu finds him again, and he’s given a path to return to his tribe. But the Way that it would make sense for him to take, from a storytelling perspective, isn’t the one set out for him by the Armorer. So this would surely be addressed and remedied in season 3, right?
Want vs. need
A college roommate of mine described the “Disney journey” as the traditional path of a Disney protagonist: they begin the story wanting one thing and tend to end up with something different but ultimately more fulfilling.
This process describes, in my opinion, the natural three components of any character-driven story. The character must have a want, a need, and a true need.
The want is usually something physical, such as a magical item or special title. The need is the character’s true goal, which the “want” will help them achieve. Their true need, however, speaks to why they desire their need in the first place. The true need is usually something intangible: purpose, success, admiration, love, approval.
To give an example of these three parts, let us take a character who works in the restaurant industry. They’re far below their parents and siblings in the family business, and so their want is to attend a prestigious culinary school and gain a position at the family restaurant. This is a pathway to their need: attention and affection from their parents. And thus we are led to their true need: attention and affection from someone who loves them as they are.
The story would begin with the protagonist working towards achieving their want, such as getting a job at a small cafe to fund their tuition at the culinary school. But along the way, the protagonist forms friendships with their coworkers that give them a taste of what they’ve been missing all along.
The turning point usually comes when the protagonist’s want is suddenly achieved. In our case, this would consist of our young chef being surprised by their parents offering them a full ride to the culinary school because of their hard work. The protagonist should be happy, right? This is what they’ve been working towards all this time, so why does it feel wrong?
The darkest hour would arrive when the protagonist ghosts their cafe friends to attend a fancy event held by their family, only to feel even more out of place. Ultimately, the protagonist sacrifices their want – refusing their parents’ offer – and chooses to stay at the cafe instead, finding the companionship and support they’ve truly needed all along.
This is not a formula we observe in season 3 of The Mandalorian. However, the makings of it were so clearly there that it’s absurd that this path wasn’t realized. It’s the greatest failing of season 3: all the lost potential. Here’s how that storyline could’ve played out, giving both Din and Bo-Katan strong and satisfying arcs.
Deals of convenience
At the end of season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett, both Din and Bo-Katan have clear surface-level wants. They also have “true wants” they believe they can achieve by certain actions.
Din has been excommunicated from his tribe. He wants to find the Living Waters in the Mines of Mandalore so that he may bathe in them and be redeemed. His deeper reason is to be a true Mandalorian.
Bo-Katan has lost the Darksaber. She wants to wield it again. Her deeper reason is to be Mand’alor to her people.
Not only is this perfectly set up, but Din and Bo-Katan also have what the other is after. Bo-Katan wants the Darksaber, and Din currently wields it. Din wants the location of the Living Waters, and Bo-Katan knows where they are.
Agh, it’s so obvious that it kills me.
Season 3 could’ve opened with Din going to Bo-Katan, as he does in the show, but his reasoning is different here. Instead of only asking for the Mines, he could propose a deal between them: if she shows him how to get to the Living Waters, he’ll stage a duel with her in front of her Mandalorians so she can wield the Darksaber.
Of course, Bo-Katan would refuse this offer at first. She’s already given up on the Darksaber, but she won’t even consider faking her claim to it. What’s the difference between that and just stealing it from Din?
The canon plot could remain relatively the same up to a point – Din could still travel to Mandalore on his own. He’d still fail to properly use the Darksaber, getting captured and sending Grogu back to Bo-Katan.
I absolutely love episode 2, “The Mines of Mandalore.” Din isn’t attuned to the Darksaber at all, but Bo-Katan is. There’s a marked difference in the way it functions in her hands. Din failing to bear its weight while Bo-Katan wields it with ease? Pure beauty.
In my rewrite, though, Din would have much more trouble locating the Waters. Bo-Katan would still save him, but they’d have to flee Mandalore after that. More enemies have taken root on their planet, and Bo-Katan is unable to bring Din to the Mines.
However, Bo-Katan’s missed using the Darksaber. She knows it’s not properly hers, but she tells Din her duty is more important than her pride. She agrees to his plan – he’ll let her “win” the Darksaber from him, and she’ll take him to the Mines once Mandalore is freed.
If he makes her Mand’alor, she’ll make him Mandalorian.
Being Mand’alor(ian)
I enjoyed much about season 3. Bo-Katan joining Din’s tribe and “walking both worlds” was a fantastic element, and I loved her temporary status as a follower before she rose as a leader once more. That plot thread would have to be lost in my rewrite, though.
In my version, Din still takes Bo-Katan back to his tribe, but they’re both met with suspicion and distrust. Bo-Katan tries to leverage what power she has, attempting to make a deal with the Armorer, but she’s rebuffed. It’s not until Bo-Katan leads the war party to save the abducted child, Din at her side, that things change. Bo-Katan promises to bring Din to the Waters once they save Mandalore, and the Armorer accepts this. Bo-Katan also says that she’ll have the Darksaber soon, but this claim means little to the Armorer. The Darksaber doesn’t hold any particular meaning to her people.
Bo-Katan is surprised by this, but she accepts it anyway.
This is the point where many of the episodic plots from season 3 can be used again. Din and Bo-Katan’s bonding in these episodes is lovely. But in my rewrite, there’d be an undercurrent to their relationship. Both of them believe that the other relies too heavily on symbols.
This is such a strong unspoken theme in season 3 that I’m bitter it wasn’t acknowledged. Din had one offhand line to Bo-Katan halfway through about how the Darksaber isn’t as important to his people as it seems to be to her, but that’s it.
The hypocrisy between them is right there for the taking. Bo-Katan puts her value as Mand’alor on the Darksaber, and Din puts his value as a Mandalorian on his helmet.
Both of them clearly believe the other is fanatic. This could’ve been a fantastic point of discussion between them as they grew closer in season 3. How can Din encourage Bo-Katan to be Mand’alor without her sword if he doesn’t believe he’s Mandalorian without his helmet?
In my rewrite, things would reach a head between them two episodes before the finale. Coming fresh off an argument, they end up fighting, maybe in a side quest where they’re forced to compete in a cage match. Awash in emotion, Bo-Katan defeats Din. He then tells her that their deal is off – she’s won the Darksaber fair and square. He has nothing left to offer her.
Din walks away and Bo-Katan is left alone. She’s technically succeeded in her mission, but she doesn’t feel victorious. Is this really the Way?
Destruction of a symbol
One episode before the finale, Din and Bo-Katan are split up. Bo-Katan has the Darksaber and the loyalty of her people, but she’s still failed to rally Din’s tribe to her cause. Moff Gideon is closing in. Din, on the other hand, is truly alone except for Grogu. He’s a proper apostate now.
Din’s on his own, looking for work, when he’s captured by Gideon. Din manages to send Grogu away, but he fails to save himself. Like before, Grogu runs to Bo-Katan for help. She’s now reunited with her tribe, surprised that they seemed glad to see her before she revealed the Darksaber. Did they abandon her when she lost it, or did she pull away from them when it happened?
But none of that matters now. No matter what’s happened between them, Bo-Katan knows she has to save Din. But she can’t do it with just her people.
Bo-Katan is wielding the Darksaber, but that’s not how she convinces Din’s tribe to join her. She uses the skills she’s gained across her life, the authority and power and confidence that come from being Mand’alor. The Armorer agrees to ally herself with Bo-Katan, and the rest of her tribe quickly follows.
But things quickly take a turn for the worse. Gideon was expecting resistance, and he’s ready for Bo-Katan. She becomes separated from her troops, but she finds Din’s cell and breaks him out. Gideon fights her, with Bo-Katan using the Darksaber, but Din is weakened and vulnerable. Bo-Katan breaks her concentration in her duel to protect Din, and Gideon strikes. He knocks the Darksaber from her hand, sending it to the ground in a flurry of sparks.
Bo-Katan frantically tries to retrieve her sword, but Din stops her. He drags her away, and Bo-Katan watches Gideon crush the Darksaber beneath his boot as she and Din make their escape.
End episode 7.
The rise of Mandalore
At the beginning of the season finale, Bo-Katan is even worse off than she was in the first episode. It was one thing to lose the Darksaber to Din, but now it’s well and truly gone. She’s failed her people again. Gideon’s defeated her, and they have no hope of reclaiming Mandalore now.
Din tries to convince Bo-Katan that she’s more than the Darksaber, but Bo-Katan lashes out at him. If symbols mean so little, then why is he still wearing his helmet?
It would be emotionally meaningful if Din attempted to remove his helmet out of loyalty to Bo-Katan here, but such an intense display wouldn’t be necessary. Instead, Din can use the words Bo-Katan once told him and tell her that she’s more than what she carries, what she wears. He’ll follow her to the death, and he’s not the only one.
Emboldened, Bo-Katan realizes Din was right and her people will follow her with or without the Darksaber. She leads the second attack on Gideon (maybe with Grogu lending aid as I mentioned here) with Din at her side. They’re an unstoppable force, and they seize victory. But even as Bo-Katan is crowned as Mand’alor by the Armorer and their tribes celebrate on their planet, the story isn’t over yet.
Fulfilling a promise
Bo-Katan and Din’s tribes are feasting together, but Din stays apart. He’s still broken his creed, and he doesn’t want to impose himself on true Mandalorians. Bo-Katan approaches him, faintly sad, and asks him if he’s ready to be redeemed in the Mines.
Surprised, Din says that their deal is over. The Darksaber is destroyed, after all. But Bo-Katan reminds him that their arrangement wasn’t about the sword. He’s made her Mand’alor. Now it’s her turn to make him Mandalorian.
Din hesitates, but he takes Bo-Katan’s offered hand and follows her down into the caves of Mandalore.
When they finally reach the Living Waters, Din asks Bo-Katan about why she chose to enter them as a child. Bo-Katan says she did so because she wanted to become Mandalorian, but she’s come to learn that the title is more than a race or a creed. It’s something she’s seen recaptured a dozen different ways across her life, none less true than the others.
Stepping up to the Waters, Din sets Grogu down at the shore and starts to remove his helmet. Bo-Katan turns to leave, but Din asks her to stay. So she stays.
She watches, trying to be respectful, as Din looks out at the Waters. Then he turns and kneels in front of Grogu, letting his child’s tiny hand touch his face.
He asks Bo-Katan if, as Mand’alor, she can hold witness to a Mandalorian adoption ceremony. With tears in her eyes, Bo-Katan says yes, and she watches as Din says the words: I know your name as my child.
Din stands, Grogu in his arms, and Bo-Katan averts her eyes. But Din approaches her, takes her hand, and says he’s ready to leave.
Bo-Katan looks up at him, shocked, and says that he hasn’t bathed in the Waters yet. But Din tells her he doesn’t need to anymore. He’s gotten what he came here for.
She’s Mand’alor, and he’s Mandalorian.
Hesitantly, Bo-Katan lifts her hand and brushes it against Din’s face. He turns into the touch, Grogu coos in delight, and they both laugh.
They leave the Mines together, Din’s helmet left in the sand.
But that’s not the end. The scene shifts to some time later, with Bo-Katan giving orders and working with other warriors as Mand’alor. She approaches Din, sitting at a table with Grogu, eating their lunch together in full view of everyone. Bo-Katan gives Din a mission, a rogue bounty hunter to chase down, and Din salutes her. Hurry home, Bo-Katan calls as they leave, and Grogu waves excitedly.
Din dons his helmet as him and Grogu leave in their starfighter. He tells his child You heard her, kid. Let’s not keep her waiting long.
Cue engines, cue end credit music.
The pain of lost potential
I swear, the massive missed opportunity this season infuriates me like nothing else. You had a perfect plot right there! Din wants X and has Y, Bo-Katan has Y and wants X. And both X and Y are symbols that can be sacrificed in the name of character growth! This would’ve been such a perfect path to give both Din AND Bo-Katan fleshed-out, emotional, cocurrent arcs that mirror one another. Instead, Din enters the Waters in episode TWO and the whole conceit of questioning what it means to be a Mandalorian never comes up again.
In both s3 and my rewrite, the Darksaber is destroyed. But I will complain to Mustafar and back about the stupidity of its destruction! It happens in the last fifteen minutes of the entire season, and there’s no emotional significance or major sacrifice associated with it. If Bo-Katan lost the Darksaber defending Din, then there would be weight to the loss. And Bo-Katan should freaking CARE about it being destroyed! It’s a massively respected symbol of Mandalore that’s endured for thousands of years! It’s the one thing Bo-Katan’s been working towards for half of her life! It’s the sword Vizsla died for, the weapon that murdered her sister, the last remnant of old Mandalore… she should have some sort of reaction to it being crushed in her hands!
Not to mention, the timing of it is terrible. Destroying the Darksaber in the penultimate episode would let the loss sink in for the viewers, leaving them in the same state of despair as Bo-Katan and ending during the darkest hour. Destroying the Darksaber at the end of the last episode, however, is not only meaningless but forgettable. You could very well pretend the event never happened, and the plot would remain unchanged. There’s the vague possibility of the Darksaber being fixed, as the Armorer is on Mandalore now, but with so much ruined symbolism what would be the point?
Also, in my rewrite, Din takes off his helmet. I’ve already mentioned Din’s disappointing arc in relation to Grogu here. In relation to Bo-Katan, however, any potential romance between the two of them would function better if Din already removed the helmet. Then, we could get some cute scenes in early season 4 of Din staring at Bo-Katan without realizing what he’s doing without his helmet. If Din gradually starts to remove it in season 4 while falling for Bo-Katan, then it would feel like he’s doing it for her and not himself.
I’ll forever mourn what we could’ve had with Din and Bo-Katan in season 3. Given how safe SW has been playing this show, we might not even get a future romance between them, which is genuinely heartbreaking. Let my faves kiss! For now, I’ll just count down the days until the Mandalorian movie and dream of seeing more of my one true love, Bo-Katan Kryze. At least she’s finally Mand’alor, which is more than I ever imagined she’d attain from Disney!
