Warning: SPOILERS for The Book of Boba Fett episode “Return of the Mandalorian” are ahead!
The latest episode of The Book of Boba Fett is a weird one. However you feel about Star Wars’ latest Disney+ series, at least we can all agree on one thing: Temuera Morrison’s Boba’s been the star of the show. That wasn’t the case in “Return of the Mandalorian,” as Boba didn’t even appear! Instead, we reunited with an old friend: Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, The Mandalorian’s main protagonist. Basically, we got The Mandalorian Season 2.5.
This episode barely pushed The Book of Boba Fett’s main story forward, but for those of you who are eager for The Mandalorian Season 3’s arrival, you’re in luck. Din Djarin went through a lot in “Return of the Mandalorian,” and while obviously not all of this will be followed up on in The Book of Boba Fett’s remaining episodes given that we still need to see Boba and Fennec Shand’s war with the Pyke Syndicate unfold, it does lay important groundwork for when Din takes center stage again in the Star Wars universe. Let’s go over what happened to him in this particular romp through a galaxy far, far away.
Din Djarin Regrouped With Some Familiar Faces
“Return of the Mandalorian” opened with Din Djarin visiting a cool-looking space city (reminiscent of the habitat from the end of Interstellar) to eliminate a target in exchange for the location of a specific spot within the city. Upon finding said spot, Din reunited with The Armorer and Paz Vizsla, two fellow members of the Children of the Watch Mandalorian sect who we met in The Mandalorian Season 1. Din gave them a basic rundown of what had happened to him since he last saw them, and The Armorer delivered a necessary history lesson on how the Empire laid waste to Mandalore (which also served as a nice homage to Terminator 2: Judgement Day).
Viewers were already aware of what happened to Mandalore from various comments made in The Mandalorian’s first two seasons, but The Armorer’s lesson added some key details. As she put it, Bo-Katan Kryze “lost sight of The Way,” and her rule “ended in tragedy.” From there, the Empire bombed the hell out of Mandalore in The Night of a Thousand Tears, and the only reason the Children of the Watch survived the Great Purge was because the sect was cloistered on the moon of Concordia. Despite being “scattered to the winds,” The Armorer believes the Children’s strict adherence to the old ways with what allowed them to escape “the curse prophesized in the Creed.” Hopefully we get Bo-Katan’s side of the story in The Mandalorian Season 3.
Din Djarin’s Beskar Spear Is No More
In The Mandalorian episode “The Jedi,” Ahsoka Tano obtained Morgan Elsbeth’s beaker spear on Calodan after defeating her in combat. However, rather than keep it for herself, Ahsoka gave the spear to Din Djarin, feeling that a beskar-crafted weapon belonged in the hands of a Mandalorian. It was thanks to that spear that Din was able to beat Moff Gideon in “The Rescue” and win the Darksaber. But upon reuniting with Din in “Return of the Mandalorian,” the Armorer informed him that beskar is meant to be used for armor, not weapons. So Din agreed to having it melted down and made into something new for a foundling, but not just any foundling.
Grogu is longer be in Din Djarin’s care, but he still cares about the little guy. He plans on revisiting who audiences once affectionately referred to (and some still do) as Baby Yoda, and he has a gift to bring him. We see that the melted beskar is forged into chains, but we never see the final product. Given Grogu’s small size, it’s possible Din asked for chainmail for his former ward to wear as protection.
Din Djarin Is Learning How Hard It Is To Use The Darksaber
It turns out that wielding the Darksaber isn’t as simple as just picking it up and swinging it around. Even though Din Djarin won the Darksaber in combat, he’s learned that the longer one uses the weapon in a battle, it becomes heavier with each move. The Armorer told him that this is because he’s fighting the blade rather than his opponent, but even taking that advice into consideration, Din has trouble using it properly. Sensing an opportunity, Paz Vizsla challenged Din to combat so that he could win the Darksaber, but even with Din failing to put the weapon to good use, he emerged victorious.
We already knew that whoever wields the Darksaber can lead all of Mandalore, but it’s also worth mentioning that earlier in “Return of the Mandalorian,” The Armorer said that if the weapon is not won in combat and “falls into the hands of the undeserving,” it will be “a curse unto the nation.” In this case, that’s reference Mandalore’s fall. As Star Wars Rebels fans will recall, Sabine Wren gave the Darksaber to Bo-Katan Kryze, but clearly some Mandalorians feel that acceptance of the weapon as a gift is what doomed them. Bo-Katan understandably looked disappointed when she learned Din won the Darksaber in The Mandalorian Season 2 finale, so don’t be surprised if she tries to win back the weapon the “right” way in Season 3.
Din Djarin Is No Longer A Mandalorian… Sort Of
After Din Djarin beat Paz Vizsla, The Armorer asked both of them if they’d ever removed their helmet or had it removed by others. Doing so is a big non-no within the Children of the Watch, and while Vizsla confirmed he had not, Din chose honesty and revealed that his helmet had come off in the time since he last saw these two. The Armorer quickly decreed that Din was no longer a Mandalorian, and the only way for him to atone for that would be to submerge himself in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore. Since the mines have been destroyed, atonement isn’t possible, so in the eyes of the Children, Din is no longer one of them.
Here’s the thing, though: we know that there are different Mandalorian sects, so just because the Children don’t consider him a Mandalorian doesn’t mean the other sects will too. Despite her differences with him, I’m sure Bo-Katan Kryze and her allies will still look at Din as a Mandalorian. In any case, when The Mandalorian Season 3 rolls around, I bet we’ll see more exploration of these differing ideologies, and maybe Din will even come into conflict with the Children of the Watch now that he’s no longer counted among their ranks.
Din Djarin Has A New Ship
After being let go from the Children of the Watch, Din took public transportation to Tatooine, where he regrouped with Peli Motto, the mechanic played by Amy Sedaris. Din had asked her to find a replacement ship for him since the Razor Crest was destroyed in The Mandalorian Season 2 episode “The Tragedy,” and while she couldn’t find a ship just like that, she was able to procure an N-1 starfighter. This is the same kind of ship used by the Royal Naboo Security Forces during Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, although this starfighter had seen better days, and Din was immediately skeptical that this would be a worthy vessel for him.
Peli Motto convinced Din Djarin to help her fix up the ship and actually pilot it for a bit before he made his final decision. While the N-1 starfighter isn’t as spacious as the Razor Crest was, Din liked the way it handled when took it out for a test flight, although he ran into some trouble with a pair of New Republic pilots (one of whom was Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Carson Teva, who we met in The Mandalorian Season 2). It looks like Din approves of the starfighter, so expect to see him flying around in it in The Mandalorian Season 3.
Where We Leave Off With Din Djarin In This Episode
Finally, after his test flight was over, Din Djarin reunited with Fennec Shand, who offered him credits in exchange for being muscle in Boba Fett’s war with the Pyke Syndicate. Din agreed to help out and even waived his fee, but first, he needed to “pay a visit to a little friend.” Now that he has a working ship all to himself, looks like Din will be tracking down Grogu to give him his beskar gift.
That was a lot of movement for The Mandalorian’s title character on a show about Boba Fett, and with just two episodes left in The Book of Boba Fett’s run, don’t expect Din Djarin to get nearly as much attention in them. Because he agreed to fight alongside Boba and Shennec, it’s likely we’ll see Din again before the season is done. However, since right now Din is focused on meeting back up with Grogu, it’s possible he won’t show up in the coming battle until the last minute to provide some much-needed aid, similar to what Avengers: Endgame did with Captain Marvel.
Thanks to “Return of the Mandalorian,” we now have a better idea of what we can look forward to in The Mandalorian Season 3, which doesn’t have a set release date yet, but will reportedly premiere before 2022 is over. Until then, the final episodes of The Book of Boba Fett will premiere Wednesday on Disney+, and you can count on CinemaBlend to share the latest and greatest news about Star Wars movies and TV shows.
