#Pre Vizsla dies

[duchess-of-mandalore]

“Duchess. Pre Vizsla and his men have entered the palace. Should we stop them?”

“How can we? The people are on their side now.”

[gffa]

THE MANDALORIAN TIMELINE

50 Years Ago - Grogu was born ?? Years Ago - The Mandalorian Civil War.      Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn were sent to help Duchess Satine Kryze and protect her from insurgents as her people were embroiled in civil war, killing most of them.  Jango Fett fought in these wars at some point. ?? Years Ago - Din Djarin doesn’t have an exact age, but he’s likely in his 40s, so he would have been born at some point in here. 41 Years Ago - The Phantom Menace, Boba Fett is born 31 Years Ago - Attack of the Clones, the Clone Wars begin, Kamino’s clone army is discovered, Jango Fett dies on Geonosis 31 to 28 Years Ago - The Clone Wars      While Mandalore attempts to remain neutral in the conflict between the Republic and the Separatists, Death Watch uses the rising tensions (and are secretly working with Count Dooku of the Separatists) to stage attacks on Sundari, attempting to kill Duchess Satine Kryze and take over the planet.      At some point in the war, there seems to be an attack on Din Djarin’s home planet and they’re shown being fired on by Separatist battle droids, when Mandalorians come to rescue him.  The Mandalorians are wearing the symbol of Death Watch (despite that they’ve previously been allied with the Separatists?), though, it’s unclear what the connection between Death Watch and the Children of the Watch is.

     Pre Vizsla of Clan Vizsla is the governor of Concordia (a moon of Mandalore), voiced by Jon Favreau, secretly leads the Death Watch and reveals that he has the darksaber when he fights against Obi-Wan Kenobi after its revealed that Pre is part of Death Watch.       Clan Vizsla is one of the most central Clans of Mandalore, including the only known Mandalorian Jedi (Tarre Vizsla, creator of the Darksaber) was from their House, which is why Pre feels entitled to it, despite that Tarre left it with the Jedi.  Paz Vizsla is also likely from this clan.      The Children of the Watch were also hidden on Concordia at the time of the Great Purge, which is how they survived the genocide of their people.      Bo-Katan Kryze is also part of Death Watch at this point in time.

27 Years Ago - Bo-Katan and Ahsoka meet when Death Watch invade and occupy a village on the planet of Carlac, though, they are enemies at this point in time. 28 Years Ago -  Darth Maul (who was found still alive on the garbage planet of Lotho Minor and rescued by his birth mother, Mother Talzin, and another Nightbrother from his clan, Savage Opress) was defeated and stranded, but is rescued by Death Watch.      They use the Sith for their Force abilities and connections to crime syndicates for resources and to play the invader while they play rescuer to get the Mandalorian people on their side.  Their ruse works and Duchess Satine is overrun, placing her in prison, while Death Watch rules a puppet master Prime Minister.      Because Death Watch betrayed Maul once they had taken over Mandalore, he fights his way to the throne room, battles Pre Vizsla and wins the Darksaber (decapitating Pre), as well declaring himself ruler of Mandalore, having won the fight.      While most of Death Watch kneels and swears allegiance to Maul, Bo-Katan refuses to follow an outsider as ruler of Mandalore and leaves Death Watch.

     Maul uses the prisoner Duchess Satine to lure Obi-Wan Kenobi to the planet so he can have revenge, killing her and forcing Obi-Wan to retreat, leaving him in charge of Mandalore with no one to oppose him.      Not much later, Sheev Palpatine (Darth Sidious) decides Maul has become too much of an unknown variable and thorn in his side, so he travels to Mandalore to fight him.  He kills Savage and secretly imprisons him, but the puppet Prime Minister (Almec) remembers that Maul freed him previously (after he was imprisoned for being corrupt) and sends Gar Saxon and Rook Kast to free him.     After rebuilding himself for a bit of time, Maul regains the Darksaber and returns to Mandalore to take it over once again.     Bo-Katan, having left behind Death Watch, gets in touch with Ahsoka Tano and asks for her help in fighting off Maul, who agrees and they go to ask the Jedi and the Republic to send troops.

     While the Republic has no legal standing here--and is in danger of violating several treaties, as well as this is an invasion of a neutral planet, but Mandalore needs taking care of, because Maul is dangerous--they send enough clone troopers to defeat Maul’s Death Watch.      Ahsoka defeats Maul and Bo-Katan is left in charge of Mandalore (the clones staying behind to help clean up the mess, but within a day or two, Order 66 is enacted, the Jedi are genocided nearly out of existence, and the Empire rises, folding Mandalore into its clutches and they are no longer a neutral system.     Emperor Palpatine leaves Gar Saxon as Governor of Mandalore and the clans of Mandalore go along with this, because they are in too bad of a shape to resist. (It was a busy year, okay.) 11 Years Ago - The crew of the Ghost (from Star Wars Rebels, including Sabine Wren, of Clan Wren, of Mandalore) come across the Darksaber and take it with them.  It passes into Sabine’s possession.       Fenn Rau works to convince Sabine, as the daughter of House Wren of Mandalore, to take up the darksaber and unite Mandalore with it.  It’s a symbol of House Vizsla and the other clans greatly respect it, so if Sabine of Clan Wren, a vassal of House Vizsla, were to show up with it, she could unite them.       Sabine briefly trains with the Darksaber, but struggles to decide how to proceed with it and her contentious relationship with her family.  Returning to Krownest (a planet in the Mandalore sector, home to the Wren clan) to talk with her family, Sabine’s mother Ursa Wren gives the Darksaber to Gar Saxon. When Saxon threatens to kill off the entire Clan Wren, aiming for Ursa first, Sabine steps in to fight him with Ezra’s lightsaber, defeating him in combat for it. 10 Years Ago - Sabine Wren, having won the Darksaber in combat, rallies her family into deciding to fight back against the Empire’s occupation of Mandalore but gives the darksaber to an initially reluctant Bo-Katan Kryze.         Leaders of several clans of Mandalore swear allegiance to her and they vow to fight the Empire, after many years of living under Imperial rule.

~9-10 Years Ago - Mandalore is united under Bo-Katan’s leadership and they fight back against the Empire, but it does not go well and the Empire basically glasses Mandalore, a planet that was already devastated by years and years of civil war, the only habitable zones being under glass domes.      "Or perhaps the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in the Night of a Thousand Tears." --Moff Gideon

9 Years Ago - A New Hope, the Death Star is destroyed, the crew of Rogue One die in getting the plans for it 6 Years Ago - The Empire Strikes Back 5 Years Ago - Return of the Jedi, the Second Death Star destroyed, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader and Yoda all die, the early formation of the New Republic happens, Boba Fett fell into the Sarlacc pit      Operation: Cinder takes place just after Palpatine’s death, it was a backup plan devised by the Emperor that, if he should die, several key worlds would be orbitally bombed out of existence, because if the galaxy failed to keep him alive, he wanted it punished.       Not much longer after the ending of ROTJ, Boba climbs out of the Sarlacc pit and is taken prisoner by the Tusken Raiders. 0 to 5 Years Ago - It’s unclear the exact timeline of The Book of Boba Fett’s events, but he must stay with the Tuskens for several years because he was taken in by them shortly after ROTJ (4 years ago) and is shown regaining his armor in season 2 of The Mandalorian (0 years ago), which he has in the current day flashbacks of TBOBF. 4 Years Ago - The Battle of Jakku happens, widely considered when the Empire fully fell.  The wreckage on Jakku that Rey is scavenging in The Force Awakens is from the massive battle over the planet. 0 Years Ago - The Mandalorian, season 1     Din Djarin meets Grogu and is tasked with finding a Jedi to deliver him to, meeting Bo-Katan Kryze and Boba Fett and Luke Skywalker along the way.  In rescuing Grogu from a kidnapping, he wins the Darksaber in combat (end of season 2) and is still in possession of it during TBOBF.      It’s unclear how much time has passed since season 1 started, but it’s unlikely to be more than a year or so.  (Pedro Pascal said not much time passed between s1 and s2, so it’s probably safe to assume not much time passed between s2 and TBOBF, maybe a few months.)

[impossibleprincess35]

Politely and respectfully, I speak calmly into the void:

In the conversation about Satine's pride leading to the Shadow Collective and Maul gaining ground in Mandalore, I must disagree. Satine's pride had nothing to do with it because so long as Pre Vizsla and his quest for power was a factor, Mandalore was doomed.

Maul and the Shadow Collective didn't scope out the galaxy and find a flaw (re: pacifism) in Mandalore and go, "Oh, hey, there's our opportunity to infiltrate."

Pre Vizsla and Death Watch manufactured a plan in which they opened up the pathways and allowed Maul and the Shadow Collective to flood Sundari and stage a scene to undermine Satine's rule.

(I could write for hours about my thoughts on parallels between the attack on Sundari and the real life insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on 1/6/21, but I'll spare you all.)

Pre Vizsla committed acts of treason and endangered his own people, caring about nothing other than his goal of obtaining the seat of power with the weak justification that he would restore Mandalore to its warrior past. Bodies are dropping, people are being traumatized, and he's orchestrated these things - and he had to orchestrate them because otherwise, Mandalore was peaceful and safe.

And it wasn't just one event.

You had the attack on Sundari, but also the Peace Park bombing, and the incident on Concordia when he tried to kill Satine and Obi-Wan; and here's the thing about that, Obi-Wan was a visiting Jedi Master/General of the Grand Army of the Republic. Maybe the Republic would have turned a blind eye to Satine's death, but Obi-Wan's? Republic forces could have been on the ground in days with a full scale invasion. Such prowess! Much strategy! Wow.

Keep in mind, Pre thought he was going to double-cross Maul, throw him and his brother in a prison cell, and sit around victorious in the Grand Salon as if he had earned the throne through real merit. Had he been a real warrior and worthy of leading Mandalore, he would have achieved the seat of power through honorable means; but his pride led him to seek an alliance with shady crime syndicates and a fucking Sith, which was never going to work out in his favor.

And in the long run, what kind of ruler would Pre Vizsla have been if he hadn't been beheaded by Maul? His entire rise to power was built on deception. He would have become an absolute nightmare, wielding fear and the Darksaber, but not towards "enemies" in the galaxy, but towards his own people and those closest to him in an attempt to keep his power.

And what happens when Pre dies? Death Watch crumbles. The schism is profound and no one immediately rises up to carry on the work and keep the faction together and operational. Because what was the work? It was never really about restoring Mandalore to some glorified past. It was about Pre Vizsla's quest for power. Not even Bo-Katan honors the ways of their warrior past when Pre is bested in a duel for the Darksaber. Because it's never been about their warrior ways, so much as it was about Pre wanting the throne. (This paragraph is complete conjecture, but it's what I think and I'll die on this hill.)

Was Satine prideful at times? Yes, but blaming her for the fall of Mandalore is tantamount to finding no fault in Pre Vizsla's never-ending efforts to create conflict where there was none, all so that he could sit upon the throne for a few days until Maul rightly rocked his shit.

[tmae3114]

they're not going to do it but in a better world the writers would use this particular decision to give Sabine the darksaber back as a way of symbolically returning it to its true purpose (the lightsaber of a mandalorian jedi, entrusted to the care of his fellow Jedi after his death) and freeing it of being the blood soaked tool of conquest it was turned into after Clan Vizsla STOLE IT

watched the first episode of the Ahsoka show and I have EXTREMELY MIXED FEELINGS about That One Thing They Did With Sabine

[mandalorianchronicles]

Mandalorian History 101

The following is a simplified timeline of all the major events in Mandalorian history leading up to The Clone Wars. This is compiled from the section of The Bounty Hunter Code dealing with Death Watch and Mandalorian history. It is copywrite 2014, the first year of the new canon. Though the book is not included in Disney canon, it was published after TCW episodes dealing Death Watch and not been refuted by anything in current canon, so there is no reason to believe it is not accurate. 

approx. 7000 BBY - The Taung race (Progenitors of present day Mandalorians) cleanse Mandalorian space of its inhabitants and lay down roots

approx. 4000 BBY - Mandalorians fight alongside the Sith in the Great Sith War, but are betrayed - Mand’alor the Ultimate opens up the creed to their slaves and conquered people because their race is dying out - They begin a campaign for galactic conquest called The Onlaught, but it was more to fill out their ranks with new recruits - They are defeated by the Republic and the Mandalorians lay low for a time

approx. 1100 BBY - Mand’alor the Uniter brought the best and brightest Mandalorians from the throughout the galaxy home - Warriors ruled, protecting the artisans, manufacturers, and laborers who supported them, and the vassals and servants who supported them in turn - The Darksaber is forged by Tarre Vizsla (the only Mandalorian to become a Jedi)

approx. 700 BBY - Mandalorians begin to stir again and the Jedi take up arms, nearly wiped them out in the “Annihilation” - The New Mandalorians who rejected the warrior ways gain power when the Republic installed them in the government - The Aka’liit (The Mandalorian Faithful to the warrior way) lived in the shadows, giving the allegiance to the True Mandalores they appointed

approx. 200 BBY - There is a split among the Faithful – some wanted to conquer any potential threats while others argued against starting wars and living by more peaceful means

approx. 60 BBY - The Faithful chose Jaster Mereel as the True Mandalore, who wanted to implement honorable rules of conduct for all Mandalorians on how they earn wealth by bounty hunting or the red trade - Tor Vizsla, who dreamed of Mandalorians returning to their roots as conquerors, split away and formed the Death Watch, becoming the Secret Mandalore. The Death Watch used the Darksaber (an heirloom of House Vizsla) as a symbol of their authority and made a decree than anyone could challenge the Secret Mandalore for leadership and “win” the Darksaber*

52 BBY - Tor Vizsla killed the True Mandalore, Jaster Mereel - Jango Fett’s adopted father

44 BBY - The Death Watch tricked the Jedi into eliminating the True Mandalorians for them

approx. 44-39 BBY - The Great Clan Wars take place within the ranks of the The Faithful - Adonai Kryze is killed in battle - Duchess Satine Kryze of the New Mandalorians assumes the throne of Mandalore - Tor Vizsla is killed by Jango Fett in 42 BBY - The Darksaber is entrusted to Pre Vizsla, governor of Concordia and the new Secret Mandalore of Death Watch, who takes in Bo-Katan Kryze as his protege

Since the Great Clan Wars take place after the True Mandalorians are wiped out, we know that Adonai Kryze was not part of their ranks. The following quote from Tor Vizsla concerning the Kryze family suggests that Adonai was one of his men, or was at least revered by him. Considering that Tor dies shortly after this is written, it’s not a big leap to see how Bo-Katan came to be on Concordia with Pre Vizsla, his successor. 

“Meanwhile, centuries of New Mandalorian lies had left the Mando’ade weak and soft. One of my kinswomen, the Duchess Satine Kryze, had been sent offworld as a child by her father, a mighy clan warlord, and she fell prey to the lies of the Jedi. After father perished in the Great Clan Wars, she betrayed his memory by becoming the leader of the New Mandalorians. Aided by Jedi tricks, she became the newest Anti-Mandalore, whereupon the exhausted Mando’ade flocked to her banner. Some of our warriors were exiled to the moon Concordia. Others – myself included – slipped away to resume the ba’slan shev’la.” - Tor Vizsla

* The decree that one could become Mand’alor by winning the Darksaber in combat from the current Mand’alor was an invention of Death Watch (in canon and legends), so it suggests a strong tie between Death Watch and the Children of the Watch that the latter is so hung up on this “tradition” when it’s only been a thing for about 70-75 years. 

[titikawai]

They need to address Bo’s trauma

Alright so this is going to be a super long essay about Bo’s trauma as I have been doing some research for the next chapters of my fic Mind Games. I went through her background and thought I would share with you my headcanons surrounding that. I especially realized that with her deaging came quite heavy consequences and thought we could discuss them. 

There are of course going to be HUGE TRIGGER WARNINGS : Grief, Grooming, SA, anxiety, depression, s*ic*de. DISCLAIMER I am no therapist so this is just me drawing from some of my how experiences with trauma and doing some researches online. 

Please know your limits and do not attempt to read this if you feel uneasy around those topics, I wouldn’t want to trigger anyone. Same goes with the potential comments that will be left under this post

So first, I’ll start with the implications of deaging Bo-Katan as they did. When we watch Clone Wars, we are led to understand that she is Satine’s younger sister but there are no indications on her age. If we think about it logically, there would probably be around an age gap of maximum 5 years between them. However, as many already pointed out, it would mean that she’d be around 60 years old in the third season of the Mandalorian. I watched a few of Katee Sackhof’s interview where she was saying that Bo-Katan was way younger that many thought she was. Indeed, with her being cast for Bo and Rosario Dawson for Ahsoka, I figured that it probably that the two were probably around the same age in CW, hence them becoming “friends” starting 7th season. It thus means that she probably was in her late teens or early twenties. However, the directors’ decision to deage her has quite huge implications : 

 Headcanons : 

* First of all, it means that there was quite a huge age gap between Satine and her sister: 15 to 20 years approximately

· We figured from the first episodes of season 3 that Bo-Katan has known her Dad and that he fought and died in the Great Mandalorian civil war. There was no mention of her mom so I just assume she died in childbirth of during the civil war as well. 

·  When her dad died, Satine became duchess of Mandalore and probably didn’t have time to personally take care of such a young sister, especially considering that she went under Qui-Gon and Obi Wan’s protection. The latter never met her so it means that she probably stayed on Mandalore with her nannies or relatives, witnessing the horros of the Civil war. She probably felt abandoned by her sister. She probably wished the war to end as soon as possible (some have theorized that her dad probably taught her how to fight so she probably wasn’t scared of using violence to defend her planet), explaining why she never understood why her sister was a pacifist.

· I am a strong believer in Satine being Korkie’s mom (I mean there is no third sister). So it means that Bo-Katan was probably a child when her big sister got pregnant with Obi-Wan. Probably, she witnessed her sister going into hidding to have her baby to try and not become a pariah. I figure this would explain Bo-Katan’s resentment against Jedis and particularly Obi-Wan as he didn’t reach out to her sister nor stepped up for her nephew (with whom there isn’t such a big age gap)

·       So, I have seen this theory going around the internet and read it in some fanfics. It makes sense to me and would explain many things in Bo-Katan’s behaviour. THIS IS WHERE THE TW BEGINS (Grooming) : I figured that Bo-Katan probably met Pre Vizsla after the civil war as he was part of the clan of the enemy. He probably quickly became her mentor, an authority figure that she felt like could replace her dad (she definitely has daddy issues). He probably made her feel understood and special, filling the whole of her parents and Satine’s absence. I honestly believe in the grooming theory saying that he manipulated her into a relationship and death watch to take over the throne of Mandalore taking advantage of her status as the duchess’ sister (as he knew it would humiliate the latter). 

·        TW (SA) Bo probably became very secretive and broke contact with her sister, probably experiencing quite a lot of anxiety : as groomed individuals cannot give consent she was victim of SA. One proof of that would be that “imfamous” butt slap she gave Ahsoka upon meeting her (which is also SA). This sexualized behaviour is not appropriate for a teen or young adult. 

*        Her exposure to this type of trauma probably made her feel like she felt invicible to danger and that is when she developed a violent, criminal behaviour (let’s not forget she participated in the burning of a village and the enslavement of its inhabitants). 

·        Then Pre Vizsla died by the hands of Darth Maul and she started feeling  grief but also probably self doubt, being hit with what she had done and went back to her sister.  She did horrible things while in DW and probably enjoyed them back then through her broken perception of things.

·        Then Satine died and she felt guilty for her death because obviously she she betrayed her. This changed her deeply as she was bombarded with her overwhelming feelings of blame, regret, guilt and confusion, probably struggling with TW drug or alcohol abuse, self harm or suicidal thoughts. 

·        She ended up leading her people, most of them probably hating her for what happened to their planet, Pre Vizsla and her sister, for Maul and of course later, the Purge… She was not her sister and I don’t think that she had ever thought through becoming the duchess of Mandalore. She definitely wanted the power but probably was not ready for that responsibility. Her people respected her because she was royalty, nothing more. They did not have love for her, nor respect : hence why they all left her once she didn’t have the darksaber anymore.

·        All those events had a huge impact on her adult life considering she had lost the majority of people she cared for and struggled to build strong and healthy relationships

She definitely struggles to be vulnerable around others tie that scene with Grogu where she asks him what he is looking at in episode 2) 

·        When it comes to romantic relationships, I picture her having an avoidant attachment style used her sex appeal as a tool to manipulate men AND women (we stan a bisexual queen), to feel in control. I feel like if she started feeling someone catching feelings for her, she would flee (that’s probably what happened with Axe as many of us assume that he was in love with her and was her ex FWB because of his bitterness and her reluctance when talking about him). 

 ·        When it comes to her relationship with Din (sorry I’m a Dinbo shipper) I feel like when she met him he struck her as really different to the other guys she met : 

-first because she had been forced to reflect on her past and draw lessons from it while she was alone on Sundary for two years

-then because he wore a helmet : so she did not see his face and struggled to sexualize him which forced her to focus on who he is inside and really bond with him on an intimate level (here I speak of real emotional intimacy and not sex)

- because he, himself, did not consider her as a piece of meat (I picture Din as asexual or demi-sexual) and he quickly showed her he cared about her and not her title, showing true loyalty to her for the first time in forever (except from her relationship with Ursa Wren and Ahsoka, I assume she didn’t have very deep friendships, most of them probably being shallow)

-because of Grogu, Din is starting to shift from an avoidant attachment style to a secure one and is way less guarded than in the first season

-so I guess she is intriged by this new form of intimacy with him, the way she feels at ease with him and not feel like she need to be hypervigilant (the scene in the cave where they sit super close shows that). Both of them lost their parents quite young and I feel like it could be a shared experience they could bond over or already have unconsciously. 

When it comes to her relationship with Ahsoka : 

PLS WRITTERS I BEG OF YOU show me a real healthy female relationship without toxicity and where they support each other no matter what. 

[bojangos]

🖊️ + Taraan Kryze

TARAAN. satine's older brother and korkie's father in my brain for followers who don't know. also confession I saw the name used elsewhere spelled Taran and changed it a bit. i am afraid i do not recall the original user.

fun little headcanon. i think he and pre vizsla were close in age and went to school together. taraan tried to mentor his slightly younger cousin and guide him away from all the 'vizsla family feuds' (aka death watch). when taraan died suddenly (in canon) that sort of set pre back to ground zero. rip pre you were close to being okay.

since half of that is about pre here's another taraan tidbit; as of the righteous rn, even though he's Ten, he's technically Prince Regent of Kalevala, since dadaanai is Duke of Mandalore Proper (which i take to mean control over the System as a whole if not the sector).

[fellthemarvelous]

Please try to remember the Death Watch are terrorists.

"We are the Death Watch. Our people were warriors. Strong. Feared! Now they're ruled by the New Mandalorians who think that being a pacifist is a good thing. They've given away our honor and tradition for peace. Duchess Satine and her corrupt leadership are crushing our souls, destroying our identity. That is our struggle." -Pre Vizsla

Maul met the Death Watch and their shared hatred for Obi-Wan and Satine is what destroyed Mandalore.

Read Pre Vizsla's speech here closely. Like so close.

Satine Kryze is not to blame for the destruction of Mandalore.

The Death Watch ARE EXTREMISTS!!!!

They used violence and death to take down an unarmed woman.

Satine Kryze did not cause Mandalore's downfall.

Maul and the Death Watch did, and they did so with cruelty because they made Obi-Wan watch helplessly as Maul murdered her.

She chose to LIVE IN PEACE because it is the right of people to live in peace. She didn't illegally obtain power. The other Houses entrusted her with Mandalore's safety.

It was the terrorist minority that had a problem with her. Satine refused to bow to terrorists.

Because war is not natural. War is not fun. War is pain and loss and a man-made creation of mass destruction.

Satine was so strong in her convictions that entire star systems made her the leader of their council of neutral systems because she was able to give her citizens the access to the peaceful life they deserved. She refused to let Mandalore's legacy become one remembered only for its bloodshed and violence. She knew she would probably end up being killed for her beliefs, but she stood up to every single person who told her that picking a side was the only way to peace when she and Mandalore were already living proof that it was possible to do that without Republic interference.

She died refusing to give in to all the men who tried to scare her into joining their side, and when she died on the blade of the darksaber after it fell into the hands of the angriest being in the galaxy, she still died with love and conviction in her heart. Her final words were not "avenge me". Her final words were "I've loved you always. I always will."

The other Mandalorians were right to trust her, not because she used fear and power to intimidate but rather love and compassion to give Mandalore the tools it needed to thrive.

I saw someone try to say that she didn't do pacifism correctly and I just...

She carried a deactivator, not a blaster. She defended herself even though she chose to carry a weapon only meant to neutralize. Her guards existed to neutralize threats. Not kill them.

What does it say about a person who thinks Satine deserved her fate because she refused to arm herself instead of looking at the person who murdered her? What does it say about yourself if you think a person deserves to die because they refused to arm themselves with a lethal weapon in the first place?

Excuse me???

Not to get political, but Death Watch and MAGA are basically the same. Spoiled brats who believed they should have inherited the throne based on blood rather than qualifications, and really mad to know they are in the minority of people who don't want peace.

A bunch of men repeatedly trying to kill the woman who has proven time and time again that hope is stronger than fear.

She proved that it's possible to live peacefully if people would learn to just stop fucking killing each other, and she is not wrong for choosing to give that small bit of comfort to the others who survived the Mandalorian civil war.

The people chose her because they trusted her to take care of them. And she did. For almost 20 years. She cared about what the people wanted and she chose to give them exactly that for as long as she could.

She didn't make them forget their history. She reminded them that they don't have to live the same way for the rest of their lives. It's okay to put down the weapons and it's okay to want peace. That's not a weakness at all. It takes strength maintain a light like that for as long as she did.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Side note: Pre Vizsla bragging about the darksaber as war booty from the Fall of the Old Republic gets so much worse in retrospect with the reveal of the official timeline.

Tarre Vizsla forged the darksaber circa 1050 BBY. The Old Republic officially fell in 1032 BBY. This wasn’t a House long lost their way going back to a famous ancestor, this was Tarre Vizsla’s own close family, robbing the grave of a man most of them still remembered. They knew what that sword represented. They knew that it was Tarre’s symbol of his dual heritage and of the potential of Mandalorians and Jedi together. And not only did they violate the peace he forged, they stole the symbol of it and used it for their own selfish schemes.

And a thousand years later, Pre Vizsla waves it in a Jedi’s face, tells him about how many Jedi died on its blade, and speaks of its theft like it’s something to be proud of.

Frankly this is proof that any reputation of the darksaber being cursed or choosing “rightful” rulers is superstitious bullshit meant to feed a political cause that has long since abandoned what that sword actually represents. If the darksaber had any true agency in who wielded it, it would have blown up in the Vizslas’ faces the moment they grabbed it.

[juniperika]

Your soul is ill, but you will not find a cure (12598 words) by KindOfASorcerer Fandom: The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: The Armorer (The Mandalorian TV)/Bo-Katan Kryze Additional Tags: Adonai Kryze & Bo-Katan Kryze - Freeform, Bo-Katan Kryze & Satine Kryze - Freeform, Bo-Katan Kryze & Pre Vizsla - Freeform, Bo-Katan Kryze & Ahsoka Tano - Freeform, Bo-Katan Kryze/Koska Reeves - Freeform, Hanahaki Disease, Non-Fatal Hanahaki, romantic and platonic love, Time Skips, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, I'm trying to be canon compliant but canon is a mess, Blood, Injury, Vomiting, Minor Character Death, Zabrak!Armorer, The Armorer has a name, Implied Sexual Content, Marriage, Happy Ending

Summary: “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Your Highness.” “You said she has it,” Father hissed, his voice cutting through the confused silence. “How long before she suffocates?” The healer sounded genuinely baffled as she answered, “Your Highness, with all due respect, no one dies from a broken heart anymore.” “Her mother did,” Father gritted out. Bo withheld the urge to look up. They never discussed Mother. She didn’t even know what she’d looked like, never having seen a portrait, and everyone around her kept saying how much the little princess took after her father with her rust-coloured hair and freckled cheeks. Or, everything is the same, except whenever Bo-Katan refuses to acknowledge her feelings, she coughs up flowers. There might be a correlation.

This is the only thing I've written these past few months apart from spamming my WIP folder, see sob story in the endnotes

[cienie-isengardu]

Jango Fett and Walon Vau: Age Difference and Childhood Trauma

Edit: other part(s): The Laws, Orders, Jaster Mereel and True Mandalorians (pre-Galidraan)

For @delkios

This won’t be a traditional analysis as sadly, there isn’t enough data about the relationship Jango and Walon had, especially since Republic Commando book series and game tie-in material did not provide any scene in which those two characters directly interacted (in contrast to Jango and Kal Skirata, who had a chapter in Triple Zero). Due to these limitations, the following work took the shape of investigation and case building more than anything else as I was forced to rely on information from third parties whose opinion was often subjective and knowledge incomplete, the circumstantial evidence and even the comparisons to present how alike Jango and Walon could be, as similarities often connect people.

The collected data is separated into categories focused on different aspects. Each category has its direct quotes or comic book frames from available source materials while some examples get an additional commentary and/or point of interest if the topic discussed may be expanded upon by secondary sources that do not directly concern the relationship between Fett and Vau, but which provide a broader picture of the issue.

AGE DIFFERENCE

A bit of established chronology based on Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Fact Files and Jedi Master Magazine:

BBY - Battle Before Yavin

22 BBY - Attack of the Clones / Battle of Geonosis - Jango’s death and start of Clone Wars

32 BBY - Dooku interrogate Jango’s former allies, the best known example: Silas (as stated by JF:OS issue#2 “ten years before Geonosis")

44 BBY - Battle of Galidraan[1] 

52 BBY - Battle of Korda VI / Jaster Mereel death (as stated by JF:OS issue#2, “twenty years ago” with date of Silas’s torture as starting point)

58 BBY - death of Jango Fett’s parents on Concord Dawn and the orphaned boy joining Jaster Mereel / True Mandalorians (as stated by JF:OS issue#1, “the events takes place 36 years before Attack of the Clones)

The comics and Fact Files did not provide data about year of Jango’s birth however Star Wars Jedi Master Magazine places it in 66 BBY:

[1] the date for Battle of Galidraan is actually not that clear, as comics issue#3 places it “twelve years before Geonosis” which would mean 34BBY and Jango being 32. However Fact Files vol.3 #14 states “Fett led the Mandalorians for eight years, during which the hunt for Vizsla was never far from their minds”. Similarly, the comics too imply that between Korda VI and Galidraan eight years has passed (Silas said “twenty years ago” for events of Korda, Galidraan was supposedly be “twelve years ago” however comics used Geonosis as reference point, instead of 32BBY - the date the “present” story takes place, as Dooku’s memory about Galidraan was told in that year. Otherwise there would be little time for Jango to gain a reputation as Bounty Hunter, as he said in the same comics (issue #4) “I rotted on spice transport for years.” - the plural form means at least two years, so he would be freshly out of slavery. The lore usually places Galidraan in 44BBY so I prioritize the eight years between Korda VI and Galidraan over comics flawed calculation.

The collected data allows us to establish that Jango was:

 8 years old during attack on his family on Concord Dawn

14 years old when Jaster died on Korda VI and Fett became leader of True Mandalorians

22 years old when his True Mandaloris were killed by Jedi on Galidraan and he was sold into slavery

34 years old when became DNA donor and father of Boba

44 years old when killed

There is a little well-documented chronology for Walon Vau. From the bits of information, we can established that 

Walon run away from his biological family at young age

“That strill had stood by him since boyhood” [Republic Commando: True Colors]

and

“Mird has been with me since I joined the Mandalorians” [Republic Commando: Triple Zero]

or

"Vau," he said carefully, "is still a fit man. A soldier since childhood, just like you and like Kal'buir. [Republic Commando: Triple Zero]

Of course, Vau joining Mandalorians does not necessarily mean joining right away True Mandalorians.

he was part of Jango’s True Mandalorians at least just before Galidraan

Vau didn’t meet Skirata’s eyes for a moment, but he glanced at Jusik. “I could have been at Galidraan, but I wasn’t, and I never forgot that. Not my fight. Should have been my fight.” [Republic Commando: Order 66]

So Vau knows Jango at least for 22 years (since 44BBY to 22BBY, the start of Clone Wars) however depending on interpretation, True Colors may implies, Walon could recall Jango’s undernourished appearance as a youngster:

Vau looked at Mereel in profile and tried to see Jango in him, but it was surprisingly hard. Odd as that might have sounded to an outsider, it was true: the clones usually didn't remind him of Jango Fett at all. Part of that was living among them for years, and becoming blind to the superficiality of appearance, but there were many ways in which they didn't even look like their progenitor. Jango - born of parents who lived hand-to-mouth, undernourished as a youngster - hadn't been much taller than Skirata, but the Kaminoans had managed the clones' nutrition carefully from the day the egg was fertilized, and they'd turned out tall and muscular. In a hundred and more ways, they weren't exact replicas of Fett.

From vocabulary.com:

Youngster is a good, generic way to talk about a person who's younger than you are, especially a child.

Jango in 44BBY was 22 years old, and Mandalorian for 14 years, so it is possible that due proper training he gained appropriate body weight and was better nourished - if Walon knew Jango only as an adult man, would he had so hard time to see Jango in clones he trained since they were two years old?

For a better picturing this matter, below a reaction of people who knew Jango only as an adult man and already met a clone troopers:

Attack of the Clones by R. A. Salvatore 

Jango Fett walked in, dressed in simple shirt and trousers. Obi-Wan recognized him immediately, though he was many years older than the oldest clone, his face scarred and pitted, and unshaven. His body had thickened with age, but he was still physically imposing, much like many of the old gutter dwellers Obi-Wan encountered in far-flung places. A few extra pounds, sure, but those covered muscles hardened by years of tough living. Tattoos crossed both of Jango's muscular forearms, of a strange design that Obi-Wan did not recognize.

The Cestus Deception by Steven Barnes:

If Obi-Wan was entirely honest with himself, he had to admit that large groups of clone troopers made him slightly uncomfortable. Easy to understand and explain away. One factor was the fact that they were the absolute image of the notorious bounty hunter Jango Fett, who had come within a hair of killing him on three separate occasions. More disturbing still was the fact that, although genetically human, they had not led human lives: clone troopers were born and bred purely for war, without the nurturance of a mother's embrace, or the safety of a father's loving discipline.

or

As he came out of his thoughts, again he had the sense that she was staring at him, and this time he felt uncomfortable. "Why do you look at me that way?" She shook her head. Then, as if she thought herself the biggest fool in the galaxy, she shook with peals of deep, rich laughter. "I suppose I keep expecting you to remember me. That's crazy, of course." She laughed again, and Nate just felt more confused. "You have to pardon me." "I don't understand." "I suppose I should have told you before. I knew Jango Fett." He didn't quite believe what he'd heard. Worse, he wasn't sure how to react. "You did?" She nodded. "Yes, twenty years ago, in quite another life. Seeing you was kind of a shock. When you took those helmets off-wow!" Her laugh was throaty and vibrant. "It's him, all right, and just about the age he was when we first met." Nate's head spun. "I should have expected that, I suppose. Certainly some of my brothers have also encountered people who had known him ... I've just never spoken to one."

As Walon said, living among clones for years made him blind to the superficiality of appearance, but I think it is safe to assume Vau knew Jango for longer than the established minimum of 22 years. 

There is no proper date of Walon’s birth, however the books either mentioned he is past his prime 

Boss stands his ground. "You can't carry it all on your own."     "I can carry enough." I can haul a fifty-kilo pack all right, maybe not as easily as young men like them, but I'm motivated and that shaves years off my age. [Republic Commando: True Colors]

or Walon is outright called an old man, both by himself or other characters:

"You're conspicuous in that black armor, Sarge," Scorch said kindly. "It's worse than having Omega alongside. What say you back out of here and leave me to hold them?"     If anyone was going to do any holding, it was Vau. "Humor an old man." He fumbled in his belt for an EMP grenade. "I stop the droids, you pick off the wets." Wets. Organics. He was talking like Omega now. "Then we all run for it. Deal?" [Republic Commando: True Colors]

or

"Walon, whatever we've said or done to each other before this moment, it doesn't matter. Cm vhetin. A fresh field of snow." Vau looked at him blankly for a moment. Maybe he knew how precariously Skirata balanced on the edge of his resources right then, but that craggy humorless face softened for a few telling seconds. "Cin vhetin." Vau grasped Skirata's arm in a vise-like grip. "Mhi vode an, ner vod." Vau seemed purged. He slapped his thigh plate, and Mird trotted after him into the galley. "Sorry about that, Bard'ika," Skirata said. It couldn't have been easy for the kid to hear all that bad blood about Jedi on this particular night. He might have turned his back on them and put on the beskar'gam, but they'd been his family, and some of those killed must have been his friends. Jedi were living beings, too; some might have got what was coming to them, but others were probably decent like Etain and Jusik. "We're tired old men, with tired old grudges."

or

Vau did his icy I-know-something-you-don't smile. "Sport-fishing isn't sport unless you run the risk of being caught yourself, is it?"     "There's always relaxing on the beach," said the Rek. "Or a pleasant walk around the harbor."     She seemed to have classed them as two old guys trying to rediscover their youth through destructive machismo, maybe with Mereel as the fit young minder who could haul them out of trouble. It was perfect: whoever Ko Sai had as a contact here-and she'd need one, if only to get hold of supplies- wouldn't be tipped off to the fact that Mandalorian bounty hunters were in town. [Republic Commando: True Colors]

or

"Someone has to pilot Aay'han, because those things won't have much range," Vau said. "And I'm volunteering. I had my midlife crisis about ten years ago, so you can go play boy racer this time, Kal..." [Republic Commando: True Colors]

Additionally Commentary:

The definition of a midlife crisis is a period of transition in life where someone struggles with their identity and self-confidence. It happens anywhere from 40 years old to 60 years old and affects men and women. A midlife crisis is not a disorder but is mainly psychological. It occurs when someone looks at where they are in life compared to where they think they should be by a certain age.  Who is affected by a midlife crisis?  Men and women can both experience a midlife crisis, but it may look different for each. On average, most people experience one between the ages of 40 and 60 years old, but you may have it before or after those ages, as well. [From acendahealth.org]

As True Colors takes place in the second year of Clone Wars - if Vau’s words were meant to be interpreted as fact - the midlife crisis would happen around second year on Kamino. Of course, Vau may be sarcastic here but he could also mistake depression for the psychological crisis as the book series often pointed out how time spent on Kamino was depressive for Mandalorian training instructors and Vau was no less affected by that. This actually can be supported by the same book:

Scorch is about twelve years old. He's also twenty-four, measured in how far along that path to death he actually is, which is the only definition I care about. He's running out of time faster than me. The Kaminoans designed the Republic's clone commandos to age fast, and when I think of them as the tiny kids I first knew, it's heartbreaking-yes, even for me. My father didn't quite kill the last bit of feeling in me.

Side note: if I calculate right, the clone commando training started in the second year (8 years before Geonosis, as around that time Kal Skirata showed up on Kamino and was soon to start training clone cadets. Logically, each batch should start their training at the same time, so the “midlife crisis” could easily happen when Vau started training too young children for Republic and Jedi as this challenged both morality and principles of Mandalorian culture.

Kal Skirata was said to be around 60 years old [RC: Order 66] and book series keep describing him and Walon as “old men”, so it is easy to assume the age difference between Jango and Walon was quite significant, most likely more than a decade. Depending when Walon joined True Mandalorians - before or after Jaster Mereel’s death - there is also a possibility he could help train Jango when Fett was still a cadet or at least knew him (if not just heard about him), as Jaster Mereel had a special spot for the kid:

Jango Fett: Open Seasons, issue #2:

Jaster Mereel: Make me proud, Jango. Jango Fett: Yes sir, Jaster. Montross: I think he sometimes forgets that you're not really his son. Hnh. That's dangerous. Clouds his judgment. And yours. [...]

Fact Files vol. 3 #14:

"Jango became a favorite of Jaster Mereel, something that didn't sit well with one of his men, Montross [...]"

Additional Commentary:  It makes sense to think that older and/or more experience Mandalorian Mercs helped to train the cadets however it is worth to keep in mind that Walon Vau was introduced into story as specialist of interrogation and True Mandalorians in fact trained their members to endure tortures [Jango Fett: Open Seasons, issue #2]. This information comes from Silas, who was part of True Mandalorian first under Jaster Mereel's and later Jango's leadership. It is hard to tell when and how interrogation became Walon’s expertise, but if he took part in training of cadets, his training may as well be pretty brutal to endure. On another hand, if Jango spent eight years keeping the hunt for Vizsla in mind all the time, Vau could be one of the people responsible for gathering information about Death Watch from captured enemy soldiers or other suspects. If he was that good as books implied he was, this could make him a valuable addition to Fett’s army.

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

[Prime source] Jango Fett: Open Seasons, issue #1

Imperial Commando: 501st

Jusik didn't know what to expect; he just knew that she'd been hurt, physically and emotionally. Jango had told Vau just the barest detail about the Death Watch punishing his father for harboring Jaster Mereel, and his mother shooting one of them dead so Jango-eight, maybe-could get away. That was the last he saw of all of them, his mother shielding fourteen-year-old Arla, his father on his knees yelling at him to run. Jango thought they'd all died.

Additional Commentary: For a supposedly the barest detail, the short description accurately presents what happened in original source [“Death Watch punishing his father for harboring Jaster Mereel”; “his mother shooting one of them dead” “his mother shielding fourteen-year-old Arla”, “his father on his knees yelling at him to run”], so maybe it is not Vau who get the simplified version from Jango, but Jusik from Walon?

For better contrast, below a story Jango told Zam Wesell:

"Did you know I was an orphan? My family had a farm. There was a civil war. We got caught in the middle of it. I don't know what would have happened to me... if someone hadn't come along and saved me" [Source: Zam Wesell comics, 2002]

Additional Sources: Jusik and Kal Skirata were aware that Jango Fett had a sister in previous book (RC: Order 66), as this was their main motivation to abduct met by accident Arla Fett from the asylum:

"I thought I was a chancer," Skirata said "but Bard'ika, you make me look like a Neimoidian accountant. You know who that is, don't you? If she is who she thinks she is, anyway. Because she's supposed to be dead." "Oh, I know," Jusik said. In the last few years, he'd absorbed all he could about Mandalore and its people, both from Mando'ade themselves and from aruetiise who knew them all too well-like certain Jedi. "And that's why she deserves our help." "So who is it?" Vau asked plainly irritated. Mird watched the woman with head cocked tail slapping. "We'd better have a good reason for taking a psychotic killer with us tonight." "We have," said Jusik. "That's Arla Fett-Jango's missing sister."

In the same book, Fenn Shysa also seems to be aware about the fate of Jango’s biological family:

Shysa was making an awfully big assumption about Boba's willingness to take over where his dad left off. "Fett's got an older sister, you know. Arla." "No, Vizsla killed them all." "Not all." "Now you tell me. Are you having me on, Kal?" "No, ori'haat. I swear. Jango thought they all died, but the girl survived somehow [...].

It makes sense that Mandalorians, especially the survivors of True Mandalorians (and Jusik who learned from them) to some degree were familiar with their leader's past, however their knowledge doesn’t necessarily need to come from Jango himself. 

Additional sources outright say or strongly implies Jango wasn’t willing to confide in others about his childhood trauma.

Internal memo penned by Hali Ke, senior research geneticist, Kamino, 27 BBY (source) 

I have now logged many sessions with our prime clone Jango Fett, and concluded that he embodies his species’ contradictions. He is a killer many times over, ending the life of others without hesitation if paid to do so, yet his anger was obvious when I suggested he lacked morality. He is one of the most able, competent humans I have ever observed, remaining calm in situations that would leave most organics helpless with terror. Yet he witnessed horrors in his childhood that he will not discuss, and around which his mind has constructed apparently impenetrable barriers.

Jango Fett: Open Seasons, issue #2

Important thing to note: Jango only described the enemy as “ex Mandalorians who split with Jaster Mereel years ago” instead of personal information like killers of his biological family. It could be due to being under enemy fire, however the fact that Silas has no clue who Death Watch was in the first place, strongly suggests that Jango did not mention his childhood trauma in any specific detail to him, while comics presented Silas as deeply loyal to Jango, both as first person to stand by him against Montross’ claim to leadership

and as a man who endured for a whole year a torture because he refused betray Jango and who used his last breath to ask Dooku (the torturer) to not tell Jango about his failure.

As Imperial Commando: 501st states, “Jango had told Vau” about his childhood trauma and there is no reason to think Vau lied about this to Jusik. So far, within the broadly understood Republic Commando series, Walon is the only mentioned character to whom Jango voluntarily confided about things he normally did not speak.

(Unless, as pointed in my additional commentary for Age Difference, Vau did in fact trained Jango to endure torture and he managed to break Fett to get this information from him during "exercise" while he simply omitted that detail when sharing his knowledge about Jango's childhood with Jusik. Personally I like more the implication of trust given to Vau what fits well with his role in Kamino program, however I feel obligated to mention this possibility as another interpretation.)

However when it comes to Vau’s own biological family and his aristocratic title, Republic Commando: True Colors says Kal Skirata was most likely the only person he told about before Clone Wars. 

"What's in there, Sarge?" I'm not robbing for gain. I'm not a greedy man. I just want justice. See? My Mandalorian armor's black-black, the traditional color of justice. Beskar'gam colors almost always have meaning. Every Mando who sees me understands my mission in life right away.     "Part of my inheritance," I say. "Father and I didn't agree on my career plans."     Justice for me; justice for the clone troops, used up and thrown away like flimsi napkins. "The drinks are on you, then," says Boss, Delta's sergeant "If we'd known you were loaded, we'd have hit you up earlier." "Was loaded. Cut off without a tin cred." I've never told them about my family or my title. I think the only person I told was Kal, and then I got the full blast of his class-war rhetoric.

Additionally commentary: Once Walon and Kal joined their forces to provide clones a future outside the army, Vau started to mention his aristocratic family more often (sometimes simply to annoy Skirata). This of course does not cross out the possibility that Jango wasn't privy to this "secret", as Fett could easily learn that from other Mandalorians, like his mentor Jaster Mereel (if Walon already was one of his True Mandalorians while Jango was a young cadet himself), or even straight from Kal who was passionate about the topic enough to lecture Walon - something that was mentioned through the books on few different occasions and these two men knew each other for decades.

Republic Commando: Triple Zero

   "Yes, we all know." Vau turned to Etain. "This is normally where he starts lecturing me on his ghastly childhood as a starving war orphan living feral on some bomb site, and how I just ran away to become a mercenary because I was bored with my idle, rich family."     "Well, that saved me some time," Skirata said irritably. "What he said."

Thus it is up to debate, if Jango knew and if he knew then how he learned that and if he didn’t, why Walon did not mention it at all. There are potential possibilities like that Jango simply wasn’t interested in Vau’s past so he has never asked (the other, out-of-universe explaination is that the author did not had at that time outlined the plot-twist about Jango and Walon’s much closer relationship than Jango and Kal - the main character of book series since Triple Zero. This is the most likely the case, as Karen Traviss’ Legacy of the Force books that predate Order 66 pretty much ignore Jango & Walon relationship in favor of Jango and Kal mentions in Boba’s POV characters. But about that more later.) 

[Next part coming hopeful soon]

[duchess-of-mandalore]

Don't mind me. I'm just making sure the Americans know who they're supporting because it wasn’t clear enough.

[erikacousland]

Pre Vizsla & Bo-Katan Kryze - Star Wars: The Clone Wars S5E14 Eminence

Pre Vizsla was Bo's uncle who raised her after her parents died.

It was my pet theory, and it's a secret canon that already been confirmed by Katee Sackhoff herself. (My eyes hurt when I saw a fanart that painting them as a couple.)

[inquisitor-apologist]

Ok, I know I joked about it yesterday, but here’s what I think are the viable ‘paths’ for ownership of the darksaber, accounting for the whole Maul Ownership Debate:

1. Regardless of Maul’s right to the Darksaber, if it can only be earned through official Mandalorian trial by combat: ownership passes from Pre Vizsla to Maul, and since Maul dies without engaging in another official duel, upon his death, ownership passes to whoever earns it in trial by combat. Sabine Wren defended her claim to the darksaber in official combat against Gar Saxon, so once Maul dies, it passes to her. Sabine Wren is the rightful owner of the darksaber.

1.2 However, if Sabine giving the darksaber to Bo-Katan is her surrendering her claim, then the darksaber is unclaimed until someone wins it in combat. Upon defeating Bo-Katan, it passes to Moff Gideon, and from him to Din Djarin. Din Djarin is the rightful owner of the darksaber.

2. If the darksaber can be claimed outside official Mandalorian combat, and Maul has a claim to the darksaber: Maul is defeated by Sidious, who is eventually defeated by Vader. Vader dies, but Luke very soundly beats him right before he dies. Luke Skywalker is the rightful owner of the darksaber.

3. If the darksaber can be claimed outside official Mandalorian combat, and Maul does not have a claim to the darksaber: Sabine becomes the owner upon defeating Saxon, and Bo-Katan becomes the owner when Sabine gives it to her. From Bo-Katan it passes to Gideon, then to Din, then briefly to eye-ball droid thingy before returning to Bo-Katan. Bo-Katan is the rightful owner of the darksaber.

[animatedminds]

The Mandalorian: The Spies - On Pax Vizsla

To loop the discourse around the episode back to an animated show - y’all know how I do - I like how opposite thematically Pre Viszla's death feels to Pax Viszla's death - despite the two technically believing in the same things, and I believe this may well have been intentional.

Pre Viszla died for his ideals in a way that was entirely selfish, and happened at the expense of everyone around him. The strongest must prevail, so Pre's is willing to die and give away the keys to everyone he's responsible for to a madman just because the madman took those keys in a way that satisfied Pre's own beliefs and obsessions. “The Strong Shall Lead” - who cares how it affect anyone else. He actively dooms everyone around him in a moment of ideological satisfaction.

But we get from his speech a couple episodes ago, and see here, that Pax Viszla interprets "The Strong Shall Lead" differently. To him, it's not about "if you're strong enough, The Way is to do as you command," it's "if the cause is just, then the strong must lead the charge towards fighting it." He lays down his life to protect others because This Is The Way, because this is what he believes defines Mandalorian strength.

It's a really great contrast.

Especially since we all know Ragnar Viszla's probably going go out getting eaten by something.

[mandalorianchronicles]

Bo-Katan's Journey and The Road Ahead

The latest episode of The Mandalorian has begun to shed a bit of light on the beginning of Bo’s journey (as well as raising yet more questions about the timeline).

Adonai Kryze, Bo-Katan and Satine’s father - and the warlord of House Kryze - fought and died in the The Great Clan Wars (approx. 41BBY-39BBY). He witnessed Bo recite the creed in front of the Living Waters. Bo says that he was proud of her because she “didn’t embarrass him in front of everyone”. When Din said he sounded like an interesting man and commented he would have liked to meet him, Bo says that he was a “great man”, before sharing that he died defending Mandalore.  

This is our first big clue in canon as to who influenced her most in her younger years. We know that Adonai sent Satine away to Coruscant to keep her safe, and it is presumably while she is there that she begins to change her affiliation to that of the New Mandalorians, since her father was obviously not a pacifist. Bo’s narrative suggests that she sought to make her father proud, so she probably did all she could to align her allegiances with his. Since Satine is the older of the two, it makes sense that the second-born would be even more desperate to please the father to gain more favor and attention. Depending on when Adonai died, he may not have known that his eldest daughter and heir decided to switch her affiliation to the New Mandalorians. But if he was alive when Satine made her choice, Bo would have gotten a front row seat to her father’s feelings, which were most likely those of disappointment and betrayal, just before his death at the hands of the faction that Satine now served. One can easily see how Bo might have come to hate her sister and want revenge.

Dave Filoni has stated that he had a back story in mind where Bo-katan and Satine were twins. Initially, I had dismissed this as a mothballed idea when Katee Sackhoff was chosen to play Bo in the live-action series, since she is now 42 years old and nowhere near the right age to play Satine’s twin. If Satine is the same age as Obi-Wan, they would be 66 in 9 ABY, plus however many years have passed since season 1 began (which is “many years” according Favreau). But, if it is true that Bo recited the creed in front of her father before his death during the Great Clan Wars, he might not have given up on that idea after all. Even if she recited the creed at 12 years old in the last year of the war (39 BBY), she would still be 60 years old in 9 ABY. Maybe she was in carbon freeze for a couple decades, maybe she has an excellent skin care regimen. In any case, Bo is definitely FAR older than she looks. But her advanced age fuels the idea that there could have been a much deeper animosity between the sisters than if there was a significant age gap. 

I assume Bo was not exiled with the Old Mandalorians to Concordia, since she was still too young to fight in the war, but at some point, she joined Pre Vizsla and gave her allegiance to Death Watch and began actively seeking her sister’s demise. Later, when Pre’s bid for power led him to join forces with the former Sith Lord, Maul, Bo-katan vehemently objects to the alliance. She knows Maul will double cross Pre, and she feared he would not win the confrontation. Her instincts proved to be right on the credits. Maul murders her sister and takes over Mandalore. We don’t yet know if Bo’s motivations for turning on Maul were simply because he was an outsider, or if his murder of Satine made her regret the path of vengeance she had chosen - but in either case, Bo organizes her Nite Owls into a resistance to oust Maul from power. Palpatine does her work for her, killing Savage and imprisoning Maul, and Bo seems to lie low for a short time. But when Saxon and the other super commandos loyal to Maul spring him from prison and he regains a foothold on Mandalore, she asks the Republic for aide. We know the rest. The Siege of Mandalore is a success, Maul is captured, and Bo is made regent. But when she refuses to bend the knee to Palpatine, she is replaced by Saxon.

Seventeen years later, Bo is still actively resisting the Empire’s hold on Mandalore, seeking freedom for her people. When Sabine Wren offers her the reclaimed Darksaber, she refuses it, claiming she failed as regent to protect her people. In the conflict that follows, Fenn Rau and Bo-katan agree that Sabine shows much leadership potential, despite her young age. After the insurgents come together and finally oust Gar Saxon and his brother, gaining a major victory, Sabine once more offers the Darksaber to Bo, saying that she has proven herself to be a worthy leader. Bo reluctantly accepts the heirloom, gaining the support of the remaining Kryze clan, House Vizsla, Clan Wren, Clan Rook, Clan Eldar, and Fenn Rau, the last Protector (but not The Children of the Watch, who were residing on Concordia). Ultimately, their rebellion prompts the Empire to strike back by utterly destroying the entire surface of the planet in the Great Purge. 

Over a decade later, we find her still fighting the good fight against the remnants of the Empire and trying to regain the Darksaber to once more unite her people and restore Mandalore. But because of one blunder by the unsuspecting Din, she could not lay claim to the sword, and refused to accept it as a gift once more (nor fight him for it). In the The Mines of Mandalore, we see Bo refuse to lay claim to it again, even though Din had lost it in his struggle against the cyborg crab. Though she obviously has no trouble wielding the blade - the same of which can not be said of either Din or Paz Vizsla - she still returned the precious weapon to him. Though she had the *perfect* opportunity to take the saber from Din (and technically creed compliant), she did the honorable thing and saved his life, returning the weapon without a word of argument. Time will tell if she continues to act as honorably, but I see no reason to doubt her, especially now that she has clearly begun to take a liking to Din.

There is a wide range of feelings concerning Bo-Katan in the Star Wars fan base, and understandably so. Personally, she was redeemed in my eyes when she changed course at the end of The Clone Wars. She appeared genuinely remorseful of her sister's death when she spoke to Obi-Wan (though ultimately, she had not been the one responsible). She has spent upwards of 35 years atoning for the choices of her youth. Let's be honest, it's not as though she's the first Star Wars character who set themselves on a path of evil in the name of vengeance and then turn away from it later. She isn't perfect, but she has acted honorably and with humility in regards to the Darksaber since it was first offered to her.

Bo has been raised to believe that the myths and legends of her people are just that - stories. She believed, like many others, that the mythosaurs had gone extinct generations ago. They were once real, but the stories about her people's encounters with them have been reduced to legend, like many of the fables that we have in the real world (ex: Excalibur and its ability to choose a worthy king; St. George and the dragon, magic-wielding wizards, etc.). It's as strange for her to believe in Din's myths as it would be for someone living in the 21st century to believe Excalibur really did choose King Arthur. Jedi and lightsabers are real to be certain, but no other lightsaber chooses who is worthy to wield it (of which Bo-Katan is fully aware).

Now that a mythosaur has apparently been residing in the depths, perhaps she'll begin to believe. Or maybe she'll just accept that they obviously didn't go extinct and the timing is just very convenient to herald in the restoration of Mandalore. Perhaps it was a Force sensitive individual who first had the vision to begin with, seeing the destruction of Mandalore and catching a glimpse of a new leader rising alongside the great beast. Their future is uncertain, but I believe that this season will show that the ideal future for Mandalore is somewhere in the middle of their extremes. Bo will be able to experience some spirituality (or the will of Force) permeating her strictly realist belief system. Hopefully, Din will discover that he can still be a Mandalorian without following all the fundamentalist restrictions of the cult in which he was raised. They both need to accept that fighting isn't the only application for Mandalorians.

I also suspect that Din will discover that The Armorer is not the most trustworthy of historians, but she'll have her reasons. One thing is certain: Mandalore can have no future as long as their individual beliefs are exclusive to others. Like Bo said, it is painful to see her people fighting each other for generations for reasons too complicated to explain. It has to stop, and I believe balance will only be achieved with Bo-Katan and Din working together.