#(I really do love Bo-Katan - I find her fascinating in her flaws - so much fun) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kalinara · 1 year

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So in my last post, I talked a lot about what I think they’re doing with the New Republic. Or at least, what I think the point is. (I think ultimately, we’ll see a move toward getting rid of the Imperial elements entirely.)

But I didn’t really get into why I think it’s happening in the Mandalorian. After all, it’s not like Din Djarin will be out to fix the New Republic.

I think there are two reasons: first, Moff Gideon is still a factor. He’s out there, and he’s going to be making trouble. My guess is that Elia’s working for him, and that Pershing will be fair game once he’s had his sessions.

But I think there’s a second reason too. And that’s the Children of the Watch.

Disclaimer: I ALSO still haven’t gotten around to watching the Clone Wars Mandalorian episodes (I really hate 3d animation! Sorry!) so I may be utterly flubbing up details.

As always, take me with a grain of salt.

So, Bo-Katan Kryze. I love her. I think her plot right now is fascinating. I really never expected to see her welcomed into the covert, or, at least for now, actually making a genuine attempt to live according to their customs. (Did Din realize that she’d be welcomed in? Is that why he’d recommended she not take off her helmet?)

I remember seeing some fan complaints about a twitter timeline that really seemed to white wash Bo-Katan and her past with the Death Watch, and presented both as opponents rather than allies/subordinates to Darth Maul.

It’s particularly interesting because in the first episode of the season Bo-Katan attacks the Children of the Watch, and other similar groups, for tearing apart Mandalore. She conveniently forgets to mention that she was part of one of those groups. Then we have that aforementioned twitter thing that mentions the Death Watch, but glosses over what they actually did.

It’s particularly interesting given that it’s very obvious that the Children of the Watch ARE Death Watch. Or at least a splinter group from them. They have a Vizsla. Din lived on Concordia. They could definitely be described as “embrac[ing] their history in combat” though they seem to avoid outright war.

That said, the Children of the Watch are also NOT the Death Watch. They’re, by Mandalorian standards anyway, practically pacifistic. They train to fight and defend themselves, but they don’t make war with anyone. They live by a fairly draconian creed, but there’s no indication that they seek to force it on others. Leaving aside the ethics of having a child swear to a binding oath before he’s fully able to understand (see also, the pre-Imperial Jedi), the punishment for breaking said oath is exile, not death. They can choose to leave at any time.

It is rather fascinating how much that description fits the Jedi as well, but that’s another meta.

But they do seem to keep the trappings of the Death Watch, don’t they? And how much do those trappings really mean? We see the Children of the Watch through Din Djarin’s eyes, but we’ve established that there’s a fuck-lot that Din doesn’t know that he really should.

Is everyone on the same page about the Children of the Watch? Does everyone want to be on the same page?

And then there’s Bo-Katan Kryze. This is where my knowledge of the Clone Wars fails me, but I feel like the Children of the Watch probably are really attractive to her. They’re traditionalists, but not terrorists. She might find the helmet thing a little silly, but they seem to have some pretty compatible values deep down. And after all her experiences, it might even feel good to strip away all the cosmopolitan trappings and feel the essence of being Mandalorian.

But she’s not a child. She’s not Din Djarin thirty years ago or Ragnar Viszla now. She has a past, and it’s a pretty bloody one. And there’s a good chance that at least some of the people in that covert remember that.

I’m not sure how old Paz Viszla is, but let’s assume he’s Din’s age or a little older. But where did he come from? Din kept his own name, though he hadn’t heard it in years. Paz’s name is spoken all the time. Dare we assume that he comes by it naturally? And if so, then did he know Pre Vizsla? Did he ever see Bo-Katan way back when?

And of course, there’s the Armorer, who wears Rook Kast’s colors and zabrak horns. Have we ruled out that theory yet? Would Bo-Katan recognize her? Thirty years is a long time, and it’s easy to be blind to things we wouldn’t want to see. Either way, the Armorer definitely knows Bo-Katan’s past.

(There’s an interesting CBR article that theorizes that Bo will expose the Armorer, which is fair. Rook Kast’s crimes far exceed Bo-Katan’s. But Bo is still keeping her own secrets.)

At any rate, the Armorer is the one who issued the invitation to Bo-Katan, in the same episode that Elia Kane lured Doctor Pershing into a trap. In a society that appears idealized, but still holds onto a lot of elements of its darker heritage.

Would an “it’s a trap” gif be appropriate here? Because I kind of think it might be.

#mandalorian speculation #problematic princess who pegs #(I really do love Bo-Katan - I find her fascinating in her flaws - so much fun)

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