Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Season 3 of The Mandalorian.Inured by the Mandalorian way of life, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) is an expertly capable warrior and her copious experience has also made her wise. Her fairness and compassion aid in her ability to lead others. And all of her qualities are spurred by an unwavering devotion to Mandalore and its people. But such an impressive record had to have begun somewhere… and that somewhere was back in 2012 when Bo-Katan was first introduced toStar Warsin aClone Warsepisode titled “A Friend In Need.”
Back then, Bo was a fiery, youthful, and impulsive spirit with an avid proclivity to violence, which was exercised alongside her fellow members of theMandalorian terrorist group known as Death Watch.Little didBo-Katan actress Sackhoffknow at the time that her red-headed character would go on to become one of the most memorable and badassStar Warswomen of all time.
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Bo-Katan’s Early Life and in ‘The Clone Wars’
Prior to Bo-Katan’s involvement with the Death Watch, she was a Mandalorian princess, a daughter of Mandalore’s royal family who resided in Kalevala, the homeworld of her Kryze house. As a princess, Bo-Katan went along with the royal rituals that included bathing in the Living Waters in the Mines of Mandalore, but Bo-Katan considered these rituals as mere spectacle for the Mandalorian people who adored their royal family. After the death of her father, Bo-Katan’s sister Satine Kyrze (Anna Graves) became the Duchess of Mandalore, but Bo and Satine’s Mandalorian values differed extremely. Where Bo-Katan believed in the warrior heritage of the Mandalorian people, Satine believed in pacifism.
Their starkly opposing beliefs saw Bo-Katan break away from her sister’s rule and she joined Death Watch, whose existence centered around restoring the old warrior ways of Mandalore. Due to Death Watch’s radicalism that wasn’t yet strong enough to overthrow Satine’s pacifist government, the group resided on one of Mandalore’s moons named Concordia in order to practice their violent dispositions. Bo-Katan became the right-hand lieutenant to Death Watch’s leader,Pre Vizsla(Jon Favreau). At this point, Bo-Katan was already an accomplished fighter, but her young age inevitably made her reckless and small-minded, resorting to violence rather than attempting to reach a middle ground with her sister.
Due to a betrayal by Count Dooku (Corey Burton), the Death Watch was exiled to a snowy planet named Carlacc in the Outer Rim. This would be the first time that Bo-Katan encounters the Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), but it would be a very, very long time until the two worked together as allies and friends. Eventually, Death Watch took refuge on the moon of Zenbar. At this time, Death Watch’s plans to restore Mandalore to its warrior origins were beginning to come to fruition. Bo-Katan and Pre Vizsla joined hands with the Sith brothers Maul (Sam Witwer) and Savage (Clancy Brown), who would help them overthrow Satine’s government. They did succeed, but Maul betrayed them, and after a lengthy battle, Maul killed Pre and laid claim to the MandalorianDarksaber,making him Mandalore’s new ruler. Bo-Katan and a scarce few other Death Watch members refused to submit to Maul’s reign and they broke away. Amidst the fray, Bo-Katan and her sister Satine reunite — on the basis that they now share a common enemy. At this point, Bo-Katan’s character begins to change. Maul’s tyranny acts as a wake-up call for her, and she matures by realizing that sometimes violence isn’t always the answer. Furthermore, despite Satine’s efforts toward contacting Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) for help, Satine is tragically killed by Maul, and Bo-Katan has no choice but to escort Obi-Wan to safety in the hopes that he will convince the Republic to free Mandalore from Maul’s grip.
But the conflict does not end until Bo-Katan scouts Ahsoka Tano. The two form a partnership and Ahsoka is able to bring Bo-Katan into contact with Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter). Bo-Katan pleads her case to the Jedi, hoping that they will help her liberate Mandalore. Anakin lends a portion of his 501st clone battalion and Ahsoka is the one to bring Maul to his knees. However, this all occurs as the Republic is on the brink of destruction. Although Bo-Katan knew that it would take a lot of work to restore Mandalore to its integrity, she did not anticipate the rise of an Empire. Once more, now directed with an even stronger moral compass, Bo-Katan refused to submit to the Emperor, but such a refusal saw a new wave of violence occur on Mandalore, and her people were enslaved once again by an even greater force.
Bo-Katan in ‘Star Wars Rebels’
Many years of darkness proceed, but Bo-Katan would eventually come into contact with more Jedi — Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) in Season 4 ofStar Wars Rebels.By this time, Bo has grown up, trading her impulsivity for rationalism while still honing her martial art skills. She speaks with a maturity that is reminiscent of somebody who has been through a lot. During this time, Bo-Katan also works alongside Mandalorian Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar). Sabine is in possession of the Darksaber through spontaneously finding it in Maul’s lair, but she knows that this does not give her rightful claim to it. Sabine offers it to Bo-Katan, acknowledging Bo-Katan’s lengthy and unshakable devotion to Mandalore, but Bo-Katan does not accept the Darksaber. Nevertheless, Sabine, the Jedi, and other Mandalorians aid Bo-Katan in her fight against the Mandalorian traitor, Gar Saxon (Ray Stevenson), who chose the Empire over his own people. Bo-Katan and her allies are successful in their fight against Gar and his Imperials, but there is another moment during this liberation that reveals how far Bo-Katan has come since her days with the Death Watch: Sabine is ready to kill Gar and she toys with his fate, but Bo-Katan warns Sabine that killing him will make her no better than the enemy. At the end of the arc, Sabine offers the Darksaber to Bo-Katan once more, who accepts it, and the other Mandalorian clans accept Bo as their rightful leader.
Bo-Katan in ‘The Mandalorian’
In retaliation to Bo-Katan’s defeat of Gar and his Imperial occupation of Mandalore, the Empire bombs Mandalore. Bo-Katan and her people attempt to fight back, but the overwhelming force of the Empire purged a vast majority of Mandalorian people. Among the violent chaos, Bo-Katan loses the Darksaber… but she never lost her Mandalorian beliefs and values, and by this point, she has proven herself indestructible. Going forward, Bo-Katan witnessed the fall of the Empire, but she knew that darkness was still brewing in secret pockets of the galaxy, most notably, the darkness led by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
This is where we meet her in Season 2 ofThe Mandalorian.Bo-Katan does not liberate the Darksaber from Gideon; that task falls to Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). After Gideon is captured, Bo’s small band of forces disperses, and she returns to her childhood home of Kalevala, evidently discouraged and without a purpose. However,The MandalorianSeason 3 is reigniting Bo-Katan’s ambition, as Din brings Bo-Katan to his small covert of Mandalorians who accept her as one of their own. Their leader, The Armorer (Emily Swallow), recognizes Bo-Katan’s lifetime commitment to Mandalore; she has witnessed Bo-Katan’s incredible ability to lead, and she understands that Bo-Katan is the person to reunite other Mandalorian clans. Ultimately, The Armorer may be identifying Bo-Katan as the rightful ruler of Mandalore. Whether the Darksaber will solidify that fate or not, Bo-Katan’s purpose has always been tied to Mandalore. You could argue that it has always been her right to rule beginning from when she was a mere princess of Mandalore, but after all her fighting and loss and determination and persistence, Bo-Katan deserves the title of Mandalorian ruler more than anything.
