#the mandalorian meta

[aroacedindjarin]

the armorer’s weapon of choice being her hammer is so so fucking cool to me. It’s such a little design choice but it means so much to me that for three whole seasons she’s hit people in the head and killed with blunt force trauma rather than using blasters or any of the common (or uncommon) weapons we see the other Mandalorians use that tend to keep things impersonal and at a distance. I know all the Mandalorians value their weapons incredibly highly but the fact that she uses her equipment from her Forge, her most familiar tools, that she uses to build and create beautiful things with feels even more special - the primary purpose of them isn’t to be a weapon.

I remember the first time I saw her fight the stormtroopers in season one, I thought she was using the hammer because it was the only thing she had on hand after all the fighting and that it was (and probably still partially is) to demonstrate the difference in her role in the clan and her resourcefulness. But the fact that after we’ve seen her fight so many times now and it’s very clear that the hammer is not just a weapon of convenience but it’s her choice and she’s so damn good with it is so COOL !!!!!! because the way she fights seems to represent what we know about her character so well. It’s brutal and takes a specific kind of mentality to do permanent damage with a melee weapon like that. But she does it efficiently, and cleanly without any flair or fuss. She always makes it look like she’s simply completing a task with every opponent she knocks down it’s the same as her precise, methodical actions creating a piece of armor in the Forge. I love her so much I think she’s such a compelling character with an incredible design

#the armorer #the mandalorian #star wars #the mandalorian meta

[sticks-and-souls]

I genuinely do not understand the dismissal of the Plaizir-15 storyline as “bad writing” when every single aspect of it was intentional absurdity designed to be comedy for us because we know we’re watching star wars.

If the too-happy jingle as bo katan lost control of her ship didn’t make you feel like you were entering a weird star wars dystopia, then Dark™ C-3PO and R2-D2 greeting them should have made you realize that it was deliberate. I commented to my partner that the Star Trek vibe was making it feel so weird well before we got to Christopher Lloyd wearing a fucking Star Trek uniform.

The fact that every single human character was an outrageous cameo was on purpose—probably to take their behavior from being interpreted as cheesy (not ideal), and into the territory of being absurdist. On top of being silly characters, (which we experience through Bo Katan’s spot-on “is this really happening”performance), there’s an extra joke for us that our main characters aren’t in on, which is that it’s freaking Jack Black and Lizzo. The director is winking at us. This is absurd!

Same thing when grogu got “knighted”. A silly, cute moment, that we once again experience through Bo’s barely held in smile. But the background music was the same music as the season 2 finale when he went to be a Jedi knight with Luke Skywalker. That was an extra joke just for us! It was hilarious!

Because our main characters experienced the ridiculousness of what was happening to them in a way that was true to their characters and there was a plausible plot reason for them to go along with it (i.e., complete quest in order to go see the other mandalorians), then it was still reasonable to transition back to the main season arc by the end of the episode.

I guess my point is that, just because it may not have been your brand of humor or you didn’t catch some of them, doesn’t make it bad storytelling or sloppy writing. It was deliberate and we still got to see our main characters work as a team in ways we haven’t seen before in a fun romp of an episode.

#I didn’t even get to talking about the inversion of two organics walking into a droid bar as a riff on ANH! #yes this would have been completely jarring/out of place in a show like andor #but the mandalorian is a completely different show from andor #and to be clear it’s andor that is the anomaly in star wars #this kind of humor is not out of place in sw #the mandalorian #the mandalorian s3 #the mandalorian meta #my meta #din djarin #christopher lloyd #lizzo #jack black #bo katan kryze #grogu #this is the meta i come to tumblr for #star trek #star wars

[fanfoolishness]

What's holding Din back?

I sat down to try and write some fic for the new season, but so far, I'm fresh out of ideas for Din... mainly because I'm unclear of what's going on in his head these days.

On the surface, he has everything he could possibly want.

Grogu is back with him! Din was clearly thrilled to have him back in their reunion in TBoBF, and his pride for Grogu shines through in all of their interactions.

He has the Darksaber! It's been liberated from a non-Mandalorian enemy, and is back safely in Mandalorian hands.

With the help of his ally Bo-Katan, he's bathed in the Living Waters of the Mines of Mandalore and been redeemed in the eyes of his people, who have accepted him back with open arms and no further questions on his transgressions. Even better, Bo-Katan has joined his covert as a skilled warrior he respects. The Armorer is treating Grogu as one of their people, and Din is even getting along with Paz Viszla.

So why do things feel off?

Paz Viszla, who has the emotional range of a brick, explains to Din (possibly his least favorite fellow Mandalorian) that the foundling they are seeking to rescue is his son. Bo-Katan calls Din Grogu's Dad in all of their conversations. Grogu is trying his best to learn to talk, and Dad is an extremely reasonable guess for one of his first words.

Din... calls himself Grogu's ward. Not his dad, his guardian, his father. Just ward, an archaic word for protection. Grogu is a foundling. Not his foundling.

Why?

And why does he struggle so badly with the Darksaber? We've only seen him use it a few times; the only time that barely approached competence was when he used it on Tatooine, but even on sacred Mandalore itself, his mind focused on redemption and the history of his people, it would not obey him. The Armorer told him the Darksaber responds to his mind and its distractions. Why would he be distracted then, on his path to achieve his goal to honor his Mandalorian culture? Will we see next week that he's suddenly super proficient with it? It's possible, but I doubt it -- otherwise, why make such a big deal of his incredible skill in other areas contrasted with his clumsiness with the Darksaber? I really hope they're going somewhere interesting with this.

...Just like I wish this meta was going somewhere. But I can't get it there because I genuinely don't know what's wrong with him. Why can't he claim Grogu as his own after everything? Is that why he struggles with the Darksaber, because he's not accepting fatherhood? Why wouldn't he? Fear, memories of trauma... what could it be?

Talk me through it, folks. Reblog with your theories or ideas and help me figure this out!

(Of course, bad or inconsistent writing could certainly be the explanation for all of this, it is Star Wars after all and we all know it ain't that deep. But for the sake of argument, let's pretend that's off the table, haha!)

#the mandalorian meta #din djarin #the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 3 spoilers #the mandalorian season 3 #the foundling spoilers #the convert spoilers #the apostate spoilers #the mines of mandalore spoilers #the mandalorian spoilers #text post #my mandalorian meta #my meta

[radiosummons]

I think Bo-Katan's possible frustration with the Armorer is actually super fucking funny.

Because the Armorer has obviously been spouting "This is the Way" at literally every member of the Covert in response to the, no doubt, endless amount of issues (personal or otherwise) they've brought to her over the years.

And all she's had to really say for the most part is "This is the Way" and everyone will just nod their heads and go "Of course! This is the Way!" Like it's the most obvious and brilliant thing that anyone could have possibly said.

(Note: Obviously, I'm simplifying things here for comedy's sake. I know the Armorer takes her role seriously and will do her best to give genuine advice. But also--she and everyone else in the Covert do be saying "This is the Way" a LOT)

Meanwhile, you got someone like Bo-Katan who has no experience with being raised by a part of the Children of the Watch and is clearly seeking out some actual advice for the whole, you know, revelation of the Mythosaur not actually being extinct and her being adopted into the Covert all because she saved Din's dumb fucking ass from drowning.

So when the Armorer responds with "This is the Way" after Bo-Katan insists she didn't have a "mystical vision" in the middle of her accidental baptism (thanks, Din), I can't help but laugh at Bo-Katan's silent confusion/frustration.

I really can't blame her, though. Bo-Katan doesn't get shit about what's going down, but she knows for a fact that the Armorer is the one in charge here. So she's obviously hoping that out of anyone, the Armorer will findly be the one to give her some actual goddamn answers.

And the Armorer has the fucking gall to just be like "This is the Way" while Bo-Katan's timidly pouring out her soul about what is essentially a religious/reality shifting/existential experience. She saw a fucking Mythosaur, my guy.

And it's just so fucking funny because it's not like the Armorer is invalidating her claim, either. Yeah, she does initially write it off as a vision, but when Bo-Katan insists that she really did fucking see a fucking Mythosaur the Armorer acknowledges what she experienced.

Granted, she did it in the most Mandalorian way possible by reciting the Covert's Creed. But she doesn't argue with Bo-Katan about what she saw. The Armorer full on acknowleges that whatever Bo-Katan saw was real (or at least, real to her) and applies value to that experience by invoking the Creed.

It's borderline Jedi Master levels of cryptic trolling and I, for one, am so fucking down for it. Especially if Bo-Katan gets to be the one on the receiving end of it all.

I'm just picturing Bo-Katan after a very long day--completely out of the few remaining shits she had left lying around--lowkey losing her cool when yet another Covert member responds to her small but very reasonable question with, once again, "This is the Way" in lieu of an answer and she just sorta snaps like:

Bo-Katan: "Yes, yes, 'This is the Way.' I fucking get it. Now, can someone give me a real fucking answer for ONCE!?"

Rest of the Covert: *tilts their heads in confusion*

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 3 #the mandalorian meta #bo katan #bo katan kryze #the armorer #this is the way #i love that the armorer is so fucking cryptic sometimes #just gold tier shit here #absolutely obsessed

[dindjarindiaries]

I think I found the key to Din Djarin's character arc in The Mandalorian season 3, and I wrote about it in an article I'm very proud of (which you can read here) - but here's an excerpt that sums it all up:

Trying to force Din's full arc into [season 3], then, would've done Djarin a true disservice. To have Din actively questioning his Way in the midst of Mandalore being reclaimed would have made him isolated from the effort, rather than an essential part of it. Instead, Din's involvement in unifying the Mandalorian tribes and shadowing Bo-Katan Kryze's leadership did more to teach him about the truth of what it means to be a Mandalorian. This is why the idea of identity was stressed so much by the creators; Din would be doing exploration in this season, not transformation. That transformation could now be arriving in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Din has witnessed Mandalorians come together regardless of their distinctive rules and traditions, which means he will likely be much more willing to forego his helmet rule in favor of nurturing or maybe even saving Grogu. If this should happen, Din would not only be able to maintain his personal identity as a true Mandalorian regardless of the rules, but it would also set him up for a very powerful moment. Should the moment arrive in the heat of a conflict when an adversary tries to use the helmet against him, Din can declare what it truly means to be a Mandalorian, something that goes far beyond the armor he dons. This would be the most satisfying way to round out Din's character journey, proving to the audience that he truly has learned who he is at his core and what he's been believing ever since he was a child. The Mandalorian & Grogu, then, is the perfect project to advance Din's character journey, and it can fix the stumbles he's taken along the way.

#this also goes for season 4 should it still exist and come out before the movie btw #din djarin #the mandalorian #star wars #the mandalorian meta #my articles

[corellianhounds]

Analyzing The Mandalorian’s Motivations — “The Heiress” Criticism

Part I / Part II

Word Count: 2k

I have several issues with how Mando is characterized in Season 2 of the show, and some of the most concise examples come from actions in “The Heiress” and “The Rescue,” which have parallels in their ending fights and character takeaways. In Season 2 it often felt like the end result the writers wanted dictated how certain plot points had to be accomplished without taking into consideration what the characters logically should have done in the situations that came up based on their prior scenes and established characterization. It didn’t feel like Mando’s reasoning, choices, or personal motivations were explored or exemplified, so his agency as a character was put to the side in favor of meeting certain plot beats (though he wasn’t the only one).

The biggest conflict of this show is the fact that being a Mandalorian makes Din susceptible to danger at every turn, which he feels is no life for a kid to be a part of, and the longer the things he holds dear are in proximity to each other (him being a devout Mandalorian vs. keeping a mostly helpless Force-sensitive child), the more he’s in danger of losing one for the sake of the other. Both are at the core of Mando’s internal conflict, which sets up the biggest question of the series: “If forced to choose, which will be more important to the Mandalorian in the end?”

That gives us an overall objective of Mando needing to give the child to somebody else so the kid will be safe and he can continue to be the kind of Mandalorian he aspires to, even if it means he and the kid will be separated as a result. That internal struggle should dictate each of his smaller choices within the individual episodes because at this point in their story he doesn’t see any other way for him to have both.

For some reason, Season 2 felt like the writers missed the obvious reason Grogu needs a Jedi teacher. Mando needs to find a Jedi to train the boy so that not only will Grogu be safe (and presumably happy) with a person who better understands him as a Force-sensitive child, but so Grogu will be able to defend himself when he is alone. It’s important to remember that the Jedi code wasn’t just a belief system and way of life, it was also a martial art.

Even if Din were to keep the child and protect him to the best of his ability, he knows his own past as a hunter and his reputation as a Mandalorian make the child a target by association (to say nothing of the Empire and whoever they send after them, though he won’t know those are still a threat until later). The child does not age at the same rate humans do, and Mando knows there’s no guarantee he’ll always be around to save him. Even if he survives to old age with the child by his side, he doesn’t know if the child will be mature or capable enough of even caring for himself, especially if he doesn’t grow to be much bigger than he is now. Grogu needs to learn self defense and strengthen his skills if he is to ever have a chance at surviving those he outlives. Din has to reckon with the fact being the best Mandalorian he could be isn’t enough to keep the child safe on his own (which is another inner conflict we don’t get to hear about from him).

We never hear Din’s perspective on his quest outside of “This is what I was told to do,” which makes him a character the story is happening to instead of him driving his own narrative. The external goal is good because it means we get to see him struggling to keep the child at arm’s length, knowing he’ll have to give him up and not wanting either of them to be hurt by that separation, but Mando needed to have that internal motivation because it ties directly back to his main objective. Yes, the Armorer tasked him with returning the child to his own kind, but it was not only because she understood the importance of him being raised with his own culture, it was because the child is virtually helpless if his strength and control over the Force is inconsistent like Din has seen.

Without that internal motivation, Mando ends up not having much choice in where the story goes, making his character in the second season weaker as a result.

So now we’ve clarified his overarching goal and given him a more driven role and perspective in the story. Everything that follows should be a result of his active ambition in achieving it, which brings me back to his choices in “The Heiress.”

This episode introduces the idea of different Mandalorians having different customs/placing importance on different aspects of the code, but has Din choose to set those thoughts regarding ritual aside in order for him to receive information now that he realizes he’s so close to getting it (showing us him prioritizing the child over himself). What we didn’t get and what we should have gotten to see was Mando more visually desperate to achieve the episode’s tasks in exchange for the connection Bo-Katan has directly to a Jedi. The internal conflict of the episode now comes down to “What is Mando willing to compromise on to achieve his goals, and how far is he willing to deviate from his own code to get it?”

The main external conflict the writers/show-runners initiate but don’t resolve is Mando’s problem with Bo-Katan not sticking to the terms of their contract. Bo-Katan changes the terms of the deal midway through the heist, having kept her real motive from him the whole time. His character has no reason in these circumstances to honor the deal that she broke first, and I think his willingness to continue with the heist in order to get the information deviates too far from another seldom-explored, nuanced character trait of Mando’s: while he does give everybody at least one chance, if they prove to be a continued threat or refuse to back down, he reacts with swift, decisive justice.

This should have been the point in the episode where her actions were the last straw; she put him in a much more dangerous position and proved by her deception that she was using him. This should have been the point he said “No.”

I made a post before talking about Gor Koresh that puts Mando’s actions into perspective, but there are plenty of examples in every episode to back up the fact Mando has a tipping point. That’s a good thing. Yes, it’s admirable how much Mando shows restraint, but there has to come a point where your characters refuse to do something because otherwise they’re just a pushover and a doormat. Characters shouldn’t have to say yes to everything, and they should be able to make decisions that result in the story becoming more difficult for them. His choice here, outside of saving his own skin so he can guarantee being able to get back to the kid he is responsible for, should be to let Bo-Katan experience the consequences of her actions. He should have refused to let her be rewarded for her deception. He doesn’t have to shoot her to prove a point, but he certainly doesn’t have to help her.

If he’s willing to let their dishonorable actions slide, what else would he be willing to let others do at the expense of himself without holding them accountable or without them receiving the consequences they deserve? What aspects of himself will he compromise? I’m not even talking about compromise in the choice to take the helmet off in “The Believer,” I’m talking about who he is as a person.

Bo-Katan changing the terms of the deal reveals to the audience that she knew he wouldn’t have agreed to do the job in the first place because otherwise she would have told him at the beginning. Hijacking the entire Empire ship is intensely riskier and poses a danger to himself and by extension the kid if he doesn’t make it back. She gets him onto the ship and only reveals her intentions midway through, thinking she’ll be able to coerce him because they’re both Mandalorians.

That should have been the moment Mando decided the cost of this job outweighed the reward because if she was willing to deceive him about this, what reason does he have to trust her at all? She could have simply lied about having any information about a Jedi to begin with, or could withhold the information once the job’s done. Season 2 has several episodes with the theme of honoring one’s word being what marks somebody as a good Mandalorian, or at least as an ally Din can trust. Cobb Vanth, the Tuskens, the Frog Lady, later Boba and Fennec all have story elements that relate to the idea of honoring one’s word.

What Mando should have logically done based on what we’ve seen of him up to this point was tell Bo-Katan “No deal. I’m done. I’ll find the information I need elsewhere.” And then we see him jump off ship.

This has two major consequences to the show’s story moving forward.

• One: Mando doesn’t receive information about the Jedi and will have to find it somewhere else, a cost he is willing to take because staying with Bo-Katan would have meant putting himself at undue risk, with the possibility of her having lied about ever having the information at all. As it stands in canon, he’s forced to allow somebody he thinks SHOULD be honorable to reap the benefits of their dishonor, and what does that say about his character’s sense of justice in the end?

• And two: Bo-Katan’s heist fails, losing her the shipment (and potentially, in her eyes, the information about Moff Gideon she could have gotten if Mando had continued to the cockpit with them to interrogate the Imperials), meaning Bo-Katan’s already established antagonism would have pushed her into open animosity, pitting her against Mando as an enemy. That makes for a much more interesting and compelling narrative conflict Mando has to overcome in the finale when he has to convince her to join him, which would heighten interpersonal tensions and have the audience truly not know whether or not Mando is going to succeed in the end.

It also sets up a stronger villain for Mando after Moff Gideon is defeated. The show already presented Bo-Katan as an antagonist, and it would have made more sense to lean into that especially with the conflict over the Darksaber coming up at the end.

When Mando goes to her in the finale to recruit her for the ambush, Bo-Katan initially refuses anyway. I don’t have reason to think she entirely cares about Mando’s kid because her actions in the heist put him at risk. He is the sole caretaker and provider for the kid, and being willing to risk his life as collateral shows she only cares about Mando insofar as he’s willing to do what she says. With that change to “The Heiress,” each of them becomes a more strongly written character and he now has to make a more compelling argument to get her in the finale. It’s still the fact he knows exactly where Moff Gideon is that wins her over.

Their interpersonal conflict comes to its Act III at the end of the finale when it’s revealed Mando won the Darksaber in combat, and to add insult to injury Mando offers it up in forfeit in front of witnesses, so now she can’t even challenge him to a duel; people will know he never wanted it in the first place, meaning they’ll assume he’d throw any fight the two of them have. It’s the perfect setup for Mando’s next primary antagonist.

#The Mandalorian #Din Djarin #Bo-Katan Kryze #The Nite Owls #the mandalorian crit #my writing #the mandalorian meta #character analysis #hounds speaks

[fulcrum-art-fox]

“Remove your helmet.” Still not over this line. I know I’m not the only one. This was the line that sent the fandom insane, because it seems to go against everything the Armourer believes in. And that’s part of why it’s so interesting: it’s a U turn they’ve spent the last three episodes building.

The Armourer knows exactly who Bo-Katan is. She was a public figure on Mandalore and in their culture even before. So when Din brings her back, and the Armourer invites her to join them, she knows exactly how weighty that welcome is. She knows that she doesn’t have the same beliefs the covert does; Bo-Katan states so openly. But the Armourer offers her welcome anyway, and Bo-Katan is in an unusually vulnerable place, and she needs the community the covert offers. So she stays. And she’s respectful. She watches them, learns about them, asks Din for advice when she’s not sure of the custom. She might not share all of their beliefs, particularly where the helmet is concerned, but she’s their guest and living in their house and she’s respectful of their ways. From deriding them as a cult, she comes to understand and deeply respect them, happy to be adopted into such a community. And the Armourer has been watching and noting that; she’s been watching her, and she’s proved herself. When she leads the hunting party to recover Ragnar, she proves herself to the Armourer as an individual. When she leads them against the pirates, she proves herself as a leader.

She’s proved she’s willing to accept and walk their way. But it’s not her way. And the Armourer knows that.

The metaphor of the forges is particularly beautiful: she describes two different forges, which both served the same purpose. They were both forges. Bo-Katan and the Armourer are two different types of Mandalorians, but they both serve the same purpose. They both care about the same things. They are both Mandalorians. This is the conclusion the Armourer has come to, that she couldn’t see before, with Din. There are a few reasons for that, ranging from the fact that Bo-Katan is coming to them as an outsider, to the elephant in the room: the Mythosaur. To the Armourer, the Mythosaurs reemergence and the fact that it was Bo-Katan, specifically, of all people, who saw it, places a certain amount of cultural and religious significance on her; a weight that hurries along a conclusion already in the making. Even if Bo-Katan doesn’t adhere strictly to the Armourer’s beliefs, that doesn’t stop her from being a Mandalorian. Her core values are the same, and that’s what matters. More than that, the Mythosaur marks change, a new age, a new beginning for a new Mandalore. The Armourer has come to the conclusion that that means it’s time to unite, and go home, after years as exiles. And she’s realised that it’s also necessary to accept that diversity into her understanding of what it means to be Mandalorian, if they are to ever unite their people, build a brighter future, and go home

Hence, the line “Remove your helmet.” She doesn’t just give Bo-Katan permission, but outright demands that she walk her own way. They need to each walk their own way. They need to accept both ways, not ascendancy of one over the other. One is not better than the other, just different: just as the two forges, whilst different, were still important, still treasured, still sacred. A lesson they have both learnt this season. She walks with Bo-Katan out among the covert - two leaders, one helmeted, the other not - to communicate that exact point: I approve of this. I encouraged this. This is her way, and we have ours, but we can still be united

#as always just my personal interpretation #wow this was a long one #the mandalorian #the mandalorian meta #bo katan kryze #the armourer #the armorer #star wars

[nightskywrites]

ok so i finally got around to the latest episode because school has been kicking my ass and the only thing i have to say is . . . what the fuck.

although this is probably my second favorite episode of season 3, some of the writing choices are blowing my mind. din giving bo-katan the dark saber EXACTLY LIKE SABINE DID IN REBELS is crazy. the literal exact same thing already happened and blew up in her face and she talked about in the end of season 2 how she can’t just take it, it’s her honor, etc etc and through a loophole she’s just . . . accepting it again?

din spent time in seasons 1 and 2 and even the beginning of season 3 learning not all droids are bad with IG-11 and R5 and even the mechanic droids in bobf but in this episodes he goes back to hating droids again with a passion. they nerfed his fighting skills this season so bo-katan could shine even tho there is no reason why him being good at fighting should impact her ridiculous storyline anyways

i’ll be honest i’m a fan of din becoming mand’alor, but i’m not mad he got rid of the darksaber when he didn’t want it in the first place. i’m upset at this season because they shelved his character development, bo-katan is the main character even tho she was a terrorist and nobody talks it about it, the dialogue is horrible in some spots, and the side quests have nothing to do with the overarching plot. the mandalorian doesn’t need to have main action in every single episode, but at least in previous seasons the side quests made sense in terms of getting info, owing favors, gathering allies, etc. now it’s just lets fight a giant pterodactyl and random pirates and THE MAIN VILLAIN OF SEASONS 1 AND 2 BREAKING OUT OF PRISON BUT NOT SHOWING IT ON SCREEN.

the last two episodes are directed by rick famuyiwa so im holding out hope but idk man

#the mandalorian #bo katan kryze #din djarin #mandalorian season 3 #the mandalorian meta #the mandalorion spoilers #mandalorian season three #mandalorianblr #grogu #baby yoda #wtf is going on man

[ragnarssons]

so i gotta say, din’s speech to bo-katan, to me, made me understand his move at the end of episode 6 and why it happened on episode 6. din didn’t believe the darksaber held any power, he still doesn’t. and while on episode 2 when she supposedly “owned it” by saving din, she hadn’t proved to din that she would want and could be capable of uniting their people and reclaim mandalore, after all of s3′s journey, she has. she’s proved to din, more than that, that on top of everything, she’s also learnt to accept “the zealots” she’s been snickering about ever since he’s met her. all the “delusionals” who believe “in children’s stories” and are composed of “non true mandalorians” (according to some like axe woves for example). she’s proved that she can be a leader and profide shelter for his people (the children of the watch) just like all the other mandalorians. that she’s protected, helped them, and that she will continue to do so later down the line, if and when she becomes the ruler of mandalore. so it’s only when din got time to know bo katan and see who she was as a person and potential leader that he saw all the qualities he’s cited in his speech, within her: loyalty, honor, duty, leadership. and that’s why it was so easy for him to trust her with the burden of carrying the symbols of leading mandalore. and that’s, again, coming from someone who doesn’t believe in these symbols: to din, he only gave her a tool to bring together people with different beliefs. to me, it tie in beautifully with episode 2 particularly, where they talked quite a lot about their own beliefs and faiths. and then it shines a light on what is actually din’s journey this season. to me, to read a full-fledged story to din on s3, we have to include his book of boba fett episodes. the writers and producers said time and time again that din’s journey on s3 is about identity. if we start “s3″ with episode 5 of tbobf, din has no identity anymore. he’s back at being the anonymous bounty hunter travelling the galaxy, AND on top of that, he’s shunned from his covert, thus, truly alone. so he seeks belonging in what had become his drive for so long, which was grogu. he circles back to grogu, after what is apparently years apart: fights his way through the galaxy to find grogu again, but there, ahsoka asks the important questions: is din doing it for himself, or for grogu? what din hadn’t imagined is that grogu was just as confused and lost as him, without him. so din leaves, finds a new purpose in what will actually be his driving force on s3 as well: fighting for what he believes in. it’s an extension of his love for grogu. din spent two seasons fighting the empire for the child he’s learnt to see as his own. for this “him and i” philosophy of protecting that only being in the galaxy that he’s allowed himself to truly love. but then he doesn’t have grogu anymore, so he extends this urge to fight, to the people he believes in. starting with boba fett and fennec shand: let’s all remember how din not only refused the bounty boba fett was offering him, but he was also willing to fight to the death when it seemed like the fight was going in this direction. but grogu comes back, and becomes yet again, din’s driving force. would have din gone to the living waters without grogu? i believe so, because he wanted to attone before grogu came back. but then coming back to the covert also becomes protection for grogu, and allowing him to live among a people. so din decides to fight for that, and if bo-katan has to be the champion to do so, he’ll follow what his creed believes. but then bo-katan reveals herself, to him, as “worthy” of his devotion and everyone’s devotion (ie, the mandalorians on mandalore, that’s why his speech uses the words “lady kryze” just like the “wandering” mandalorians did). so yeah, din’s identity isn’t one of a leader, it’s one of a fighter, of a knight - kinda like grogu on episode 6 nudge nudge, i feel like that move from the writers wasn’t just shallow fun lizzo knighting grogu, but actually mirroring grogu’s shapes of personalities to his actual role model, yknow, HIS chosen FATHER - and that’s been his identity through the whole of s3. now, the question is, how s4 is gonna challenge that, or cement it. will din be pushed towards evolution? because as he pledges himself to bo-katan, it does seem that were he to choose, he’d do that “until her song is written”, soooo fooor a looooong time. but again, as stated by a lot of people, rightfully i think in some parts, din has to become again the driving force of the story, and not bo-katan anymore. while s3 can easily justify this shift of focus, the show can’t shift that tone for the rest of its course, at least, not if the writers don’t want to drastically change the tone of their show, and disappoint a big chunk of the audience (and no, before anyone comes at me with the “but the producers said it’s not about din anymoooore”... again, no, that’s not what they said, please read more than click-baity headlines and actually read what the producers say). so somehow, the end of s3 has to bring din back on the front line, and i feel like that’s why the narrative made gideon take him in particular.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian meta #the mandalorian lb #din djarin #to me it's all falling to place like #from s1 to s3 din HAS a consistent journey no matter what people say

[srtatropicalia]

So, I've been holding onto this for a while. And I just had to let it out because I haven't really seen someone with this take yet (but if there is, PLEASE point me out to them!!). People's reaction to Din's name order reveal in that last episode baffled me a lot, because the fans didn't seems to like it all that much (and some seemed to outright hate it). But I actually LOVED IT and I think it brings out some of the themes of identity and what it means for Din in particular and for his covert in general.

Right out of the gate I will say: I don't really think that this was planned from the beginning. Yes, I think that most probably Din's name started as Din and and his surname Djarin, until someone somewhere had the idea to change it up for that last episode. Though I wouldn't put it past the producers to have had that idea from the begining, as there are some pretty involved individuals on the creative team that like to make lore that never makes it to Canon.

But, though I don't think it was planned from the beginning, I don't think that this reveal (and I will call it a reveal, because I think it was meant to be one) loses all that much by not being planned from season one. Ideas progress, and I don't doubt that they were doing it a season at a time, finding new ways to explore Din's identity when confronted with the various occurrences throughout the episodes.

Having said that, I will explain why I think it's genius. And I totally understand if people don't necessarily agree.

Din's anonymity is a big part of his character, and I always loved how the show did its best to first: actively hide his face and name; and second: when revealed, do its best to not remind us of his face and name or use it unnecessarily.

I don't really need to explain that first part, you guys saw the show. We don't know his name until almost the end of season one, and that is the same for his face. His face is only shown when we have confirmation that a sentient (if you consider a Droid a sentient, BECAUSE I DO) sees his face. That is a big step and this reveal will mark Din because this is a first step on the big list of technicalities in which he "breaks" his code. The second being when he wears the imperial soldier helmet.

Every moment he breaks his rule of anonymity, there's weight.

But the second part is the one I'm gonna focus on: the show actively tries to not remind us of his identity. Even after the reveal of the face, we don't get free scenes of him alone without his helmet. Though I will admit that the show uses his name casually a lot, I will also point out that is kinda hard to not use it when he's with other mandalorians (how to distinguish that the Armorer is speaking about him or about Paz in scenes? Etc). And I will forgive when people that are not mandalorian use his name after they learn it. (Like that scene in BOBF when Fennec just announces to a group of mercenaries his name). But the fact that people seem weirded out by Fennec announcing his name like that is proof of how they don't use it unless necessary. I even had a friend point out to me that in the subtitles (at least for S2, dont remenber for S3) they chose to use [The Mandalorian] instead of [Din Djarin] when hes talking offscreen. Even the spelling was very uncertain in the begining, you can still find posts and fanfics written with "Dyn Jarreen" or other variants.

Though his helmet and his belief in wearing it continue to be a big part of his identity and faith/creed, I think that the need for anonymity in the form of not revealing his name is eroded slowly throughout the series. He opens up more, makes friends and allies, and recognizes Grogu as family. And, progressively, his friends get to know him and use his name (or not!). This last step, of recognizing Grogu as family, is fundamental to me. Lastly, the mandalorians don't need to be anonymous for survival anymore: they can profess their culture, identity and creed under the sun, not hidden. And that's why I love it, because one last barrier that the series has given us is eroded IN the scene that Mandalore has ressurged as a unified nation and Grogu is adopted. In that scene, they reveal to us that Din's his surname and Djarin is the personal name. We get the meaning behind the words that we've been using to call him all this time, and that changes everything!! We didn't really know him because he was not in a position to be safely known. Now he is. He is ready to have his clan and it's not Clan Djarin, it's Clan Din!!

On a sidenote, I don't think that his friends knew the order. The only confirmation we have is that the Armourer knew, though maybe not long before the ceremony. So the weirdness of having Bo-katan call him by his "first name" and Cara call him by his family name is kinda part of it. He didn't open himself up until that last moment.

TLDR: The reveal of Din Djarin's personal name and family name is a last barrier that the series erodes to us, in a three season progression of slowly but surely revealing The Mandalorian's identity; progression which goes hand in hand with his character arc and the revival of Mandalore, that makes it possible for Mandalorians not to live in anonymity anymore.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #din grogu #grogu djarin #grogu #mandalore #the armorer #the book of boba fett #fennec shand #bo katan kryze #meta #the mandalorian meta #analysis #character analysis #star wars #mandalorian season 3

[autumnwoodsdreamer]

I never noticed just how unarmoured Din was in Chapter 2…

So first you have the scene when he’s made camp for the night. While he’s tending to the gash in his arm, he’s also repairing his chestplate (which serves as a neat visual cue that his heart’s guard is down).

Then of course you have the fight with the mudhorn which rips up pretty much every piece of his armour save for the helmet and the newest, pure beskar pauldron. I never realized before but on the ride back to his ship, he’s got the detritus all bundled up and he’s just holding it.

I’m not so sure I’m getting a point here, but it’s rather symbolic how his physical armour is damaged right as his walls—the cold exterior he’s constructed over the years to keep himself separate, the forced apathy and indifference, etc.—are coming down.

#just saying #first season is the comfort season #the mandalorian #din djarin #mandalorian meta #the mandalorian meta #the mandalorian season 1 #meta analysis

[sticks-and-souls]

I love the setup they’re doing for Greef Karga’s hubris this season. The extravagance he’s surrounded himself with is extremely self-important: the droids lifting the hem of his cape everywhere, the insistance (and annoyance) that his proper title includes “High” in it, the freaking bust of himself in his own office. And it also shows up in his relationships with his friends. He expresses hurt over realizing that Din is ‘just there on business’, but literally every part of their conversations up to that point focused on him applauding himself—I mean Nevarro—over the success of new developments because his business goals were to seize the opportunity to incentivize Din to stay in town.

And YET—and this is the important one, in my opinion—for all his focus on his own title, when Din corrects him on Grogu’s actual name (a person Greef has gone through extreme lengths to protect in the past), he brushes it off and moves on (“If you say so”). I have no doubt that Greef does actually view Din as a friend but, as narcissists are wont to do, he is treating Din like a version of himself (and trying to recruit him with creature comforts) rather than actually being a friend (and caring about Din and the things Din cares about). His world view has completely narrowed to his pride…

…and that usually cometh before a fall.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 3 #the mandalorion spoilers #the mandalorian s3 #greef karga #din djarin #grogu #baby yoda #nevarro #my meta #the mandalorian meta

[dotthings]

Despite the initial packaging that said "lone gunslinger and cub space western" Din's story, the story around Din, on both The Mandalorian, and his arc on Book of Boba Fett, has very much been about community. Culture. Identity. With threads and mirroring and paralleling planted that were foreshadowing towards Mandalorians united to save their planet. Again and again, the Mandoverse has illustrated how too much infighting damages a community, and how communities need each other. Which in turn fits into the larger theme of the Star Wars universe on how fascism takes power. So while Din and Grogu are the close bond this story was built around, we see again and again Din making friendships and his loyalty, even his affection and big heart, not just via Grogu. Cobb and Boba and Bo-Katan and his attachment to the Mandalorians in his covert, him saving Paz's son. Din puts on the mask of wanting to be the lone gunslinger, maybe it's part of a facade necessary to be an effective bounty hunter--be intimidating and a coolly remote badass--but his actions show how much he cares about community and his capacity for powerful bonds.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #the mandalorian meta

[daisy-mooon]

I'm just gonna say, the theories of why the Armourer told Bo to take her helmet off are getting kind of dumb. The season is supposed to be about how religious Mandalorians can coexist with atheist Mandalorians. Bo doesn't really want to follow the Creed, therefore the Armourer is literally just saying "hey that's valid". The Armourer isn't restructuring her religious beliefs, she's restructuring her attitudes to other people's religious beliefs.

#tldr its about athiest x religion solidarity #the mandalorian #the mandalorian meta #ig??? idk #bo katan #bo katan kryze #the armourer #star wars

[wantonlywindswept]

random Tribe/mando history thoughts

So you know what would be 10000 times more interesting than the Tribe being a splinter of Death Watch?

The Tribe being descended from the True Mandalorians.

(now admittedly all of my info about Mandalorian history is from wookieepedia and I could be entirely wrong about everything, so take it all with a shaker of salt etc)

Like, Woves’ disdain for Din not having any Mandalorian blood is entirely opposite of the Tribe’s ‘highest honor is saving a foundling’ thing, and DW seemed more concerned with lineages than the TM, who def at least valued foundlings (see: Jaster with Jango) enough to respect them.

And we still don’t actually know what the Creed is? Like there’s usually the assumption that it’s the Resol’nare, but that certainly doesn’t specifiy anything about keeping a helmet on all the time, and aside from foundlings being the future, I believe is the only rule actually stated in the show so far.

So what if the Tribe follows the Supercommando Codex instead/also? Being honorable and following a code of behavior seems to be a thing for them, and the helmet thing could have been added when they needed to go into hiding.

also i just have feelings about the true mandalorians okay they could have been great they would have been great they embodied mandalore as an honorable warrior culture but they were betrayed and i hate everything about it THEY DESERVED BETTER

#the mandalorian meta #the mandalorian #true mandalorians #children of the watch #also fuck axe woves in particular! #i know i was not the only one to feel FUCKING FERAL #when that bitchass opened his goddamn mouth #fuck your mandalorian blood i'll kill you you little shit #...AHEM #anyway #it would also allow for more Boba appearances/involvement #cos you know #we gotta have at least 20 cameos an ep now

[corellianhounds]

Analyzing The Mandalorian’s Fighting Styles — “The Prisoner”

Part I

Word count: 895

One thing I really liked about Mando’s retribution in “The Prisoner” episode is that it was in line with his character, and it furthers my gripes with season 2 specifically because “The Prisoner” reinforces that Mando is a hunter, and a lethally efficient one at that. Hunters lie in wait and plan their moves from afar, observing and stalking their prey as they move silently and decisively, calculating the entire time.

Mando breaks out of the cell and immediately goes for the command center, which by his ability to act efficiently there tells us he was likely making observations about the room when they were there the first time. Mando is constantly aware of his surroundings and is always thinking of the multiple possible outcomes of a situation at any given time. He knew or intuited how to re-route the crew and override security measures, blocking corridors and dropping the walls between hallways, and did so quickly while planning as he went.

In the control center we see him cut the crew off and redirect them in specific ways that will put him at an advantage: by pairing Mayfeld with Qin, he puts Mayfeld at the disadvantage, knowing he was the new guy— Qin has no reason to care about Mayfeld because there was no prior connection between the two of them. Qin’s also unarmed until he takes one of Mayfeld’s guns (further disadvantaging one of the crew), and Mando knows he’s only going to look out for himself regardless of whether X’ian is his sister or not. Qin’s the most likely to just bail on the rest and make for the first escape he can find.

Divide and conquer.

Mayfeld is a sharpshooter so by turning off all the lights and knowing the alarm lights will be flickering, he’s taken away Mayfeld’s ability to even see what he could be shooting at. Stalking Mayfeld in the dark and moving with him allows Mando to close the gap so he can overpower him at close range, which wouldn’t be a sharpshooter’s forte.

When Mando sees Burg and X’ian split up he redirects Burg to the command center because the only way he can hope to defeat him is by literally getting the high ground, which wouldn’t be found anywhere else on the ship they have access to. Burg’s the strongest so he needs to eliminate him first; if any of the others were to team up on him he could still win that fight, but Burg tips the scales too much for Mando to not get him out of the equation entirely.

The command center is the only place Mando could get the upper hand on Burg and he knows he can’t go up against the Devaronian in a contest of brute strength, so he lies in wait in the grating above, hoping he can string Burg up and cut him off with a trap. Obviously Burg is able to yank him down and Mando has to improvise from there, but even though Mando doesn’t succeed in a close quarters fight, he’s still setting up advantages for later (like by getting both of Burg’s sidearms while his hands are occupied, even if Mando wasn’t able to shoot Burg with them).

What’s interesting about X’ian is that if you notice just before their knife fight, it almost seems like X’ian realizes he’s there because she can smell him. What makes his fight with her a challenge is that we can tell shes’s also a hunter, and she’s deadly from afar— Even for as many knives as she throws that he’s able to deflect, one of them still lands in his shoulder. They may have equal skill with blades, but the key for him here is that if he keeps moving forward he knows if he can close the gap between them where he’ll have the advantage of bulk muscle and physical strength. It’s also better to get her to expend her arsenal now so she doesn’t have anything left when he has to remain in close proximity as he drags her back to the cell.

All of these skills demonstrate his powers of observation and ability to predict what his enemies will do next. Mando planting the distress beacon on Qin was him knowing the New Republic would show up at the chop shop. He anticipates Ran’s betrayal, he knows Qin would have no idea what the beacon was (thereby preventing him from acting on its presence and implications the second he saw it), and he knows what the New Republic will do, thereby clearing his escape of any pursuers

One of the first teachings of fight choreography is that a fight happens when words stop being effective, and that any fight within a narrative is a story in itself. Fights are character-driven and the results should further reinforce those characters, and/or change the story for the characters involved in a significant way. Every action in this episode reinforces the idea that Mando thinks ahead, thinks on his feet, and does his best fighting when he’s able to be a hunter. He’s just as smart, stealthy, and capable in the more subtle aspects of his craft as he is in an all out fight, and I wish they’d kept that characterization beyond the first season because it’s integral to how this guy operates within this world.

#The Mandalorian meta #The Mandalorian #Din Djarin #X’ian #Migs Mayfeld #Burg #Qin #Ranzar Malk #hounds speaks #character analysis #my writing