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In Disney’s The Mandalorian, the planet Mandalore, home of the Mandalorians, has been said to now be inhabitable. Did the fallen empire ruin it, or was it just all talk? Bo Katan seems to think all of this is propaganda, so no Mandalorian will try to take it back.
Now that it’s been revealed the Din Jaren is actually part of a cult named Children of the Watch, and that other Mandalorians are out there, what does it mean for his future?
In today’s video, I will go over the Death Watch’s history, explain how it’s linked to the Children of the Watch, and how Bo Katan’s arrival will change everything. Now get your helmet on, cause we’re about to go light speed.
Death Watch
Were you as thrilled as I was when a small crew of three Mandalorians just came out of nowhere to save a drowning Din Jaren and aniridine baby Yoda, or maybe I should say Grogu now? Still not used to that.
Anyways, the moment she took that helmet off, I was as shocked as our buddy Mando—but not for the same reasons. Featuring actress Katie Sakov, who voiced Bo Katan in the Rebels and The Clone Wars shows, is what I call a double threat.
As soon as that helmet came off, Bokutan did not waste a moment putting Din Jiren in his place.
“I am Bogatan and you are a child of the watch.”
The Watch visibly shook about the scandalous revelation that he was a so-called child of the watch. The Mandalorian yeeted himself out of there fast.
Now let’s rewind a little bit because I’m skipping a bit ahead of this video. Please pardon my excitement since we don’t know much about what she refers to as the Children of the Watch.
Let’s look at some of the hints the show has given us so far. We all know that Den had a traumatic childhood when the Separatists attacked his home, killed his parents, and almost killed him too.
Luckily for him, a group of blue armored Mandalorians came to the rescue before taking him with them.
This flashback does not tell us more about the Mando’s origin story, but however reveals something much more important. It might have given us a clue or two about the origins of the very mysterious Children of the Watch.
Pause during a scene for a moment when the blue Mandalorian is holding a younger Den. Did you notice the white W-shaped logo on the warrior’s shoulder pad?
Well, my young Padawans, this is the infamous Death Watch insignia.
The Death Watch was created after the Mandalorian civil war. They were branded a terrorist group by the Duchess Satin Cruise’s pacifist government, also known as the New Mandalorians.
This group had a progressive vision for the planet Mandalore’s future, and that done pissed off the Death Watch real real bad.
You see, those warriors, just like the old Mandalorians, were exiled from their home planet and sent to the moon of Concordia.
But unlike the old Mandalorians, who minded their own business, the Death Watch was out for blood. Their main goal was to go back to their old traditional warrior ways.
This right here points out directly to the tribe’s way of life. After all, this is the way, okay?
Children of the Watch
So we’re finally back at the scene with Bo Katan where she disses the Children of the Watch right off the bat.
Children of the Watch are a cult of religious zealots that work away from Mandalorian society. To be honest, Dyn kind of asked for it when he told her she was not Mandalorian for not covering her face.
This moment not only reveals that Bogatan is still alive and kicking, thank god, but it also fixes one of the biggest plot holes found in the Star Wars universe.
The jury’s out. Mandalorians do and do not take their helmets off. It’s just a matter of where they’re from and to which organization they belong.
“You do not cover your face, you are not Mandalorian.”
He’s one of them.
Bogatan, having lived on planet Mandalore, has seen all kinds of variations when it comes to Mandalore culture. She describes the Children of the Watch as a cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society.
Din Jiren has been saved by the Death Watch, but was he actually raised by them?
Remember how I briefly teased a group simply called the old Mandalorians earlier in this video? Well, I think the tribe is one of their factions or something like it.
Unlike the Death Watch, who kept an eye on the New Mandalorians during the Mandalorian civil war, the old Mandalorians were scattered across the galaxy, where they resettled trying to keep alive the ancient way, or at least their version of it.
“When one chooses to walk the way of the Mandalore, you are both hunter and prey.”
So it wouldn’t be surprising the Din was given to the Children of the Watch by the Death Watch in order to slowly re-establish an outdated version of the Mandalorians.
I’m pretty sure the Death Watch is pulling the Children of the Watch’s strings somehow, and there’s more than one of those so-called tribes across the galaxy.
Like the Armorer hinted, the whole cult seems to be based on its ancient ruler Mendlor the Great, a thing of legend. The Great’s legacy against the Jedi is kept in the Mandalorian imagery throughout ancient songs.
Since the way of the Mandalore seems to be based on ancient times, songs, and myths, there’s no limit to what the Children of the Watch could invent to keep their followers in line.
And also don’t you find their foundling system a bit sketchy?
“You haven’t shown your face to anyone since you were a kid.”
“No, I was happy that they took me in.”
According to the cult’s creed, if a Mandalorian finds an abandoned child, then the warrior has to bring them back to their group and raise them as their own.
At first sight, this idea sounds charming, but doesn’t that mean they brainwashed their adopted kids?
I mean, Den has clearly no idea whatsoever that there were other types of Mandalorians in the galaxy. All he was taught is the tribe’s way, while strictly instructed never to question it.
“So what happens if you take that thing off?”
“They come after you and kill you.”
“No, you just can’t ever put it back on again.”
It is, according to the Children of the Watch, fixed and unchangeable.
“This is the way,” they say.
Or is it?
The Night Owl’s sudden arrival in chapter 11 and the recent appearance of Jedi Ahsoka Tano in chapter 13 will for sure help cast its share of doubt in Mando’s mind.
As we already know, Den declined Bo Katan’s offer to join her, but it didn’t stop him from helping them for a one-time mission, which let’s say did not go so well.
Bo-Katan and Mandalorian Civil War
During the operation, we learned from off Gideon himself, or at least his live holographic projection, that Bogatan has been attacking more than one imperial fleet to get that cool cool looking dark saver back.
And my guts tell me that she is not about to stop.
While the mission didn’t totally go as planned, have a feeling Den will end up joining them.
“Our enemies want to separate us, but Mandalorians are stronger together.”
This, combined with the fact that Ahsoka and Bogatan have bought side by side during the Clone Wars, only makes me want to see all three of them kick some serious butt together—a Mandalorian and a Jedi.
They’ll never see it coming.
Now, the Mandalorian helmet event might have ticked Din off, but it also ignited his curiosity. Bokoten clearly knows that, and she uses it to her advantage when she invites him for a drink.
She argues that, against what he was told, planet Mandalore is actually habitable, and that she will put a new Mandalore on the throne—and by that she obviously means herself.
The Children of the Watch seem to have brainwashed their members into believing that the planet has been cursed and that anybody who sets foot on it will just die magically. Poison, maybe. Propaganda, most probably.
Things get really interesting when the red hat warrior mentions that their enemies want to separate them. To whom is she referring here? Leftovers from the Empire, or maybe the New Republic?
Now, as any Star Wars story would have it, a lot went down between the Death Watch and the New Mandalorians—fights, wars, coos, betrayals, family drama—so let me cut to the chase and point out the important stuff.
As Bokutan’s blue armor attests, she was once a thriving member of the Death Watch. That is before creating her own group of super Mandalorians she amazingly named the Night Owls.
Now, with her new birds, she quit the Death Watch when the double-bladed lightsaber wielder Darth Maul took over the organization as their leader.
If I had to stare at that creepy red face every single day, you best believe I’d have done the same thing.
After a lot of laser beam exchange, hour-long meetings, and coffee breaks, Lady Bo-Katan Crees was eventually appointed as regent of Mandalore by the Jedi Order.
But of course that didn’t last very long, as apparently she’s out to get her dark saber back from Moff Gideon.
I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to a duel between the two fighters, since neither of them doesn’t seem to go down easily, unlike some stormtroopers.
This promises for one long epic battle. Time to place your bets.
The fate of Mandalore after the Clone War seems to be known by, well, virtually nobody. Bogatan and her gang of owls surely think the floating orb is still out there—well, at least what’s left of it after countless wars.
One thing is for sure, though: one of her plans is to reunite the Mandalorians into one hell of an army to reclaim Mandalore for herself.
What do you think that army could look like? Would other Mandalorians join the fight, or just go by their everyday mercenary occupations?
Somebody’s got to feed those hungry orphans.
“How many did you eat?”
Well, let’s imagine for a moment that Din participates one way or another in this fight.
We got a few problems here. The main one arises when he will have to choose a team.
Will he join the Night Owls or stay with the Children of the Watch?
I highly doubt both organizations would unite forces since the first thinks the other is made out of a bunch of nut cases, but also since the second group is against the new Mandalorian way or everything that came into contact with it.
Something in the air tells me that we have yet another Mandalorian civil war on our hands.
Outro
I want to close today’s video by thanking all of you for all the great comments you’ve left under our video where Bo Katana has been since the Clone Wars.
Now that it’s been talked about in length, where do you think she’s heading next? Will she finally get her dark saber back?
As always, let me know in the comment section below, and may the force be with you.