The Mandalorian's Darksaber Follows Harry Potter Rules, Apparently
This post contains spoilers for "The Mandalorian" season 3, episode 6, "Guns for Hire."
One of the single biggest questions coming out of the second season of "The Mandalorian" was how the ownership of the Darksaber would shake out. The Darksaber itself is the blade of a Mandalorian Jedi, Tarre Vizsla, built centuries ago. Tarre Vizsla was the first Mandalorian Jedi and had a place of respect in the Mandalorian culture. When he died, the Jedi kept his blade — the unique, black-bladed Darksaber — in their temple. Later, the Mandalorians broke in and took it back.
The blade itself got passed down among the leaders of Mandalore. It was said that the leadership of Mandalore and ownership of the Darksaber had to be taken in open combat, but that tradition ended with the installation of the government of Duchess Satine Kryze. She worked to put the warrior past of Mandalore behind them.
The blade was then taken up by Pre Vizsla, the leader of Death Watch, who tried to take Mandalore back over. Unfortunately, he got in league with Lord Maul and lost his head over it. The Darksaber stayed in Maul's possession through the end of the Clone Wars and beyond, into the era of the rebellion against the Empire. Eventually, Sabine Wren was able to recover the Darksaber from him and she passed it on to Bo-Katan — without a challenge — so she could lead Mandalore.
To many who believed in the more martial ways of Mandalore, this was a mistake.
The Curse of Mandalore
When talking to Din Djarin about the curse of Mandalore in "The Book of Boba Fett", the Armorer made it clear to Din that she thought Bo-Katan had doomed Mandalore by leading with the Darksaber without winning it in combat. That was why Bo-Katan Kryze was so gung ho about winning it back from Moff Gideon. If she could take it from him in combat, she would once more be the rightful ruler of Mandalore. The look of devastation on her face when Moff Gideon revealed that Din Djarin had taken it from him in combat was enough to lead everyone to believe that Din would be her enemy from that point forward ... but that was not meant to be, either.
In the latest episode of "The Mandalorian," titled "Guns for Hire," Axe Woves, one of Bo-Katan's former followers, said that she should be challenging Din Djarin for the Darksaber, not him for his station. She countered that there had been enough bloodshed among Mandalorians, only for Din to offer her the blade. She tried refusing, saying that it had to be won in combat, but Din reminded her that he was defeated by the creature in the Mines of Mandalore and then she defeated the creature, meaning the blade really belonged to her.
She accepted the blade, and the other Mandalorians accepted this chain of title as well.
The Elder Wand
For other fans of pop culture, this might seem as though the rules for the Darksaber match those of the Elder Wand from the "Harry Potter" franchise. The "Harry Potter" series created by J.K. Rowling — who is currently spending her time and money on an evil crusade against trans folks — featured a wand that was supposedly better than all of the other wands (like the One Ring in "The Lord of the Rings"), and it could only be wielded by the wizard who had won it in a duel. As part of Albus Dumbledore's circuitous plan to defeat the dreaded Lord Voldemort, he sacrificed himself to Draco Malfoy, who became the unwitting master of the Elder Wand, even as Voldemort tried to wield it to its fullest power. When Harry Potter defeated Malfoy, the Elder Wand sensed this and switched its allegiance to Harry.
With the Elder Wand, the ownership determined your ability to wield the wand, but that doesn't seem to affect the Darksaber. Din Djarin wasn't particularly adept at wielding the Darksaber, even though he was its rightful owner. Bo-Katan had no claim to it, but had no trouble wielding it, either in "Star Wars: Rebels" or earlier in "The Mandalorian" season 3.
The magic in "Harry Potter" was real, so the rules of the Elder Wand were a lot harder to fudge. In the world of "Star Wars", however, the Mandalorian beliefs surrounding the Darksaber are rooted more in superstition than magic. But when a leader rises and is handed the Darksaber instead of winning it, and then your planet is then firebombed by the Empire, it's easier to buy into the superstition, even if you're Bo-Katan Kryze.
So, when Din explained the chain of title for the Darksaber to her, and why it was rightfully hers, the superstition was satisfied — and with grim determination, Bo-Katan wielded the blade that would once again unite her people.
"Star Wars: The Mandalorian" is streaming on Disney+. New episodes arrive on Wednesdays.