#Bo-Katan critical

[kanansdume]

I feel like hitting on the glassing of Mandalore COULD'VE BEEN a good thing to utilize for Sabine's arc because not only is it relevant to her, it allows for a story that finally focuses on that event a little bit more.

But the way to do that would've been to focus on BO-KATAN. Let Sabine feel guilty for having chosen the woman who ultimately failed Mandalore. Bo-Katan didn't even WANT the Darksaber initially, but Sabine was so desperate to be rid of the damn thing and help Ezra save Lothal that she chose the first vaguely worthwhile person she found to shove it onto. And that person thought it was smart to negotiate with a Grand Moff and trust he'd keep his word. And now not only is her family dead and planet glassed, but her people are scattered and the Darksaber itself is gone.

Maybe Sabine wonders if she should've chosen better, if she should've waited longer before handing off the Darksaber. She could've taken it WITH HER when going to Lothal, it's not like her people had missed it much the last several decades that it lay in Maul's cave. It's not like Bo-Katan wasn't happy enough doing her own thing as a "freedom fighter" anyway. She could've waited, and maybe gone back to Mandalore after Lothal was freed and found someone better. Maybe it's at least partly HER fault that her family is gone and her planet destroyed because she left it in the hands of someone incompetent. She chose Ezra and her loyalty to him over Mandalore, and look what it resulted in.

There's SO MANY ways to take that storyline. SO many.

Sabine never belonged in a Jedi-centric story. Her story isn't about that and never has been. She's a Mandalorian and she belonged in a story about reclaiming Mandalore and uniting its people. It is a sham and an insult that she landed in the Ahsoka show as a false Jedi instead of in The Mandalorian as the "Chosen One" of her people, the lost True Owner of the Darksaber.

#star wars #sabine wren #ahsoka show #bo-katan kryze critical #bo-katan critical #ahsoka spoilers #the mandalorian

[antianakin]

MY STANCES ON CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTERS ARE AS FOLLOWS

Anakin Skywalker: This one's fairly obvious, but I'm one of the people who doesn't see Anakin as redeemed by the end of ROTJ just because he saved one person he personally gives a damn about. My definition of redemption is about atoning and making amends, and Anakin has no possible way of actually DOING THAT for most of the things he's done, so there's no real way of acquiring redemption. He can be a better person, he can be forgiven by individual people for things he's done to them, he can keep choosing to be selfless instead of selfish, but none of that necessarily means he has to be considered redeemed. If you think he's redeemed at the end of ROTJ and that's what brings you joy in your interpretation of the story, great, I honestly don't care. But if you choose to come into my notes and get mad at me because I don't think the space fascist is redeemed just because he decides to save his own son, you will now be blocked on sight, I'm done having that conversation with people.

The Jedi As A Whole: Wonderful people with a beautiful culture that never did a single thing to deserve what was done to them. They were not corrupt, they didn't need to reform their culture in a single way. There was nothing more they could've done for Anakin or the Republic that would've stopped what happened. They don't steal children, they adopt them from parents who choose to let their children lead a better life, and become part of the large extended Jedi family. They are intergalactic therapists whose literal way of life IS therapy for those who choose to follow it. They were outplayed, but they did everything they could've possibly done. Sometimes, it is possible to commit no mistakes, and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life. (Side note here: This is an incredibly pro Jedi blog, if you come on my blog and criticize the Jedi in any way, you will be immediately blocked, I am so done with this fandom's anti-Jedi sentiments, consider this your warning.)

Padme Amidala: Deserved better from the Prequels, has such potential and promise and I want so dearly to save her from her toxic ass marriage to a fascist MAGA manchild, but damn am I glad Luke and Leia didn't have to grow up with her as a mother some days.

Bo-Katan Kryze: I wish I could like her, but the writers are making it SO HARD. They don't seem to ever remember that she gleefully set an entire village on fire because they dared ask for their enslaved people back and to not be occupied anymore, but I do.

Satine Kryze: I wish I could like her, but I don't have enough nostalgia for her to overlook how bad the writing is for her. She treats Obi-Wan like garbage, brings out the worst in him, acts very arrogantly about just about everything and never has to take responsibility for her own mistakes so she gets to die a martyr.

Aleksander Kallus: Literally has to have his ENTIRE BACKSTORY retconned so he can be "redeemed" within the span of one episode. Also manages to "All Lives Matter" Zeb into thinking that judging Imperials for their fascist choices is the same as judging an ENTIRE SPECIES on the actions of one individual who was acting in self-defense anyway. Stop saying he's got the best redemption arc in Star Wars, it sucks fucking ass and he's not a fucking Fulcrum, he just stole the title from Ahsoka and didn't earn it and he was a shit spy anyway.

Crosshair: Bigoted dickhead who treats everyone like complete crap and then goes full fascist as a punishment for the world when no one wants to risk their lives to save him. Let him die already, he's not worth saving.

Bode Akuna: Basically just Anakin lite and we all know how I feel about Anakin. No sob story justifies anything he's done and I didn't find him all that interesting or sympathetic, personally.

Rafa and Trace Martez: I actually loved them, I thought they had an interesting relationship with each other and with Ahsoka, I appreciated how different they felt and the arc Ahsoka goes on with them. I don't mind that they used them to showcase the rising anti-Jedi sentiment among the citizens of Coruscant, I just wish their opinions hadn't been presented as though they were right. I love that we see they've joined a rebellion of sorts post-Order 66 and I wish we'd gotten to see more of Trace, Rafa, and Rex working together rather than the absolute trashfire that we're actually getting on TBB.

Ahsoka Tano: Relationship status: It's complicated. I DO like her, generally, but I REALLY dislike the way she's constantly written in later stuff to be better than everyone else and to have basically zero flaws so that she can end up like a messiah or a goddess of light reborn or something. It's boring, it's annoying, and it just isn't any good. I particularly don't care for how she consistently gets utilized to bash the Jedi Order and absolve Anakin for all of his sins. Ahsoka deserves better, but I'm also immensely frustrated with where her story's taken her and the way fandom tends to treat her. We also just straight-up need more main female Jedi characters and as long as Ahsoka's around it feels like it'll never happen.

Sabine Wren: I love the Rebels version of her, but the Ahsoka show version sucks. I have decided it simply does not exist for Sabine. That isn't the real Sabine and it never will be. That's not Sabine's story, the real Sabine would never try to be a Jedi because quite simply she doesn't NEED to be. And the real Sabine would NEVER disrespect Ezra's sacrifice by undoing it and then leaving him to deal with the fallout. It's stupid, it's ugly, and Sabine deserved better.

Hera Syndulla: Much like Sabine, I love the Rebels version of her, but the Ahsoka version sucks. The Ahsoka version deserves to be kicked out of the army or whatever, she's a terrible mother and an even worse General and quite honestly not that great of a friend. The real Hera would NEVER act like orders didn't matter just because she doesn't like them or refuse to see the logic in letting go of Ezra after he's been missing for 10 years so that those resources can go to people who they can confirm are still alive.

Shin Hati: She's so so so boring. She has the personality of cardboard, it basically consists of "crazy eyes" and that's about it. She is pretty literally just Darth Maul but a girl. Like every single part of her character so far is indistinguishable from Maul aside from the cosmetic stuff. I hope she dies in season 2 and never gets a redemption arc. I'd say Sabine deserves better, but honestly Ahsoka!Sabine deserves her.

Grey Jedi: Stop trying to make fetch happen. It's not going to happen. Let Grey Jedi stay in fanon where it belongs, none of your faves are Grey Jedi in canon and they never will be.

#anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #padme critical #padme amidala critical #anti padme #anti padme amidala #satine critical #satine kryze critical #anti satine #anti satine kryze #obitine critical #anti obitine #anti anidala #anidala critical #bo-katan kryze critical #bo-katan critical #anti bo-katan #anti bo-katan kryze #crosshair critical #anti crosshair #anti shin #anti shin hati

[nateofgreat]

You know it’s kind of funny, Dave Filoni is credited (rightfully so) for essentially creating a sandbox for everyone to play in via the Clone Wars. He gave a lot of the Jedi screen time, gave the Clones personality and culture, and made so many minor characters from so many different backgrounds. Even if his stories weren’t all great I always admired that.

Except with the Mandalorian’s.

In contrast, Dave’s narrowed their entire story (ranging from the prequels, to the original trilogy, to now after the original trilogy) down to a single character: Bo-Katan Kryze. Every era of the Mandalorian’s (in the main timeline at least) is now solely defined by her becoming the leader and than losing leadership over and over again.

Prequels: Bo-Katan’s introduced as a terrorist but is revealed to be a secret princess who later gets the throne.

OT: Bo-Katan’s fighting with Mandalorian rebels to regain the throne she lost.

Sequels: Bo-Katan’s again reclaiming the throne she lost for a second time.

There’s no sandbox to play in here because Dave’s made the whole thing about his OC. In fact, he seems to actively fight against any efforts to expand the Mandalorian’s story. Even going as far as to hijack the Mandalorian S3 to put Bo-Katan right back on the throne the second her rule is challenged by another character.

#star war #dave filoni #Bo-Katan Kryze #Bo-Katan #Anti Bo-Katan #anti Bo-Katan kryze #Bo-Katan critical #Dave Filoni critical #The Mandalorians #Mandalore #star wars

[ravenalla]

I was trying not to anger people but I’ll say it. I’m a Din x Bo hater, I hate everything about it and if it becomes canon I’ll actually scream. It’s not just a matter of it not being my ship, it’s that they’ve laughably handled BOTH characters to make Din this blank slate so they could have room to focus on her and they made her a perfect uninteresting royal girlboss archtype who’s only problem was making a deal to save her people and not addressing the fact that she was a terrorist and a horrible person to both Din and Boba, which is what would have made her an interesting antagonist and maybe eventual ally. I don’t care what I ship, I’d never want characters to be this badly mischaracterized just to make it happen. Feel free to block me if it upsets you but if DinBo happens it’s shit writing imo 🤷‍♀️

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 3 #the mandalorian spoilers #din djarin #bo katan kryze #mando critical

[short-wooloo]

Pedro Pascal isn't actually playing the character in person, Greef Karga's actor died, season 2's beautiful ending was made pointless, Gina carano got herself fired, the main villain was killed off, the darksaber plot amounted to nothing and it's increasingly obvious that fauvroni have no idea what to do with the show/plot/characters going forward

And they want to make a movie

#im starting to see why they made bo katan the main character #at least there's something to work off of there #wooloo-writes #wooloo writes #star wars #sw #the mandalorian #the mandalorian critical #the mandalorian and grogu #the mandalorian and grogu movie #should have just ended it at season 2 #greef karga #din djarin #grogu #moff gideon #darksaber #anti dave filoni #dave filoni critical #jon favreau critical #anti jon favreau #pedro pascal #anti mandoverse

[inquisitor-apologist]

I really wish I could like Bo-Katan. She’s actually a really interesting character in Clone Wars, and I think she had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, she fell victim to Dave Felony’s Special Little Girlboss disease, and all the actually interesting things about her character were swept away in order to make her Coolest Badass Mand’alor Ever, destroying the arcs of several other characters and plunging her into mediocrity. And I can’t like characters like that. Special Author Faves are the bane if my existence, and I just can’t enjoy Bo-Katan.

This post doesn’t really have a point I’m just frustrated with her and Felony in general. Girl deserved better than Dave’s bullshit.

#star wars #anti bkk #anti bo katan #bo katan critical #the mandalorian #the clone wars #star wars rebels

[padawansuggest]

Ahsoka: *visiting Tatooine cause she was gonna be out this way, mostly with messages from other clones for Boba tho*

Bo-Katan: *dragging Din into the throne room* You gotta make him stop this shit, Fett! He walked off with another stranger!

Din: He seemed trustworthy! Grogu has the force and seemed to like him!

Bo-Katan: *stops upon seeing Ahsoka* You! Translate what this moldy cat is so excitedly chattering our ears off about so I can prove my point!

Din: Grogu seemed to think he was fine!

Ahsoka: *deep sigh, sits down across from Grogu, she’d been planning to check in on him anyways* Alright, lil man, what did you think of the stranger?

Grogu: Patu!

Ahsoka: :|

Grogu: Patu!

Ahsoka: :/

Grogu: Patu!

Ahsoka: :(

Grogu: Patu!

Ahsoka: …what the fuck, Grogu?

Din: Hey, don’t cuss at him! *picks up baby for cuddles*

Bo-Katan: *head in hands* What’d he says, Tano?

Ahsoka: He said the guy looked willing to share his cookies.

Boba and Fennec: *bursts out laughing*

Ahsoka: I have the feeling that’s something you want to get him therapy before. I have the most messed up feeling that specific idea caused him to captor-wander in the past.

Din: *holds Grogu up* Grogu, I know I said no cookies before lunch, but you gotta weigh the options here, buddy. Just because they’ll share, doesn’t mean Buir won’t feed you.

Grogu: *ears down in guilt* patu.

Ahsoka: Well, at least the decision of daddy vs unhealthy food isn’t actually strong enough to make him escape. Maybe try reminding him what’s for lunch, instead of the focus of no cookies.

Din: That’s right! We could have gone to your favorite restaurant. The one where they let you choose your own frog.

Grogu: Patu!

#star wars #incorrect star wars quotes #the mandalorian #Grogu #bo katan kryze #ahsoka tano #din djarin #Grogu used to wander from uncaring captors if they didn’t feed him enough so tbh it’s a survival instinct they need to curb #Din is stupid and assumed his toddler would use critical thinking to figure out if they’re good or not #mandalor elopement

[lieutenant-teach]

Wandering around the galaxy, ex-Commander Cody and little Din Djarin meet an unexpected adversary, and Cody learns about a new burden he acquired unknowingly. 2/3 part (1 part), (part 3).

Cody enjoyed the planet Trask - being away from the Core Worlds, it remained unscathed by the Clone Wars; being small, not densely populated and lacking valuable resources, it wasn’t occupied by the Empire that aimed at most important and valuable planets and systems. No matter how much Cody disliked the Outer Rim for its mostly criminal population and their shady occupations, now he was glad to catch some breath in there.

Especially while he had a kid on his hands.

Din turned out to be a not very problematic child, though quite different from the cadets on Kamino. Not physically trained, which is a huge minus when you’re on the run. But, like a cadet, he didn’t complain about lack of comfort and stability in such life, though Cody tried his best to provide him with food better than rations. Regrettably, it required more sallies on the surfaces of various planets, thus it was more dangerous for both of them. Cody shuddered from a mere thought what the Empire would do if they were caught.

Apart from physical comfort, Cody attempted to give at least a little bit of emotional comfort to the kid. At times Din woke up crying, and Cody held him until the boy fell asleep again, exhausting himself from tears. At these moments Cody felt like breaking apart a bit every time, pressing Din to the chest, listening to his occasional whimpering in his sleep. The kid deserved a normal life, not all of this disaster happening to the Galaxy.

He felt both proud at a little brave cadet and bitter at a child forced to grow up too quickly when Din asked to teach him shooting.

They’d spent several days in the town in some kind of a ratty tavern, avoiding unnecessary questions and suspicions, as they easily passed for a father and a son due to similar complexion and hair and eye colour. Cody worried that he would be recognized for his distinct face, but not yet – the locals had never acquainted a Jango Fett clone before, and all the Republican propaganda portrayed troopers only in full armour, a very clever way to erase personalities. Though he continued to pull down the hood when walking the streets – just in case.

When one day they met someone from Cody’s past. Or, more precisely, from Kenobi’s past.

Cody felt someone was watching them. So did Din – the boy was glancing around nervously and squeezing Cody’s hand tighter. Cody lowered another hand near the blaster; if the follower was daring enough, they’d shoot right in the centre of the market brimming with unsuspecting citizens. And then he recognized a face in the crowd, watching him like a hawk. He raised an eyebrow, the person nodded to the street corner nearby, inviting for a talk.

– Where did you take the kid? – she attacked him with a low voice as soon as they turned the angle. Din hid behind Cody at the harshness.

– Hello there, Duchess Kryze, - Cody answered curtly. – I deserted.

– And still wearing their armour? – her hand was hovering over her own blaster, her posture tense as a nexu ready to strike.

– Better something than nothing, - he shrugged. – Why are you here? – He thought with regret that they’d have to leave the planet – if he met Bo-Katan Kryze, an heiress of Mandalore, who knows who else might hang around there.

– Why should I believe you? – she gripped her blaster, ignoring his query. – Who’s to say you don’t want to… - her eyes widened, she even took a step back. – How did you get it?!

– What? – Cody was taken aback, then he moved his free hand that wasn’t covering Din to the hilt of a saber on his belt.

– The Darksaber. How did you get it? – she hissed, her face twisting with anger.

Losing the blaster while fighting off the pirates intending to ransack your ship and sell the kid you take care of into slavery wasn’t fortunate. There were just too many for one man, as tough as Cody was – if not for Din’s shout ‘Cody! There!’ and him throwing something he dug seconds before from the mud. First Cody thought it was some dagger, but when the air hissed and enlightened with a brilliant black blade shining white on the razor-sharp edges and producing threatening buzz – he realized it was something different. Lucky him, he still remembered several lightsaber-wielding lessons General Kenobi gave him back during the war.

The saber was heavier than the General’s, almost non-cooperative, his first swings were clumsy and messy. But Cody knew he had to protect the kid, and with each movement the blade became lighter and lighter.

Still, Cody preferred non-Jedi weapons. So after fighting he disengaged it and clipped to a familiar spot on his belt – again, just in case of an attack. There weren’t many helpful blades conveniently lying around and waiting to be picked up during a skirmish, after all.

– Found it, - he shrugged again, playing nonchalant, mentally working out the ways of retreating.

Bo-Katan squeezed the fists, she was burning with barely controlled rage, though Cody couldn’t understand the reason. He remembered vaguely it was some Mandalorian weapon of historical significance – maybe, that was why she was so unhappy? She wanted a part of her culture back.

– You have no claim to this sword! – Bo-Katan raised her voice, then caught herself at a possibility of attracting unwanted attention of the passers-by and continued a bit softer: - This is a Mandalorian weapon, not designed for such like you! You have no right to wield it!

– I don’t have any ‘claim’, and you’re scaring the kid, - Cody intoned his ‘commander’ voice that some especially impressionable troopers called ‘regal’. Din mumbled ‘I’m not scared’ from behind his back and stepped a bit forward as if ready to confront Bo-Katan by himself. She threw a dirty look at the boy and turned her attention to Cody again, looking at him with thinned lips and narrowed eyes.

– According to an old Mandalorian tradition, whoever wields the Darksaber has the claim to the Mandalorian throne. But only in case of an honest fight.

– Duchess, I never intended to get involved in Mandalorian politics, - Cody felt an unpleasant feeling that despite his wishes he was getting tangled into something quite unsavory. – You can take the saber and overthrow your Governor Saxon or whatever, I’m not a part of it. – He knew this woman wasn’t sharing the peaceful policy of her sister, but frankly (and quite meanly) Cody didn’t give a flying kark about Mandalore. He knew these people had always had civil wars now and then ignited by their biggest ruling clans, and it couldn’t be worse than the Imperial occupation now. He even felt pity for Mandalorian citizens if all they wanted was to live in peace. Although, New Mandalorians were a very fresh change as per info he read, but the peace historically never lasted long on Mandalore.

But also there was one thing that turned almost all the clone troopers off while mentioning Mandalorians.

– I cannot just ‘take it’, - Bo-Katan spat and raised her chin proudly. – A true Mand’Alor must win it in a battle. Fairly speaking, I even feel insulted challenging such a disgrace to a Mandalorian. Dar’manda.

– Disgrace? – For one small second Cody’s stomach fell of rising fury born out of utter hypocrisy of this woman who had her opinions shared by all her compatriots. He didn’t even notice Din flinching as his voice dropped so low it was freezing cold as Hoth. – Did I ask to be created like this? Did any of us have any say in it? You dare to call me ‘soulless’ – where were you? – He stepped forward almost menacingly. – Where were you all, when millions of Mandalorian clones were being created and used in a war and discarded when ‘defective’, used as chipped puppets to kill the Jedi, who actually cared about us? So noble, so proud, so honorable Mandalorians – did you care about us? We, born Mandalorian, were never ever considered by all of you even as sentients, much less a part of you. We protected you – and you call me ‘disgrace’? Just because we were unfortunate enough to have some Mandalorian as our donor?

Bo-Katan clearly never expected such harshness and such words, moreover, it never ever crossed her mind – she even backed a bit, looking at Cody with surprise.

– You say this sword makes me your king? – Cody grabbed it from his belt and squeezed in his hand. – Who would even want to be your king? A people, who cannot live peacefully even on their own planet! Tearing themselves apart time and time again because of what – difference in traditions? At least we had a community – we, ‘disgraces’, as you love to call us.

Bo-Katan blinked, as if really seeing Cody for the first time. Cody exhaled sharply, only now realizing he was shaking with helpless rage – of unfairness, of disgust, of all this pain never noticed by the Republic. He steadied himself, composing his expression again. Glanced at Din, who was looking at him with a weird mixture of compassion, fear and determination. 

– Take the sword, Lady Kryze, - Cody held out the hilt. – I reclaim my responsibilities that I obtained unknowingly.

– I cannot, - she didn’t hold out her own hand. – Challenge is obligatory.

– Then let the Empire and its minions continue ruining your people. Whatever, Duchess, - he threw the Darksaber into the mud to her feet. – I’ve said my piece.

#star wars #din djarin #commander cody #fanfiction #my fic #fanfic #cody and din #bo katan kryze #mandalorian culture #mandalorians critical #anti mandoclones #clones #clone troopers

[nothing-at-the-moment]

*watching din sleep* Bo: I just love him so much. He's my everyth- *din snores* Bo: I can't live like this

#din djarin #grogu #the mandalorian #dinbo #bodin #bo katan x din #din x bo #bo katan kryze #clan of three #clan of two #clan mythosaur #clan mudhorn #clan kryze #source: destiel post #din snoring is canon #no i don't accept criticism

[kanansdume]

Well, one up side to the Ahsoka show butchering poor Sabine is that it makes Bo-Katan look like a LOT less of a bad choice of leader for Mandalore in comparison now. Not GOOD still, but... not quite as bad as she used to.

#star wars #ahsoka show #ahsoka series #ahsoka 2023 #sw ahsoka #star wars ahsoka #ahsoka spoilers #sabine critical #sabine wren critical #bo-katan critical #bo-katan kryze critical

[antianakin]

"Just let Bo-Katan be a hypocrite and a murderer in peace if you don't like her character"

I WISH I COULD BUT THEY KEEP BRINGING HER ASS BACK IN THINGS AND INSISTING SHE'S REDEEMED AT ME WITHOUT DOING THE WORK TO MAKE HER REDEEMED, THAT'S HARDLY MY FAULT

#anti bo-katan #anti bo-katan kryze #bo-katan krzye critical #bo-katan critical #literally if they just stopped bringing her back this wouldn't be an issue #tell FILONI to leave her hypocritical murdering ass in peace not me #i'm not the one who keeps reanimating that dead horse's corpse

[nateofgreat]

Somebody else pointed this out, but I don't understand why they brought back Bo-Katan in the Mandalorian instead of having it be her daughter instead.

If they stuck with her being close to Satine's age she could've had a daughter already by the time the Clone Wars ended (say ten or fifteen years old) and then, thirty years later, she'd be around the same age Bo's depicted as now.

If they'd done that a lot about the character would've been more forgivable. Why doesn't she mention her past as a terrorist? Because she wasn't one. Why doesn't she mention Satine? She wasn't that close to her. Why doesn't she feel a connection to Mandalorian culture? She grew up jaded by it because her mother destroyed the planet trying to bring it back.

Replace references to Bo's father with "grandfather," and you've got the same character without the baggage.

#Star Wars #Star Wars salt #the Mandalorian critical #Bo-Katan critical #anti Bo-Katan Kryze #anti Bo-Katan

[ravenalla]

Okay I swear this will be my last rant post before the next episode airs but I have to get it off my chest cause I keep seeing the argument made that people disappointed Din gave the darksaber away are forgetting the lack of plot in the previous seasons, which I very heavily disagree.

I can’t speak for everyone, but at least for me when I’m saying I’m disappointed Din did not become Manda’lor I am not saying I hated the adventure of the week side quest format they had. That’s what I liked best about the show! It was great in season 1 feeling like Din was just the random guy off on his own adventure with this baby he found, I would have loved for it to have kept that small space western feel. Season 3 becoming this big interconnected universe with a corrupted New Republic plot connecting to the sequels is what I was most worried about just because I personally don’t like that direction. The more they’ve tried to go the Andor route and make this show about the Galatic politics, the worst it’s become imo (we literally have two white dudes writing a plot point about droids liking being underclass and serving the soft democratic people that is ruled with the help of a former Nazi, but ohh it’s okay it’s Jack Black and he’s funny and the Space Nazi and the Space Nazi doctor are really sorry for what they did, look the New Republic is just as bad as the fascist imperials 🥺🥺)

What some people are not getting is that the darksaber is ALL. DIN. HAD. LEFT. There was no driving force or goal for him after episode 2, they reunited him with his child in a spin-off show, they have him redeem himself fairly easily without any emotional impact, and now they took away the opportunity to do one last interesting thing with him. Din does not have his own actions or thoughts throughout most of the season, and when he does it’s just retracing the character development they already gave him in previous seasons (i.e. the whole droid fiasco). He’s a plot device, meant to further Bo-Katan’s character and help her with her goals or have him in danger so she can save him. It was okay if Din did not become Manda’lor, but they can’t just make him having the darksaber out to be a huge deal, show him trying to learn how to train with it, and give it up so stupidly through a loophole just so Bo-Katan can lead again when she has done nothing to actually earn it or apologize for the way she disrespected Din’s entire culture again and again. She was a terrorist who has done a 180 into suddenly being an honorable character just because of a few action scenes, no introspection or interesting conflict between her and the covert about their differences, nothing about her actually thinking about her past mistakes, just the covert being there to look like dumbasses who settled on a dangerous planet where their children get eaten so Bo can lead missions, look a million times more competent in comparison, and suddenly be the one who deserves to lead.

There doesn’t have to be a big plot each episode, but it’s not being executed well like it was in the first two seasons. The goal was getting Grogu to a Jedi, and we were given the interesting side adventures on that journey. Din needs to find somewhere he can lay low, he goes to Sorgan and becomes tempted by a domestic life. Din needs credits, he takes a job with some old acquaintances and sees what kind of slimy person he could have been. Din needs to find other mandos to help him find a Jedi, he runs into a small town desperate for help with a Krayt Dragon and showcases his pride in being a Mandalorian but his respect for other cultures and his willingness to do the right thing. He travels to a planet ruled by an former Imperialist because the Jedi he was searching for was there and helps her to save a town both for their sake and his need to give his son the best life he can have. See the pattern? They were side adventures, but they weren’t a random hodgepodge of ideas, they fit the story and the tone, giving us interesting side characters and helping to develop our main characters. Din showed his leadership, his growing kindness, his frustrations, his annoyances, his fears, Grogu becomes more adventurous, vocal, and attached to who he’s starting to see as a father figure. They both aren’t talkative characters, but they had feelings and personalities we saw. They had moments between them that wasn’t just exposition for the plot or a push towards an action scene, it showed their lives and values, their relationships. Little moments like Din being happy to hear Grogu’s name, Cobb sharing his story and why he valued the armor, Omera talking with Din about his life and wondering if he could stay, Frog Lady wanting to get her eggs safely to her husband and Din comedically trying to make that happen. The story was driven by these characters decisions and their personalities.

Season 3, on the other hand, has taken away all the life of these side adventures in its goal to tie in a larger Star Wars narrative that connects to other shows. They are not character driven anymore, and instead the characters are being twisted and molded to do and say stuff that’ll get us from point A to point B instead of the other way around. The point of Din breaking his creed is not to see what that would mean for his identity or how he wants to live with Grogu by his side, the point is to take him to Mandalore so that he can ultimately get trapped and fall down a hole so Bo-Katan can see the Mythosaur. The point of Bo-Katan’s crew leaving her and her staying in a random castle for no reason doing nothing all day isn’t for her to recognize her past failings or show us what their relationship was like and what it meant to her, it’s to have an easy offscreen explanation so that she can come to the covert without anything challenging in the way. The point of Din’s coverts staying on a monster-infested planet where Paz’s son is kidnapped isn’t because it makes sense they’d be there or that Paz suddenly even has a son we’ve never seen before, it’s so they can put in CGI monsters they thought were cool and have Bo save the day so they can have a flimsy reason she does need to be leader again. The point of spending time with the covert and having random pirates attacking Nevarro wasn’t to develop the other mandalorians as actual characters, it was to have them accept Bo easily so that she can “walk both worlds” and give Carl Weather’s character more screentime. And so much more.

Things are happening, but it doesn’t matter whether they make sense or fit the characters anymore, because all the side quest are focused on is bending over backwards trying to make you believe this Bo deserves the darksaber narrative. Before that it wasn’t like the Covert was planning to take back Mandalore, Din wasn’t planning to take back Mandalore, Bo didn’t tell anybody what she saw so there was no real stakes for anybody. Nobody in the main plot has had any purpose as more than side characters besides her. Din may have been the main character, but the people he met on his journey didn’t just do stuff to contribute to his own character or finding a Jedi. Omera had her own goals, Cobb had his own goals, Fennec had her own goals, Boba had his own goals, and they all still worked well with the narrative without diminishing each other, Din developed on the way by learning from the other characters and them him. What the fuck does Din want this season? Paz? The Armorer? The answer is whatever will make it easiest for the plot to retake Mandalore and have Bo be the Manda’lor for these writers, despite it being shown previously they have no reason to care or like Bo-Katan.

Like, some character moments are there. Bo is changing. I’m not saying that’s not happening at all. But it’s being done in a way that is sabotaging every other aspect of the show to force this plot that they wanted, the sidequest are feeling duller because they aren’t for these characters to have fun adventures we get emotionally invested in that simultaneously furthers the actual main characters goal, it’s let’s just have a CGI dragon, let’s have Lizzo and Jack Black guest star, let’s have Zeb from Rebels be in there for no reason. Unless again you count Bo as the main character, but like honestly she’s not even having natural character development. She went from being an antagonistic ex-terrorist to suddenly being kind and charitable with hardly any buildup or insight into her feelings. It doesn’t feel organic. I know she lost everything, but they still made it seem like she blamed Din for it only to have her rescue him once and completely abandon that hostility. The best we really have gotten is Grogu remembering his past while with the armorer and setting up his future as a Mandalorian, but even that feels cheapened when the armor he was given isn’t even talked about with the person who he shares the symbol with him that signifies their relationship, making me think it’s just another merchandise decision.

We wanted Din to learn to rule because, even if we did have to say goodbye to the adventure of the week type format, it would have been in service of his character evolving into something he doesn’t think he deserves or is good at. It would have been the next step in his journey, accumulating everything he has learned, the growth he went through using both diplomacy and his skills as a fighter time and time again. Instead, they chose to really quickly ditch any of the conflicts he had so they could have him free to do this instead. If they had waited one more season, this could have possibly been done well imo. Din’s arcs could have been brought to a meaningful and satisfying conclusion, and then you could have made him and Bo-Katan become co-leads. It wouldn’t have mattered as much then if they decided to focus a little more on her. But instead they essentially abandoned Din’s story they’ve spent two seasons creating to go ahead and tell her own.

The side quest aren’t what people are complaining about. It’s that they have no meaning for our characters other than having everybody circling around Bo most of the time or creating some big connection to the sequel triology and setting up the Star Wats MCU, which wasn’t the style of writing this show did. I don’t care how many ways people want to argue against it, Din is not the main character in this season, which is not what they have been selling us all year, and he doesn’t even have any engaging story or arc as a side character either. That is the problem, and that is why these side quest and the lack of an actual plot do not work.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian season 3 #mando critical #rant #din djarin #bo katan kryze #grogu #hope this made sense

[corellianhounds]

“You have done the highest honor of the Creed: Saving a foundling.”

I take umbrage with this statement in the larger context of the show this season because Mando still has yet to have what I think is a pretty significant conversation with the Armorer concerning why he removed his helmet in the first place since that ⬆️ was precisely why he did it

This season has largely brushed past one of Din’s biggest internal conflicts by never showing the audience how he feels as an exiled member beyond him asking how he can atone, not discussing with the Armorer why the transgression was done or in what context— which they apparently didn’t have to address because hey, look, the kid’s back with him again, oh also we’re not going to talk about that despite the Armorer telling him to take the kid back to his own kind in season 1— making it barely an inconvenience to ‘redeem’ himself in the end anyway, and by overshadowing his ritual redemption by knocking him out when he goes into the waters and having him sink to the bottom, having to be saved by Bo-Katan (when we still don’t know why she saved him at all), AND by having his return to the covert and Armorer be overshadowed by Bo-Katan’s out of place induction into the covert.

If they want to credit Bo-Katan with ‘saving’ the Mando kid because she headed up the hunting party even though Din was the one to actually grab the kid in the end, fine, whatever, but it is also the most overt way to again show that everything of value that Din has done this season has still been pushed to the side in favor of showcasing Bo-Katan

Unless they’re leading up to Din having some ego issue regarding Bo-Katan’s popularity and place within the covert because of how much he’s being shoved aside (which is entirely out of character for him), I’m not sure why they aren’t making him and his character more of the focus of the season. We’re not getting anything from him regarding his feelings or direction in terms of the bigger picture, which is why all of the episodes feel like filler— They’re achieving plot points like a checklist instead of showing us how Din feels about anything by not tying the emotional stakes to the physical ones. There’s no tension or narrative weight to any of these actions. His dialogue regarding the Creed, his redemption, and teaching and bonding with the kid (his character’s two main focuses) has been factual and exposition-y without feeling like his story is being told.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #The Mandalorian critical #din djarin #bo katan kryze #idk this is messy but it was also my biggest beef with an episode within a show that has already founded this season— #— on so many other storytelling and narrative issues #there’s only eight episodes in each season. you have to be judicious/economical with where you spend your time #and we still don’t know what the main STORY of this season is supposed to be #season 1: protect the kid and stay alive #season 2: find other Mandalorians in order to find the kid’s people to return him to where he belongs #season 3: ?? not really focusing on the Mandalore or dark saber plot bc Bo katan doesn’t care so she’s not chasing him as the villain #he’s not really the main character driving any of the action or the story. Bo-katan is. #and unfortunately I think it’s a little late in the game to establish this as an ensemble show. #if you wanted that you should have established it in season 1

[sabines-wrens]

“you have done the highest honor of the creed - saving a foundling.”

of all the things that has happened this season thus far this is what frustrates me the most. why is it never brought up that’s exactly what din did when he removed his helmet? like did they just expect us to forget that?? to not connect the dots??

i hope it’s addressed during the finale. if not - then idk. din’s being held to a double standard that doesn’t apply to a character whose entire backstory has been ignored to make her more palatable. and that’s well and truly fucked up.

#did a rewatch last night #and now stuck at work with nothing to do but spin around in my chair and think about this damn show #the mandalorian #din djarin #the mandalorian critical #the mandalorian spoilers #she speaks on mando s3 #bo katan’s fucked up history is part of what made her so fascinating #this morally grey character i loved to hate and hated to love #now she’s been disneyfied and it’s so so disappointing #and yeah i’ve got a soft spot for din so what #that doesn’t invalidate any of this #isn’t that what this show wanted?? why else would they cast pedro and his big brown eyes #it is possible to like bo and din and this show and still be massively disappointed in all the choices of this season

[djarintano]

i cant get over how they really thought mando s3 would to over well. there’s just no real way they actually thought most viewers gaf about bo katan enough for her to take the leading spot and din djarin (the actual main character) having no arc, growth, or anything of purpose.

it’s just so baffling to push aside the main character in favor of another character who had only been in a total of 2 episodes before this season. i’m so serious when i say i’m not interested in seeing bo katan or really any of the mandos in s3 ever again. after 3 shows of absolute shit writing i just have had enough with her in particular lmao. like i’m sick of things happening to her with no build up and the viewers are just supposed to roll with it. a character across three different shows and in each show she’s fighting someone different to become mand’alor. ENOUGH‼️‼️‼️

and i think the part that made s3 even more grueling was the complete lack of chemistry din and bo had. i was excited to see s3 to see DIN, and to see how his story would progress - he had no progression, and most of his scenes were with a character who he has no chemistry with. i’m not even talking about romance because i don’t think that’s what they were trying to do in s3 at all, they didn’t even have chemistry as friends. their scenes made me feel uncomfortable af and by episode 6 I was skipping around the episodes to avoid the awkward scenes.

in the end the entire season felt awkward because this show has always been about din djarin and grogu first and foremost, and they were both noticeably pushed to the side this time in favor of a character whose had their chance multiple times. if they want to focus on bo katan, then they need make a show about her and not just decide she’s the main character now on another character’s show. and i need people to stop with the “the mandalorian was never about only din djarin/it’s called the mandalorian not din djarin” bullshit because y’all know DAMN WELL din djarin has been the lead since s1. it opened with him and has followed HIM since. even in s2 when a bunch of characters were introduced, it still felt like it was his show and he had an actual arc. it wasn’t until s3 when he was noticeably not the focus anymore.

anyway. i’m happy s3 ended with him not bothering to say goodbye to anyone and just going to nevarro with only grogu so they can start nazi hunting for the new republic. this allows them to more easily get involved in thrawn’s mess and the ghost crew. i much rather him just interact with ahsoka, hera, sabine, zeb and ezra instead tbh like for one i already know din has ACTUAL chemistry with ahsoka and their scenes don’t make me feel uncomfortable so that’s already a plus. and then grogu can be BFFs with jacen or something. just don’t try that shit you did in s3 ever again jon favreau im so serious

#the mandalorian critical #anti bo katan #s3 was such a massive waste of my time