Why Did BO-KATAN Take the Darksaber from Sabine But NOT MANDO? - Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 8

After Din Djarin managed to defeat the current holder of the Darksaber, Moff Gideon, using his Beskar Spear, he became the new Ruler of Mandalore under mandalorian tradition. Mando of course had no interest in this title however, and offered to pass the Darksaber back to Bo-Katan Kryze, who was the holder before Moff Gideon stole it. Bo-Katan however refused to accept the ancient black weapon, because she had not won it in single combat from Din Djarin.

So why did Bo-Katan refuse to accept the Darksaber from Mando, when he accepted it as a gift from Sabine Wren during the Mandalorian Civil war, without defeating her in combat?

I’m going to breakdown some reasons on why Bo-Katan might not have accepted the Darksaber and why she probably made the wrong choice accepting it from Sabine.

So during Star Wars Rebels, Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren managed to Steal the Darksaber from former Sith Lord, Darth Maul, inside of his lair on Dathomir. Maul was of course the ruler of Mandalore and the holder of the Darksaber during the Clone Wars, until he was captured at the Siege of Mandalore, and eventually lost interest in his little Mandalore adventure, storing the Darksaber on Dathomir.

After stealing the black blade from his lair, Sabine became the holder of the Darksaber, and eventually fought in the Mandalorian Civil war on Mandalore, where a Group of Mandalorians who aligned themselves to the Empire, and were led by Tiber Saxon, had control of Mandalore. These imperial Mandalorians utilized a horrific and terrifying weapon known as “The Duchess”, which would melt any Mandalorian within it’s range inside of their own Beskar Armor. The weapon was developed by Sabine Wren herself during her time at the imperial Academy, making it a painful reminder of her past.

During the Mandalorian Civil War, Sabine Managed to destroy the Duchess with the help of Bo-Katan, and soon after Gifted the Darksaber to her, as Sabine didn’t believe she was the one to lead. Bo-Katan accepted the ancient blade, and united all of the Clans of Mandalore together under her rule.

So why did she accept the Darksaber from Sabine, but refused to accept it from Din Djarin in the Mandalorian?

The first major reason for her refusal to accept the Dark blade could be that she absolutely regrets not following Mandalorian tradition the last time, and will never to do it again. It’s very possible that Bo-Katan now considers her action of taking the Darksaber without a fight a horrible error, because of her failure as Leader of Mandalore that followed soon After she took it from Sabine.

After Bo-Katan took the darksaber from Sabine without a battle, we know that the complete destruction and slaughter of the Mandalorian people took place under her rule. Under her rule, the Empire managed to steal the Darksaber from the leader of Mandalore, and begin the Great Purge, where the home of the Mandalorian people was glassed, and suffered intense orbital bombardment, before going even further and having their entire supply of Beskar stripped and stolen from the planet. By any measure, this is a complete and utter failure of Bo-katan’s leadership.
Maybe she feels that she wasn’t worthy to hold the Darksaber at all after letting her people fall to the Imperial Purge, and now having to go deep into hiding, tucked away in hidden Mandalorian Coverts around the Backwater planets of the Galaxy.

It’s also possible that she was unable to keep control and unity of the other Mandalorian clans that she united at the end of the Mandalorian Civil war because some of them started to question her claim to the Darksaber and the rulership of Mandalore. It’s possible that soon after the end of Star Wars Rebels, where she brought all of Mandalore together, things started to crack, and the other clans began to lose faith in her leadership, questioning how she can rule without having earned the Darksaber fairly. The imperials probably even continued to plant doubt among the other Mandalorians clans about Bo-Katan’s rule, probably leading them to splinter.

If this is the case, maybe now that she lost the Darksaber to Moff Gideon, she feels that if she wants to ever rule again and earn it back, she has to do it “the right way” and follow Mandalorian tradition. And if the clans did splinter off soon after she united them, she will definitely need to earn their respect back. To do this, gaining the darksaber correctly is probably one of the only ways.

[taejo]

Imagine Boba Fett went with the group and saw Luke lol

[trainknut]

"You can't give it to her, it has to be won in combat"
"I yield, take it"

[RazrIsALegend]

Luke cut through the dark troopers like they were butter.

[tylerbradfield]

Recent dark saber history: Sabine plucked it off the ground. She is not a worthy wielder. Then Sabine fought someone for possession of it In one on one combat and won, making her worthy. Bo was not worthy, so she refused. Then the clans rallied on her and she was worthy of ruling, and accepted the symbolic blade to boot. Wishy washy here, but Gideon takes the dark saber and purges mandalore, proving that Bo was not a strong enough leader to save her people and not strong enough a warrior to keep the blade. She is no longer worthy. Now Din has reclaimed the blade for the mandalorians in one on one combat, making him worthy by rule of that combat ritual. Bo however no longer has any claim whatsoever to being worthy of the dark saber because of her failings. Defeating the weilder in one on one ritual combat is the only option left for her after the disgrace that fell the mandalorians under her rule

[neitherlink]

Results are everything. Under her rule mandalorians were slaughtered almost into oblivion and the planet under her protection got drained of its valuable resources, and thus is unfit to rule.

[mertcaki]

THIS IS THE QUESTION I HAVE BEEN ASKING MY SELF SINCE I WATCHED THE CHAPTER

[erikpersson]

I think the reason that you must now earn the Darksaber in battle to rule has to do with the propaganda aspect of Bo'Katans campaign against the empire. When she united the Clans she basically said "Look I have the Darksaber that means I'm strong and worthy" but then she lost the blade to Gideon and that showed weakness puting her her worthiness into question. By geting the blade back by any other means than winning it back, would only feed the doubt. Keep in mind that there is much rivalry between the Mandalorian clans and Bo-Katan would be risking alot if she tried get them all to follow her again with out proving that she was truly worthy. That is why I think she didn't accept the blade from Mando.

[tobinaylor]

Bo- Katan seems like a poor leader. During the Clone wars she seemed deserving, but in Mando and Rebels she seems pretty weak and undeserving compared to Mando and Sabine

[JBThrills]

The only answer:
Because it looks more epic with Mando, and everyone wants to see him hold it more

[classofrass]

Doesn't this mean that Ahsoka is the rightful ruler of Mandalore, as she defeated Maul in single combat on Mandalore?

[marshalllatta]

luke skywalker killing dark troopers was so amazing

[Kjleed]

Moff Gideon said it best, ”the dark saber doesn’t have power, the story does.”

[RyanTheDark]

All of this happened because Bo Katan couldn't accept the fact that Maul won traditionally...

[neerajnegi]

It's pretty simple, she was handed the darksaber the first time, then she lost it, she has already lost her credibility, if she is handed it again, well, she won't be respected.

[zolikoff]

"Lol he hides his face behind a mask, what a dumb religious zealot."
"Nooo I can't be the leader unless I defeat the previous holder of some sword in combat!!!!"

[SciFiLOLproductions]

“Jon Favreau says Season 3 will be going in a direction similar to Game of Thrones”

I really hope that means clans and not killing off fan favorites for no reason

[George-real]

She lost twice and we’ve never seen her actually lead anything over then resistance forces

[jonharper]

Bo-Katan isn't worthy. She never was. Every time she's fought for Mandalore she's lost and lost big. She's a cool character and she's come along way from her power hungry days. But she just doesn't have it.

[HDOTR]

He has held his own in combat, he has honor, he protects innocent people and tries to bring his bounties in alive, Bo Katan working with Mando rather than fighting him is one of the best things she could have done in that moment. Since he's willing to work with other clans but already a member of deathwatch, winning that one duel could eventually unify all the clans. If she killed him, the clans would only fight each other for the blade until there was nobody left. Bo Katan is truly like her sister even though she likes to be tough. (Plus since mando removed his helmet deathwatch could try to kill him on a technicality anyways.)

[yseson_]

Mando is now in possession of two ancient Mandalorian weapons