Bo-Katan Kryzeis one ofStar Wars’most important Mandalorian characters, and her turbulent past put her on a path toward redemption. Did she truly need to be redeemed, however? Redemption and forgiveness are important themes intheStar Warsfranchiseand have been since Luke Skywalker redeemed his father, Darth Vader, inReturn of the Jedi.Star Warsis about second chances, hope in the face of overwhelming odds, and redeeming characters who have turned to the dark side or let their loyalty and beliefs lead them down a dangerous path.
Bo-Katan Kryze is one such character– originally introduced in canon inStar Wars: The Clone Warsseason 4, episode 14, “A Friend in Need,” Bo-Katan was once a princess of Mandalore and the sister of the Duchess Satine Kryze. Notably, Satine Kryze was a pacifist, a moral stance considered at odds with the traditions of Mandalorian culture. As a result, Bo-Katan and her sister grew apart – while Satine tried to change Mandalore’s violent ways, Bo-Katan embraced her warrior spirit more strongly than ever before, setting her up for heartbreak and eventually, leadership.
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Bo-Katan Was Young When She Was Radicalized By Death Watch
Bo-Katan was still quite young when she and her sister grew apart. As they held fundamentally different beliefs,it was easy for Bo-Katan to become radicalized by the militaristic Death Watch, a splinter group of Mandalorians hell-bent on restoring their often violent, traditional warrior culture. This led to Bo-Katan participating in numerous plots to rob her sister of her power, even if it meant putting Satine in mortal danger.
As the young Jedi Ezra Bridger notes inStar Wars Rebels, Mandalorians are just a bit“crazy.”They mostly relied on violence to solve their problems and were largely in favor of isolationism. Growing up in a culture like that, no matter how loving your family may or may not have been, would be enough to set anyone up for radicalization and a dark future. That’s why Satine was the exception, while Bo-Katan let herself be guided by historical traditions and powerful, vitriolic Mandalorian leaders – especially Pre Vizsla, a man solely driven by his greed and vicious tendencies.
I Can’t Believe It’s Taken Me 14 Years To Figure Out Why The Mandalorian’s Bo-Katan Is So Important
Bo-Katan Kryze is a key character in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian, with a debut that was ground-breaking for the Star Wars franchise.
Given how she grew up and how young she was when she was undoubtedly indoctrinated by those who joined Death Watch, one could almost make the case that Bo-Katan was led astray. Almost. After all,Bo-Katan had a hand in plenty of dangerous and treasonous acts while still a part of Death Watch. How much was she forced to do, and how much did she actively – perhaps even gleefully – participate in before she changed her ways?
Bo-Katan Did Witness (& Assist) In Some Extremely Heinous Acts
As a member of Death Watch, Bo-Katan not only put her sister in danger multiple times but also assisted in imprisoning an entire village while watching it burn down, and she willingly endangered the safety of her fellow Mandalorians – even children – so that Death Watch could amass more power and join other crime syndicates. Perhaps most heinously, she was readily allied with Count Dooku and Darth Maul at one point or another, the dark-side-wielding Sith apprenticed to Emperor Palpatine.
Allying with someone like Maul finally forced Bo-Katan to reexamine her allegiance to Death Watch; however, at first, she was only skeptical because she deemed him and his brother, Savage Oppress, to be“no better than Jedi.”It wasn’t until after Maul forcibly took control of Mandalore and killed Pre Vizsla in a duel to the death – a duel involving the legendary Darksaber – that Bo-Katan came to her senses and plotted to free her sister from imprisonment.
Tragically, that change of heart also led to the death of Satine Kryze, as Bo-Katan had asked Obi-Wan Kenobi to come to her sister’s rescue. Maul soon recognized that there was more to Obi-Wan and Satine’s relationship – they’d been in love with one another once – and, to punish Obi-Wan for his insolence inStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, killed Satine right in front of him.Bo-Katan did grieve her sister’s death and vowed to restore Mandalore to its former glory, finally ridding herself of Death Watch. She still didn’t fully change her ways after that, however.
Bo-Katan Continued To Have Issues Even In The Mandalorian Era
Soon after, Bo-Katan resurfaced inStar Wars Rebels,helping Sabine Wren of Clan Wren save her family and destroy an Imperial machine made to target Mandalorian armor. Recognizing Bo-Katan’s lineage,Sabine gave Bo-Katan the legendary Darksaber(which the former had previously taken from Maul), hoping it would allow Bo-Katan to unite the remaining Mandalorians in the fight against the Empire.Though Bo-Katan did help Sabine’s family and her Ghost crew friends, Bo-Katan’s path to “redemption” was far from over.
Catch up with Bo-Katan in the two-partStar Wars Rebelsseason 4 premiere, “Heroes of Mandalore.”
As it turned out, Bo-Katan hadn’t fully let go of her past beliefs. Later, inThe Mandalorian, Bo-Katan initially shunned and even ridiculed Din Djarin and his covert, boldly proclaiming that they were not real Mandalorians and that their customs disgraced all Mandalorians. This was an incredibly hypocritical claim, especially from someone with Bo-Katan’s past. What gave her the right to judge other Mandalorians and their way of life when she’d played a part in Mandalore’s destruction and the death of her sister?
We don’t know exactly what happened to Bo-Katan betweenStar Wars RebelsandThe Mandalorian;she probably fought hard to save Mandalore and her people from Imperial rule. That doesn’t excuse her past actions or give her the right to judge how other Mandalorians lived their lives.Was she past the point of redemption, then? Not necessarily.
Unifying The Mandalorians In Season 3 Was Indeed True Redemption
Bo-Katan had plenty in her life to atone for. She’d actively participated in Mandalore’s downfall – even if that wasn’t her true intent – and let her prejudicial nature guide her actions. However, inThe Mandalorianseason 3, Bo-Katan finally, truly, began to see the light. The events of the Clone Wars and the fight against the Empire inStar Wars Rebelsweren’t enough; but when Mandalore needed her most, when her people, even those she’d once deemed unworthy, needed her, she finally stepped up and became the leader she was, perhaps, always meant to be.
Bo-Katan Kryze finally set aside her selfish desires and did what was best for her people, arguably rescuing an entire Star Wars civilization in the process.
Unifyingall the remaining Mandalorian clans– groups who, understandably, distrusted one another – was no easy task. YetBo-Katan finally realized that they were stronger together and that having differing beliefs did not necessarily mean it’d be impossible to get along.This was a hard-won lesson, her sister’s death a sacrifice that shouldn’t have been necessary, but at long last,Bo-Katan Kryze helped the remaining Mandalorians uniteand reclaim Mandalore from Moff Gideon once and for all.
Redemption inStar Warsis all about learning from your mistakes, acknowledging your darkness, and embracing the opportunity to do better and repay a person’s faith in you. Darth Vader saved his son from Palpatine’s clutches and killed his Master inReturn of the Jedi, Kylo Ren sacrificed himself to save Rey’s life inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, andBo-Katan Kryzefinally set aside her selfish desires and did what was best for her people, arguably rescuing an entireStar Warscivilization in the process.
