This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian.
Season two of hit Disney+ Star Wars show The Mandalorian has delivered surprise after surprise so far, especially in its forging of connections with both Clone Wars and Rebels
This included the appearance of none other than fan favourite Bo-Katan Kryze, brought to life in live-action by actor Katee Sackhoff, who also voiced her in the popular animated series.
We caught up with Sackhoff at a roundtable interview to discuss Bo’s return, her relationship with Mando, and whether there is more to come from the character.
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In episode The Heiress, Bo-Katan and fellow Mandalorian fighters Koska Reeves and Axe Woves helped rescue Din Djarin and The Child from the Quarren Captain – and of course, since this is Bo we are talking about, this was all very kick-ass.
She then recruited Mando’s help for a heist job on Trask, offering information about the location of the Jedi in return.
After the success of the mission, Bo-Katan tells Din Djarin (who is looking to reunite The Child with his people) where he can find Ahsoka Tano, which of course he does in the most recent episode, suitably titled The Jedi.
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All of that wasn’t the most fascinating part of the episode though, with Bo-Katan revealing that Din Djarin isn’t exactly who we thought he was, or in fact who he believed himself to be too.
When Bo introduces herself, she takes off her helmet much to disgust of Mando, who believes that she is breaking the code – that no living being shall ever see a Mandalorian’s face.
It quickly becomes clear that the Mandalorians have fractured as a result of the Great Purge, with Bo-Katan leading one group and Din Djarin belonging to another – titled Children Of The Watch.
This splinter cell is essentially a cult of Mandalorians, who broke away from society and are looking to reestablish the ancient ‘Way Of Mandalore’, thus explaining why he refuses to remove his helmet.
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Bo-Katan herself tells Mando that he belongs to a “cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society”, leading to questions arising in regards to how this will impact Din Djarin, but also his relationship with Bo.
Sackhoff revealed that this means she is cautious of Mando, but this isn’t stopping her from thinking how she can use him as part of her mission:
I think right now with Bo, she’s so driven and set on her goals that right now Mando’s a piece to the puzzle. I think she’s cautious, and I don’t necessarily think there’s any trust there, but I don’t think she needs to right now. For lack of a better metaphor there’s honour among thieves. She’s always thinking ten steps ahead and so I think right now she’s already trying to figure out how she can potentially use that. I don’t think she thinks she needs to help him or save him, or any of the other things we think about when considering he’s a religious zealot. I think that is too much for her right now. She’s too set on her own quest.
As Sackhoff states, whilst Bo-Katan doesn’t currently trust Din Djarin, this isn’t of importance to the character right now as she is so focused on her goal – locating the Darksaber which we know the villainous Moff Gideon is currently in possession of.
Wielding this during her last appearance in Rebels, the weapon is clearly of great significance to Bo and she clearly intends to use it to help bring her people back together – with herself as leader of course.
Sackhoff indicates not only how driven Bo-Katan is on this mission, but also that she believes the Mandalorian will be key to achieving this – at the end of the day, his journey regularly crosses over with Moff Gideon’s.
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Interestingly Sackhoff did hint that Bo-Katan may not be actually ready to rule her people though, despite the fact that the character certainly thinks its time for her to take her place as leader.
Sackhoff said:
She’s had a beautiful growth into a person that finally thinks that she’s ready to rule, whether or not that’s the case, whether or not she’s actually capable of that is something that we will have to wait and see. Just because you think you can lead doesn’t mean you can. We see that with people all the time. But she definitely think she’s capable and prepared.
Of course Sackhoff wasn’t revealing whether Bo will become leader (although we think she teases that she will) or how exactly the Darksaber fell into the hands of Moff Gideon, but she did hint that the character will return later on in season two.
Speaking about being blown away by the positive reception her appearance in The Mandalorian has received, Sackhoff said:
That she was received so well – I’m just so thankful. There was so much care with translating her into live-action – Dave [Filoni], Jon [Favreau], Bryce [Dallas-Howard] and myself, and every single person that has had a hand in her from the costumers to hair and make-up. It’s amazing. We watched the reaction videos on YouTube of people reacting to her and I was watching them cry, and then it was making me cry. Hopefully they’ll continue to like her.
That last part there strongly indicates Bo will be back in The Mandalorian, whether it be in season two or later seasons, but we expect it to be sooner rather than later.
With Bo-Katan looking for Moff Gideon who is searching for Din Djarin, we expect the trio’s paths to cross in an epic battle.
At the end of the day, Mando wants Moff Gideon dead so he can no longer be a threat to The Child, and Bo wants to seize the Darksaber from him.
Finally, it is likely with Din Djarin being a Mandalorian of course, Bo-Katan also sees him as key when it comes to reuniting her people – especially since he belongs to a splinter group.
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Whilst we will have to wait and see what happens, explaining that she knows how Bo “fits in this world”, Sackhoff promises that it is “pretty extraordinary”.
The Mandalorian continues every Friday exclusively on Disney+.
