Star Wars: The Mandalorian - What Is the Darksaber?

The flagship series for Star Wars' live-action debut on the Disney+ streaming service has finally come to the end of its first season, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian definitely ended with a massive bang. While the laser blasts were flying alongside TIE Fighters and jetpacks, there were some shocking reveals at the end of the episode that will surely have an effect on the Lucasfilm show when it returns for Season 2 — which is already filming at this time. And perhaps the biggest reveal takes place harkens back to executive producer Dave Filoni's revered animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Episode 8 - "Redemption" below.

At the end of the episode, the Mandalorian receives his jetpack and uses it to take down Moff Gideon and his TIE Fighter, who was raining fire down upon Cara Dune, Greef Carga, and the Child affectionately referred to as Baby Yoda by fans. The TIE crashes in the Nevarro wastes, and the crew seemingly gets back to a life of normalcy before the remnants of the Empire took over.

But the end of the episode shows the crashed TIE, surrounded by Jawas attempting to scavenge whatever parts they could find, only to be interrupted by Moff Gideon escaping the ship by using the historic Darksaber to break through the metal.

The Darksaber is an ancient Mandalorian weapon forged to aid in battle against Force-wielding oppressors. Its black lightsaber blade is surrounded by an iridescent white glow that surrounds it, and has a slightly curved blade instead of the traditionally straight lightsabers.

The Darksaber played a major role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, wielded by the character Pre Vizsla (who was voiced by The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau) who was also the leader of the Death Watch. It should also be noted that the Death Watch share the same symbol as the Mandalorian warriors who rescue the young Din Djarin, who grows up to become the titular hero on the Disney+ series.

The Darksaber was last seen in Star Wars Rebels and was briefly wielded by Sabine Wren, though she gave it to Bo Katan in an effort to unite the clans of Mandalore and finally bring peace to their region.

As Moff Gideon hinted at the fall of Mandalore when referencing the Night of a Thousand Tears, a seemingly important moment in history when the Empire laid waste to the armed Mandalorian forces and drove them into hiding as we've seen in this series. Perhaps this is when he acquired the Darksaber, securing it from Bo Katan or whoever succeeded her as the leader of their people.

Either way, this is a huge moment for the series, and we will likely learn more about the circumstances surrounding the fall of Mandalore when it returns. But so far, there is not yet a release date for the second season of The Mandalorian.