Star Wars: The Mandalorian - What Is the Purge?

The latest episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian continues to peel back new layers about the history of the mysterious culture, especially because fans haven't seen much about the noble warriors since the end of the animated series set before the original trilogy. The struggles on Mandalore played major roles in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, though one show featured a major character in Sabine Wren help unite the warring clans against the tyranny of the Empire, all before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

But the new series makes frequent mention of an event called "The Purge," though it's not clear what exactly took place. But we're here to break it down for you.

Before the events of the Galactic Civil War, Mandalore and the system surrounding the planet was in a constant state of unrest as different factions vied for control. The one item that could unify their people, the Darksaber, was lost after Darth Maul took control of the Deathwatch and sowed the seeds of chaos through their society.

But later on, Sabine Wren secured the Darksaber and helped restore order on Mandalore, returning Clan Wren to a position of power and giving control of the item to Bo-Katan who helped secure order in their sector. They united against the Empire and helped aid in the growing Rebellion.

However their struggles were not referred to again after the events of Star Wars Rebels, and the society was omitted from the events of the original trilogy. The next thing we hear about Mandalore occurs in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, where their people are seemingly dwindled and reduced to hiding in underground bunkers.

It should be noted that the titular character of The Mandalorian experiences frequent flashbacks to a time when he was a child and his parents ran from a battle, attempting to hide him from the chaos in an effort to protect him. But because of his age and the fact that Super Battle Droid and other forces from the Trade Federation are attacking, it should be noted that this took place during the Clone Wars. This means that these events from the Mandalorian's childhood are NOT "the Purge" that is commonly referred to, but something else entirely.

Mandalorian culture spread to nearby systems, but not all of them partook in war-obsessed culture like those on the main planet. More peaceful clans existed on surrounding star systems, and this could be where the titular Mandalorian lived before the attack. After all, he and his parents are clad in red robes instead of the traditional armor of Beskar steel.

The Mandalorian also mentions that he was once a foundling, referring to his status as an orphan like other children who survived the Purge. He also has a distrust of droids, likely a reference to his survival of a massive battle in the Clone Wars.

So, from what we know, the Purge is something else entirely in the history of the Star Wars galaxy. It's very likely that the Empire made a very hard effort to retaliate against Mandalore's rebellion, destroying much of their planet and taking most of their resources. This is evident in the fact that even disparate pockets of Imperial forces that survived the war against the Rebellion are still persisting and hoarding supplies of Beskar steel, imprinted with the Imperial logo.

It's likely that we'll find out more about the Purge of Mandalore in the coming episodes, But for now, we can only assume that the once powerful society suffered yet another major setback due to the tyrannical evil of the Imperial Army.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian premiere on Fridays on Disney+. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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