The Mandalorian: Who Is Bo-Katan?

On Friday, the third episode of The Mandalorian's second season debuted on Disney+. The episode, titled "Chapter 11: The Heiress," introduced Katee Sackhoff to the show as Bo-Katan Kryze, the leader of a Mandalorian faction different from Din Djarin's followers of "the Way." But this isn't Sackhoff's first time playing Bo-Katan. The actress voiced the Mandalorian throughout the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, lending her voice to several episodes of the show's final season earlier this year. If you didn't watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars, you may be wondering who Bo-Katan is and why her Mandalorians are different from Djarin. We have you covered.

Bo-Katan was once a member of Death Watch, the militant Mandalorian splinter group that would later save Din Djarin's life during the fall of the Republic. At that time, Bo-Katan's sister, the pacifist Duchess Satine, ruled Mandalore. Death Watch wanted to restore the Mandalorians to their old warrior culture.

Bo-Katan split from Death Watch after an alliance with the former Sith Darth Maul -- an association she advised gainst -- led to the deaths of Death Watch's leader and Duchess Satine and Maul taking control of Mandalore. Bo-Katan vowed to free her people.

She did just that with Ahsoka Tano and Republic troops' help on the eve of the Republic's fall. Bo-Katan and members from her clan sought out Ahsoka and, with her help, convinced Obi-Wan Kenobi to work with them to depose Maul. Obi-Wan couldn't participate in the battle himself, but send Ahsoka and Captain Rex to lead the assault. Ahsoka faced Maul one-one-one and defeated him, taking him prisoner and away from Mandalore. Bo-Katan stayed on Mandalore to try to restore order to her homeworld.

Unfortunately for Bo-Katan, the Empire came to occupy Mandalore, as seen in Star Wars Rebels. Bo-Katan led the Mandalorian resistance and, with Sabine Wren wielding the Darksaber, managed to achieve a key victory against the Empire. Sabine gave Bo-Katan the Darksaber. Having united the Mandalorians, Sabine became the new Mandalorian leader and continued to fight.

The Empire eventually concluded that the Mandalorians would never submit to its rule. The Empire executed "the Purge," a genocidal attack on the Mandalorians. We know from this latest Mandalorian episode that Bo-Katan fought during the Purge but, at some point, lost the Darksaber, which is now in Moff Gideon's possession. She's still fighting and still looking to reclaim the Darksaber and restore her homeworld.

What do you think of Bo-Katan's debut in The Mandalorian? Let us know in the comments section. The Mandalorian debuts new episodes on Fridays on Disney+

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