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Before we start answering the headline above, here’s a quick review of The Mandalorian season finale and penultimate episode: it’s good stuff.
We get an epic fight, a helluva sacrifice from a few returning characters, a nice ending to a lovely season, and brings in the ever-charismatic Giancarlo Esposito to play a possible lingering Imperial threat in the form of Moff Gideon. Also, we get to learn the Mandalorian’s real name which we will reveal after these spoiler tags.
Speaking of which, that ending for the season finale may raise a few questions for many who aren’t up-to-date with their Star Wars TV knowledge.
The season one finale of The Mandalorian, “Redemption”, ended with Moff Gideon cutting his way out of his crashed TIE fighter.
What did he use? A Darksaber.Â
So is it a specially-customized lightsaber? Far from it; it’s an ancient Mandalorian weapon made up by Dave Filoni and George Lucas in the animated TV shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. It’s a melee weapon that can deflect lightsaber blades and has a big significance in Mandalorian culture and history. So in a world where Jedis and Siths exist, it’s a pretty nifty thing to have.
If you want to find out more about the Darksaber or see it in action, you may want to check out the following episodes from each respective series. After all, Moff Gideon isn’t the first owner of this legendary weapon.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
“The Mandalore Plot”, “Voyage of Temptation”, “Duchess of Mandalore” – You get to see Death Watch commander Pre Vizsla (voiced by The Mandalorian series overseer Jon Favreau) use it in a duel, and find out what makes it special.
“Eminence”, “Shades of Reason”, “The Lawless” – Pre Vislaze wields it again to emphasize his rule over Mandalore in this story arc. He and his Death Watch teams up with Darth Maul and his brother Savage Opress. That alliance doesn’t last, as Maul kills Vislaze in a duel and then claims the Darksaber for himself.
Star Wars: Rebels
“Visions and Voices” – Darth Maul uses the Darksaber as a way to lure main character Ezra Bridger to the Dark Side. Oh, and it also ends up in the hands of Mandalorian Sabine Wren, another mainstay of the series.
“Trials of the Darksaber”, “Legacy of Mandalore” – Sabine Wren wields it in these two episodes, and even uses it as a symbol to inspire her race to overthrow their Imperial subjugators. Not only that, it also reveals the blade’s origin: it was the weapon of the first-ever Mandalorian Jedi.
“Heroes of Mandalore: Part 1/Part 2” – Sabine and her family rally the Mandalorian Houses together against the Empire with some help from her Rebel friends. After she wins, she passes over the Darksaber to a new owner to continue the Mandalorian rule.
So something happened between the end of Star Wars: Rebels and The Mandalorian that made the weapon reach Moff Gideon’s hands. Also, this could mean that our current fallible Mandalorian Din Djarin may eventually wield it and use it as a symbol of unity. Or to just cut things up for fun, who knows?
The second season of The Mandalorian will be showing late 2020 on Disney+, which may be out in Southeast Asia around that period.
