The Mandalorian – Who’s the Mandalorian Now! (Spoilers)

Chapter 14 dropped and let’s just say it was very…well…Mandalorian. Our main character aside, the long awaited return of everyone’s favorite Mando/not Mando became official. Chapter 9 ended with Boba Fett watching Djarin fly off into the sunset. Boba then turns and stalks straight into the camera. We knew their paths would cross. Now we have it. In the process we learn some strange new information about the Fett clan. Who’s the Mandalorian again?

When is a Mandalorian not a Mandalorian? I suppose the answer to this riddle is when the Mandalorian is a Mandalorian of another color. Confused yet? That’s the history of Jango and Boba Fett. Boba Fett sets the bar for Mandalorians, and then the Fetts have the title of Mandalorian stripped from their family only to regain it again. Rumors of a Boba Fett series are floating around Lucasfilm, and now we need it because this is getting confusing.

Who’s the Mandalorian – Start From the Beginning

Let’s start from the beginning, and since this is Star Wars beginning means 1978 not 2002. In 1978 we watched the greatest Star Wars production ever created – the Star Wars Holiday Special. In this acclaimed special we are introduced to Boba Fett for the first time. When he surfaces again in 1980 and 1983 in the movies, Boba Fett became the trademark for Mandalorians. HIs presence and armor inspired his own stories and the later expansion of the Mandalorian people in the Tales of the Jedi comic series. Boba Fett defined what it meant to be Mandalorian.

When Dave Filoni began his Clone Wars series, he introduced us to the Mandalorian people in detail. We learned a great deal of Mandalore, their society and their pride. We also learned that Jango Fett was not a Mandalorian. This shocked many fans because all of a sudden our trademark Mandalorian was no longer a Mandalorian. If the Fett’s weren’t Mandalorians how did they come by the armor?

Now we reach this latest Disney+ episode. Boba resurfaces and claims he is indeed Mandalorian as was Jango. He proves it by showing Djarin his armor’s code. According to Boba, Jango was a Foundling the same as Djarin. Jango may not be native born Mando, but he joined the same ‘cult’ according to Bo Katan. Boba swears he and his father are both Mandalorians, but Prime Minister Almec declared with disgust that Jango wasn’t a Mandalorian. So who’s right?

Who’s the Mandalorian – It’s All Politics

Everything in today’s world seems to become political at some point. Boba Fett may have just proved Mandalore to be no different. The story we see unfolding in The Mandalorian paints a very complex picture of life on Mandalore. When The Clone Wars visits Mandalore the first time it seems to be a planet divided but at peace. This may not be true.

Boba tells Din that Jango fought in the civil war. How can this be true when the civil war did not erupt until after the Battle of Geonosis? Did Jango fight headless?

What if the civil war actually started before the The Clone Wars? The Mandalorian government was having problems with Deathwatch. The fight between civilized society and the fighting old days of The Mandalore clashed for control over the planet. It appears Jango may have fought with Deathwatch or some renegade group. Jango wore colors similar to Deathwatch, but he bore no markings. Boba, who allied with only the highest bidder, at some point changes the armor colors and takes the symbol of the Mythosaur, but we do not know the origins of this symbol.

Then we have Bo Katan’s statement about ‘the cult’. The Foundlings who swear to never remove their helmets appear to be some sort of cult according to Bo. Their ways do not duplicate the real ways of Mandalore, according to her. Instead they are a bunch of zealots. This would further the divide within the Mandalorian peoples. They might be just as confused by the definition of Mandalorian as the rest of us.

Who’s the Mandalorian – Is Continuity Straight or Circular?

Many fans became enraged when Disney threw out the old lore of Star Wars when it took over. Disney did this to reset the timelines and attempt to keep a continuous, intact story line going forward. If that’s truly the case, then why do these problems keep coming up? Can’t they keep things straight from one writer to the next?

Those of you who think this miss one very key point. Only one writer/creator IS responsible for this – Dave Filoni. He ran The Clone Wars. He and Favreau run The Mandalorian, and Filoni reinvented and developed everything we know about Mandalore and her people. He introduced the Fett-not-Mando story line and now we know he had a finger in this latest revelation. Those that followed Filoni during The Clone Wars series as it aired learned two things. 1- Don’t trust Dave to give you everything up front in a way that makes sense. 2- Trust Filoni to make it all work in the end. I have no idea what Filoni’s intentions are, but I trust where he will lead us.

In a recent interview, Filoni talked about which comes first the Rebels epilogue or Ahsoka’s appearance on The Mandalorian? Of course he gives a very Filoni-esque answer that walks in circles. Anyone that follows Filoni can picture the huge, I-know-something-you-don’t, grin he displays when he needs to play coy on a subject. I do not doubt the same holds true here with the Fett/Mandalorian connection.

Rumors abound of an Ahsoka series, a Boba Fett series, a Bo Katan series and many more. Which we see and which we don’t remains to be seen, but in the end it’s a safe bet Filoni will be a very busy man for many years to come.