There’s been a question that’s been gnawing at me ever since The Mandalorian Season One finale. Throughout Star Wars history, whether in Legends or canon, Mandalorians have been touted as some of the galaxy’s fiercest fighters. So how, exactly, did a bunch of remnant Stormtroopers take out an entire covert full of them? It wasn’t until I watched the entire series again over the course of a couple of days that it dawned on me. The simple answer is that they didn’t.
As Din Djarin & co. venture into the sewers in The Mandalorian Season One finale, they come upon a pile of discarded beskar. The armorer explains what happened: “We revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the covert. The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter. This is what resulted.” Notice that she said “Imperials” and not “Stormtroopers.” The Mandalorians of the Navarro covert should have been able to handle Stormtroopers. Dark Troopers, on the other hand….
Do Dark Troopers solve this unanswered question from The Mandalorian Season One?
Admittedly we don’t officially see the Dark Troopers until Season Two. When we do, we also learn that they take some time to come online… But that doesn’t mean that, when they are activated in Season Two, it was the first time Gideon pressed them into service. There’s nothing to say that Moff Gideon didn’t deploy them off-screen in The Mandalorian Season One. Think about how much difficultly Din Djarin had in fending off just one of the next-gen Imperial death bots in Season Two’s finale “The Rescue.” A whole squad of them, even against a group of Mandalorians, however? Suddenly the covert’s destruction makes a lot more sense.
So why, you ask, did Gideon only arrive with Stormtroopers (including some Death Troopers) in the penultimate episode of The Mandalorian Season One? Because by that time, the Dark Troopers had already eradicated the Mandalorian threat. Regular Stormtroopers should have been able to complete the mop-up task of apprehending Din Djarin, the Child, and their small band of allies.
What do you think? Were Dark Troopers the cause of the covert’s downfall in The Mandalorian Season One? Or did Stormtroopers actually managed to wipe out an entire group of the galaxy’s mightiest warriors? Let us know your thoughts below.
The Mandalorian returns for Season Three December, 2021.
