The Mandalorian's Bo-Katan Was Never A True Hero In Star Wars

The Mandalorian's Bo-Katan is framed as a redeemed hero in her recent Star Wars appearances, yet she never truly changed from her villainous past.

Bo-Katan Kryze becomes the new leader of the Mandalorian clans in The Mandalorian season 3, but she has never truly been a hero. Kryze has had many appearances throughout the Star Wars franchise’s television shows, debuting in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, playing a prominent role in Star Wars Rebels, and becoming one of the lead characters of The Mandalorian. Despite the latter two shows depicting her as a heroic character, she began as an extremist willing to kill or betray anybody - but she never received a proper redemption arc, nor did her ultimate motivation significantly change. The Star Wars franchise has plenty of heroic characters with unscrupulous pasts, yet Kryze has only just begun to undergo such character development.

Star Wars has always employed broad archetypes of good and evil, yet despite its seemingly binary nature, there is plenty of nuance. Darth Vader may be a dark sorcerer who is second-in-command of an evil empire, but he is also a once-noble warrior who made a Faustian bargain to save a loved one. Other Star Wars characters, like the Legends continuity’s Mara Jade or the sequel trilogy’s Kylo Ren, also undergo major redemption arcs. Bo-Katan Kryze, however, maintains a mostly-consistent motivation, a lack of honor, and no true redemptive character development, making it difficult to portray her as a hero, at least until The Mandalorian season 3.

Bo-Katan Kryze Only Cares About Taking Over Mandalore

When Bo-Katan is introduced in The Clone Wars episode “A Friend in Need,” she is the second-in-command of the Death Watch, a Mandalorian terrorist group. In the episode, they raid a Ming Po village, murdering countless innocents with flamethrowers after the villagers demanded they stop stealing their food and kidnapping their people. Bo-Katan actively works alongside the former Sith Lord Darth Maul to betray and imprison her sister, installing the Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla as Mandalore’s leader. When Darth Maul challenges Vizsla to a duel and kills him, Bo-Katan does not recognize his victory (despite his legitimacy in Mandalorian culture) since he is an outsider, separating her Mandalorian Nite Owls from the Death Watch.

For the remainder of Bo-Katan’s Star Wars appearances, she becomes a circumstantial ally to the heroes. She fights alongside the Republic only to defeat Darth Mau and later works with the fledgling Rebel Alliance only to remove Mandalore’s Imperial occupiers. In The Mandalorian season 2, she only strikes against the Imperial Remnant because Moff Gideon wields the Darksaber, which she seeks to reclaim. Since Pre Vizsla's death, Bo-Katan has only ever wanted to rule the Mandalorian clans herself, and she demonstrably will fight alongside or betray anybody she needs to in service of this goal. Kryze is at best reluctant to help others if doing so will not bring her closer to achieving this goal.

Bo-Katan Lacks A Proper Redemption Arc

Bo-Katan Kryze has never overtly expressed remorse or regret for her past as a Death Watch member, only showing vague self-doubt about becoming the new Mand’alor in The Mandalorian and feeling she had failed her people as regent in Rebels. Moreover, The Clone Wars appears to attempt to endear Bo-Katan to viewers by revealing that she is the late Duchess Satine Kryze’s sister, which ultimately makes her betrayal of the Duchess in the previous episode far worse. Bo-Katan’s allies and adversaries frequently change, but her goals remain the same and her position among the Star Wars franchise’s true heroes (such as Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren) is only incidental.

Bo-Katan's Redemption Only Begins In The Mandalorian Season 3

Bo-Katan's potential redemption began in The Mandalorian season 3. Having lost her followers and seemingly her last hope of becoming the Mand'alor, Kryze not only chooses to avoid challenging Din Djarin for the Darksaber, but also rescues him, Ragnar Vizsla, and the people of Nevarro at various points, though these instances ultimately benefit her fellow Mandalorians. Kryze seemingly began to introspect and care about more than gaining power since season 2, and the Children of the Watch accepting her likely helped in changing her mindset. Moreover, Kryze reveals that she had surrendered the Darksaber to Moff Gideon to protect her people, only for Gideon to betray her and enact the Great Purge of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan's behavior in The Mandalorian season 3 could only at best be described as the early stages of a redemption arc. Kryze ostensibly does not appear remorseful for the innocents she murdered or the betrayal of her own sister, and her sudden reluctance to kill Djarin for the Darksaber combined with her willingness to risk her life for others is a good, albeit jarring, change. Bo-Katan is now the new Mand'alor, and while despots typically do not become more self-reflective when given the power they desire, perhaps Kryze's introspection and redemptive characterization can continue in future appearances. For the time being, however, she cannot truly be considered a hero.

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