‘Clone Wars’ meets ‘The Mandalorian’: Will Bo Katan return?

Bo Katan is a fan favorite of fans of The Clone Wars. They’ve been treated to cameos from her in Rebels and The Mandalorian, two television shows that also take place in the Star Wars universe. Many fans are wondering whether her cameos in season 2 of The Mandalorian will be limited to what we’ve seen so far, or if she’ll continue to have a place on the series in the seasons to come. 

The Clone Wars introduction

The Clone Wars is where Bo Katan is first introduced as part of Death Watch. She’s the adversary of Ahsoka Tano, who fights Bo to escape the clutches of Death Watch. Bo Katan was with Death Watch when they embarked on a tense alliance with Darth Maul and his brother, Savage Opress, during the start of Maul’s crime regime. 

Bo Katan later aids Death Watch in a plot to unseat & remove the Duchess Satine of Mandalore, who also happens to be her sister. She also helps double-cross Maul and Savage Opress, who she didn’t trust from the beginning of their alliance due to their Sith status. 

Vizsla, the leader of Death Watch, died at Maul’s hand. According to Mandalore’s customs, that made Maul the de facto leader of Mandalore and gave him the command of Death Watch. Bo Katan refused to follow Maul’s lead and split away from Death Watch with some of her more loyal companions. 

Bad guy to good guy

Bo Katan’s next move is to free her sister Satine, the rightful Duchess of Mandalore, who is being held prisoner by Maul and the Death Watch members who choose to stay and follow him. She fails to rescue her safely, and they’re separated while trying to survive attacks from Death Watch. 

Things only get worse for Bo Katan when Maul kills her sister Satine to hurt his nemesis Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maul & Kenobi’s relationship is complicated – Maul hates Kenobi but also likes him too much to actually kill him. Bo & Kenobi’s shared pain over Satine’s death and their hatred for Maul (wait, Jedi don’t hate, sorry Obi-Wan) lead Bo & Kenobi to team up briefly so that they can escape Mandalore. 

For years after the tragic events in Mandalore, Bo Katan and her Night Owls go underground, playing the long game to defeat Maul and free Mandalore. When she discovers Ahsoka Tano’s whereabouts, she suggests they join up to defeat Maul and remove him from Mandalore. 

Bo Katan & Ahsoka then turn to Obi-Wan & Anakin to request assistance from the Republic to take down Maul and reinstate order on Mandalore. Though there’s a bit of resistance from Kenobi, they’re eventually able to give Ahsoka temporary command of a squad to take to Mandalore to fight. 

Bo Katan & Ahsoka managed to capture Maul and take back Mandalore, only as the galaxy fell to the rule of the Emperor, Darth Vader at his side. 

Rebels

On The Clone Wars, Bo Katan had a recurring role. On Rebels, she had a briefer arc. Her time with Sabine Wren, a fellow Mandalorian, leads her to forgive herself for what happened when Mandalore fell to the Empire. Her experience with other scattered Mandalorians prompts her to take on more of a leadership role again, and that was the last time fans saw her before her appearance on The Mandalorian. 

The Mandalorian

At some point between the events of Rebels and The Mandalorian, the Empire ordered a purge of all Mandalorians. Many died, and Bo Katan lost the Darksaber, which she’d acquired from Satine. 

While searching for the Darksaber, Bo Katan and her comrades meet Din Djarin and his son Grogu. After rescuing them from pirates, Din declines to join them, since they took off their helmets in front of him (we’re still not clear on what Din’s deal is with the helmet, but it does add a bit of angst). He helps them on one brief mission, and Bo repays him by telling him how to find Ahsoka Tano. 

Din & Bo reunite one more time when he needed help rescuing Grogu from Moff Gideon in the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian. Their deal stipulated that Din would get his son from Gideon, and Bo would get the Darksaber, reinstating her as the ruler of Mandalore.

For all his very specific customs, it turns out Din doesn’t know everything about Mandalorian culture. He won the Darksaber in battle, which made him its owner. Bo states she couldn’t take it from him unless she won it, which is about as sensible as him not taking his helmet off. 

This conflict was left open-ended, with most of the finale focused on Grogu’s departure to train with Luke Skywalker at his Jedi training academy. Since a clear conflict was established between Bo & Din, and Din now no longer has a kid to look after (at least for the time being), it’s highly likely we’ll be seeing more of Bo Katan in season 3.