While many Star Wars fans are familiar with the Jedi Purge, aka Order 66, seen in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, it was far from the only time the Empire would carry out a mass massacre during its reign over the galaxy, as evidenced by the Mandalorian Purge. The Great Purge of Mandalore, which happened before the events of A New Hope, was just as bad as Order 66 and devastated the Mandalorian people. While it's only been referenced as a past event in The Mandalorian, it's possible the act of genocide of the Mandalorian race could become more prevalent in the future.
After the end of The Clone Wars, the Empire rose to power with the fall of the Jedi, with the new Emperor executing Order 66 and identifying all Jedi as traitors to the Galactic Republic, and to be terminated by their own clone troops. This led to the slaughter of almost every Jedi in existence at the time, save for a small handful of survivors. The end of the Clone Wars also saw the victory of the Siege of Mandalore, with the Republic aiding the Mandalorian forces that were resisting the influence of Maul, leader of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn and former Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious. While Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) took a position of leadership to try and rebuild Mandalore, the new Empire came in an appointed Gar Saxon to serve as the planet's viceroy, fostering the alliance between Mandalore and the Empire despite several clans' resistance. It wasn't until Sabrine Wren returned to Mandalore with the legendary Darksaber that more of the clans were motivated to unite and fight back against the Empire under Kryze.
However, realizing that they would no longer be able to keep Mandalore in line, the Empire enacted the Great Purge, what would come to be known as the Night of a Thousand Tears. The Empire sought to eradicate the entire Mandalorian race, eliminating nearly all of the great warriors and taking their treasured beskar steel. However, much like in the aftermath of Order 66, a small number of survivors managed to escape, scattering themselves among the galaxy in small sects in order to preserve their way of life. Bo-Katan managed to survive as well, though she lost the Darksaber in the aftermath. Therefore, she was unable to reunite the clans as its Mandalore (the title used to identify the planet's rightful ruler).
The devastating losses of the Great Purge more than explain Bo-Katan's motivations in The Mandalorian season 2. In her mind, Mandalore has been lost for far too long, and with the Empire having been shattered thanks to Battle of Endor, she now believes the time is right for any remaining Mandalorians to band together and reclaim the world that was taken from them. However, to do that she would need the Darksaber, which was in the possession of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). The season finale, of course, complicated things, seeing as how Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin fought Gideon in combat instead of her, which unknowingly earned him the right to wield the Darksaber, granting him a greater claim to the throne of Mandalore than Bo-Katan herself.
It seems as though the fate of Mandalore being in the hands of Din Djarin could very well serve as a key focus for the plot of The Mandalorian season 3, which would no doubt provide some satisfying poetic symmetry. Just as the Empire tried to eliminate the Jedi and they continued to live on with a new hope in Luke Skywalker, so can the Mandalorians by reclaiming their world after suffering though their own equally devastating purge in the Star Wars galaxy, with a new person leading the charge. In any case, while it may be a crusade that Djarin never asked for or wanted, it would be incredible to see him rise to power to become the new Mandalore all the same.
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January 27, 2021 at 05:15AM
