There are spoilers from this point on, but if you haven’t seen season 1 of The Mandalorian and are planning on watching season 2, what are you doing? Go get that done.
When we last left Baby Yoda and Mando, they’d beaten Moff Gideon by blowing up his ship and leaving him in the wreckage. They flew off into the galaxy on their quest to find the perfect home for our young, green, adorable friend as they escaped the clutches of the empire.
But, of course, that wasn’t the end of Gideon. He had a trump card, as all villains do. The final season of season 1 was him cutting a hole through the scraps of his ship with this mysterious lightsaber looking thing.
That, my friends, is the Darksaber. And it’ll probably play a pretty pivotal role in this upcoming season.
Whoa, whoa whoa. Slow down. The Darksaber?
Yup. It’s the mysterious, black lightsaber that Moff Gideon is holding in that scene.
Wow so that’s a lightsaber?
Absolutely. And it’s probably the coolest looking one you’ve ever seen.
If you’re not a fan of the extended Star Wars universe outside of the movies, you probably didn’t know about it. But it has more history behind it than any lightsaber you’ve seen before.
So where did it come from?
Alright, here’s the breakdown. The legend of the Darksaber goes back thousands of years in Star Wars lore to the time of Tarre Vizsla — the first Mandalorian Jedi Knight.
It was unlike any lightsaber before or after his time because of its flat blade and dark energy.
THERE WAS A MANDALORIAN JEDI?!?
Yes, that’s right. And after he passed, the Jedi Order kept the saber in their temple for safe keeping because of how special it was.
That is, until members of his clan — house Vizsla — snuck in and stole it. From there, they passed it down from generation to generation of Mandalorian leaders. It was a weapon used for unification. Whoever wielded was seen as the sole leader of Mandalore.
Here’s a quick breakdown from Mandalorian warrior Fenn Rau.
So this isn’t the first time we’re seeing this thing?
Absolutely not. It’s appeared in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series as well as Star Wars Rebels.
Some users have been force wielders like Tarre Viszla and some haven’t. Big names like Darth Maul and Sabine Wren have used it in the past. Wren was the one who discovered it on Dathomir — Maul’s home planet — after it went missing for a time.
She used it to help drive the empire away from Mandalore and unite the planet before giving it to Bo-Katan Kryze, making her the true leader of Mandalore. Kryze was the last person we saw with the saber before Gideon.
So how did Gideon get it then?
That, we don’t know. And that’s what we’re probably going to find out this season. The events of Rebels are from before Rogue One and A New Hope. The Mandalorian is set in a time period after The Return of the Jedi.
Basically, there’s a lot of time between then for a lot to happen.
So, Mando has to get this thing right?
That would be so cool to see! But we really just don’t know yet. Who knows? Maybe Baby Yoda wields it at some point.
We just have to wait and see.
I can’t wait.
Join the club.