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This is the Way: not just a snappy catchphrase for The Mandalorian. Mando’s code, creed, and culture all lie within those four simple words. That is, until The Mandalorian season 2, episode 3. Some doubts might now be creeping into that chrome-domed helmet of his thanks to a surprise appearance and a few home truths.
“He’s one of them” spits Axe Woves, one of two Mandalorians who flanks a returning Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) after they save Din Djarin and Baby Yoda on a fishing vessel.
Woves has every right to treat Mando coldly, too, it seems. “You are not Mandalorian,” Din retorts after discovering they don’t cover their face. But while The Way decrees that he must not show his face, Din soon learns that’s not the case for every Mandalorian.
The Mando we know and love is referred to as a “Child of The Watch” a “cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society.” It's an interesting twist on a character that has seemingly mixed in with the wrong crowd.
As Bo-Katan points out, their goal is to “re-establish the ancient Way” (i.e. preach a more war-heavy Mandalorian creed). If you know your Clone Wars, you’ll know this carries some irony – Bo-Katan was part of the Death Watch, a group that carried similar goals and may even have birthed The Watch.
She later renounced their aggressive practices and now Mando might be having second thoughts about the only version of The Way he knows. That’s even teased late in the episode when Bo-Katan says to Din that his bravery and desire to protect others, not religious zealotry, is “The Way” and he responds in kind.
Having been shielded from true Mandalorian culture for so long, it’s clear that Mando is going to have to do some soul-searching about his kind when the time comes. But next stop? Ahsoka Tano.
