The season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” saw Mando assembling a crack team to help him spring Grogu from the Imperial Remnants. The glorious appearance of Luke Skywalker in the episode’s closing moments has somewhat overshadowed the finale’s intriguing setup for the next season. Bo-Katan joined the Mandalorian in liberating Grogu on the condition that she could face Moff Gideon in combat so that she could reclaim the Darksaber and, with it, the throne of Mandalore. However, Mando ended up facing Gideon and unwittingly claiming the Darksaber for himself. Now, the only way for Bo-Katan to win it back is to fight him for it, which could position her as the villain of The Mandalorian’s already-confirmed third season.
From her live-action introduction in “Chapter 11: The Heiress,” Bo-Katan made it clear that she was hellbent on acquiring the Darksaber. This previously meant tracking down Gideon and exacting revenge, but after the season 2 finale, if she wants to achieve that goal, she’ll have to beat Mando in combat. Based on her history of ruthlessness in the animated series, it’s highly unlikely that she’ll just relinquish control of Mandalore to Din Djarin. This is bad news for Mando, because Bo-Katan’s efficient brutality versus his clunky, semi-improvised fighting style during the Imperial transport siege in “The Heiress” made it clear that she is much more proficient in hand-to-hand combat than he is. If the two actually come to blows in season 3, Mando might not fare so well.
The Mandalorian has no interest in wielding the Darksaber or sitting on the throne of Mandalore. When Moff Gideon told him the weapon had to be won in combat, he insisted that Bo-Katan just take it from him anyway. But thanks to that damnable thing called pride, there’s little chance that she’ll accept it that way. Granted, in Rebels, Bo-Katan took the Darksaber from Sabine Wren when she offered it to her without fighting over it, but that was before Moff Gideon got a hold of it.
It seems that Moff Gideon acquired the Darksaber by besting Bo-Katan in combat for it, so the only way for her to reclaim the weapon honorably is in combat. Now that she can’t have the rematch she planned with Gideon, her only choice is to fight Mando for it. Even if she could put her pride to one side and accept the blade from Mando, she wouldn’t be seen as the true leader of Mandalore if he just handed it to her.
In Rebels, Bo-Katan was recharacterized as a good guy, but she was pretty transparently depicted as a villain (at least through Obi-Wan’s eyes) in The Clone Wars. While she’s changed a lot since then, when the gloves are off and fighting her new friend is the only way to get the one thing she wants in the world, she could easily go back to her old ways and resume a life of shameless political violence.
She has a long history of pursuing her goals without mercy: as a member of the Death Watch, she gladly killed innocent people, and even resorted to terrorism on a few occasions, setting off bombs in public places and burning down villages full of people. She probably won’t let the fact that Mando is a well-wishing acquaintance get between her and the Darksaber.
After Mando defeated Moff Gideon for the second time (taking him as a prisoner this time around to make sure he doesn’t just resurface with more forces), the show is in need of a new villain. Ahsoka teased Thrawn’s introduction in “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” but he’ll either be the villain of her new spin-off series or the big bad of the overarching narrative tying The Mandalorian and its offshoots together. The Mandalorian itself needs a new villain to drive the narrative forward.
Koska Reeves’ brief fight with Boba Fett after her snarky sidekick remark (“Well, if that isn’t the quacta calling the stifling slimy...”) may have been foreshadowing a fight between their respective cohorts. Female villains would be nothing new to the Star Wars universe – from Asajj Ventress to Captain Phasma, there are plenty of evil women in a galaxy far, far away – but the main villains of Star Wars stories tend to be men. Bo-Katan taking over Moff Gideon’s duties as The Mandalorian’s main antagonist would be a game-changer for the franchise’s female representation.
Going into battle with Bo-Katan could test Mando’s dedication to the way of the Mandalore. His beliefs have already been shaken by Mayfeld questioning how firmly he holds them and various other Mandalorian creeds presenting themselves through the Children of the Watch. The show is in need of a new underlining conflict now that Mando is no longer required to look after Grogu and he’s in the good grace of the Jedi. Infighting among the Mandalorians could deepen the show’s themes and determine the one true way of the Mandalore.