With a growing role in The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan Kryze has become a main character during the current season.
For fans of the show who might not have watched all the other entries that featured the Bo-Katan character, there’s a lot to her back story that needs piecing together. The current show (and The Book of Boba Fett) does make efforts to give big chunks of information about her, about her role with the Mandalorians, and how she ties into the past and present, there are other things that fall through the cracks. A great deal of the story is told in the animated Star Wars: Rebels and the Clone Wars, in which Katee Sackhoff voices Bo-Katan.
Through the two shows, we have learned that Bo-Katan once ruled the Mandalorian throne and once possessed the Dark Saber, as well as the fact that she has been actively pursuing it and its wielder, Moff Gideon. We also learn that not all Mandalorians follow “the way” of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his clan, who are not permitted to ever remove their helmets. It’s also Din who gains hold of the Dark Saber without really meaning to, by defeating Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) before Bo-Katan can get to him – thus setting up tension and high stakes between the two Mandalorians.
In season three, it’s Bo-Katan who Din visits before becoming what seems to be the first Mandalorian to explore Mandalore again since it fell during the Night of a Thousand Tears. She tries to tell him there is nothing there, and seems to think she’ll never see him again when he departs for Mandalore anyway. Yet, because Din gets into trouble while exploring the planet, she eventually returns to her former home as well to save him from peril (thanks to her expert guide, Grogu).
With Bo-Katan’s return to Mandalore in the second episode of season three, she learns the planet is not cursed, it’s air is not toxic, and that even the Living Waters in the Mines of Mandalore are still intact. In fact, she even sees the mythical Mythosaur there while saving Din from peril for a second time. She also hasn’t removed her helmet since bathing in those waters, which leads to the third episode, where she gains atonement (that she didn’t seek) and entry into Din’s clan as well. Now that she’s returned to the place she once ruled, there is a timeline in place.
How much time actually passed between the destruction of Mandalore and the return of Bo-Katan – whose family ruled Mandalore when it fell and was destroyed by the Empire?
When and what was the destruction of Mandalore?
Called the Great Purge of Mandalore, the Purge, the Siege of Mandalore, the fall of the planet, and slaughter of nearly the entire Mandalorian population started slowly and escalated quickly by virtue of the Empire trying to rule and control Mandalore, with Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians’ resistance leading to the Empire’s decision to just destroy the planet and its people instead.
Though the exact date of the destruction of Mandalore is hard to pinpoint narratively on screen, the tragic event occurred during the very end of the Clone Wars. The Night of a Thousand Tears seems to have taken place right around 1 BBY (which stands for Before the Battle of Yavin). It seems safe to say it was around this time because the Death Star was not complete yet, which would have probably had the Empire destroying the planet through different means.
When do Bo-Katan and Din return to Mandalore, and how much time has passed?
Bo-Katan gained the Dark Saber and with it, the throne of Mandalore, in 1 BBY. As told by The Armorer in The Book of Boba Fett, because she did not gain the Dark Saber through battle, she and Mandalore were cursed, which is what led to The Night of a Thousand Tears.
The Mandalorian is said to take place five years after the events in Star Wars Episode IV: The Return of the Jedi. That movie takes place in 4 ABY (which stands for After the Battle of Yavin), with the destruction of the Death Star capitulating the movie to that place on the timeline. Thus, the addition of five years puts The Mandalorian in 9 ABY. It doesn’t seem that the show has spanned years, yet, so that puts Bo-Katan’s current time frame in the same year, 9 ABY.
Taking those two times together, it’s been a long, long time since Bo-Katan (or any Mandalorian, really) set foot on Mandalore. With the above dates set, Din and Bo-Katan return to the planet 10 years after the destruction of Mandalore.
