In the Star Wars universe, there are few groups as prone to infighting as the Mandalorians. Over the centuries, the weapons worshipping Mandos have come to blows numerous times battling for supremacy, even after the first Jedi Mandalorian — Tarre Vizsla — created the now-destroyed Darksaber as a means to stop the fighting for good. While there have been plenty of effective coup attempts, none was as successful as Deathwatch – an insurgent group that started the Mandalorian Civil Wars and allowed for its near destruction at the hands of the Empire.
What is the Death Watch?
Death Watch has a long and bloody past, one that started more than 4000 years before the current Star Wars era. The Mandalorian Wars saw the rise and fall of one of the greatest empires the galaxy had ever seen – all thanks to the devotion of a deadly Sith, Darth Mandalore. The Empire’s inevitable collapse left Mandalore destitute, and the world would struggle for a myriad to regain its former glory. Worst still was Death Watch’s persistence – the True Mandalorians would consistently try to stamp out the Watch, with the final head, Tor Viszla, finally killed by none other than Jango Fett.
With the death of their patriarch, the remaining Vizsla clan members publicly backed House Kryze and its head — Dutchess Satine Kryze — Bo-Katan Kryze’s older sister. While House Vizsla’s head, Pre Vizsla, seemed to stand behind Satine, he covertly partnered with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by Count Dooku, with aims to rebuild the Death Watch forces.
The betrayal of Pre Vizsla
Bo-Katan and her sister Satine never fully saw eye to eye. Satine was a pacifist – driven to reshape Mandalore into a less violent society. Bo-Katan respected her ancestral beliefs, and saw her sister’s attempts as sacrilegious, foolish, and disrespectful. She created the Nite Owls — a Death Watch splinter group — and appointed Pre Vizsla as her lieutenant. But Vizsla wanted power for himself and allied with Darth Maul in order to oust both of the Kryze sisters from their respective positions. But Vizsla couldn’t control the Sith, and Maul eventually beheaded the impertinent Mandalorian, taking the planet for himself. Darth Maul eventually led the conquest of Mandalore, killing Satine and turning Mandalore into his own personal criminal haven.
Never one to back down from a fight, Bo-Katan refused to acknowledge Maul’s place as leader of Mandalore. She turned to the Republic, and her friend the former Jedi, Ahsoka Tano for aid in deposing Maul and destroying his Shadow Collective. Though they won and imprisoned Maul, Kryze wasn’t able to find the Darksaber. The Republic forces remained on Mandalore, stepping in to rebuild the fractured Mandalorian infrastructure. But mere weeks after their success, the Republic fell to the Empire, leaving Mandalore an occupied territory too weak to make a stand.
Sabine Wren and the Darksaber
With the fall of Mandalore, Death Watch no longer needed to operate in secret. The remains of the group became staunch Empire allies, restricting what it meant to be Mandalorian, and ensuring that anyone who spoke out against the new world order was imprisoned or worse. Sabine Wren — a young Mandalorian noble — fled her home and joined the rebellion after unwittingly creating weapons of mass destruction geared at destroying anyone in Beskar armor.
During her travels with the crew of the Rebel ship — The Ghost — Sabine and the crew uncovered the Darksaber on Maul’s home world of Dathomir. The Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus gifted Wren the blade, though the Mandalorian wanted nothing to do with it. But when her fellow Mandalorian Fenn Rau encouraged her to use it to reunite their people, Sabine couldn’t refuse.
How did Bo-Katan get the Darksaber?
The Empire heavily relied on house Vizsla and their former ties to Death Watch to maintain power on Mandalore. When Sabine returned to Mandalore with the Rebels, Clan Vizsla was quick to make their unwelcome known, forcing Sabine to forfeit the Darksaber and pushing clan Wren to pick a side – formally kicking off the second Mandalorian Civil War.
During the skirmishes, it was clear that Clan Vizsla had the upper hand, with the weight of the Empire behind them, the rebellion stood little chance – until Bo-Katan and the Nite Owls joined the fight. Sabine — seeing Bo-Katan’s clear leadership abilities, skill as a warrior, and the love the people had for her — offered the saber to its former master, but Kryze refused, believing that she had failed Mandalore in the past. But when Bo-Katan pushed Sabine to spare Tiber Saxon lest she become as bad as the Empire, the young Mandalorian knew there was no one more fit to wield the blade. This time, Bo-Katan accepted.
As a former member of Death Watch, Kryze’s reclamation of the Darksaber is a full-circle moment. From an embittered, headstrong extremist to a dedicated, nuanced and benevolent leader, Bo-Katan embodies the passion of the Death Watch but with the heart of a True Mandalorian. With the destruction of the Darksaber and the homogeny of the Mandalorians at the end of The Mandalorian’s third season, Death Watch isn’t likely to make a resurgence, but with a group as tenacious and everlasting as Death Watch, there is always the possibility it could return under new leadership.