“This Is The Way”: Are The Sons Of The Watch From ‘The Mandalorian’ An Extremist Religious Cult?

— SPOILERS of episode 3×03 of ‘The Mandalorian’ —

The end of the third episode of season 3 of ‘The Mandalorian’ has meant Din Djarin’s return to The Sons of the Watch, a Mandalorian religious cult, after having submerged (and so much that he submerges, to the bottom) in the Living Waters of the Mines of Mandalore. The character of Pedro Pascal had been excommunicated from the cult for having broken one of his rules, that of removing his helmet in front of another living being.

Although, Is Din aware of what the cult he belongs to really means? After all, until he met Bo-Katan and his companions, Mando thought they were the only true Mandalorians. Finding other Mandalore-borns walking freely without helmets left him a bit confused, but he hasn’t given it much thought either. Bo-Katan told Din that “You are a son of the guard. It is a fanatical sect that broke away from Mandalorian society. His goal was to establish the old way“.

“There is only one path: the path of the Mandalore“He replies emphatically. But… What if that’s not “the way”?

Who really are The Sons of the Watch from ‘The Mandalorian?

To answer this question we have to throw, in addition to ‘The Mandalorian’, the animated Star Wars series ‘The Clone Wars’. Thanks to her and flashback from ‘The Mandalorian’ in which we saw how Din was rescued as a child, we can assure that his savior belonged to the Death Watch, as evidenced by the logo on his armor. So the real question is Who are the Death Watch?

This group of Mandalorians, originally led by Pre Vizsla (father of Jon Favreau’s character in ‘The Mandalorian’, Paz Viszla, who we see reluctant to accept Din Djarin back in the Creed), he wanted to retake Mandalore during the Clone Wars and return the planet to its previous state, ruled by the military. Vizsla, in particular, wanted to take control of the planet from the then Duchess Satine Kryze (Bo-Katan Kryze’s sister)who was trying to lead Mandalore down the pacifism route.

But after failing several times in his goal, Death Watch eventually split into two different factions: a group of Mandalorian super commandos led, oddly enough, by Darth Maul, and another group known as the Mandalore resistance, led by Bo-Katan herself.. The two sects fought for the heart of Mandalore (Maul wanted to rule, but Bo-Katan’s squad wanted to help restore Satine), with the resistance working side by side with Jedis like Ahsoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ultimately, both Pre Vizsla and Satine were killed during these conflicts, and Mandalore was destroyed shortly after when the empire dropped fusion bombs on the planet’s surface.

The Sons of the Watch, then, are exactly what they sound like: Sons of former Death Watch members.. And, as suggested by various theories on social networks, their leader the Armorer, the character who seems most pious of the entire crew, could be Rook Kastformer leader of the Mandalorian super commandos under Maul’s rule.

What does this mean for the future of Din Djarin in ‘The Mandalorian’?

Din grew up in the ways of the Children of the Guard, adopting their customs and religious beliefs, not knowing all of this (we assume and hope, wow). So yeah, he’s in some weird murderous cult.

The normal thing is that Bo-Katan, who is now a temporary member of the Creed after having bathed herself in the Living Waters (to save Mando) and not having removed her helmet since then, little by little moves Din away from extremist beliefs. of The Children of the Guard, but there is a problem. The confirmation that the planet Mandalore is not cursed and the appearance of the Mythosaur, protagonist of the Mandalorian legends, could revive the guerrilla instincts of the cultand perhaps that is why Bo-Katan has not revealed his vision.

If a “holy war” were to break out again between Mandalorians for control of Mandalore, Din Djarin, the holder of the Dark Saber and therefore the Mandalorian leader, would have to choose sides. Will he side with his “his people”, a military extremist sect of sons of assassins under the command of Darth Maul?