Warning! This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 4.
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Summary
- The fall of Mandalore has never been shown in Star Wars, but the events leading up to it were depicted in Star Wars Rebels and through word of mouth.
- The Mandalorian season 3 seemed to reveal everything about the fall of Mandalore, with Bo-Katan confessing her betrayal and Moff Gideon wiping out her people.
- Ahsoka episode 4 has made the fall of Mandalore even more mysterious, with Sabine blaming Ahsoka for the Mandalorian Purge and adding another layer to the tragedy.
An untold Mandalorian story in Star Wars has just been made even more exciting. The fall of Mandalore was an event first mentioned in The Mandalorian season 1, when the Armorer spoke of beskar collected during the Great Purge. Moff Gideon later revealed he was responsible for the Night of a Thousand Tears, the event during which the Mandalorians and their planet were laid to waste at the hands of the Empire. The Imperials looted their beskar and continued to hunt down Mandalorians in a way that sent any survivors into hiding, as seen with Din Djarin’s covert.
Besides this, not much else was known about the fall of Mandalore until The Mandalorian season 3. The full physical effect of the Purge was shown when Din made the first return to the surface of the planet Mandalore, and even more was revealed when he helped Bo-Katan lead the effort to retake the planet. Despite getting to see the remains of the planet and hear some of the stories from the survivors, the fall of Mandalore has still been shrouded in mystery, though Star Wars has started to reveal details about the tragic event that make it even more complex and exciting than previously thought.
Star Wars Has Never Shown The Fall Of Mandalore
Asiide from a brief flashback showing the Imperial bombardment in The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 5, the fall of Mandalore has never been shown. The buildup can be seen in Star Wars Rebels, with Sabine Wren working with Bo-Katan to liberate the planet from the Empire before the Battle of Yavin – and giving her the Darksaber, the ancestral blade of Mandalorian leadership. The main events have only ever been recounted through word of mouth, with the Armorer presenting her own knowledge and accounts from the survivors.
The Mandalorian Season 3 Finally Seemed To Reveal Everything That Happened
The fall of Mandalore may never have been shown, but The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7 nevertheless seemed to feature a conversation that told viewers everything they needed to know. Bo-Katan confessed she had surrendered to Moff Gideon, who in turn betrayed her and took the Darksaber while continuing to wipe out her people. The Mandalorians weren’t told about Bo-Katan’s surrender, and thus they continued fighting on her behalf even when she herself had given up. This was one of the last pieces needed to understand how the fall of Mandalore had happened, and while nothing was necessarily shown, it was all explained throughout The Mandalorian season 3.
Ahsoka Episode 4 Just Made Mandalore’s Fall Even More Mysterious
But Ahsoka episode 4 has just made this a lot more mysterious. The episode revealed Sabine’s family died during the fall of Mandalore, and that curiously she blames Ahsoka for the Mandalorian Purge in some mysterious, undefined way. The question, then, is why Sabine thought Ahsoka could have helped to keep her family from dying, or even could have prevented the Purge altogether. Baylan Skoll attributed it to Ahsoka not trusting Sabine, which could mean many different things. Most likely, Sabine thought she sensed the fate of her family and her planet in the Force, and Ahsoka didn’t trust her connection to the Force enough to believe her and let them both go to help. It’s also been revealed how attached Ahsoka has become to Sabine despite her trying not to, and she could have held her Padawan back because she didn’t want to lose her in the tragedy that resulted.
Still, this information has added another layer to the fall of Mandalore. Perhaps Sabine wanted Ahsoka to go toe-to-toe with Moff Gideon to defeat him right there and then and return the Darksaber to Bo-Katan. Whether or not defeating Moff Gideon during the Purge would have stopped it is unknown, but that could have been a solution according to Sabine. It’s unlikely that Ahsoka was the main hinge, given that Mandalorians are known for being the greatest warriors in the galaxy, and they still couldn’t fight off the Empire on their own. Sabine’s grief in Ahsoka for her lost family could continue to reveal more details about the fall of Mandalore that are still unknown, and whether she and Ahsoka could have made a difference or not in saving the planet and its people.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET on Disney+.