Warning! The article contains SPOILERS for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3.
Bo-Katan’s secret in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3 could have huge repercussions for the rest of the season. The Mandalorian season 3, episode 2 “Chapter 18 – The Mines of Mandalore” ended on an earth-shattering note, with Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) discovering that the legendary Mythosaur does, in fact, exist. All that was left to wonder was whether Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) had seen it too while he sank to the bottom of the Living Waters. Now, The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3 “Chapter 19 – The Convert” has confirmed that Bo-Katan was the only Mandalorian to see the Mythosaur that lives beneath Mandalore, a vital piece of knowledge that she has chosen to keep to herself.
The Mythosaur is the symbol that unites all Mandalorians. It is an integral pillar of their history and culture. Especially in the wake of The Night of a Thousand Tears, such a symbol provides hope and something to strive for. Yet even the Armorer (Emily Swallow), perhaps the most devout follower of the Mandalorian Creed, believes that the Mythosaur has faded into legend. After all, if she and the rest of the covert maintain that Mandalore is cursed and nothing could possibly survive on the world, there’s no way that the Mythosaur could still exist. Now that Bo-Katan knows the truth, however, the covert’s future and that of all Mandalorians is about to change.
Why Bo-Katan Lies About Seeing The Mythosaur
Bo-Katan is wary of Mando’s covert. She’s always been hesitant of their creed, of their belief in the old ways. Would she really want them to know that the Mythosaur exists when she doesn’t trust them? There’s no way for her to know what they would do with that information. Even as a bond grows between her and Din, he is still devout, seeking redemption for something she knows wasn’t wrong. The Armorer and the rest of the covert knowing that the Mythosaur exists would change the future of all Mandalorians – it could convince more survivors to convert, to become devout to the old ways, something that Bo-Katan, up until now, has been vehemently against.
She knows, perhaps better than anyone, the dangers of relying on legends and prophecies to define the right to rule. Her time with the Darksaber shattered Mandalorian culture further, despite her best intentions. Sharing that the Mythosaur exists, that a symbol so integral to Mandalorian culture is real, might only fracture the remaining Mandalorians further. Those who just seek to rule would fight for the chance to discover the beast, plunging the Mandalorians into war once more. Bo-Katan has seen more violence than most. She knows that it should not be the way, and would want to prevent it, even if it means keeping this secret (and its power) to herself for a little while longer.
How Bo-Katan's Mythosaur Secret Impacts Her Joining The Children Of The Watch
The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3 ends with a surprising twist – Bo-Katan becomes an accepted member of the covert herself. She, too, bathed in the Living Waters when she saved Din from drowning. She has just as much right to be there as he does now. Considering everything that Bo-Katan has lost over the years since the time of the Clone Wars, it makes sense that she would want to find somewhere to belong, people to stand beside in battle. Keeping the Mythosaur a secret, for now, makes it easier for her to be accepted into the covert, as they need to learn to trust her. And she herself might be a believer now, too.
But the final scene of The Mandalorian season 3, episode 3 does linger on the Mythosaur insignia that hangs in the covert’s cave. From Bo-Katan’s perspective, keeping this secret keeps her dream of rebuilding Mandalore and reuniting the Mandalorians alive. By joining the Children of the Watch, she has more reach, can find more Mandalorian survivors, and eventually, convince them that she can be the one to reunite them all - but only if she hangs on to this monumental discovery for the time being. She's looking for her own form of redemption, and this could be it.
Bo-Katan's Mythosaur Secret Is Even More Important Than The Darksaber
Aside from Mando, Bo-Katan has no true allies, her home has been destroyed, and she has nowhere to go. Sharing what she saw in the Living Waters with the covert would change her life entirely. No one would dare deny the truth of her right to rule as the only one to have witnessed the existence of the Mythosaur. Considering the right to rule Mandalore and her people has been Bo-Katan’s mission since Star Wars Rebels until she was introduced in live-action for the first time, it would stand to reason that she would want to show her strength, that seeing the Mythosaur has renewed her faith in herself.
Having seen the Mythosaur, by all accounts, would supersede the Darksaber’s legacy. As the Armorer has previously told Din, “The songs of eons past foretold of the Mythosaur rising up to herald a new age of Mandalore.” Given the legends of Mandalorians riding Mythosaurs into battle, any Mandalorian who could find and tame one of these legendary beasts would likely be automatically revered by all Mandalorians. Bo-Katan could have finally found the one thing that means more to the Mandalorians than the Darksaber itself. Perhaps Mando and Bo-Katan will end up ruling side by side when The Mandalorian season 3 ends.
New episodes of The Mandalorian air Wednesdays on Disney+.