The Mandalorian has acknowledged that Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin isn’t actually a true Mandalorian. After adding three more Mandalorians to the show, the Disney+ series has exposed the differences between Mando and the others who follow their creed.
After being tasked with the important mission of taking Baby Yoda to the Jedi, Mando set off to look for more Mandalorians, believing that members of his own kind would be able to point him in the right direction. A wild goose chase on Tatooine led him to an abandoned suit of Mandalorian armor, but Mando was put on the right track when he ran into Frog Lady, whose husband had supposedly seen some Mandalorians. To get the information he needed, Mando escorted Frog Lady to Trask. While there, he crossed paths with three Mandalorians: Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), and Axes Woves (Simon Kassianides). Through Bo-Katan, Mando learned the location of a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano.
Mando’s first conversation with Bo-Katan and her allies resulted in the character learning a bit more about his place in Mandalorian culture. After seeing them take their helmets off, he came to the conclusion that they weren’t real Mandalorians, but Bo-Katan revealed that it was he who wasn’t a proper Mandalorian. Bo-Katan called him a member of the Children of the Watch, and explained that he was apparently part of a “cult of religious zealots” who broke away from Mandalorian society because it was their wish to return to the old ways of Mandalore. It would seem that the tribe that Mando was counted as a member of in season 1 was a faction associated with the Children of the Watch.
This explanation makes sense, considering that characters like Bo-Katan were willing to remove their helmets in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They didn’t follow the same strict rules that Din Djarin does in The Mandalorian, which has caused many to wonder why that would be. That’s because Mandalorian society actually moved on from their old beliefs, but then - and apparently now - there are groups that split off from them long ago still in existence.
It’s worth noting that even though the Disney+ series is admitting that its titular character isn’t a real Mandalorian, this hasn’t been acknowledged by Mando himself. Mando rejects this notion, as made clear by his reaction to Bo-Katan’s history lesson. Even after hearing her words, Mando flew away, obviously because he longer believed that she and her two companions were the people he was looking for. When she took her helmet off, Mando – due to the beliefs that had been instilled in him by those in his tribe – could no longer recognize her as one of his kind. To Din Djarin, it’s he and those who still follow “the way” who are the true Mandalorians.