Warning! SPOILERS for The Mandalorian, season 3, episode 7.The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7 reveals how Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon first managed to get his hands on the Darksaber, thus filling the last gap in its history. Now that the mystery has been revealed, a nearly unbroken line of wielders can be traced all the way back from Star Wars: The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian. After first being forged by Tarre Vizsla, the Darksaber was reclaimed by his descendant, Pre Vizsla, during The Clone Wars era. From there, Darth Maul rightfully won the blade by defeating Vizsla in single combat, becoming one of the first non-Mandalorian to wield the Darksaber.
Despite Palpatine defeating Maul in combat in The Clone Wars, Maul managed to keep hold of the blade. It wasn’t until Star Wars Rebels that Maul left the blade behind to seek out Obi-Wan Kenobi, giving Sabine Wren the opportunity to take hold of the blade. Though she didn’t defeat Maul in combat, she later won it back from Gar Saxon in single combat, confirming her right to ownership. However, she unlawfully passed the blade to Bo-Katan near the end of Star Wars Rebels. And up till now, fans had only guessed how Moff Gideon managed to win the Darksaber from Bo-Katan.
How Moff Gideon Got The Darksaber Answers Its Last Big Mystery
In the middle of The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7, Bo-Katan reveals what happened from her perspective during the Purge of Mandalore. She was told by Moff Gideon that Mandalore would be spared if she commanded them to disarm. Despite weapons being a crucial aspect of the Mandalorian religion, she agreed, knowing it was the only way to save what remained of her people. In doing so, she yielded to Moff Gideon and gave away the Darksaber to him. But this complicates the Darksaber’s history even further since Moff Gideon never rightfully won the Darksaber from her.
The Moff Gideon Darksaber Twist Makes Bo-Katan Reclaiming It Even Better
Because Moff Gideon was effectively gifted the Darksaber by Bo-Katan, he merely pretended to own it. This is surprising since Gideon himself knew of the Mandalorian laws about the Darksaber and how winning it in combat was essential to claiming it. For whatever reason, Gideon settled on an invalid claim to the blade and allowed the Mandalorian people to willingly flee from his tyrannical obliteration of Mandalore. Apparently, he never intended to try and seize the leadership of the Mandalorian people as Darth Maul once did. Perhaps because he knew that a non-Mandalorian like himself could never truly lead the Mandalorians.
Nevertheless, Gideon’s false claim to the blade makes Bo-Katan’s claim to the Darksaber even better, since she never actually lost it due to combat. Despite never losing the Darksaber in battle, Bo-Katan has a shaky story of how she won the blade from the crab-like droid that captured Din. While this is a good enough claim for most of the Mandalorians to follow her, she still expresses concerns over whether it's truly enough to unite the warring factions. The Mandalorian finale is setting up a final duel between Bo-Katan and Moff Gideon, which should provide an undisputed answer to who rightfully owns the Darksaber.
New episodes of The Mandalorian release every Wednesday on Disney+.