Star Wars: 5 Pieces Of Animated Content You Should Watch To Fully Understand The Live-Action Darksaber Storyline

In a move that surpised and delighted fans, episodes five and six of The Book of Boba Fett took a sharp detour, leaving Boba and his troubles on Tattooine behind in favour of catching up with Din Djarin, The Mandalorian. The episodes followed Mando as he tracked down the two remaining survivors of his Mandalorian sect, The Armorer and Paz Vizsla, before the pair evicted him for having removed his helmet during the events of The Mandalorian.

However, before his banishment, Din Djarin revealed his possession of the ancient and symbolic Mandalorian weapon, the Darksaber, which he won from Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian's season two finale, a situation that unfortunately placed him at odds with his ally, fellow Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze, a former Darksaber bearer who had planned to win it back for herself. The Armorer explains that Bo-Katan's claim on the saber had always been false, as she had had it gifted to her rather than having won it. Meanwhile, an envious Paz Vizsla mentions that from an ancestral standpoint, the Darksaber belongs to his family.

While easy enough to follow with live-action alone, the story of the Darksaber gains richer history and context with the viewing of certain animated Star Wars content, in both series and short form.

1. The Mandalore Plot (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, S2, ep 12)

The Darksaber made it's first official appearance in the Clone Wars season two episode 'The Mandalore Plot'. Following a recent Civil War, Duchess Satine Kryze has emerged as the new ruler of Mandalore, and hopes to lead the previously warrior driven planet towards a more peaceful future. Unfortunately not everyone agrees, with a splinter group of Mandalorians, known as the Death Watch threatening Satine's plans. The Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi is tasked with protecting Satine and exposing the members of the Death Watch.

Towards the end of the episode, Kenobi battles the Death Watch leader, Pre Vizsla, a descendant of Tarre Vizsla, who forged the Darksaber. Pre Vizsla uses the Darksaber in battle, explaining the weapon's history to Kenobi as they fight. The scene provides a nice crash course on the Saber's history, and again, provides more reasoning as to why Paz Vizsla wants it in the future.

2. Shades of Reason (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, S5, ep 15)

Later in the Clone Wars series, Vizsla and the Death Watch ally themselves with the Shadow Collective, a new Sith Order founded by Darth Maul to rival Emperor Palpatine's plans. Vizsla is only using the Collective, and intends to betray and kill Maul once the Death Watch reclaim Mandalore. Predictably, this proves to be a bad move.

In the episode ‘Shades of Reason’, Maul challenges Pre Vizsla to a duel after discovering his planned treachery. He defeats and kills the Death Watch leader, claiming both the Darksaber and leadership of Mandalore, the first non-Mandalorian to do so. Despite previously adhering to the old Mandalorian way without question, Bo-Katan Kryze, the estranged sister of Duchess Satine, rejects Maul's leadership, believing that only a Mandalorian should have control over Mandalore. She and her own followers, the Nite Owls, break away from the Death Watch, creating yet another split in the Mandalorian race.

Despite personally rejecting Maul's leadership, Bo-Katan witnesses the power that the Darksaber being won in battle holds over some of her people.

3. Trials of The Darksaber (Star Wars: Rebels, S3, ep 15)

After stumbling upon the Darksaber in an old haunt of Maul's in an earlier Rebels episode, young Mandalorian rebel Sabine Wren is asked to take up the blade by fellow members of her rebel cell, in the hope that she can use it to unite the people of Mandalore and bring them into the Rebel Alliance. Sabine reluctantly agrees, and begins training on how to use the Saber with Kanan Jarrus.

Like Din Djarin in 'The Return of the Mandalorian', Sabine finds the Darksaber heavy at first. This only changes once Kanan convinces her to stop fighting against herself, and release her guilt over building a weapon that the Empire turned against her people. Once Din lets go of his own emotional baggage regarding giving up Grogu, the Saber may become lighter for him as well. This also explains why the saber felt heavy for Paz Vizsla when he tried to use it against Din. The Darksaber was forged by his ancestor, Tarre Vizsla, making the blade an important part of his own heritage. By the time of 'Return of The Mandalorian', it seems likely that Paz may be the last living Vizsla. To him, the Darksaber represents the future of his clan resting entirely on his shoulders

4. 'Legacy of Mandalore' & 'Heroes of Mandalore' (Star Wars: Rebels, S3, ep 16, & S4, eps 1 and 2)

In 'Legacy of Mandalore', Sabine travels to her home planet, Darksaber in hand, to unite her people against the Empire. Unfortunately, she faces resistance when her Mother, Ursa, rejects her claim on the Darksaber because she had not won it in battle. Sabine later duels Gar Saxon, the Imperial puppet ruler of Mandalore, gaining true ownership of the Darksaber and the respect of her fellow Mandalorians.

In the season four opening two-parter, ‘Heroes of Mandalore’, Sabine meets Bo-Katan. As the closest living relative of Duchess Satine Kryze, those who followed Satine view Bo-Katan as the heir to Mandalore. For this reason, Sabine offers Bo-Katan the Darksaber. Bo-Katan rejects the weapon at first, knowing the traditions that are supposed to be tied to it, but eventually accepts.

Of course, the fact that Bo-Katan never actually won the Darksaber is why The Armorer tells Mando her claim to the weapon was false. It also possibly explains why Bo-Katan wouldn’t accept the Darksaber as a gift from Mando at the end of The Mandalorian season two. She had been hoping to truly earn it this time around.

5. Art History (Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, S2, Ep 11)

In this short, set during the final season of Star Wars: Rebels, Sabine Wren and her brother, Tristan, are out on what is supposed to be a simple scouting mission. Unfortunately, things go off course when Sabine spots an Imperial outpost that has been built around Tarre Vizsla, a Mandalorian leader remembered for once uniting all the clans of Mandalore. Infuriated by the disrespect being shown to such an important historical figure of her people, Sabine ditches the scouting plan and drags Tristan into a new mission to destroy the outpost.

Tarre Vizsla was a Jedi as well as a Mandalorian, and was able to unite the clans of Mandalore under a single ruler through creating and wielding the Darksaber. While the Saber itself is not mentioned in 'Art History', the weapon's distinctive hilt is seen in the hands of the Tarre Vizsla statue, and Sabine's immediate visceral reaction to the statue being defaced shows how important and respected Vizsla and the Darksaber are in Mandalorian history. This also explains Paz Vizsla's eagerness to try and win the Darksaber back, as he views it as part of his own family legacy.

Under Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, the stories of Disney's live action Star Wars shows have been crafted in such a way that it doesn't matter if you have seen the animated series' or not. However, it is definitely a richer experience if you do.