'The Mandalorian': 4 Important Mandalorian/Jedi Friendships

The Mandalorian episode 3x02, 'The Mines of Mandalore', was packed with action from start to finish, as Din Djarin runs into some trouble during his quest to redeem himself by bathing in Mandalore's living waters. After seeking her help when Din is captured, Grogu shares some surprisingly sweet scenes with Bo-Katan, who some fans had assumed would be a more antagonistic presence in season three due to her earlier desire to reclaim the Darksaber for her own.

She praises the Foundling's skill with The Force, and explains that, despite what he may have been told, Mandalorians and Jedi have not always been enemies. While the statement might not have been entirely relevant given the fact that Grogu is not technically a Jedi at this point in time, Bo-Katan's words were not untrue.

While there was a long simmering bad blood between Jedi and Mandalorians over the Jedi Order's decision to keep the Mandalore-Born Tarre Vizsla's Darksaber after his death, and House Vizsla's subsequent theft of the saber, this animosity had mostly faded by the time of the Clone Wars. By that point, the peaceful New Mandalorians were on relatively good terms with the Jedi. Only the 'Old Mandalorian' Death Watch still held a grudge. Din Djarin was raised by the Death Watch offshoot Children of The Watch, which explains why he was taught of the enmity between Mandalorians and Jedi.

However, a number of Mandalorian/Jedi friendships have influenced important events in Star Wars history, and there will probably be more moving forward. Let's look at some of the most important Mandalorian/Jedi friendships and alliances.

1. Duchess Satine Kryze and Obi-Wan Kenobi

During the Mandalorian Civil War, the Jedi Order quietly supported the pacifist New Mandalorian movement. With constant threats of Assassination hanging over her head, New Mandalorian leader Satine Kryze fled the conflict, placed under the protection of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. While on the run, Satine and Obi-Wan developed a close bond, although this bond could never go deeper than friendship due to Obi-Wan's dedication to his Jedi training, which prohibited romantic connections. For many years after Satine was returned to Mandalore as Duchess Satine Kryze following the victory of the New Mandalorians, Obi-Wan kept his distance.

However, the two friends were reunited during the Clone Wars when Satine, wishing for her people to remain neutral in the war, called upon Obi-Wan, now a Jedi Master and Republic General, to discourage the Republic army from occupying Mandalore as a potential base in the guise of helping them defeat the terrorist Death Watch. While Obi-Wan succeeds in diverting the republic, the situation eventually deteriorates when the Death Watch stages an attack on Mandalore in which they appear as heroes, and oust Satine from power.

During this time, Mandalore is being secretly puppet-ruled by Darth Maul. An attempt to rescue Satine is thwarted, and she is eventually killed by Maul in front of a devastated Obi-Wan. It is clear that Obi-Wan loved Satine even if he was never allowed to say so. He describes the aftermath of her death as the closest he had ever come to touching the Dark Side of The Force.

2.Bo-Katan Kryze and Ahsoka Tano

The relationship between Mandalorian Princess Bo-Katan Kryze and then-Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano begins with the two as enemies. Obi-Wan Kenobi allowed Ahsoka to accompany him to Mandalore as part of his plan to defend Satine Kryze and the New Mandalorian society from the Death Watch Mandalorians of which Bo-Katan is a member. Bo-Katan and Ahsoka briefly come to blows when Ahsoka's attempt at an undercover mission goes awry.

However, when they meet again sometime later, Ahsoka has left the Jedi Order, and Bo-Katan is no longer a member of the Death Watch. To Ahsoka's surprise, Bo-Katan approaches seeking an alliance to free Mandalore from Darth Maul. Ahsoka, who has had plenty of her own run ins with Maul, agrees. Together, the two concoct and carry out a battle strategy that successfully ousts Maul and his followers from Mandalore. The experience leaves Ahsoka and Bo-Katan with a strong mutual respect for one another, although their liberation of Mandalore proves sadly short-lived with the imminent rise of the Galactic Empire.

While Ahsoka's departure from Mandalore is currently the last time she and Bo-Katan were seen together onscreen, it can be assumed that the two have been in contact at some point since, as Bo-Katan is able to point Din Djarin to Ahsoka's location in season two of The Mandalorian.

3. Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger

As an Imperial Cadet turned member of the then fledgling Rebel Alliance, the young Mandalorian Sabine Wren held no hard feelings towards Jedi, although this may have been because she didn't believe there were any left alive. This quickly changed when her fellow rebel Kanan Jarrus exposed himself as a former Padawan to save the Force-Sensitive orphan Ezra Bridger, and plucking him from the streets to serve as his own Padawan.

Sabine doesn't let any of the prejudices of her culture affect her relationship with Ezra, to the point that he actually doesn't realise there was any traditional enmity between Jedi and Mandalorians until they visit Sabine's family on the Imperial occupied Krownest in season three of Star Wars: Rebels. Still, the knowledge has little impact. By then, Ezra and Sabine had already formed an unbreakable bond, with neither one ever failing to have the other's back over the course of the series. When Ezra is part of a forced hyperspace jump into the Unknown Regions with Admiral Thrawn and the Purrgil in the Rebels series finale, it is implied that Sabine is the one he trusts to eventually come find him.

This brings us to a Mandalorian/Jedi friendship that will become important in the not-too-distant future..

4. Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano

While Ahsoka Tano had a major supporting role in season two of Star Wars: Rebels, she did not share many interactions with Sabine Wren, as her focus was instead on fellow almost-Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, and the threat posed to them by the Jedi-Hunting Inquisitors. However, Sabine did respect Ahsoka and her role in the Rebellion, so much so that when the Ghost crew believes Ahsoka dead after the season two finale, Sabine paints Ahsoka's owl-like companion, Morai, on the shoulder plate of her armor as a tribute.

In the series epilogue, Ahsoka arrives on Lothal to collect Sabine, presumably so the two of them can go look for Ezra. Many fans believe that the upcoming Ahsoka series will pick up from this point. Actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo has been cast to play Sabine in the series, alongside Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka.

Jedi and Mandalorians don't need to be enemies. In fact, as the above examples prove, they can accomplish some pretty great things as friends.