'The Mandalorian' Just Introduced a Famous Character From 'Star Wars' Lore

As The Mandalorian continues into its second season, hardcore Star Wars fans are getting more and more of the lore that they love dearly. In Season 2's third episode, "The Heiress," the show introduced Bo-Katan, a character played by Katee Sackhoff on the show. Katee also voiced the character in the animated series and has now introduced a live-action version of her character. 

Bo-Katan is a Mandalorian who emerged as part of the Star Wars story during the Clone Wars. During that war, Bo-Katan was a lieutenant in Death Watch, a terrorist organization that opposed Mandalore's pacifist government and their non-interventionist stance in the conflict. Eventually, Death Watch teamed up with Darth Maul, who survived his encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi and eventually took over the planet. 

After Maul took over the planet, Bo-Katan shifted allegiances and led a resistance with the goal of reclaiming her planet from the Sith Lord. She enlisted help from Obi-Wan, who eventually convinced the Galactic Republic to lay siege to the planet and drive Darth Maul out. Ultimately, Bo-Katan was named the planet's leader and was bequeathed with the Darksaber, which is the weapon she's looking for in this episode of The Mandalorian.

Although she was named the leader of Mandalore, she lost her title when she refused to acknowledge the rule of Emperor Palpatine. The Darksaber, the dark lightsaber that Moff Gideon has been seen wielding on The Mandalorian, seems like it will be a key part of the show moving forward. Bo-Katan was in the last scene before the rebellion against the Empire, at the end of Star Wars: Rebels. 

Although fans haven't seen her since the Empire fell, we do know that there was a battle called The Great Purge in which the Empire and Mandalore battled. Unlike the Mandalorian at the show's center, though, Bo-Katan is more than willing to take off her helmet when she deems it appropriate. She may be a Mandalorian, but the show also reveals that not all Mandalorians see the world in exactly the same way. 

Other than the introduction of Bo-Katan, we also learned that the titular Mandalorian is a "Child of the Watch," which is a cult-like religious group that wants to restore the ancient ways of the Mandalorian people. That's why Bo-Katan is willing to remove her helmet, and the Mandalorian is not. When Bo-Katan takes her helmet off, Mando initially assumes that it means she's not a real Mandalorian. 

Eventually, though, he learns that he's the one who's strange, and most Mandalorians don't insist on keeping their helmets on with the same stridency. The introduction of Bo-Katan is also a signal about the scope of the world that The Mandalorian is building. Although the show has been focused primarily on weekly adventures thus far, it seems possible that moving forward it will become a show with a more regular cast of characters and more recurring storylines.