The Mandalorianis back! After Disney+ took a break from its most successful series to ramp upThe Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi,andAndor,The Mandalorianreturns to explore Grogu’s new life with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). While Season 2 was packed with cameos like Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) that launched spinoff series, it appears fromthe trailer that Season 3will focus more heavily on the history of Mandalore and how the ancient warrior race has fallen into conflict.The Mandalorianhas tied very heavily into the mythology and storylines that were established byDave FiloniinThe Clone Wars, and Season 3 is set to incorporate the evil Mandalorian splinter group known as “Death Watch.”
While a lot of the “Legends” canon no longer has any relevance to the saga, the franchise has frequently taken inspiration from original books, comics, games, and guidebooks to form the basis of the new canon. Thehistory of the Mandalorianswas quite different in the original Expanded Universe, but some elements like the Death Watch have been reintroduced with some changes to fit withinthe modern timeline.The Death Watch played a major role inThe Clone Wars, but the term was first coined by anAttack of the Clonesspinoff comic from 2002. Here’s everything you need to know about the Death Watch and their importance in Season 3 ofThe Mandalorian.
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The Death Watch’s Introduction in the Comics
The Death Watch made their first appearance in the 2002 comic book miniseriesJango Fett: Open Season, which explored Fett’s backstory and how it related to Count Dooku. In the comic, it’s explained that Fett was raised by the “True Mandalorians” and mentored by their leader Jaster Mereel. A Civil War breaks out on the Mandalorian homeworld of Concord Dawn when the more violent Death Watch begins threatening local villagers. The Death Watch’s leader Tor Vizsla forms a plot to draw the Jedi Order’s attention to the planet, where they inadvertently blame the True Mandalorians for the crimes; a dispatch of Jedi, including Dooku, are sent to kill the True Mandalorians, and Fett is the sole survivor.
These events were critical in Dooku’s fall from grace, as once he learned of the truth he began to cast doubt on the judgments made by the Jedi Council. It also introduced him to Fett, whom he would personally suggest to Darth Sidious to be the template for the clone army’s DNA. These events were slightly amended byThe Clone Warswhich established a very different history of Mandalore, but kept the name “Death Watch” in reference to the warrior class of Mandalorians that don’t abide by chivalry.
The Death Watch’s Introduction in ‘The Clone Wars’ Season 2
The Death Watch were reintroduced in Season 2 ofThe Clone Warswhen Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) visits Mandalore and reunites with his former love interest Duchess Satine Kryze (Anna Graves), whom he met during a mission with Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) during his apprenticeship. While Mandalore has enjoyed a peaceful period under Satine’s democracy, the Death Watch threaten to overwhelm the Mandalorian government by working alongside Count Dooku (Corey Burton). Pre Vizsla (voiced byfutureThe MandalorianshowrunnerJon Favreau) attempts to assassinate Satine, but his plot is foiled by Obi-Wan. However, it’s during their first encounter that Vizsla reveals the Darksaber. The ancient weapon was stolen from the Jedi Temple by the Death Watch during the Old Republic era and has become synonymous with ruling the Mandalorian tribes.
The Mandalorians returned in the Season 4 episode “A Friend In Need,” where it’s revealed that the Death Watch was later betrayed by Dooku for their failure to start a conflict on Mandalore. Vizsla swears to retake his homeworld alongside his chief warrior Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), but Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) manages to escape alongside her love interest Lux Bonteri (Jason Spisak).
The Rise of Maul
In Season 5, Maul (Sam Witwer) and his brother Savage Opress (Clancy Brown) plan to create a criminal empire after their failure to recruit Hondo Ohnaka’s (Jim Cummings) pirates. They crash-land on Mandalore and form a pact with Death Watch, but Vizsla grows concerned when Maul plans to expand their empire with other criminal groups. Vizsla doesn’t want anything beyond the recapturing of his homeworld, so Maul challenges him for the Darksaber. Maul executes both Vizsla and Satine in order to take control of the planet; Bo-Katan breaks from the group and swears to never work with Maul.
Obi-Wan is dispatched to a war-torn Mandalore where he forms an alliance with Bo-Katan’s Mandalorians; it’s also revealed that Bo-Katan is Satine’s sister. In Season 7, Ahsoka and Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) are recruited by Bo-Katan to help siege Mandalore and take control from Maul’s “Shadow Collective,” which included Death Watch, Crimson Dawn, and the Pyke Syndicate. Although Ahsoka defeats Maul in conflict and the Republic names Bo-Katan and her Mandalorians as the new rulers, this changes after Order 66 is ordered by Palpatine. Bo-Katan’s leadership is uprooted when the Empire places the former Death Watch supercommando Gar Saxon. “Clan Saxon” effectively replaces the former Death Watch.
Rebels and Beyond
InStar WarsRebels,Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar) obtains the Darksaber after a duel with Maul and returns to Mandalore to take down Clan Saxon. Sabine manages to defeat Gar Saxon with the help of Bo-Katan, who inherits the Darksaber and unites the remaining Mandalorian tribes under her leadership. According to the canon novelBattlefront: Twilight Company, the Death Watch would serve as for-hire mercenaries during the Rebel Alliance’s war against the Galactic Empire. However, it appears that Bo-Katan later loses control of the Darksaber sinceMoff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito)has it at the beginning ofThe Mandalorianuntil Din takes it from him in a trial by combat.
Since Din still has the Darksaber inThe Book of Boba Fett, it’s possible that its absence from any conflicts on Mandalore threatens Bo-Katan’s chance to rule. In this vacuum of power, the Death Watch’s descendants formed the “Children of the Watch” and adhered to extremist religious practices opposed by Bo-Katan and the New Mandalorians. Their rise to power promises an epic standoff in Season 3 ofThe Mandalorianthat sees Din and Bo-Katan standing up to the zealot group and bringing justice back to the honorable history of Mandalore.
