Bo-Katan Kryzeactor Katee Sackhoff has addressed her character’s redemption story inThe Mandalorian, including her frustration towards those who refuse to let the character grow.Bo-Katan’sStar Warsstorybegan in the animatedStar Wars: The Clone Warsseries, and her character has since had quite the journey to becoming Mandalore’s leader, particularly inThe Mandalorianseason 3. Still, however, many viewers continue to define Bo-Katan by her actions inThe Clone Warsas a member ofDeath Watch.
Sackhoff is now taking the time to address her frustrations about this, especially after Bo-Katan’s redemptive journey inThe Mandalorianseason 3. Speaking on her podcastThe Sackhoff Show(viaMandoverse Updates),Sackhoff insists that “it really frustrates me when people don’t see [Bo-Katan’s] pain, or they don’t see the redemption,“and instead, they “hold her to the terrible, terrible mistakes she made” - and, in the process, ignore her growth.
Katee Sackhoff: I think it really frustrates me when people don’t see her pain, or they don’t see the redemption. They still hold her to the terrible, terrible mistakes she made, but they don’t allow the growth of her 15 to 20 years later.
What Bo-Katan Kryze’s Redemption Story Means For Star Wars
Why It’s Important That We Listen To Sackhoff’s Concerns
Redemption is a core theme ofStar Wars, and Bo-Katan is one of the characters who exemplifies that the most. This Mandalorian warrior has had no simple journey; she went from being a misguided young woman in Pre Vizsla’s Death Watch terrorist group to the leader who ultimately united the Mandalorians and reclaimed their world from theImperial Remnant. Despite this,Bo-Katan is one of the characters who most often gets her own history thrown back in her face, despite the way she’s changed.
Accountability is an important thing, but if this is the way (no pun intended) characters on a redemptive journey inStar Warswill always be treated, thensuccessful redemption will never be truly achievable. Of course, it’s also important to consider that the problem with Bo-Katan’s redemption could be that it wasn’t executed in the most thorough way possible, hence audiences often pointing towards or revisiting her past. It is, however, hard to deny that Bo-Katan has truly changed now.
Why Bo-Katan’s Past Mistakes Are Constantly Being Brought Up Again
Her Redemption Story Has Been Retold & Redone Too Many Times
The way I see it, there’s one big reason why Bo-Katan is constantly having her old mistakes rehashed. As Bo-Katan’s character has been revisited fromThe Clone WarstoStar Wars Rebelsand, most recently,The Mandalorian, her story has evolved in an interesting and, in certain ways, regressive manner. For example, the redemptive journey Bo-Katan goes on inRebelsisessentially repeated nearly beat-for-beatinThe Mandalorianseason 3. Why do the same thing twice?
This is especially problematic becauseit makes Bo-Katan look as if she is not capable of growth when that is not the truth. She goes from uniting the Mandalorians under theDarksaberinRebelsto dismissing Din Djarin and his covert as a “cult of religious zealots” inThe Mandalorianseason 2, and then judges him for being a bounty hunter later on in that same season. It’s a far cry from the lessons she learned inRebels, and does little justice to everything she learned up until that point.
It’s important to note that female characters such as Bo-Katan are often held to higher standards when it comes to accountability of past mistakes inStar Wars.
It’s unfair to Bo-Katan, and to Sackhoff, that this repetition of the same redemption story has continued to happen to her character, and she’s right to express frustration about Bo-Katan’s growth being ignored as a result. Thankfully, however, Bo-Katan’s story inThe Mandaloriansub-franchise is likely far from over, which means even more new growth could be on the way for this character - but for now, it’s important to acknowledge just how far she’s truly come.
