The Mandalorian: Is the Darksaber Destroyed? Can It Be Fixed?

We have always known that the Darksaber was the symbol of leadership among the Mandalorians. Those who possessed the Darksaber and won it through combat were given the right to rule over the people of Mandalore. However, we saw during the events of the battle between Bo-Katan Kryze and Moff Gideon in the season 3 finale of The Mandalorian that the Darksaber was taken out of the equation. So, does that mean that the Darksaber was destroyed?

Moff Gideon destroyed the Darksaber in the battle with Bo-Katan. He grabbed Bo-Katan’s hand and used the superhuman strength given to him by the Dark Trooper armor to destroy the Darksaber. It can be presumed that it was also destroyed when the Imperial base on Mandalore was destroyed.

One of the things that we know about the Darksaber is that it has always represented leadership among the Mandalorians. But at the same time, it also sowed the seeds of infighting among them as the leadership role was dictated by whoever had wielded the blade. The fact that Gideon destroyed it was quite symbolic. So, with that said, let’s look at what happened to the Darksaber.

How Was the Darksaber Destroyed?

Ever since it was first introduced into events of Star Wars during the Clone Wars animated series, the Darksaber was regarded as a special blade that symbolized the true leadership role among the Mandalorians. Whoever possessed the blade after winning it in a duel was allowed to become the ruler of Mandalore. And that was why someone like Darth Maul temporarily ruled Mandalore during the Clone Wars.

In the events of The Mandalorian, Din Djarin became the rightful wielder of the blade after he won it from Moff Gideon in their first battle. After a series of events involving Bo-Katan rescuing Din Djarin in Mandalore, she ended up winning the blade and becoming the rightful holder of the Darksaber. And that was why the Mandalorians recognized Kryze as the ruler with the ability and right to unite all of them in their effort to take back Mandalore.

Bo-Katan wielded this blade in the battle against the Imperials that were working under Gideon during the events of episode 8 of season 3 of The Mandalorian. She ended up using the blade in her battle against Gideon as she was trying to settle the score with the man responsible for the destruction of her home planet. But Gideon and his new Dark Trooper armor proved too strong for her.

In that fight against Moff Gideon, Bo-Katan was overpowered. Not even the Darksaber was strong enough to break through Gideon’s defenses due to the sheer strength of his Beskar Steel armor. On top of that, the armor gave Gideon enhanced superhuman strength, allowing him to easily dish out hits that were too much for both Din Djarin and Bo-Katan.

So, during her struggles against Gideon, Bo-Katan got her sword hand grabbed by the Moff. Gideon eventually went for the blade hilt to bend the Darksaber, rendering it useless in their fight. As such, Bo-Katan could no longer use the Darksaber against Gideon but was lucky enough that both Din Djarin and Grogu backed her up to eventually defeat the Moff and restore Mandalore back to the Mandalorians.

Of course, even though Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians defeated Gideon and his Imperial forces, the fact is that the Darksaber was still destroyed. She possibly took the saber and kept it despite it being out of commission. But the fact is that it can no longer be used in battle.

What Does the Destruction of the Darksaber Mean for the Mandalorians?

The destruction of the Darksaber allowed Moff Gideon to gloat about the fact that the blade no longer represented Mandalorian rule over Mandalore. However, we also saw how Bo-Katan immediately told the Moff that she had the other Mandalorians to help her, and that was when Din Djarin and Grogu arrived to help her defeat him.

In that regard, the destruction of the Darksaber doesn’t represent the fall of Mandalore. Instead, it represents the end of a tradition that, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t even mean a thing. Even the Children of the Watch don’t recognize the Darksaber as a symbol of leadership because only Bo-Katan’s Mandalorian faction saw it as the weapon of the rightful ruler of Mandalore.

The fact that the Darksaber was often passed down from one person to another through combat was symbolic of the infighting that the Mandalorians needed to stop. Bo-Katan once said that no one could defeat the Mandalorians because the infighting and civil wars within Mandalore were the only things that could defeat them. And a good reason why some Mandalorians fought one another was for the right to bear the Darksaber and become the new ruler of Mandalore.

Back in Clone Wars, Bo-Katan contributed to the division among her people when she refused to recognize Darth Maul as the rightful leader of Mandalore after he won the Darksaber from Pre Vizsla. In a sense, the destruction of the Darksaber at the hands of Gideon represented the end of an archaic practice that would have only allowed the Mandalorians to continue to fight among themselves for the right to rule Mandalore.

In that regard, because the Darksaber is now destroyed, there is no reason why the Mandalorians would have to stick with such a tradition. Instead, they are now free to choose a different way to pick their leaders. They could even do it in a more diplomatic way that no longer requires them to fight among themselves. After all, the Mandalorians need to be united in their efforts to restore their planet to its former glory a decade after the Imperials destroyed it. 

Can the Darksaber Still Be Fixed?

The most basic component of any lightsaber is its Kyber crystal. As seen during the events of Clone Wars when Huyang was teaching younglings how to construct their own sabers, he said that the crystal is the most important part. However, the saber won’t be complete without the other parts, such as the power cells, the emitter, and an energy gate. Nevertheless, the Kyber crystal remains the most important part of the lightsaber.

So, if the crystal in the saber is damaged, then that would mean that a new Kyber crystal would be required. Kyber crystals are incredibly rare and can only be found in a few places around the galaxy. Meanwhile, the other parts of the saber are easier to find and can even be created from spare parts.

We are saying here that the Darksaber can still be fixed if its Kyber crystal remains intact. We didn’t see the crystal getting destroyed when Gideon damaged the Darksaber and took it out of commission. This suggests that there’s still a good chance that the crystal could still be intact. After all, a broke lightsaber doesn’t always mean a destroyed Kyber crystal, as Ahsoka destroyed the Sixth Brother’s lightsaber without destroying the crystals.

So, if the Mandalorians were to find someone that could fix lightsabers, that would allow them to find a way to fix the Darksaber as well. Of course, the Ahsoka trailer teased that Huyang, the droid professor that understands how a lightsaber works, is still around. And because The Mandalorian is connected with the Ahsoka series, there’s a chance that they might employ Huyang’s services to try to fix the symbolic weapon of the people of Mandalore.

Of course, we are all basing this on the possibility that the damaged Darksaber was not totally destroyed during the explosion that happened in the Imperial base. We never saw Bo-Katan picking it during the fight against Gideon. As such, if it was also destroyed during the explosion, that means that the Darksaber is no more.