Why Did The Mandalorian Din Djarin Remove His Helmet? Explained
Early in the storyline of The Mandalorian, we learned that the Mandalorian tribe that Din Djarin belonged to prohibited their members from removing their helmets to show their faces to living people. However, we know that Din Djarin removed his helmet during the storyline of The Mandalorian, which was why the Armorer had no choice but to expel him from their tribe. So, why did Din Djarin remove his helmet?
Din Djarin removed his helmet because he needed to do so to fulfill his mission of rescuing Grogu. He needed to remove his helmet when he infiltrated an Imperial base as a Stormtrooper as a commanding officer asked him to do so. He did it again at the end of season 2 to say goodbye to Grogu.
When Din Djarin removed his helmet before a living person, it was all for Grogu’s sake. That means that, deep in his inner psyche, he values Grogu more than he does being a Mandalorian. As such, he didn’t think twice about removing his helmet as long as Grogu was the reason for doing so. Now, let’s look at why Din Djarin removed his helmet.
How Many Times Did Din Djarin Remove His Helmet?
We’ve met a lot of Mandalorians in the Star Wars storyline. Still, it was only during the events of The Mandalorian that we met unique Mandalorians with different ways of doing things. These Mandalorians are known to adopt children as foundlings and indoctrinate them into their tribe as Children of the Watch members. And while there are a lot of rules that these Mandalorians follow, the one rule that needs to be taken into the heart is the need for them to keep their faces hidden under their helmets at all times whenever they are in front of living people.
In that regard, Din Djarin, the titular star of The Mandalorian series, kept his vow as a Mandalorian almost throughout the entire storyline as he kept his face hidden from other people. But while he was loyal to his creed as a Mandalorian, Din had to break the rules a few times during the events of The Mandalorian by removing his helmet to show his face on-camera. So, how many times did Din Djarin remove his helmet?
Din Djarin removed his helmet to show his face on camera a total of three times. However, out of those three times, he only broke his vow as a Mandalorian twice because those were the only instances when he showed his face to a living person.
The first time that Din Djarin had to remove his helmet was when he was badly injured at the end of season 1. He needed medical attention from IG-11, a former hunting droid but was reprogrammed to become a nicer kind of droid. IG-11 told Din that he wasn’t breaking his vow as a Mandalorian because he would remove his helmet in front of a droid. So, while we did see Din’s face right then and there, he didn’t violate the Mandalorian creed because no living person saw his face then.
But it was in season 2 that he was placed in a situation wherein he was made to choose between his creed and Grogu. When Moff Gideon captured Grogu, Din needed to find a way to get to the coordinates of the Imperial remnant’s ship, and that was when he and a few of his allies infiltrated an Imperial base. He and Migs Mayfeld took on disguises as Stormtroopers so that they could enter the Imperial base.
However, the base’s commanding officer demanded that Din and Mayfeld remove their helmets while on the base. As such, Din had no choice but to remove his helmet and show his face to Mayfeld and the commanding officer. Mayfeld did Din a solid by killing the officer after and by vowing that he would forget his face. Still, the fact is that Din needed to remove his helmet and show his face to a living person so that his mission to find Grogu would be successful.
The third time that Din Djarin removed his helmet was when he did so willingly and without needing anyone to coerce him. It happened after Luke Skywalker rescued Din and his allies from the Dark troopers on Moff Gideon’s ship. When it was time for Grogu to leave with Luke, the young child requested one last moment with Din Djarin. The Mandalorian complied and willingly removed his helmet so that his friend would see his face for the first and final time before they parted ways.
Why Did Din Djarin Remove His Helmet?
In The Book of Boba Fett, the Armorer learned from Din Djarin’s confession that he violated the way of the Mandalorians by showing his face in front of a living person. That was when he was expelled from the tribe and became an apostate. Meanwhile, season 3 of The Mandalorian explores Din Djarin’s quest to try to redeem himself by bathing in the waters in the mines of Mandalore, as that was the only way for any apostate to cleanse themselves of their transgressions. But why did Din even remove his helmet?
In all the different times that Din Djarin removed his helmet, the one thing on his mind was Grogu. As mentioned, the first time he removed his helmet was for the sake of a mission that involved rescuing Grogu from Moff Gideon. Meanwhile, the second time he removed his helmet was so Grogu could see his face before they parted ways. That means Grogu was always why Din was willing to violate his Mandalorian creed, the only way he has ever known, by removing his helmet and showing his face to living people.
While he has yet to admit it, Din Djarin subtly tells us that he values Grogu more than his Mandalorian way of life, as he was always willing to forsake his creed for Grogu. The Mandalorians of the Children of the Watch are known to be sticklers for the rules, and that means they are all more willing to give up their lives rather than allow other people to see their faces.
But the fact that Din Djarin removed his helmet to save Grogu and make him happy was his way of saying that he loved the little guy more than he ever valued his identity as a Mandalorian. So, if ever he were given a choice between being a Mandalorian and the safety and happiness of Grogu, he would always choose his little green friend.
