5 years after its debut, The Mandalorian built a great legacy for himself in Star Warsbut even the franchise’s first live-action TV show isn’t free from absurdist story elements. Just marketing its sole bounty hunter protagonist, later revealed to be Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and a lawless galaxy, almost all in The Mandalorian the first season was a big surprise – including the existence of Grogu, known at the time as “Baby Yoda” and “the Child”. This mystery surrounding the series unfolded more and more with each new episode, but not every mystery had an answer.
In fact, it seems like some of these story elements were never intended to be mysteries and still haven’t been properly explained half a decade later. As important and well-crafted as this season is, it still has its moments, like many others. Star Wars movies and TV shows do it too. From the secrets surrounding its characters to the lore that wasn’t ready to be fleshed out yet, here are 10 things that The Mandalorian Season 1 that still doesn’t make sense, even 5 years later.
10
Why does Din Djarin have to wait until the end to get a Jetpack?
He reveals that he trained with them as a child
Part of what quickly made Din Djarin an iconic character was his silhouette, which was indicated not only by his helmet but also by his signature weapon: an Amban phase pulse blaster rifle. This great rifle, inspired by Boba Fett’s gun in the infamous The Star Wars Holiday Specialit remained tied to the bounty hunter’s back, with its metal spikes facing the ground. Because of this, Din Djarin didn’t have room for a jetpack and therefore didn’t carry one – at least, not until he finally got one at the end of the first season.
Unfortunately, in terms of story, this decision doesn’t make as much sense as it does behind the scenes. When the Armorer asks Din if he was trained in the Rising Phoenix, the Mandalorian responds by saying yes when he was “a boy” and that’s when the Armorer gives him a jetpack. The timing of this decision doesn’t make sense, especially when Din expresses his desire to have his own jetpack as early as episode 3. There is no logical reason why Din Djarin couldn’t have his jetpack soonerin addition to creating your silhouette.
9
New Republic prison doors can be unlocked from the inside
That’s not a very effective construction project!
Din Djarin finds himself at a dead end when he works with his old mercenary gang and is betrayed by them. Locked inside a cell on a New Republic prison ship, Din has to fear not only for his own fate, but also that of the child still aboard his ship, who the mercenaries are ready to take far, far away. far away. Ever the strategist, however, Din is quickly able to form a plan to get out, using his signature Mandalorian weapons to do so. Although he eventually escapes, there is a giant hitch in the logic behind it.
After ripping off one of the security droid’s arms, Din manages to unlock his cell from the inside. The only possible counterargument to this is that these internal locks were included as a way for anyone on the New Republic crew to get out if they accidentally got trapped inside, but even so, there’s still a big problem. These locks can most likely be picked, and that means any prisoner can somehow find a way to undo the lock from the inside. It would make more sense if Din unlocked it somehow.
8
Why can only one Mandalorian go to the surface at a time?
And how do they hide their numbers with unique armor?
It’s established from the beginning The Mandalorian season 1 that Mandalorians are rare in this era due to the Great Purge, a devastating event that saw Mandalore bombed beyond recognition by the Empire. Despite not being on Mandalore at the time, as they were trapped in exile on the moon Concordia, Din Djarin’s people – the Children of the Watch – continue to live in hiding. To do this, they dwell in secret tunnels beneath the surface of the planet Nevarro, and Paz Vizsla reveals that they only go to the surface one at a time to hide their numbers.
In practice, however, this statement makes no sense. Even though they rise above the ground one at a time, none of them have identical armor and therefore the townspeople would know that each Mandalorian was different. Not only that, but it’s also strangely vague about how exactly this whole principle works. Does this mean that only one of them can be above ground at a time, or just that they can only venture to the surface alone? If it’s the former, then Din Djarin’s bounty hunting career would keep everyone else in hiding forever.
7
The New Republic blows up a space station… without knowing why
They don’t check what really happened
To get revenge on those who stabbed him in the back on the prison ship, Din Djarin acquires the fallen Lieutenant Davan’s activated beacon and manages to place it on the prisoner’s belt before he and Grogu blast off from Ranzar Malk’s space station, the Perch. With the beacon now transmitting from this space station, a team of three X-wing pilots arrive just as Din Djarin leaves, and they find the source of the signal. This is enough for them to start shooting at the space station without any prior communication to its inhabitants.
This seems like a very illogical approach to responding to a reference beacon signal. For example, if this beacon was still transmitting from the prison ship, would these X-wing pilots have simply blown up the ship with Lieutenant Davan still inside? The lack of communication here is staggering; For all these pilots knew, this could be a faulty signal, and everyone inside that space station could be innocent.. Of course, the audience knows better, especially since Qin is just minutes away from chasing Din with the intention of killing him – but that doesn’t excuse the actions of these pilots.
6
How does the Armorer not know if his Mandalorians survived?
She was there the whole time
It’s a tragic moment in The Mandalorian season 1 finale, when Din Djarin and his crew finally reach the tunnels of their hideout, only to find a pile of damaged Mandalorian armor lying there. The Armorer appears shortly after, explaining to him that the cover was blown by the Imperials shortly after they helped Din escape the planet with Grogu. Din asks her if any of them survived, and the Armorer responds with “I hope so.” This isn’t a very promising answer, especially with all the damaged armor still left there – and it doesn’t make sense.
The Armorer was clearly there when this happened, and she even remained there after properly repurposing the damaged armor, so how could she not know for sure if there were more survivors? It could be that she is only talking about those who escaped, as her decision to stay behind would not have allowed her to keep track of who actually made it onto an off-world ship and who didn’t, but otherwise, she would have a firm idea about whether or not most of her people survived. It’s also a wonder how she survived, considering how much armor she had left.
5
Din Djarin and his crew never confirm Moff Gideon’s death
They should know better than to assume
It’s a victorious moment when Din Djarin manages to shoot down Moff Gideon’s TIE fighter in The Mandalorian season 1 finale, especially since he uses his new jetpack to do it. By placing a charge on the wing of the TIE fighter, Din causes the ship to fall to the surface, where it lands in a large spray of dark dirt. There’s no explosion afterwards, but Din and his crew seem satisfied enough to insist that the Moff is dead because they won’t check the wreckage. If they had done so, they would have discovered that Gideon had survived.
It just doesn’t make sense that a Mandalorian warrior and a former Rebel shock trooper wouldn’t immediately go to confirm the death before assuming they were safe, especially from someone as threatening, influential, and conniving as Moff Gideon. Din Djarin especially has a personal vendetta against Gideon for the destruction of his people and his homeworld, and for almost killing him just hours before. Without a proper explosion, even resulting from the crash of the TIE fighter, the group definitely should have gone to confirm the kill.instead of assuming he was dead.
4
Why do the Niktos have Grogu on Arvala-7 in the first place?
Who are they working for?
It is the Ugnaught Kuiil who guides Din Djarin to the camp where Grogu is being held. The fortress is being defended by Niktos, and although there is a large force of them there, there is no explanation as to who they are or why they have Grogu. It appears they were simply tasked with protecting the child, though even so, when Din and IG-11 find Grogu inside the hideout, his cart is hidden under a stray net. It’s almost as if the Niktos have no idea how valuable Grogu really iswhich only makes this all even more confusing.
Clearly, the Niktos are not protecting Grogu on behalf of the Imperial Remnant, as they are the ones actively hiring bounty hunters to find the child. It would also make little sense for the New Republic to keep Grogu here under the protection of mercenaries, rather than bringing him somewhere safer and more suitable for a Force-sensitive child like him. Who, then, is really behind Grogu’s placement in the Nikto camp? This is a question that may never be answered, but as it stands, it doesn’t make sense why Grogu would be there.
3
Nothing about Din Djarin’s name makes sense
How do names work for guardian children?
Din Djarin’s name is spoken for the first time in The Mandalorian season 1 finale, when Moff Gideon addresses him as such. Din is able to use Moff Gideon’s knowledge of his family name to piece together the Imperial’s identity, citing the fact that Gideon was an ISB officer during the Great Purge and would therefore have access to records on Mandalore, where Din’s name was kept. Unfortunately, however, after The Mandalorian season 3, this makes no sense – because Din Djarin had never been to Mandalore before that season. Why, then, was his name registered there?
Is it part of the Mandalorian Creed that names are forbidden for a similar reason to why they have to hide their faces?
Things with Din Djarin’s name get even more confusing towards the end. Din tells his classmates that he hasn’t heard his name spoken since he was a child, but the Armorer uses his name later in the tunnels while instructing IG-11 to hold Din’s jetpack for him. How the Armorer remembered the name of someone who hasn’t used his name in decadesespecially when she leads so many of them? Is it part of the Mandalorian Creed that names are forbidden for a similar reason to why they have to hide their faces?
2
Someone wants Grogu dead, but it’s definitely not Moff Gideon
Who told IG-11 that Grogu needed to be shut down?
Another mystery of The Mandalorian The season 1 premiere has to do with the terms of IG-11’s hunt for the child. When they finally find Grogu, IG-11 insists that the child must be fired and that bringing him in alive is not an option. Din, however, was told that they would actually prefer to bring the child alive, and he wouldn’t have the stomach to kill Grogu, anyway. Still, whoever ordered IG-11 wants Grogu dead, but that person’s identity is never revealed. There are a few suspects, but even those individuals wouldn’t want Grogu dead.
The main person after Grogu is Moff Gideon, and there’s no way he would have explicitly ordered his hunters to bring Grogu back only dead. Gideon wants Grogu and his blood to create his army of Force-sensitive clones, and if Grogu died, then Gideon would lose an unlimited supply of that blood. The child’s death would actually hinder Gideon’s efforts, in a similar way to how Jango Fett’s death complicated the production of clone troopers during the Clone Wars. It makes no sense, then, that anyone would want Grogu dead, specifically if Gideon himself wanted him alive.
1
The Mandalorian helmet rule still doesn’t make sense
Not enough context for his story and nuances
Perhaps the greatest mystery of The Mandalorian Season One that still stands is the Children of the Watch helmet rule, which prohibits Mandalorians from removing their helmets. In Season 2, Bo-Katan Kryze explains that this is part of the Children of the Watch’s efforts to reestablish the Ancient Way, but even that doesn’t seem to make much sense given that ancient Mandalorian helmets were very different back then. It seems completely impractical for a rule like this to existand has no real purpose other than to keep the warriors’ identities hidden – and has no precedence in history.
There are also nuances that go unexplained when it comes to the helmet rule. There is no clarification as to whether or not families and spouses can see each other, which is a difficult way for a family to live. Children’s first developments of empathy come from observing adults’ facial expressions, and these helmets would greatly limit this if they were never able to see human faces. It is also impractical for every Mandalorian to have to go into seclusion to eat every meal. This controversial rule established in The Mandalorian can only suspend so much belief.