The Star Wars universe has found a new home on Disney+; shows like The Book of Boba Fett and the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series add new dimensions to classic Star Wars characters, while The Bad Batch and Star Wars: Visions have pushed the banner of animation. But it all started with The Mandalorian and its protagonist Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) has fast become a fan-favorite Star Wars character.

When Djarin first appeared on The Mandalorian, he was more or less a homage to Fett’s original appearance in The Empire Strikes Back; or more accurately, Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name in A Fistful of Dollars. He was covered from head to toe in worn-down, gritty armor; said armor sounded like jingling spurs wherever he walked, and he was a man of few words, preferring to let his actions do the talking for him.

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The Mandalorian and Grogu
Image via Lucasfilm

This changed by the end of the first episode, where he met the Force-sensitive child Grogu. Originally tasked to eliminate the infant, Djarin instead takes Grogu under his wing – rescuing the child from Imperial forces and going on the run. Slowly, Djarin starts to put Grogu’s well-being ahead of his own. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Season 1, Episode 4 “Sanctuary,” where Djarin is tempted to leave Grogu in the care of villagers on the planet Sorgan. Deep down, he feels that Grogu would be safer without him.

The bond between the two is only strengthened by the Season 1 finale “Redemption,” as Djarin is tasked to bring Grogu to his people – who in this case happen to be the Jedi. This quest makes up the bulk of Season 2 – and leads to a trio of episodes where Grogu is captured and Djarin goes to extreme lengths to save him. He even delivers an ultimatum to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito): “You have something I want. You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not. In a few moments, it will be mine. It means more to me than you will ever know.”

Father/son relationships have always been at the heart of Star Wars. From Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader to Kylo Ren and Han Solo, fatherly bonds – or rather, the lack of them – has driven the major conflicts in a galaxy far, far away. However, surrogate fatherhood counts just as much: Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger’s relationship in Star Wars Rebels comes to mind. Djarin and Grogu’s relationship falls into the latter category; in the Season 2 finale “The Rescue,” Djarin bids his charge a heart-wrenching farewell when Skywalker appears to train Grogu as a Jedi. Fans had grown attached to the Mandalorian and his charge and clamored for a reunion between the pair. That reunion happened in The Book of Boba Fett’s finale, with Djarin and Grogu blasting off for parts unknown.

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Image via Lucasfilm

What has also endeared Djarin to Star Wars fans is his struggle with the faith he was raised in. Djarin followed a strict code of Mandalorian ethics known as “The Way”, which forbade him from ever removing his helmet in the presence of any living thing. This code was broken during his attempts to rescue Grogu; he even removed his helmet so the Force-sensitive child could see his face. The repercussions of this choice were felt in The Book of Boba Fett’s fifth episode “The Return of the Mandalorian,” The Armorer (Emily Swallow) declares that he is no longer a Mandalorian and to do so he must travel to the living waters underneath the planet Mandalore - a place impossible to reach after the decimation of Mandalore.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, he encounters Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), the former ruler of Mandalore, who tells him his “Way” is formed by a fundamentalist sect of Mandalorians. A character dealing with a dogmatic religion is nothing new in Star Wars – look at how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader – but having a character come to terms with that and work to overcome it is something we've rarely seen in the franchise.

Finally, fans seem to enjoy how Djarin seemingly stumbles into major conflicts in the Star Wars universe. A major example comes from the Season 2 finale, where he defeats Gideon and takes the Darksaber for his own. Anyone who’s watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Rebels knows that the Darksaber is tied to Mandalorian history; the first Mandalorian Jedi Tarre Vizla created it, and whoever wields it rules Mandalore. And now that’s Djarin, it remains to be seen if he even wants to rule Mandalore (to say nothing of potential conflict with Kryze, who previously served as Mandalore’s ruler.