‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3: How Was Mandalore Destroyed?

Editor's Note: The following contains minor spoilers from Season 3 Episode 2 of The Mandalorian.The Mandalorian Season 3 has already centered more on Mandalorian lore than ever before. With Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) now disgraced from the Children of the Watch for removing his helmet, he journeys to the Mandalorian home world, looking for redemption. As he takes Grogu Mandalore, they see the state of the planet, and Din assures his son that wasn't always like that. Once there, Din determines the extent of the damage, learning that the air is breathable, despite the rumors of it being poisonous. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about Mandalore. Yet the once lush and green planet is now rocks and ruins. The events that resulted in Mandalore's destruction aren't explained in detail in the episode but are a significant part of Mandalorian history. The Great Purge of Mandalore was the Empire's reaction to a long saga of Mandalore's resistance to their control. The Purge ended in a bloody event referred to as the Night of a Thousand Tears, which left the planet's surface in the sorry state Din and Grogu find it in.

What Led to the Great Purge?

The Mandalorian in armor confronting Bo-Katan — Image via Disney

The story of Mandalore has been a rollercoaster throughout the Star Wars franchise. From civil wars to the climactic Siege of Mandalore, the world has faced plenty of difficulties, but there is much more to the story. Throughout her appearances in The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) references her failed attempt to reclaim the planet with the Darksaber but remains vague about the disaster that ended her tenure as ruler. The Empire's Great Purge of Mandalore was a targeted attempt to wipe out the civilization. Even though the event seemed sudden, it was a long time coming.

Starting during the Empire's rise, Palpatine wanted control of the planet and its valuable beskar mines. Clone troopers were on Mandalore to keep the peace after the defeat of Darth Maul. They were ordered to become an occupying force. Bo-Katan, the leader of the newly freed planet, refused to take Imperial orders and was replaced by Gar Saxon, who was loyal to the Empire. Through Saxon, the Empire had control over Mandalore for years. But Star Wars: Rebels tells the story of Mandalorian student Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), who created an Arc Pulse Generator, which could be used to turn Mandalorian armor against the wearer. She was appalled by the Empire's plans for it, so Sabine destroyed her invention and ran away to join the rebellion, but the Empire rebuilt the arc pulse generator.

Eventually, Sabine found the Darksaber and returned home to challenge the Empire's rule. Sabine's return resulted in a civil war between Imperial-supported Mandalorians and those who sought freedom for their planet. The Mandalorian resistance defeated the Empire, and Sabine gifted the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, who she called the rightful ruler of Mandalore. Many Mandalorians swore allegiance to Bo-Katan, but her rule was controversial since she didn't win the Darksaber in combat. Because of that fact, the Children of the Watch believed the planet was cursed.

The Night of a Thousand Tears

The Mandalorian resistance and their success in throwing off the Empire proved to Imperial authorities that they couldn't control Mandalore long-term. So they decided that no one else should have control of the planet either. The Empire instigated the Great Purge of Mandalore, planning to wipe out the warrior people. They were nearly successful, depleting the Mandalorian numbers drastically. Through songs, the event came to be known as the Night of a Thousand Tears. The Empire's destruction was swift and decisive. A flashback to the Night of a Thousand Tears can be seen in The Book of Boba Fett, episode 5, "The Return of the Mandalorian," when the Armorer (Emily Swallow) recounts it to Din.

None other than Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) lead the Empire's forces in their decimation of Mandalore. During the night, the planet was attacked by gunships with repeating blasters. These gunships took out fields of Mandalorian recruits, destroying the people's ability to oppose the Empire. The surface assault bombing ravaged the planet. The Empire bombed the cities, and security and probe droids searched for survivors to kill anyone they found. The Empire's genocide of the Mandalorians was thorough, but a few Mandalorians escaped. These survivors had to leave the sector for fear of being found and killed. And the Death Watch sect, of which Din is a part, only lived because they had been operating off the moon Concordia. They maintain that the Night of a Thousand Tears is a direct result of the curse Bo-Katan brought upon her people.

The Aftermath

The Mandalorian walking into the Living Waters of Mandalore — Image via Disney+

During the fighting that night, Moff Gideon won the Darksaber from Bo-Katan. The Mandalorian people were scattered and without a home. And the mines were destroyed, making beskar scarce. The Empire did manage to hold onto some of the precious substance. In Season 1, Din is paid in beskar from a former Imperial for obtaining Grogu. The Armorer believes they got the beskar during the Night of a Thousand Tears.

There are many rumors about what became of the planet. After its destruction, Mandalore was deemed unable to sustain life, and the Mandalorians feared to return to their ancestral home. In the Season 3 premiere, Din believed this rumor. But once arriving at the planet and testing the air, he discovers that to be false. Earlier in the show, Migs Mayfeld (Bill Burr) believed Mandalore to be gone, like Alderaan after the Death Star, but that isn't the case either. The planet still exists but is abandoned and in ruins. Din is among the first to return, with many Mandalorians still believing the rumors. Of course, Season 3, episode 2, "The Mines of Mandalore," proves that Mandalore can support life through creatures that attack R5 and the Mythosaur. It also shows the planet's air to be breathable for humans after Din arrives. While the Empire's destruction was thorough, it doesn't mean Mandalore cannot be healed. With the Darksaber once again in play and Din able to dispel the rumors surrounding the planet, there is hope that the Mandalorians can finally return home.