The Mandalorian star Katee Sackhoff opens up about the frustrations she has with fans over their treatment of her character Bo-Katan Kryze. On an episode of her podcast The Sackhoff Show, the actress talked Star Wars with her Mandalorian co-star Brendan Wayne. At one point, Wayne explained why he’s a big fan of Bo-Katan’s arc across franchise canon. He enjoyed that the character was “a tough leader who had to learn how to lead again.” While Wayne loves the Bo-Katan redemption story, Sackhoff pointed out that there are fans who are still critical of the character even though she’s evolved over the years.
“I think it really frustrates me when people don’t see her pain or they don’t see the redemption,” Sackhoff said. “They still hold her to the terrible, terrible mistakes she made but they don’t allow the growth of her 15-20 years later.”
Prior to making her live-action debut in The Mandalorian Season 2, Bo-Katan was a recurring character on the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She’s introduced as a member of the Death Watch, a Mandalorian terrorist group at odds with Bo-Katan’s sister Satine, who is a pacifist. A key arc on The Clone Wars features Death Watch teaming up with Maul to take control of Mandalore. Maul eventually takes the throne for himself, leading Bo-Katan to see the error in her ways. After the Republic defeated Maul’s forces, Bo-Katan became Regent of Mandalore, but was removed when she went against the Empire.
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On The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan’s primary goal is to reclaim her home planet years after the Great Purge that saw the Empire wipe the Mandalorians out, with her main target being Moff Gideon. During the show’s third season, Bo-Katan is successful in her mission, overcoming the Imperial remnants still on Mandalore, ushering in a new era for her people.
Sackhoff’s feelings are very understandable. Part of what makes following a character for years so great is watching them evolve over that time. It can be a fun experience to see them change, reflecting the very human desire to improve and be better. While Bo-Katan wasn’t always a heroic figure, nobody is perfect and she deserves her chance at redemption like anyone else. Her arc is compelling because she realized her mistakes and made efforts to correct them — and, like all the best characters, she always felt like she was acting out of best intentions. On The Clone Wars, she was doing what she thought was best for her homeworld, and on The Mandalorian she’s atoning for those errors.
From an actor’s perspective, it’s probably a more appealing prospect to play a character who does evolve over the course of several years. It can always be entertaining to play a one-note villain who relishes in being evil, but that can get stale. Sackhoff has clearly enjoyed getting a chance to paint a fascinating portrait of Bo-Katan, exploring multiple sides of the character as she reemerges as a dedicated leader. Whether or not she returns in The Mandalorian & Grogu remains to be seen, but hopefully Bo-Katan will return at some point.
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