The Mandalorian S3 Episode 5 Introduces The Show's Most Glaring Plot Hole Yet
Contains spoilers for "The Mandalorian" Season 3 Episode 5
Though he remains an ace pilot and a capable warrior, "The Mandalorian" Season 3 has made extremely clear that Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) is a bumbling everyman compared to Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). After her grumpy, semi-hostile appearance in the season premiere, Bo-Katan has been leveling up by the minute. She can use the Darksaber in ways Din can only dream about, defeats creatures that the show's titular character soundly lost to, and casually spots legendary creatures while rescuing the hapless Mando from the bottom of the Living Waters.
Before "Chapter 21: The Pirate," arguably the biggest "Bo-Katan now plays life on easy mode" moment of the season was the way she ended up joining the Children of the Watch. After openly scoffing at the Way for much of her screen time in earlier episodes, Bo-Katan joined Din on his quest to reinstate himself as a Mandalorian in the eyes of the Armorer's (Emily Swallow) people ... only to accidentally start following the Way herself after taking a dip in the Living Waters and forgetting to remove her helmet afterwards.
If all of this wasn't enough to convince the viewer that the show really wants you to think that Bo-Katan is worthier than Din, "Chapter 21" continues the theme. Unfortunately, it does so by throwing what just might be the show's most egregious plot hole yet in the mix, by having Bo-Katan remove her helmet ... at the insistence of the Armorer, no less.
The Armorer allows Bo-Katan to remove her helmet, an act expressly forbidden from Mandalorians
After poor Din Djarin spent several episodes on a highly difficult and dangerous quest to resume his Mandalorian status after daring to remove his helmet, the Armorer – aka the person who specifically told Din that helmet removal is an instant case of excommunicado –- outright orders Bo-Katan to remove hers. Then, she marches Bo-Katan out in the open, and when the rest of the Tribe unsurprisingly tilts their collective head at the situation, the Armorer casually grants her a free "no helmet" pass. All of this happens in Din's full sight, and as an added insult to injury, absolutely everyone just rolls with the Armorer's "she walks in two worlds" reasoning, as well.
All of this is great for fans who want to see more of Katee Sackhoff, but it also severely undermines what has consistently been presented as an ironclad rule for this faction. Din Djarin, a class act, does take the situation reasonably well, simply nodding at the revelation and going about his day. Still, this does seem like the kind of thing he might want to casually mention to the Armorer at some point down the line. He had to go take a bath in the deepest waters of a planet everyone thought was poisonous to regain his standing, so he might be interested to hear why the Tribe's leader neglected to reveal that she can just give free passes to any rando Mando who tells her they saw a mythosaur.
Sure, Bo-Katan is Mandalorian royalty, but it's not like Din — the current owner of the legendary Darksaber, who has been saving the Tribe on a weekly basis as of late — is a nobody, either. Why give one preferential treatment over the other, and throw all rules in the trash?
The Armorer has been seeming a little suspicious as of late. Now that the usually stern matriarch is once again bending over backwards to make Bo-Katan's life easier, fans have all the more reason to raise a quizzical eyebrow.