Back in September, there was an online rumor that Pedro Pascal walked off the set of The Mandalorian series because he didn’t want to continue acting while always wearing a helmet. It seems like that rumor was unfounded given other reports of continued goodwill on the set after the supposed walk off.
I only became unaware of this rumor until after I was several episodes into the second season. Normally, I don’t read or watch anything with speculation and rumors about the show. By the time I found out about this rumor it had been widely discredited by the other sources.
After watching the “Chapter 15: The Believer,” I joined some friends online for a game of Dungeons & Dragons. One of my D&D friends asked if I thought Mando taking off his helmet in the episode was a concession to actor Pedro Pascal. I said no almost instinctively and commented about how the rumor was discredited. After a night’s sleep, I woke up continuing to ponder the question. Was the helmet removal just a concession to an actor, or was there a greater reason?
THE MANDALORIAN LEARNS HARD TRUTHS
Mando began Season 2 on a quest to deliver the child to the Jedi, so he was searching for other Mandalorian enclaves to give him leads. In the first episode, he encounters Marshal Cobb Vanth wearing the very recognizable Mandalorian armor of Boba Fett. When Cobb takes off his helmet in the bar, Din Djarin immediately questions where Cobb got the armor. He assumes Cobb is not a Mandalorian since he took off the helmet in front of someone.
In exchange for helping to kill a Krayt dragon terrorizing the town, Vanth gives the armor to Djarin. At the end of the episode, we see Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett and the clone troopers, looking on. Every Star Wars fan understood this is Boba Fett in search of his armor.
Then in “Chapter 11: The Heiress,” Mando finally meets up with other Mandalorians. When they take their helmets off in front of him, he angrily demands to know where they got the armor because he’s been taught since a child that Mandalorians never take off their helmets. But this is Bo-Katan Kryze and she explains Djarin just how Mandalorian she is. Kryze then tells Din Djarin something that even he was unaware of: he was raised by the Children of the Watch, an extremely zealous sect of Mandalorians who are the only ones to abide by the helmet rule.
Then in “Chapter 14: The Tragedy,” Boba Fett shows up on Tython with Fennec Shand seeking to reclaim his armor. As they square off against Moff Gideon’s forces, Fett reemerges in his trademark armor. We are treated to a show of force by the beloved character that is on par with the Darth Vader hallway scene at the end of Rogue One. Later, Fett shows Djarin the lineage of his armor verifying it as being rightfully passed down to him.
WHAT IS THE WAY?
These encounters show Din Djarin that “The Way” is interpreted differently by other Mandalorians.
At last, we come to “Chapter 15: The Believer.” This episode is all about how far Djarin is willing to go to recover Grogu (AKA The Child.) First, Mando and his squad springs Migs Mayfeld, a character that questioned if Mando was a Gungan under the helmet back in Season 1. To infiltrate the Imperial rhydonium refinery on Morak, Mando makes a compromise and dons stormtrooper armor along with Mayfeld.
As Mayfeld drives the commandeered Imperial transport, he questions Mando about the helmet rule. Mayfeld states that everyone has a line they don’t cross until things get messy. This is not the subtlest foreshadowing, but it is done well by Bill Burr. Once in the facility, I love how we see that Mayfeld actually respects Mando’s rule when it’s revealed that getting the information means that Djarin will have to have his face scanned.
Pedro Pascal’s subtle acting under the helmet before the pivotal moment and after—when helmetless—really sells the conflict inside Djarin. He is doing what is necessary to track down Moff Gideon and save Grogu. In removing his helmet to achieve a greater good, I believe he’s growing in his definition of being a Mandalorian.
LOSING MY RELIGION
Din Djarin is beginning to realize he can remove his helmet and still be a Mandalorian. The timing of Djarin’s evolution as a character comes at the right time since there will likely be little time for introspection in the last episode of this season. The Mandalorian’s holo message to Moff Gideon sets the scene for an epic showdown.
To answer the original question, Djarin didn’t remove his helmet just because Pascal wanted face time on camera. This is part of a larger plan to allow the character to grow. The Mandalorian series is not great because it’s Star Wars. It’s great because the characters are written (and acted) well. Well-written characters are not static. They grow and evolve.
This is the Way.
