The Mandalorian’s Hero’s Quest, Part 2
This is the second of three parts of the Hero's Quest/Hero's Journey/Monomyth for Din Djarin, The Mandalorian. See Part 1 above.
We haven't see Mando's full journey yet, as we know we'll have a least one more season. However, the main quest over the first two seasons is for Din to get Grogu to a Jedi, which we see at the conclusion of season two. Therefore, we will treat that as the Ultimate Boon for now.
II. Initiation
The Hero is on a cycle of leaving and returning. Think of Heracles and his Twelve Labors. Each of these is its own miniature hero’s quest with a particular Boon at the end, but no one quest itself solidifies the hero as being capable of attaining the Ultimate Boon. Luke blows up the first Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but doesn’t defeat the empire until two more movies take place.
The hero must prove him or herself worthy of hero status by facing challenges or trials on the journey.
The initiation develops the hero in two ways, physically and spiritually. While both are important, the hero’s spiritual development is ultimately what will solidify the heroic qualities of the protagonist and allow him or her to win the day.
A. The Road of Trials
i. Brother Battle:
1. This is a physical or psychological battle with either a literal blood brother, or someone who is symbolically a brother.
2. A fellow gunslinger in Mandalorian armor, Cobb Vanth clashes with Din in “Chapter 9: The Marshal”. However, this situation is overcome not by violence, but by cooperation. This is interesting because Vanth certainly aquits himself as a competent and moral character who used the Mandalorian armor (Boba Fett’s armor) for good, yet he still cannot continue to possess the armor as Vanth himself is not Mandalorian. This makes a statement establishing a tenant of belief for Din Djarin, even though he reconsiders other tenants later.
3. Interestingly, Din does surrender the armor to its former owner, Boba Fett. Fett is not a Mandalorian, either. Things get tricky here though. Boba’s “father”, Jango, was a founding and did fight in the Mandalorian civil war (“Chapter 14: The Tragedy” 24:33).
ii. Dragon Battle
1. An actual, outward dragon or large monster, or an inner doubt or fear. The dragon must die for the hero to complete the journey. The treasure the hero claims from this battle is often important to later success.
2. Sometimes, the writers help you out. “Chapter 9: The Marshal” serves up the krayt dragon. When the dragon dies, Cobb Vanth relinquishes Boba Fett’s armor to Din who will, in turn, relinquish it to Fett. Fett proves to be a key player in the success of the mission in “Chapter 16: The Rescue”.
iii. Abduction/Sea Journey/Night Journey
1. The hero or someone close to the hero is abducted. The hero is transported elsewhere, or the hero chases the captors. The journey may take the hero over the sea or on a long night journey. Arrival at the new place is disorienting.
2. Arguably, night journeys happen all the time in Star Wars, as travel through space resembles travel through night.
3. However, the key abduction is of Grogu by Moff Gideon’s forces in “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”. Din gathers his companions and chases after Grogu. He doesn’t experience real disorientation, however, being fully briefed on the layout of Gideon’s ship.
4. Another possibility here because it does have a clear element of disorientation is “Chapter 10: The Passenger.” More than just making me hungry for deviled eggs, Din and Grogu’s sublight journey takes a long time and their pursuit by the X-wings leads them to crash land in a cavern where they are essentially lost.
iv. Entering the Belly of the Whale (Entering the inner-most cave)
1. Drawn deep into the journey, the heroes face their greatest fear or greatest evil.
2. The cavern mention just above from “Chapter 10: The Passenger” could qualify here. We’re not sure how Din feels about spiders, but lots of viewers are fearful of them, especially spiders that are the size of the Razor Crest.
3. An earlier possibility is in Chapters 7 and 8 of the two-part finale to season 1. Din and his companions are trapped inside the bar and are faced off with the Big Bad Evil Guy, Moff Gideon. Not only does Din face the Big Evil here, he also almost dies. Further, when they escape into the culvert, Din comes face to face with his greatest fear, the loss of his clan of Mandalorians.
B. Meeting with the Goddess
i. (I know some scholars combine Goddess/and Sacred Marriage into one step, but I do not. I see them as more often than not being very distinct from each other.)
ii. A woman of great power offers the hero wisdom/supernatural aid.
iii. This aid helps the hero at the greatest challenge on the journey.
iv. This one is tricky, but Bo-Katan Kryze could qualify here, at least until the consequences of Din holding the Dark Saber play out. She gives Din the location of Ahsoka Tano, a (former) Jedi. Also, Bo-Katan provides direct help during “Chapter 16: The Rescue”.
v. A better choice is in “Chapter 13: The Jedi”. Din and Grogu’s encounter with the Force-empowered (i.e. supernatural powered) Ahsoka Tano. She gives Din the information he needs on how to help Grogu contact a Jedi. This contact leads to the Ultimate Boon (thus far in the story, at any rate) of uniting Grogu with the Jedi master.
C. Sacred Marriage/Sacred Bond
i. This is a bond the hero has with one other character that serves as motivation to continue the quest.
ii. Obviously, Din’s bond with Grogu qualifies here.
Part three will conclude the II. Initiation stage with some commentary on III. The Return.
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