Aside from being one of the most action-packed and visually stunning masterpieces of television, The Mandalorian has many underlying themes which are very pro-life.
At the beginning of the series, Din Djarin, a Mandalorian, is a bounty hunter looking for his next objective, when he is told about an expensive job. A remnant warlord of the Empire recruits Din to retrieve an “asset.” He is told that the asset is 50 years old. The Mandalorian is instructed to either bring it back alive or kill it on the spot.
Upon arriving at the location of the “asset,” Din Djarin finds that it is a small innocent creature and destroys the IG droid that was going to kill the creature. Even though the creature is 50 years old, it is still considered a child for its species. Eventually, the Mandalorian brings the small creature to the warlord and leaves with his payment of beskar. While the forgerer makes Din a new suit of beskar, he begins to have flashbacks to when he himself was a small and innocent child. He was saved by a Mandalorian from the Separatist droids who were attacking his village. He became one of the “foundlings” and was raised and trained by the Mandalorians as one of their own. Here we see that the Mandalorians respect and even fight for life.
With a heavy conscience, Din Djarin is about to leave to continue his bounty hunting, when he has a change of heart and returns to find the child and rescue him. Here Din Djarin learns that once the Empire takes what it needs (blood) from the child, they will kill it. After rescuing him, Din Djarin is surrounded by other bounty hunters and is seemingly trapped. The other Mandalorians who had been hiding in the covert on Nevarro, arrive to rescue him and the child. This scene shows the importance of saving innocent life for the Mandalorians. They are willing to expose their hideout in order to save one small child! In a sense, the Mandalorians are defenders of life as the Catechism states:
“God the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.” (CCC, 2271)
He is tasked with bringing the child to the Jedi. In the meantime, the Mandalorian acts as the protecting father of the child. Din Djarin often protects the child many times, even at the cost of his own life.
There is a progression of personification of the child in The Mandalorian. Throughout the series, those who disregard innocent life refer to him as an “asset,” or a “pet.” The Mandalorian and others who respect innocent life refer to him as a “child,” or “kid.” The ultimate personification, however, comes when Ahsoka Tano reveals that his name is Grogu. Thus, the “asset” is truly a person and not some mindless creature or animal, even though he cannot communicate in the same way others can. This beautifully reflects the Catechism’s teaching:
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (CCC, 2270)
In the final battle on Moff Gideon’s star cruiser, Din Djarin only wants to save the child. He defeats Gideon in a fight and wins the Darksaber, which would give him the authority to rule Mandalore. The Mandalorian, however, does not want it and yields it to Bo-Katan. Although we do not see how everything turns out, this instance tells us that Din Djarin did not care about power, but only about saving Grogu.
The Mandalorian is a good example for all of us that life is precious and should be preserved, protected, and defended, especially that which is innocent and most vulnerable.
Joseph Tuttle
Joseph Tuttle is a Catholic writer and author. His essays, articles, book reviews, and poetry have been published with or are forthcoming with Word on Fire Blog, Aleteia, Catholic World Report, Adoremus Bulletin, The University Bookman, The St. Austin Review, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, New Oxford Review, Voyage Comics Blog, and Missio Dei. He is the author, editor, or contributing author of numerous books including An Hour With Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (Liguori, 2021), Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian truth in Middle-Earth (Voyage Comics, 2021), and The Christbearer (Voyage Comics, 2023) He graduated cum laude from Benedictine College with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Catholic Philosophical Studies at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.