Why The Mandalorian Hates Droids

The Mandalorian season 1 made it clear that titular character Din Djarin’s (Pedro Pascal) hated droids. The season 1 finale “Chapter 8: Redemption” offered viewers insight into Djarin’s character, including his history with droids, Star Wars‘ iconic robots. With its debut year now complete, fans are looking forward to what’s next for Mando and Baby Yoda. While the finale left some big mysteries unanswered, there were also some narratives that were somehow given closure, including the titular character’s complicated relationship with droids.

Created by Jon Favreau, the first live-action series from the space opera takes place five years after the events of The Return of the Jedi and focuses on Din as he continues to be the caretaker of the mysterious  Force-sensitive infant from the same species as Jedi Master Yoda. Throughout his adventures, he met a string of people and creatures in the galaxy including some allies such as Kuiil (Nick Nolte), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Cara Dune (Gina Carano), as well as adversaries like The Client (Werner Herzog) and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). However, one thing has been clear from the get-go: he doesn’t like droids.

There were several instances where it was apparent that Din didn’t want anything to do with droids. He refused to board any transport piloted by droids, even if that meant that he had to be with a less-dependable looking chauffeur in “Chapter 1.” He reiterated to Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) that he didn’t want any of the Pod racing droids repairing the Razer Crest during his pitstop on Tatooine. Finally, he continued to be skeptical of IG-11 despite Kuiil explaining that he reprogrammed it to be a nurse droid rather than a hunting one. The Mandalorian wasn’t explicit about why Din was so convinced that droids cannot be trusted; however, piecing together the evidence from his backstory, there’s a clear reason why.

Based on what’s revealed about Din’s past thus far, he had a traumatic encounter with battle droids during the Clone Wars era. Flashbacks show him and his parents during an attack of what could be their home planet. Droids ultimately killed his parents. He was almost murdered by one when he was found hiding in a bunker, fortunately, by some Mandalorians (presumably the Death Watch), who came to his rescue and adopted him to the creed.

Din’s perception of droids may have been changed with his recent experience with IG-11 — transformed into a fully-fledged nurse droid whose main function is to nurse and protect. After saving Baby Yoda from the scout troopers who killed Kuiil, IG-11 stayed true to his motto by healing Din’s head injury with the use of bacta tank fluid. Up until that point, Mando was still skeptical of the droid, assuming that once Cara, Greef and the child started their escape, it would eventually kill them. But IG-11 proved him wrong. Not only did it save Din’s life, it also sacrificed itself to ensure the team’s safe passage through the lava river and away from the stormtroopers waiting for them at the end of the tunnel.

It remains to be seen if IG-11’s sacrifice forever changed Din’s perception of all droids, but for now, it’s safe to assume that he’ll be less dubious of them the next time he runs into one. And with a brand-new mission with him and Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian season 2, another trustworthy droid lending a hand will be a big of a help to the travelling duo.

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