Bo-Katan Kryze

**Bo-Katan Kryze** was a Mandalorian human female who was the leader of the Nite Owls and a lieutenant in Death Watch, a terrorist group, and later during the Imperial Era, became Mand'alor. During the Clone Wars, Kryze's sister, Satine, ruled as the Duchess of Mandalore, and Kryze sought to undo her pacifistic teachings, believing that Mandalore should take pride in its martial history. After Governor Pre Vizsla of Concordia was publicly exposed as the leader of Death Watch, the splinter group was exiled from the Mandalore system. In 19 BBY, Kryze and Vizsla discovered the Sith Lords Maul and Savage Opress. With the Sith, they plotted to reclaim Mandalore, and through Maul's planning, united several criminal syndicates to form the Shadow Collective. Launching a takeover of Mandalore, Satine's rule was overthrown, and Vizsla took control of the planet.

However, Maul challenged Vizsla, and the Sith Lord defeated him, taking the throne and appointing Prime Minister Almec as a puppet leader. Kryze and a group of Mandalorian loyalists refused to recognize Maul's rule, and they liberated Satine from the royal prison, contacting Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi for help. Due to Mandalore's neutrality, Kenobi was forced to come alone, and he was captured by Maul, who then killed Satine. When Kenobi was brought to the prison, Kryze and her rebels freed the Jedi, and Mandalore was swept into a civil war as Maul's forces fought to reclaim him. Before Kenobi left the planet, Kryze requested that the Galactic Republic be informed of the events, hoping that a Republic invasion would result in Maul's death. Less than a year later, Kryze's desire was fulfilled, and the Republic laid siege to Mandalore, driving Maul from the planet. She then became Lady of House Kryze and Regent of Mandalore. However, she lost her position when she refused to follow the newly appointed Galactic Emperor Palpatine, and Clan Saxon took over.

During the Republic's occupation of Mandalore, the government reorganized into the Galactic Empire, and a new wave of violence claimed the planet. In 2 BBY, Clan Wren of Krownest chose to resist the Empire, leading the Imperial loyalists of Clan Saxon to fight them. These actions threw Mandalore into another civil war. During the war, Kryze encountered Countess Ursa Wren and Sabine Wren of Clan Wren, who were seeking a Mandalorian worthy of wielding the Darksaber and claiming the title of Mand'alor. With the Wrens' approval, Kryze took the weapon and rallied the support of several Mandalorian clans, uniting them to fight against the Empire.

Sometime after the Great Purge, Mandalore was left devastated and Moff Gideon had come into the possession of the Darksaber. Around 9 ABY, Kryze formulated a plan to reclaim the weapon from the Moff and return to Mandalore. Din Djarin recruited Kryze and Reeves to help him rescue Grogu, who had been captured by Moff Gideon and was holding him aboard his light cruiser. The group formulated a plan to assault the vessel and, with the help of Reeves, Fennec Shand, Carasynthia Dune, and Boba Fett, Kryze successfully captured the light cruiser's bridge. Djarin soon returned with Moff Gideon in stuncuffs, having rescued Grogu from his holding cell, and holding the Darksaber, thereby making him the rightful ruler of Mandalore. Kryze refused to take the Darksaber from Djarin, despite him willingly relinquishing it to her, in staunch accordance with Mandalorian tradition.

Despite this, Kryze would eventually reclaim the Darksaber after saving Djarin from an unidentified cyborg in the ruins of Mandalore, where she managed to bring back some of the scattered Mandalorians under one banner to reclaim their homeworld. When they arrived, she discovered survivors and an Imperial remnant stationed on the planet. They eventually defeated them and Kryze eventually relit the Great Forge, signifying the start of Mandalore's reconstruction.

## History

### Rescuing Din Djarin

During the New Republic Era, Kryze was building her forces back up to reunite the scattered survivors of the Mandalorian people and then reclaim Mandalore, with Kryze also searching for the Darksaber to cement her rule. Rather than accept it as a gift as she had before, she decided she needed to win it in combat to prove herself worthy. She stole many ships from Imperial forces to assemble a fleet, combining the Imperial craft with Mandalorian warships. She fought against many surviving Imperial warlords, angering them. She led fellow warriors Axe Woves and Koska Reeves as a unit to the ocean moon of Trask in 9 ABY. There, they met the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his foundling, known as "the Child," seeing the two under attack by a group of Quarren aboard a trawler. The three Mandalorians used jetpacks to quickly land on the ship, take out the Quarren and save Djarin and the Child.

Djarin told them that he was hoping to find a Mandalorian covert and return the Child to the Jedi. However, as the three Mandalorians took off their helmets, Djarin angrily dismissed them after realizing they did not follow the Way of the Mandalore. Kryze told him that her armor had passed down for three generations, that she had been born on Mandalore, and had fought in the Great Purge. To Djarin's astonishment, Kryze revealed that he was one of the Children of the Watch, a cult of religious Mandalorian zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society to pursue the re-establishment of the ancient Way of the Mandalore. Not believing her to be a true Mandalorian, Djarin left and returned to the port.

Kryze and the others blew up the vessel they were on and eventually met up with Djarin again, saving him from another group of Quarren. Kryze insisted they buy Djarin a drink. Inside the local inn, she convinced Djarin to aid them on their mission to steal weapons shipments from an Imperial *Gozanti*-class cruiser that belonged to Moff Gideon's Imperial Remnant. In exchange, Kryze promised to give Djarin information about the location of a Jedi. The group sat on top of Djarin's ship, the *Razor Crest*, as Kryze showed him the ship they would be targeting.

Kryze and the others infiltrated the ship, with the Nite Owls making short work of the stormtroopers. Kryze led them into the cargo hold and secured the weapons shipments. However, Kryze communicated with the Imperial officer on the bridge, stating they were coming up to hijack the ship. When Djarin complained about Kryze changing their deal, Kryze taunted him by uttering the mantra "This is the Way," telling him that if he wanted her information about the Jedi, he would help her take the ship. As they attempted to storm the bridge, they were pinned down by a force of stormtroopers and the Imperial captain began to alter the ship's course as to crash it and prevent a successful raid. However, to Kryze's surprise, Djarin charged them, absorbing many hits and throwing grav charges that killed the last of the troopers.

As Djarin and Reeves realigned the ship's course, Kryze interrogated the captain about the location of the Darksaber. The captain sneered at her, saying that if she was asking then she already knew, before committing suicide through use of a suicide shocker. Kryze was angry that she could not interrogate him further but was more pleased with the success of their mission. She offered Djarin a place among them despite the differences in their creeds, but Djarin declined, with Kryze telling him that her offer stood if he ever changed his mind. Keeping her word, she told the bounty hunter that he could find Ahsoka Tano in the city of Calodan on the planet Corvus. As Djarin began to leave, Kryze watched him leave before turning her attention to the cockpit.

Sometime later, Djarin arrived at Calodan and tracked down Tano to a forest outside the city. He was promptly ambushed by Tano and was forced to combat her until he invoked Kryze's name and stated his intention to convince her of his neutrality.

### Combating Gideon

Din Djarin tracked down Kryze to ask for her help in retrieving Grogu from Moff Gideon. Djarin and his companion Boba Fett approached Kryze and Reeves to ask for their help, but Kryze began to pick a fight with Fett, saying that he was a disgrace to his armor because he was not a Mandalorian. After Fett made threats, Kryze coldly stated that she had heard his voice thousands of times since he was a clone, and after Fett retorted, Reeves attacked him. Kryze broke up their scuffle and decided to accept Djarin's request when she learned that Djarin knew the location of Gideon and his light cruiser. She made Djarin promise that she take the Darksaber from Gideon, to which Djarin responded that his only priority was rescuing Grogu. She and Reeves joined Djarin's party, which included Fett, Fennec Shand, and Carasynthia Dune.

The group met and Kryze formed a plan to get them inside, using information from Doctor Pershing, who was their prisoner. Using a stolen Imperial shuttle, Kryze would lead Reeves, Dune, and Shand to the bridge while Djarin would slip away and rescue the child. Piloting the shuttle towards the cruiser, Kryze hailed the ship to request an emergency landing as Fett, piloting *Slave I*, pretended to attack them. Kryze's request was denied, but she nonetheless landed on the ship and stormed out with the others, killing large amounts of Imperial forces before taking the bridge. However, they failed to discover Gideon there. Kryze waited on the bridge with the others until Djarin arrived with Gideon in his custody.

Realizing that Djarin had defeated Gideon in combat, Kryze knew that the bounty hunter had unintentionally claimed the Darksaber as his own. As Gideon taunted Kryze, Djarin offered her the blade, but Kryze stiffly refused to take it in such a manner. Djarin attempted to yield, wishing to honor his previous agreement with Kryze and not wanting to cause a fight, but Kryze did not accept. Just then, Gideon's dark troopers, who Djarin had previously fought and ejected from the ship, boarded and advanced towards their position on the bridge. As the group prepared for a fight in which they were greatly outnumbered, an X-wing starfighter docked on the ship.

Kryze and the others watched on the bridge monitors as the Jedi Luke Skywalker strode out to combat the dark troopers. The Jedi defeated the troopers with relative ease before meeting them on the bridge, where Skywalker invited Grogu to come train with him. Djarin had an emotional goodbye before Skywalker and his astromech droid, R2-D2, the same droid that Kryze had encountered twice during the Clone Wars, thanked him and departed with Grogu, leaving Kryze and her companions in control of the ship. While Gideon was taken away to New Republic custody, the captured cruiser was left within Kryze's care.

### Encounter with an archaeologist

After returning from the infiltration on Gideon's light cruiser without the darksaber, Kryze's forces abandoned her for other pursuits throughout the galaxy. Consequently, a discouraged Kryze abandoned her efforts to reclaim Mandalore. At one point, feeling she had no purpose, she teamed up with Indiana Jones and K-7R3 and uncovered the Wookiee's Paw with them.

After Jones told the tale surrounding the Wookiee's Paw and Luke Skywalker, Kryze knew this was not actually happened in reality as Luke was currently a Jedi, and Jones confirmed that the tale was fictional. Afterwards, Kryze and K-7R3 watched as Jones clutched the Wookiee's Paw and what he wished for came true. Ultimately, this culminated in Jones, Kryze and K-7R3 going to the Planet of the Red Nebula and uncovering the Great Life Jewels after Jones wished he could be granted eternal life. As Jones handled the gems, however, he tripped over a rock and dropped one of them and the Crimson Forever was unleashed, infecting him. The gem that was dropped rolled into another part of the temple, and now it was up to Kryze and K-7R3 to cure Jones, who was now falling into a coma from the infection. as K-7R3 stayed with Jones, Kryze went after the lost gem, finding it in a dark corner. Based on what she knew about the Great Life Jewels, Kryze put the two gems together, freeing Jones from the Crimson Forever. She and K-7R3 helped Jones out of the Red Nebula temple, and they parted ways.

### Retirement on Kalevala

After her encounter with Jones, Kryze retired to Kryze Castle on Kalevala, homeworld of House Kryze.

Din Djarin and Grogu later visited Kryze, and she informed Djarin of how her allies no longer followed her after she returned without the Darksaber, and told him to lead them instead. Djarin asked about the location of the Mines of Mandalore, to which Kryze stated that the planet had been ravaged and poisoned. After being told that the mines resided beneath Sundari, Djarin left Kryze, promising to find out if Mandalore was truly poisoned.

Not long after Djarin left, Kryze witnessed his N-1 starfighter returning to the castle. Angered, Kryze went to the landing platform, intending to make it clear he was not welcome. However, when she witnessed Grogu as the pilot, she immediately grew concerned, and demanded to know what happened to him. She took Grogu and R5-D4 to her ship and flew to Mandalore to rescue him. She was surprised to see that despite Mandalore's devastation, the atmosphere was breathable. Grogu led her to the place, where Djarin got captured by a cyborg scavenger. She engaged it, and even used the Darksaber to take it out. Djarin appreciated her coming.

After a brief rest, Kryze led Djarin to the Living Waters. He bathed in the waters, reciting his vow, when he suddenly fell under. Without hesitation, Kryze jumped after him and found him at the bottom. As she pulled him back up to the surface, she witnessed the legendary mythosaur. However, she kept the knowledge from Djarin. Djarin took a vial of the water as proof of his redemption.

The two Mandalorians then returned to Kryze's ship, and returned to Kalevala. However, they were ambushed by a squadron of TIE interceptors. Djarin suggested he takes his N-1 to provide her with support. Kryze flew as close to her castle as she could and Djarin jumped with his jetpack to his ship. With Djarin's assistance, Kryze was able to take out the Interceptors, but then she witnessed with horror, as a squadron of TIE bombers bombed her castle to the ground. More Imperial fighters entered the system, and vindictive Kryze was willing to destroy them all or die trying, but Djarin convinced her to escape. He sent her the coordinates to the Tribe's covert, knowing the Imperials will not find them there.

As they arrived at the covert, Djarin told Kryze to keep her helmet on to make things easier. They landed next to the covert and Paz Vizsla met them and told them they are not welcome. However, Djarin claimed he had bathed in the Living Waters of Mandalore and had brought proof, and Kryze stood as a witness to the event. Eventually, Vizsla allowed them to prove their claims to the Armorer. Djarin gave her the vial, and the Armorer confirmed that the water in it was indeed from the Living Waters, thus she declared Djarin to be a Mandalorian once again. She then turned to Kryze and asked her, if she too bathed in the waters. Kryze affirmed that she had, when she saved Djarin, and the Armorer then asked if she had removed her helmet since. Kryze answered she had not, and thus the Armorer declared her redeemed as well and allowed her to stay in the enclave as long as she wanted. The other Mandalorians then welcomed her with open arms.

### Rescuing a foundling

Kryze watched the Tribe train, and witnessed Grogu's victory over Vizsla's son, Ragnar. Suddenly, Ragnar was snatched by a raptor, and as the Mandalorians gave chase, Kryze took her ship to track it, when the pursuers ran out of jetpack fuel. She managed to track the raptor to its nest, and the Armorer ordered a search party. Djarin and Vizsla joined her.

Kryze landed the ship as close as she could so as not to alert the raptor. They walked close to the mountain and set up camp for the night. For eating, Djarin told her that after she gets her food, she needs to go to a secure place where she can remove her helmet without being seen (the only time the Children of the Watch are allowed to remove their helmets). Vizsla gave her the honor of eating before the fire, as she was the leader of the search party.

The next morning they began their climb to the peak, and reached the raptor's nest. It was not there and they began to search for the foundling. Djarin detected a heat source, and Vizsla immediately ran towards it despite Kryze's warning. However, the heat source was raptor's own offspring and then it appeared, attempting to feed the foundling to them. The Mandalorians engaged it and gave chase with jetpacks. During the chase, Kryze's right pauldron was detached, but they eventually managed to down the raptor and save Ragnar.

As the party returned to the covert with the raptor's offspring, the Armorer praised Kryze for rescuing a foundling, the highest honor of the Mandalorian Creed. The Armorer then noticed her missing a pauldron, and offered to replace it. She asked if Kryze wanted to have the Nite Owl insignia inscribed into the new pauldron, but she instead opted to have a mythosaur insignia instead. She then asked the Armorer if she would believe that she saw a living mythosaur within the Living Waters of Mandalore. The Armorer did not outright answer the question.

### Siege on Nevarro

When Captain Carson Teva received a distress call from High Magistrate Greef Karga about Pirate King Gorian Shard and his gang taking over Nevarro, Kryze and the Tribe listened as he explained the situation on Nevarro. Djarin suggested to the Tribe that they should assist Karga, because it would give the covert a possibility to live again under sunlight. Paz Vizsla spoke too, and even though he had reservations about helping Karga, he nevertheless supported Djarin and Kryze since they had rescued his son. Kryze and Djarin made up a battle plan, in which Djarin would act as distraction while Kryze dropped in the ground assault team.

The attack eventually succeeded and Kryze and Djarin were able to bring down the pirate corsair, thus liberating Nevarro. As a reward for their saviors, Karga gifted the Tribe the lands he had offered to Djarin. Vizsla then escorted Kryze to the Tribe's old workshop to speak with the Armorer. The Armorer talked about Mandalorian forges and then told Kryze to remove her helmet. Kryze reluctantly removed it and the Armorer then told her that she has walked in both worlds of Mandalorians: the ones who follow the Way and those who do not. Kryze discovering a mythosaur had convinced the Armorer that the time had come for all Mandalorians to be united, and that Kryze was the one who could bring all exiled Mandalorians together. They then went to the other members of the Tribe, with Kryze still not wearing her helmet. The Armorer then declared that Kryze would be going on a journey to unite the Mandalorians so that they could reclaim their homeworld.

### Reclaiming her unit

With Djarin's people willing to follow Kryze, she decided that she would need to reclaim her former unit, who had since separated from her for reasons unknown. They arrived at Plazir-15, and after completing a quest for The Duchess of Plazir and her husband, Captain Bombardier, Kryze and Djarin found the fleet. Kryze challenged Woves for command of the unit and defeated him, though he refused to cede authority as she was not in possession of the Darksaber. He would not follow Djarin, as he saw him as a zealot with no true Mandalorian blood. Djarin offered the Darksaber to Kryze, claiming that she was the rightful owner. He then told the assembled Mandalorians about his capture by an enemy while possessing the Darksaber and was only rescued by Kryze. He then asked Woves if that allowed Kryze to rightfully claim the Darksaber, which he accepted.

After reclaiming her unit, they returned to Nevarro to meet the other group of Mandalorians, the Tribe, where they discussed plans to reclaim Mandalore. Kryze asked for volunteers to explore the surface and managed to get a few.

### Retaking Mandalore

Aware of the dangers that were present on Mandalore, Kryze had the fleet stationed outside in orbit and took the volunteers down to check the surface and ensure that the area was safe, the primary goal finding the Great Forge. They arrived in the ruins of Sundari and were greeted by a langskib operated by Mandalorian survivors from the Great Purge who swore their loyalty to her once again despite their supposed failure. The survivors explained how they had survived the Purge of Mandalore. One of them mentioned how the Empire had punished the Mandalorians as they refused to surrender, however, Kryze told them that it wasn't true. Kryze explained that she had surrendered to Moff Gideon with hopes of saving her remaining people, but was betrayed by the ISB officer. The leader of the survivors was worried that the Tribe was part of the Death Watch, though the Armorer informed him that death watch did not exist any longer. Kryze supported them by stating that they were only reduced to their current state as a result of divison between their people.

While continuing their expedition, they were attacked by a large monster and then by Imperial commandos, who led them into a trap. Vizsla sacrificed himself to allow Kryze and the others (apart from Djarin, who was captured by Gideon) to escape. Djarin managed to escape his captors and informed her that he would take Gideon on, as it would never end otherwise. While fleeing the Imperial forces, she was surprised to see plant life grow outside their domed cities.

Kryze and the other survivors managed to reunite with the rest of the Mandalorians, who had fled from the ships prior to an incoming TIE attack. They then attacked the Imperial forces and defeated them, during which Kryze saved Djarin from being killed by Gideon. Djarin temporarily left to protect Grogu from the Praetorian Guards, leaving Kryze to fight Gideon herself. In the ensuing scuffle, Gideon damaged the Darksaber's hilt and taunted her, claiming that Mandalorians were weak without their trinkets. Kryze stated that Mandalorians were stronger together and Djarin returned, having killed the Praetorians. The two unleashed a flurry of attacks on Gideon as Woves crash-landed the light cruiser into the base, incinerating the Moff while Grogu protected her and Djarin with the Force.

Despite the destruction of the Darksaber, the Mandalorians continued following Kryze and gathered at the Great Forge, which she symbolically reignited alongside the Armorer.

## Personality and traits

Kryze was a human female with short red hair, bright green eyes, and light-colored skin, who stood at a height of 1.8 meters. Her haircut was reflective of traditional Mandalorian style of hard angled lines. She was born on Mandalore into House Kryze, and was the sister of Duchess Satine, who nicknamed her "Bo." Kryze was a member of Death Watch, and believed in restoring Mandalore's traditional heritage, even at the expense of her sister's rule. Despite vehemently opposing her political stance, Bo-Katan still loved her sister dearly and harming or even killing Satine was never her intention. In Death Watch, Kryze was confident and sardonic, serving as Vizsla's loyal lieutenant. Her sarcastic personality was also present as the leader of the Nite Owls. When Bonteri and Tano met with Death Watch on Carlac, Kryze assessed the Togruta, slapping her and judging that she was too skinny to be bethrothed.

Despite her loyalty to Death Watch, Kryze had reservations concerning Maul and Opress. When Maul killed Vizsla and took the throne, Kryze refused to recognize the Sith Lord's claim to power. With the remaining Mandalorian loyalists, Kryze started a rebellion on Mandalore and attempted to liberate Satine from the royal prison. Kryze believed that the enemy of her enemy was her friend, so although she disliked the Jedi and Sith alike, Kryze joined forces with Kenobi after Maul killed Satine. The death of her sister overwhelmed Kryze with grief, showing she loved her sister despite any differences in ideals. She was determined to end Maul's rule of Mandalore, even if it required a Republic invasion. During their time working together, having realized Maul was a common enemy, Tano and Kryze put their differences aside, and the former Jedi Padawan even trusted that Kryze would justly rule Mandalore. In addition to the two former foes becoming friends, Kryze also became a combat teacher to Tano.

Following the Clone Wars, Kryze became regent of Mandalore. Due to her opposition to the Empire, she was betrayed and overthrown by Clan Saxon, who aligned themselves with the Empire. This caused her to deem herself unworthy to assume the Darksaber and the mantle of leadership over the Mandalorians and thus Kryze refused to accept the Darksaber, stating she was not the leader Sabine sought and even went as far as to state that Satine was a more qualified leader than she was, showing that Bo-Katan had been humbled enough that she even came to see the pacifistic ways of her sister as being the better one.

Nevertheless, Kryze was quick to help her fellow Mandalorians to fight against the Empire when Clan Wren rebelled, succeeding in repelling the Empire from Mandalore and destroying the arc pulse generator known as the "Duchess." She saw the generator as an abomination, as it turned Mandalorian armor against its wearers by reacting with their beskar alloy, and was particularly outraged by the fact that it was named after her late sister. She then accepted the Darksaber in order to unite the Mandalorians as their leader, with Sabine and Ursa recognizing that though Kryze may not be her sister, she was still a leader worthy to lead Mandalore.

Kryze was initially hostile towards Sabine for her role in creating the Duchess, but she respected the younger woman's willingness to atone for her actions. Kryze also became a mentor for Sabine and cautioned her against descending to the Empire's level by killing Tiber Saxon with the "Duchess." Kryze recognized that Sabine had potential for leadership but ultimately relented when Sabine insisted she lead Mandalore.

Years after losing control of Mandalore, Kryze was still intent on reclaiming her homeworld and continued to lead others to accomplish this. She also sought the Darksaber to legitimize her rule. Despite Din Djarin being a Child of the Watch, Kryze was still grateful for his help and offered him a place among them. When Djarin captured Gideon and reclaimed the Darksaber from him, Kryze was hesitant about reclaiming the weapon even when Djarin offered to her.

Bo-Katan believed that there was no magic in the Living Waters of Mandalore, and the ancient legends were just that- legends. This was until she saw a living mythosaur in the Living Waters while saving Din Djarin from drowning. Kryze was accepted into the Children of the Watch, having been redeemed by the waters, and started following their customs. She grew closer with Din Djarin during her stay as they began working in sync and valuing each other's opinions and beliefs deeply.

## Appearances

* *Boba and Fennec* (First appearance)
* "The Wookiee's Paw"—*The Further Exploits of Indiana Jones*