Explainers

The Mandalorian: ‘This is the way’ meaning

The Mandalorian Disney+ show
What does ‘This is the way’ mean in The Mandalorian Episode 3. Pic credit: Disney+.

“This is the way” is a phrase repeated several times in The Mandalorian Episode 3, titled The Sin. We learned that the phrase sums up the entire way of life or code of the Mandalorian race.

During the latest episode of the show on Disney+, we saw The Mandalorian torn between fulfilling his mission of delivering The Child (aka Baby Yoda) to the Client or saving the adorable baby.

The expression “This is the way” was repeated multiple times in scenes involving The Mandalorian and other members of his race who also wore armor and helmets that covered their faces.

In the first scene where the phrase was repeated, The Mandalorian went to an armorer, played by Emily Swallow. At the armorer’s, he got into a spat with a belligerent member of his race who taunted him for working for the hated Empire.

The belligerent Mandalorian reminded the bounty hunter that the Beskar plates he received as a reward were cast by the Empire.

He said that the plates were the spoils of The Great Purge in which many members of The Mandalorian race died, leaving only a remnant.

The lady armorer intervened to deescalate the situation. She ended her pacifying comments with the phrase, “This is the way.”

The phrase had a nearly magical effect on The Mandalorian and his opponent, who were engaged in a knife fight. The Mandalorian echoed the phrase “This is way,” and the other Mandalorians, including the aggressive individual, repeated it.

The scene and a few others that followed suggested that “This is the way” is an allusion to the code that governs the way of life the Mandalorians adopted to promote survival of their species following The Great Purge.

The pacifying effect merely uttering the phrase has on the most belligerent Mandalorian in confrontation with another of his species indicated that it alluded to a code that demands a strong bond of brotherhood and unity of purpose.

This is illustrated by the scene in which a group of his species, including the previously belligerent individual, came to The Mandalorian’s rescue when he was confronted by bounty hunters who wanted to use force to recapture The Child from him.

After they helped him, they echoed the phrase “This is the way,” to indicate the unity of their purpose despite personal differences.

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