The Mandalorian’s Face Reveal Was The Series’ Most Frustrating, Yet Rewarding, Moment  (2024)

Din Djarin, the titularcharacter of the Disney+ seriesThe Mandalorian,is unique among cinematicprotagonists in thatthe audience almost never sees his face. In fact, despite casting the handsome and charismatic Game of Thrones alum Pedro Pascal in the lead role, Pascalonly occasionallyportrays the Mandalorian on-set, delivering most of his lines via automated dialogue replacement (ADR). This creative decision, informedby deep-cut Star Wars mythology, is a valid in-universe excuse, but pragmatically creates an issuein connecting with the character. Villains such asDarth Vader often wear masks that cover their entire face, which works because audiences aren't supposed to root for them. Even in superhero movies where a character wears a full mask, creative steps are usually taken to show the actor underneath it (Iron Man's use of HUD interfaceis significant in this regard).

Thankfully, in the Season 1 finale episode "Chapter 8: Redemption," an injured and dying Djarin is forced to remove his helmet, revealing a battered Pedro Pascal underneath. This moment is frustrating in its brevity, butsimultaneously, it is an emotionally satisfying moment in the series,giving the audience a huge pay-off for their patience.

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Although Mandalorians throughout Star Warshave removed their helmets willingly and often around other people, this isnot the case with Din Djarin his band of Mandalorians living in the tunnelsof Navarro. They appear to take a more devout approach to the creed, perhaps in response to the Great Purge of Mandalore.

There are many references to Djarin's strict helmet rule. In Season 1, Episode 3 titled "Chapter 3: The Sin," Djarin assures The Armorer that he has never removed his helmet or had it removed by others. In the nextepisode, "Chapter 4: Sanctuary," this is clarified when Djarin tells Sorganvillager Omera that he often takes off his helmet, but hasn'tin front of other people since he was a child. This particular episode has some near-reveals, teasing the audience by showing Djarin taking off his helmet to eat a meal while having the camera purposely positioned away from his face, and later it is almost removed during a tender moment with Omera. Djarin even admits the only danger posed by him revealing his face would be that he couldn't"ever put it back on again." To him, removing his helmet would be akin to suicide, permanently cutting his ties to the people who he considers his family.

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The creative choice to keep Djarin masked is key to his character – his devotion to the Mandalorian creed comes at a heavy price to his personal life, but is his only semblance of identity and belonging after his parents were killed. However, this choice also comes with a price for the filmmakers and the audience. Much of the discourse surrounding television, especially high budget prestige television, is how the performances highlight the emotional maturity of the narrative. By having an already stoic character and hiding his face, Djarin is essentially a blank slate of a character.

With a recognizable brand and iconography, The Mandalorian's greatest challenge was overcoming this emotional connection hurdle. Luckily, the show did manage to find a way to use visual storytelling to expressMando's emotions. This mostly comes down to his devotion to The Child. For example,afterhe handsThe Child over to the Empire in Season 1, Episode 3, Djarin isreminded of The Child's innocence, and the audience iscommunicated this viaDeborah Chow's direction and the actor's performance. Afterwards, Djarinreturns to rescue The Childfrom the clutches of The Client, cementing the audience's faith in him. Therefore, Djarin's character is informed by his actions rather than his facial cues or lines.

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When Djarin's face is finally revealed in Season 1, Episode 8, the brief moment is extremely satisfying. Faced with death, Mando allows IG-11 to remove his helmet since IG is not a "living thing." After much anticipation, it is incredibly touching to finally see the face of the man who has selflessly defended The Child throughout the season.

It is also an emotional moment when taking into account the Clone Wars flashbacks from episodes past. Juxtaposing the imagery of Djarin as a scared child and comparing it to the bloody, middle-aged man dying on the ground is genuinely heartbreaking, especially since at that particular moment there was a real possibility that Djarin was about to expire. He has had a grueling, violent life, and his final act would've been to die for a fellow foundling.

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This momentalso calls back another classic (and poignant) unmasking: Darth Vader's face reveal in Return of the Jedi. Much like Djarin, the audienceonly knew Darth Vader as a monolithic villain whose breathing was terrifying. But when Luke removes his mask, he is shown to be a feeble, disfigured, regretful old man, and the scene re-contextualizes the character. The same could be said for Mando – showing Djarin's face reveals a level of vulnerability that hadn't been shown prior to the unmasking.

The creative integrity of Din Djarin's refusal to be unmaskedis something truly special. Whiletelevision and movies typically need to showcase the characters' emotive faces, The Mandalorian was able to pull off providing a character audiences wanted to root for while stillbeingmasked for a large part of the season. This made the moment when theviewers did get to see his face extra rewarding. Once again, Star Wars exhibits its mastery in storytelling.

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