What 'This Is the Way' Explains About The Mandalorians in The Mandalorian

The third episode of The Mandalorian reveals what would seem to be an age-old Mandalorian mantra.
"This is the way," is repeated several times throughout the episode.
It's the latest in a series of memorable and repeated Star Wars proverbs.

The third episode of Disney+ 's The Mandalorian has arrived, and, well, a lot happened. Not only was the plot advanced substantiallywe saw where The Mandalorian's priorities lie, as his conscience hounding him to go rogue to save the ever-adorable Baby Yoda overpowered his love for, well, bounty rewardsbut perhaps more importantly, we learned a piece of insight into the way the Mandalorian race lives, and the code they live their life by. That code, as we learned in a pair of memorable scenes, is summed up in one simple phrase: "This is the way."

There are a pair of moments in the episode where saying "This is the way" serves as a moment of zen not only for our titular Mandalorian, but others who look like him, sound like him, and also wear Beskar armor and don't remove their helmets. The first comes earlier in the episode, when The Mandalorian is in his people's covert hideout, getting his Beskar reward crafted into a new piece of armor. One of his peers calls out that his Beskar comes from the Empire, but things are de-escalated when the Armorer (played by Emily Swallow, who we saw craft a piece of armor for The Mandalorian in the first episode) de-escalates things.

"The empire is no more. When one chooses to walk the way of the Mandalore, he is both hunter and prey. How can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life?" She asks. "Have you ever removed you helmet? Has it ever been removed by others?" When The Mandalorian answers both questions in the negative, that's when she first reveals the line: "This is the way." The larger Mandalorian group repeats, and then the bigger, combative Mandalorian (named HEAVY INFANTRY in the credits) also repeats.

Later, when The Mandalorian is stuck in a particularly sticky situationsurrounded by bounty hunters who want to take Baby Yoda away and return him to The Client's peoplethe Mandalorian group returns to help him. When he notes to the 'Heavy Infantry' Mandalorianthe same one he got in a spat with earlierthat because the group is engaging in battle, they'd have to find a new covert space, he responds in a familiar fashion: "This is the way." Our Mandalorian nods his head in agreement, repeating the phrase back to him.

this is the way star wars heavy infantry the mandalorian BusinessInsider USA Images

The Mandalorian This is the way star wars BusinessInsider USA Images

It's important to remember the dialogue from earlier here, as wellas The Mandalorian race used to have strength in their numbers, now they only exist as the handful that we saw earlier in the episode (many having been lost in what's referred to as 'The Great Purge'); their exposing themselves to save The Mandalorian not only puts them at risk, but forces them to re-organize their entire existence. It explains something very obvious about the Mandalorian people: as brute as they are, and as cut-throat as their reputation may be, these people are still bonded in a very strong wayand clearly, live by a universal code that they all adhere to.

Using obvious context, it would seem that "This is the way," is yet another ever-important Star Wars mantra, similar to the way that everyone knew and would say "May the Force Be With You," or how The Mandalorian's new buddy Kuiil loves to conclude his sentences with the inscrutable "I have spoken." You might also remember "I'm one with the force, the force is with me" from Rogue One. It's a franchise, clearly, that knows the value in repeated phrasesand ones that will stick with you, at that.

With it's usage of "This is the way," though, The Mandalorian does a great job of using unspoken language to tell a story. We hear aloud about the fall of the race, and how they no longer are exposed to the world as much as in the past; but regardless of whether they're all underground and at each other's throats, or all banded together to help one of their own, this simple phrase keeps them all on the same wavelengthwithout any question at all.

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What 'This Is the Way' Explains About The Mandalorians in The Mandalorian

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