Why The Darksaber Can’t Cut Through Beskar | Screen Rant
The origins of beskar and the Darksaber may provide insight into how the Darksaber or other lightsabers do not damage beskar armor or weapons.
Din Djarin and Moff Gideon’s duel in The Mandalorian's season 2 finale offered a thorough demonstration of the Darksaber's inability to slice through armor or weapons made of pure beskar. This makes for a formidable fight between the two characters, and raises questions regarding the durability of these materials. Ultimately, the answer to why the Darksaber cannot penetrate Din’s beskar armor and staff lies in their shared origins.
The Darksaber is the first and only of weapon of its kind, and has a storied past in Star Wars lore. Crafted by Tarre Vizsla, a Mandalorian-turned-Jedi, the saber became a beloved and honored part of Mandalorian history and an emblem of unlimited control. After Vizsla died, the saber was kept in Coruscant’s Jedi Temple before his descendants claimed it for themselves. Though the Darksaber is still a lightsaber, its sword-like shape and unique ability to reflect the wielder’s emotions and use a gravitational pull on other lightsabers make it a stand-out in Mandalorian history.
The Darksaber may be a fearsome weapon, but it cannot cut through beskar, which is the most resilient metal in the Star Wars universe and also Mandalorian-made. It is currently unknown if the Darksaber hilt is imbued with beskar, which would make it even more mighty in the eyes of the Mandalorians. In Legends, beskar (or Mandalorian iron) is a prized alloy found and mined solely on Mandalore and its moon Concordia. It was worth so much that after Order 66 was executed, the Empire depleted Mandalore’s beskar supply for its own insidious purposes. In The Mandalorian, it’s a highly sought after form of currency – Din earns a whole camtono of beskar for delivering Grogu to the Client in the first season. Afterwards, he forges a new suit of armor that can endure blaster fire and lightsabers with nary a scratch.
Beskar may be resistant to the Darksaber because of its higher tolerance to heat, especially the heat produced by lightsabers. This has not been confirmed by canon yet, but it is the likely reason, seeing as the only weapon that could absolutely destroy beskar - or at least the person wearing it - is the Arc Pulse Generator. Created by Sabine Wren in Star Wars Rebels, the generator is crafted to recognize and eviscerate anyone who is in beskar armor.
Canon has not delved too much into beskar’s origins yet, though viewers do know how special and honorable it is to wear Mandalorian armor. Beskar and the Darksaber are so valuable to the people of Mandalore because they symbolize the strength and fortitude of its warriors. In this way, it is the perfect marriage to unite the planet and its opposing clans, which have remained war-torn and without a set leader for years. A Mandalorian who wears beskar and wields the Darksaber is the definitive picture of power and leadership.
This is why Bo-Katan reclaiming the Darksaber and ushering in a new order on Mandalore will most likely be a storyline in the third season of The Mandalorian. Now that Din possesses both the beskar staff, armor, and Darksaber, it will be interesting to see what weapon Bo-Katan may use to win it back - or if the show goes down a different path that sees Din embracing his accidental claim to becoming the ruler of Mandalore. Lastly, although the Arc Pulse Generator was destroyed by Sabine Wren, it may also make a worthy live-action addition and nemesis for both beskar itself and the Darksaber to work against in the upcoming season.