“He wants that kind of intimacy in relationship.”

———

Din wants Grogu to be able to see his face. He wants that close bond. They’ve developed this strong attachment to each other; it is a father-son relationship and it naturally makes sense for them to be able to see each others faces.

But it goes against everything that Din has stood for and believed in. There’s this huge internal conflict within him where the thing that his heart desires, the thing that is so natural for just about every parent and child in the galaxy, goes against his own identity.

He’s been raised to believe that without keeping his face hidden, he cannot be considered Mandalorian. It’s the one rule that will make or break his own identity. But his heart is telling him something else. Din doesn’t want to hide from Grogu. He doesn’t want to remain this anonymous man under the helmet but it’s not that simple for him.

Just this quote alone shows how much of an internal conflict this man is going through, to decide between what his heart wants and what he had been told is the only way. And ultimately he chooses Grogu.

But then he chooses to atone. Din took the risk and he’s been kicked out of the creed and stripped of his identity (though we still know he’s definitely a Mandalorian) and that hurts. Who he is has been taken away from him.

And he’s in this war within himself. Din can choose to be a father to Grogu, to fully let himself take on that role, or he can return to following The Way. The problem is, whichever he chooses will result in a major sacrifice.

Ultimately, we know that Grogu will always mean more to Din than the creed, but this doesn’t mean that he isn’t incredibly torn.

(Quote from Pedro Pascal for Vanity Fair, 2022)