This week’s Star Wars Character Spotlight takes a look at Paz Vizsla, a rival and reluctant ally of Din Djarin from The Mandalorian. Paz Vizsla was part of the ancient Mandalorian Clan Viszla, a descendant of Pre Vizsla and thus of Tarre Viszla, the only Mandalorian Jedi in history. Lucasfilm has not yet revealed exactly how closely related Paz and Pre are, though they could only be a generation or two apart. Pre could be either father or uncle to Paz, but it has not been mentioned. Both members of Clan Vizsla are voiced by Jon Favreau.
Hiding on Nevarro
When we meet Paz Vizsla in The Mandalorian, he is part of the Children of the Watch, which appears to be a splinter group from the old Death Watch organization from the Clone Wars. This is five years after the Battle of Endor and nearly three decades after Death Watch presumably disbanded at the end of the Clone Wars.
His Mandalorian covert had been hiding out on Nevarro for an unspecified amount of time, in the tunnels underneath the main city. You might think that Paz’s clan name would earn some considerable clout in a Death Watch splinter organization, but not so. The covert was led by a mysterious Mandalorian called The Armorer, and Paz never once tried to reach above his station to the lead the group, as far as we’re aware.
However, he did take issue with one other member of their covert: Din Djarin. It seems Din was the only Mandalorian allowed aboveground, where he worked as a bounty hunter jetting off to different planets, bringing all his earnings back to the covert to ensure their survival. Perhaps that irked Paz enough as it was, but it displeased him no end to learn that Din had completed a contract for the Empire, the ones who had bombed Mandalore, forced them into hiding for decades and taken all their beskar for themselves.
When Din returned with a camtono full of beskar ingots as payment from the Empire, Paz stepped in when The Armorer agreed to forge a new pauldron for Din, asking why he deserved to benefit from the beskar ahead of other warriors like himself (Din had also asked that the rest of the beskar be used for Foundling armor). They quarrelled and drew vibro-knives at each other’s throats; The Armorer had to tell them both to stand down.
However, when Din broke his contract with the Empire later that day and rescued Grogu, Paz put aside his differences and fought with his fellow Mandalorians to rescue him. With Din and Grogu pinned down in the square near the Razor Crest, the entire covert came to his rescue. Paz donned his jetpack and chaingun, flying in and killing scores of bounty hunters. Though it meant revealing themselves and needing to relocate, they bought Din enough time to run to his ship and escape.
With the Razor Crest in flight, Paz flew next to him for a few seconds and gave him a salute before breaking off.
Challenge for the darksaber
Paz Vizsla never appeared again in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, not returning until midway through The Book of Boba Fett. When the covert revealed themselves to the world and saved Din Djarin, they were forced to scatter to the winds, not knowing where the rest ended up. Paz fled with The Armorer and the two of them journeyed to the Glavis Ringworld space station. They set up refuge in the bowels of the station, leaving subtle signs for Mandalorians to find them.
Din Djarin was the first to arrive and after Paz healed his injuries with a bacta spray, he thanked Paz for helping him on Nevarro. Paz coldly pointed out that the sacrifice had been a large one, with their covert temporarily reduced to just the three of them. He was displeased even further to see Din Djarin holding the darksaber, the weapon created by his ancestor Tarre Vizsla with the power to unite all Mandalorians under one banner.
He was satisfied to at least learn that Din had won it in battle, unlike Bo-Katan previously who had accepted it as a gift from Sabine Wren, though he chastized Din for not killing Moff Gideon when he defeated him. He watched as Din trained using the darksaber with The Armorer, where it was plain to see that Din was not skilled with the weapon. Presumably believing that he would be able to wield it more naturally as a Vizsla, he challenged Din to a duel for the right to wield the darksaber and lead their people.
Though he initially got the upper hand, disarming Din and holding the darksaber for himself, he had not yet defeated him. He struggled to wield the weapon properly too, and Din was able to regain the advantage. He forced Paz to yield while holding his vibro-knife to Vizsla’s throat and The Armorer declared the challenge over.
Afterwards, The Armorer asked them both if they had ever removed their helmets in front of others. Paz answered honestly that he had not, and was furious to learn that Din, the man wielding his ancestral weapon, had in fact done so. He branded Din an apostate and told him to leave. The Armorer agreed that he must leave and not return until he had bathed in the Living Waters on Mandalore, which would cleanse him of his sins. Din left, promising to return once he had done so.
Relocating the covert
Paz Vizsla appears much more often in The Mandalorian Season 3. Sometime after Din left him and The Armorer, they managed to set up a new covert on a rocky world next to a large lake. The covert grew large once more, with Paz taking on a Foundling son named Ragnar. At the beginning of the season, Ragnar was undergoing a ceremony to swear the Mandalorian Creed when it was interrupted, as a giant turtle monster attacked the Mandalorians on the beach.
Paz and his fellow Mandalorians tried their best to kill the creature, but nothing they did managed to pierce its thick hide. They were only saved when Din Djarin returned in his new starfighter with Grogu, killing the creature with fire from his new ship. Din spoke with The Armorer briefly before leaving again to bathe in the Living Waters.
Din returned two episodes later announcing that he had bathed in the Living Waters, bringing Bo-Katan with him as a witness. Though Paz branded Bo-Katan an apostate too, Din brought a flask of the water as proof and was accepted back into the covert. Later, Ragnar was snatched by a winged predator and Paz worked with Din and Bo-Katan to retrieve his son from the bird’s nest. They succeeded in rescuing Ragnar from the bird, which plunged into the river and was eaten by a giant turtle monster.
Paz was thankful for Din and Bo-Katan’s help in rescuing his son, and his opinion of them both softened.
Later in the season, Carson Teva arrived requesting aid for Nevarro, which was under attack by a band of pirates. Though Paz ordered Teva to leave at once, Din arrived to calm him down. Shortly after, Din gave a speech asking his fellow Mandalorians for help rescuing Nevarro. When The Armorer asked who would join him, Paz Vizsla was the first to accept the call to arms. Paz and many other Mandalorians joined Din and Bo-Katan on Nevarro, where they successfully defeated the pirates.
Retaking Mandalore
At the end of the season, the Mandalorians joined Din and Bo-Katan in an effort to retake Mandalore from the Empire. Once again, Paz Vizsla was the first person to volunteer. After landing on the surface, they discovered that the Empire had kept a secret base on the planet the entire time. Not only that, but the air on Mandalore wasn’t poisoned, allowing them to breathe freely.
As they made their way to the Imperial facility, Moff Gideon — in his new Dark Trooper armor made from beskar — captured Din Djarin and had the other Mandalorians surrounded. Paz used his chaingun to buy enough time for Bo-Katan to find an escape route for the others, killing many stormtroopers. Once everyone was safe, he sealed the door behind him, sacrificing his life to ensure the Empire could not follow.
Gideon sent in three Praetorian Guards to face him, which ultimately proved too much. The fight only lasted a brief moment before he was killed. Clan Vizsla lived on through his son Ragnar, and the Mandalorians finally defeated Moff Gideon and his forces to retake Mandalore once and for all.
What next?
That’s probably it for Paz Vizsla. Though his importance grew in The Mandalorian Season 3, he was always a fairly minor character that existed as a voice to challenge Din Djarin’s status as a “true” Mandalorian, a plotline which was wrapped up in that third season. It’s possible that he could appear in any stories focusing on the Mandalorians before Season 3, but it seems unlikely.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.