Characters / Star Wars - Clan Kryze

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Clan Kryze

Voiced by (incidentals only): Dave Fennoy, Andrew Kishino

Appearances: The Clone Wars | Rebels

A powerful Mandalorian clan that is the head of House Kryze and was headquartered from a castle on the planet Kalevala. Members of the house included the late chieftain Duke Adonai Kryze, who died during the Great Clan Wars, the late Duchess Satine Kryze, Death Watch lieutenant and later Mandalore Resistance leader Bo-Katan Kryze, and royal academy cadet Korkie Kryze.

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In General

• Family Extermination: Bo-Katan says that she is the "last of her line", implying that Clan Kryze was wiped out following the Great Purge.
• Ironic Name: "Kryze", is pronounced phonetically almost like crisis, and coincidentally, in Romanian, a phonetic language, there is no phonetical difference between how they pronounce Kryze, and "crize" (because letters like k, c, q and respectively y and i have same pronunciation), the plural word for "crisis". And this clan certainly faced crisis after crisis trying to rule the Mandalorians and failing spectacularly every time.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Presumably, the house isn't doing so well under the Empire, as the most active clans seen so far are from House Vizsla. In addition, Mandalore ends up falling into another civil war, so while clans from House Vizsla are combat-capable, the same has yet to be said of House Kryze, which Satine likely desired to be actual pacifists.
  • "Heroes of Mandalore" seems to point that at least some Kryze members joined Bo-Katan as warriors.
• You Say Tomato: In The Clone Wars, it is either pronounced like "Chris" but with a hard "Z" sound, or it sounds like "crisis". Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) says it like "Kreeze" (rhymes with "cheese").

Satine Kryze

Duchess Satine Kryze

Species: Human

Homeworld: Kalevala

Voiced by: Anna Graves

Appearances: Brotherhood^note Hologram | The Clone Wars

"I remember a time when Jedi were not generals, but peacekeepers."

A devoted pacifist, Satine is the ruler of Mandalore. In her youth, she was targeted by political adversaries and was put under the protection of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the year they spent on the run, Satine and Obi-Wan had deeply fallen in love with one another, but ultimately Obi-Wan chose the Order. The two were reunited during the Clone Wars when the actions of the Death Watch drew the Senate's attention to Mandalore.

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• Actual Pacifist: Deconstructed, as her stubborn insistence to absolute pacifism left Mandalore vulnerable on innumerable levels, which was exploited by Vizsla's Death Watch and Maul's criminal empire.
• Action Girl: During her first appearance, she ends up saving Obi-Wan's life. Her later examples include disarming someone holding her hostage and had a blaster pushed to her temple, finding the evidence that saved Mandalore from being invaded by Republic troops, and investigating the cause of a mass food poisoning personally.
• All for Nothing: Her goal was to make Mandalore a place of peace and to remain neutral during the Clone Wars. Instead, those she trusted conspired against her, corruption soon took over, she herself is killed as Mandalore becomes engulfed in its own civil war before being taken over by the Empire. Instead of the peaceful and just ruler, she's remembered as a coward by those who didn't care for peace and a murderer after being framed for the murder of Vizzla.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: As she's held hostage, she confesses to Obi-Wan that she has loved him ever since they first met. Obi-Wan then returns it. She affirms it for the last time in "The Lawless".
• Back-to-Back Badasses: With Obi-Wan while destroying the small assassin probes in "Voyage of Temptation".
• Badass Normal: She has no Force powers, but she is still capable of defending herself.
• Badass Pacifist: She's a Mandalorian pacifist. She may not be a Proud Warrior Race Girl like her ancestors, but she's still got the Mandalorian determination. She won't let others try to assassinate her either.
  Satine: Just because I'm a pacifist doesn't mean I won't defend myself!
• Battle Couple: Zigzagged. While she and Obi-Wan had mutual feelings for each other, both didn't follow through on said feelings due to their respective duties. As for the "battle" part, Obi-Wan is a master on the lightsaber, and while Satine is a staunch pacifist, she has proven handy with a blaster.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Obi-Wan. They can barely spend five minutes together without snarking at each other, but both admit to still being in love, even if their respective duties prevent a relationship.
• Beware the Nice Ones: A Mandalorian pacifist she may be, but she's still a Mandalorian, so get her furious at your own risk:
  • In "Voyage of Temptation", when Merrik was distracted, Satine head-butted him and actually grabbed his blaster and aimed it at Merrik's head.
  • In "Corruption", once a group of smugglers is exposed and tracked down she arrived at their warehouse with guards and flamethrowers. She doesn't have the smugglers burned alive, just to drive home a few messages: once the smugglers are arrested she tells the obstructionist customs' captain to burn it down or she'll consider him an accomplice (and that's after the captain risked his life capturing the smugglers), to make sure everyone knows not only that she won't tolerate the corruption that allowed the smugglers to show up with toxic tea that poisoned dozens of children, she's utterly fed up.
• Birds of a Feather: She and Obi-Wan are Deadpan Snarkers, with a strong sense of duty, compassionate, brave, and pacifistic (but to different extents).
• Bodyguard Crush: During Obi-Wan's Padawan learner days, he and Qui-Gon were assigned to protect Satine from insurgents of Mandalore. As such, he and Satine grew close over their time together and their feelings became romantic. However, nothing came of it as they chose their duties over their feelings. Nonetheless, when they see each other more than a decade later, they admit to still loving each other.

• Classical Anti-Hero: Satine is a good, heroic person, but her flaws cripple her ability to truly fulfill her dream of a peaceful Mandalore, ultimately bringing ruination to her world, her people, and herself.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: According to Dave Filoni, Satine was designed with Cate Blanchett in mind.
• Cool Aunt: Even when busy with her royal duties, Satine takes the time to listen to her nephew, Korkie, about his suspicions about something and genuinely takes what he says to heart.
• Cosmic Plaything: The sheer level of suffering and pain levied against this woman is staggering.
• Cultural Rebel: An Actual Pacifist in a society of Proud Warrior Race Guys; Satine sought to revolutionize Mandalorian society and leave behind the destructive warrior past that cost Satine her father's life, and, despite her brave efforts, she was undone by Pre Viszla's reactionary ways and Darth Maul's interference.
• Dark and Troubled Past: According to Obi-Wan, most of Satine's people (including her father) were killed in a civil war and she spent a year on the run from Mandalorian insurgents and bounty hunters alongside Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. The trauma she experienced is the direct reason she became a stern pacifist.
• Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Obi-Wan.
  Satine: Senators, I presume you're acquainted with the collection of half-truths and hyperbole known as Obi-Wan Kenobi?
  Obi-Wan: Your Highness is too kind.
  Satine: You're right. I am.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Actual Pacifist. Her character is essentially a Deconstruction of pacifism and why it doesn't work in a galaxy at war, where everyone wants to exploit the weak and will take advantage of this vulnerability. Darth Maul probably put it best when he referred to Satine learning the "burden of peace".
• Demonization: A victim of it after Death Watch's successful coup in "Shades of Reason". Bo-Katan claims that she "fled in cowardice" (Vizsla had her thrown in prison) and Almec later claims that Satine murdered Vizsla (it was actually Maul who killed him).
• Didn't Think This Through: She insists that her "speeder accident" was an attempted murder. Mas Amedda agrees, saying it proves Death Watch really is a significant threat to the Mandalorian government. This undermines Satine's earlier claims that they were an insignificant splinter group.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: She passed away in Obi-Wan's arms after being stabbed by Darth Maul.
• Doesn't Like Guns: While she's skilled with blasters and is secretly armed with a small one in the event where she has to protect herself, she clearly dislikes using them as these barbaric and uncivilized weapons go against her pacifist beliefs. When she manages to steal Tal Merrik's blaster and points it at him in an attempt to thwart his plan to kidnap her and blow up the Coronet, she quickly throws it away in disgust after Anakin kills him.
• Dumb Blonde: Inverted. Satine is a blonde, but is an intelligent, decisive woman. That said, she is also too dedicated to her mission of peace and remaining neutral that it goes against common sense.
• Dying Declaration of Love: With her last breath she reinforced her earlier Love Confession to Obi-Wan.
  Satine: Remember, my dear Obi-Wan... I've loved you always. I always will...
• Face Death with Dignity: After Maul stabs her with the Darksaber, she calmly tells Obi-Wan before succumbing to her wounds that she's always loved him and always will, even in the afterlife.
• Fatal Flaw: Her devotion to pacifism and democracy above all else. It leaves her helpless to defend against Darth Maul and Pre Vizsla's plot to topple her government and conquer Mandalore, which ultimately results in her own death.
• The Fettered: Deconstructed. Satine's dedication to her morals and beliefs prove to be a major liability in her conflicts with the likes of Vizsla and Maul.
• Foil: To Padmé. They're both royalty, who came into power at a time of crisis to their homeworld, and as a result, they're both pacifists, both fell in love with a Jedi sent to protect them, and both of their deaths are directly linked to the Jedi they loved. They're both quite similar, particularly in their political values and beliefs, but also differ in a few areas.
  • Padmé was elected in a time of peace and resigned after her term was up, Satine seems to have gained the throne for life, as the sole survivor of a civil war with a rightful claim to it.
  • They're both dedicated to peace at any cost, but while Padmé is more simply the type to want to avert war and is completely willing to decisively rout her opponents to ensure that a battle cannot become anything bigger, Satine is almost completely devoted to pacifism, even in life-threatening situations.
  • Padmé remains faithful to the Republic in spite of its increasing corruption, while Satine is adamant about keeping Mandalore neutral during the Clone Wars.
  • Both Padmé and Satine fell in love with a Jedi who had been assigned to protect them, but while Padmé gave in to her love for Anakin and secretly married him, Satine chose to focus on her respective duty and chose to love Obi-wan from afar. As did Obi-wan.
  • Padmé is indirectly killed by a Dark Side user - her own love interest in fact, who had specifically turned to the dark side in a misguided attempt to save her. Anakin falsely believes she had betrayed him, though she is remembered fondly by her people and her death causes Anakin to embrace the Dark Side fully. Satine is eventually overthrown and murdered by a Dark Side user named Darth Maul to torment her love interest and is then unfairly remembered as a 'traitor' to her people. Obi-Wan refuses to give into hatred and despair in spite of this and remains a good man.
  • Both Padmé and Satine's last words involve the men they love -Padmé asserts her belief there's still good in Anakin, while Satine declares her love for Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan is present at both their deaths.
• Freudian Excuse: Most of Satine's people died in a civil war, giving her a deep aversion to violence.
• Good Is Not Soft: Satine is a pacifist, but she's far from a pushover. This is best seen when she nearly loses it over innocent children being poisoned by criminals.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: With her love interest, Obi-Wan. While she uses a small blaster in self-defense, he uses his lightsaber.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Satine is blonde and, despite her flaws, she is a good person at heart.
• Honor Before Reason; Satine's dedication to her pacifist ideals, while noble, is ultimately more of a hindrance than anything else, as it prevents her from accepting that there are times when violence is necessary, especially in a galaxy at war, and it leaves her totally unable to prevent her own downfall at the hands of Pre Viszla and Darth Maul.
• Hopeless Suitor: Zigzagged. Satine's love for Obi-Wan is definitely reciprocated, but he can't bring himself to abandon his commitment to the Jedi to be with her and she is also committed to her duties as Duchess of Mandalore. It's implied that Satine may want to renew her past relationship with Obi-Wan (she's visibly disappointed when Obi-Wan describes the two of them as "friends" in "Duchess of Mandalore"), but their relationship remains platonic until Satine's death.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Not always (she did fall in love with Obi-Wan Kenobi, after all), but she was fooled by Vizsla, Merrik, and Almec, believing each of them to be loyal allies.
• Hypocrite: Attempted to be Invoked by Senator Merrick during his assassination attempt on her. He places Obi-Wan and Satine in a Xanatos Gambit when he reveals he has a bomb set to destroy their vessel—either Obi-Wan kills her and makes Satine hate him, or Satine kills him, but becomes a hypocrite. It winds up being Subverted because Merrick forgot about the other Jedi onboard, and is Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by Anakin Skywalker.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Darth Maul, with the Darksaber.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Satine can be quite self-righteous and defensive, although the latter is largely due to stress, and neither stops her from ultimately being a good person.
• Lady and Knight: She is the Lady to Obi-Wan's Knight.
• Lawful Stupid: She's adamant that Mandalore remain at peace, which is good and all, but at the expense of the planet's warrior traditions. Repeatedly, it's shown her methods, though well-intentioned, do not work, as nearly everyone in her inner circle is trying to kill her or take advantage of her staunch pacifism for their own ends. It's little wonder that the planet is willing to accept Pre Vizsla after his Engineered Heroics prove effective where her own government does not.
• The Lost Lenore: She was Obi-Wan's main love interest and he plainly states that had she said it, he would've left the Jedi Order for her. However, she is tragically killed by Maul and Obi-Wan is deeply saddened by her passing.
• Martial Pacifist: She is perfectly okay with violence and combat when its limited to a minimum required force for legitimate self-defense. She will not, however, participate in actual battle.
• Mama Bear: Children getting hurt is her most notable Berserk Button.
• Muggle–Mage Romance: Satine (the unpowered Duchess of Mandalore) had mutual feelings with Obi-Wan (a Jedi Master skilled in the ways of the Force). However, they don't act on said feelings due to their respective duties and their relationship doesn't go anywhere romantic due to her death.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Leia's signature blaster is a model called Satine's Lament.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: She heavily resembles Cate Blanchett. Filoni even admitted to basing Satine's looks on the actress.
  "To my mind, I kinda riffed off of Cate Blanchett’' Elizabeth for the performance of Satine and some of the design. I just loved the way she carried herself in that film, and it was a big inspiration for how to do this character because to have a female character that'… I wanted her to stand right there with Obi-Wan Kenobi and be every bit as smart. Stand toe to toe with him and even be a bit wiser perhaps, and I think she does that really nicely."
• Not So Stoic: She breaks down in tears during Obi-Wan's fake funeral.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • When children got food poisoning from toxic tea, bought by officials on the black market, she went into such a rage she completely abandoned her pacifist views, and threatened a suspect with physical violence if he didn't start talking.
  • The normally collected and regal Mandalorian Queen openly weeps at Obi-Wan's "funeral".
• Properly Paranoid: Satine refuses the Republic's aid, since she believes they would trample the people's rights and let Death Watch regain Mandalore, despite Palpatine insisting they were helping her. Not only does she go through hell to deliver Deputy Minister Jerec's original recording to the Senate, which shuts down Death Watch's plot at least until Maul manages to succeed where Dooku failed, but her concerns of the Republic occupying Mandalore turns out to be correct when the Siege of Mandalore overthrows Maul and allowed the Empire to run the planet.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the blue (a staunch pacifist) to Bo-Katan's red (a staunch warrior traditionalist).
• Royal Blood: Satine is a duchess after all.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Not that her efforts do much good or succeed in the end.
• The Scapegoat: It isn't given much attention, but after Maul kills Vizsla, he has Almec claim that Satine is Vizsla's killer, which serves the dual purpose of explaining Vizsla's death without Maul exposing his presence on Mandalore and gives a reason to keep Satine in prison so that Maul can use her as bait for Obi-Wan.
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog: After all her efforts and all that she endured in her quest to free Mandalore of corruption and rededicate it to peace, Satine's story ends with her mission as a total failure and with herself being murdered by Darth Maul for the sake of torturing the man she loves. Then, as later series reveal, Mandalore was placed under Imperial rule when her sister refused to fall in line, it's leadership attempted to purge the planet of another tradition of theirs (specifically Beskar armor), then when Bo got the planet back, Moff Gideon purged the planet and took the Darksaber.
• Shrine to the Fallen: Disturbingly, it's Maul, the man who killed her, who has a painting of her hung up on his wall at the Nightsister lair on Dathomir. For maximum creepy effect, it's been severely slashed up and hangs above the Darksaber, the thing he killed her with.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: With Bo-Katan; Bo-Katan is a redheaded soldier with no title who is willingly subservient to Vizsla, while Satine is a blond pacifist with an aristocratic title who rules Mandalore.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Satine never stopped loving Obi-Wan, the Knight in Shining Armor gentleman who has protected her numerous times.
• Slave to PR: Satine is a politician so she cares a lot about having the public on her side. When the people of Mandalore eventually flock to Vizsla's banner she surrenders control of the government almost without a fight. Part of this of this is practical since without popular support she would never be able to implement any of her policies. However, her unwillingness to take actions that risk losing the support of the people leaves her looking weak and indecisive.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: With Obi-Wan. He's a Jedi, sworn to protect the Republic and its peace and to not form personal attachments. She's the duchess of a ruined planet which she tried to rebuild by turning her people's Proud Warrior Race Guy culture into a pacifist society. In the end, theirs was a love that could not be, however much they might have cared for each other.
• Suicidal Pacifism: She just cannot bring herself to kill someone, period. Best shown when Tal Merrik is gloating to her about how he's going to kill her and everyone aboard the Coronet while nothing protects him from her but the fact that he's a living being. Despite knowing that it would result in her, several close friends, and plenty of innocent bystanders being killed, Satine can't bring herself to pull the trigger.
• Targeted to Hurt the Hero: Darth Maul tries to invoke this trope when he murders Satine in front of Obi-Wan, hoping that her death will break him. This is ultimately defied by Obi-Wan, as while her death causes him some sorrow, he doesn't cross the Despair Event Horizon or vow revenge against Maul for it and only continues to oppose Maul on the grounds of the threat he poses.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: She and Bo have this dynamic. Satine is a Proper Lady who prefers pacifism over everything and is quite the Action Fashionista like Padme, while her younger sister is an anarchic terrorist who wears only her armor and is more assertive and battle-oriented.
• Tragic Dream: A Mandalore dedicated to peace, free of corruption, and devoid of the scourges of war. This is tragic because nearly all of Satine's apparent advisors turned out to be secretly against her, and her every attempt to purge corruption from her government and defend Mandalore proved to be fleeting successes at best, resulting in Pre Vizsla (followed swiftly by Darth Maul) conquering the planet, leaving Satine in prison, and ultimately, her death and Mandalore being consumed by a civil war.
• Tragic Hero: Her life's work is completely undone by Pre Vizsla and Darth Maul, and she is posthumously considered a traitor to her people.
• Trauma Conga Line: All of her speaking appearances involve Satine suffering in some way, but in "Shades of Reason", Darth Maul uses his criminal empire to destabilize Satine's government and turn her people against her, allowing Satine's enemy Pre Vizsla to take over with the public's support (by staging a magnificent defeat of Maul's forces, which had been planned in advance by Vizsla and Maul) and throwing Satine in prison for supposed "treason". Maul then murders Vizsla and uses Satine as a scapegoat, allowing him to rule Mandalore through a puppet Prime Minister (another enemy of Satine's, as well as a black marketeer responsible for poisoning numerous innocent children), all while Satine rots in prison, unable to do anything about it. It reaches its peak in "The Lawless", where she's murdered by Maul just to make Obi-Wan suffer.
• Unlimited Wardrobe: In almost every episode she appears in, she puts up a new kind of dress or other type of apparel.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: It's pretty clear (especially to Anakin) that she and Obi-Wan have romantic feelings for each other, but neither one acts on them due to their respective duties. Unfortunately, it gets cemented after Satine is killed by Maul.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She unwittingly and unknowingly derails Obi-Wan's planned confrontation to Anakin about Padmé being his wife, which was against the Jedi Code, by declaring her intent to form the Council of Neutral Systems, making Obi-Wan shocked about this announcement and reflect on their shared history making them better people. He even decides to abandon confronting Anakin on his secret marriage after concluding (as well as hoping) that Anakin and Padme would be happy together by growing as people, which technically only made things worse in the long run.
• Unwitting Pawn: She is ultimately used by Maul to lure Obi-Wan, and to act as the instrument of the Sith Lord's vengeance.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Bo-Katan. Which makes sense, considering that they're sisters.
  Satine: There was a time we weren't enemies. Perhaps that time has come again.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Her New Mandalorian pacifistic utopia façade conceals a failed state where everyone is corrupt, a governor is secretly a terrorist leader, the Prime Minister plots a coup d'etat with his Secret Police, food shortages are constant since the beginning of the war (from which Mandalore stays away), and generally she's the only one who really believes in her utopia, remaining oblivious until the trouble's knocking on her door. Then, thanks to Darth Maul, it all comes crashing down around her.

Bo-Katan Kryze

Bo-Katan Kryze

See her page.

Korkie Kryze

Korkie Kryze

Species: Human

Homeworld: Mandalore

Voiced by: Whit Hartford

Appearances: The Clone Wars

Nephew of Satine and Bo-Katan, Korkie was a cadet at the Mandalorian Royal Academy of Government.

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• Alliterative Name: Korkie Kryze.
• The Ghost: Not Korkie himself, but his parents. Satine is explicitly referred to as Korkie's aunt and Bo-Katan appears to be too young to be his mother. Rebels later revealed that if a partner's clan is more significant, then the other partner takes on their clan name instead of their own, like with Ursa and her husband, who are officially Clan Wren through Ursa, so this makes the gender of Korkie's parent through House Kryze unknown. However, neither of Korkie's parents have appeared or even been mentioned in the series. Hidalgo later tweeted that Satine has more than one sibling than Bo-Katan, and that sibling is the parent of Korkie.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Like his aunt, Korkie is a blonde (well, reddish-blonde) Mandalorian and a noble individual.
• Nice Guy: He's shown to be a polite and upstanding young man.
• Royal Blood: Though his official status was not known, he was a member of House Kryze, the royal family who used to rule Mandalore.
• Snooping Little Kid: In "The Academy", he and his classmates investigated the artificially bloated food shortages on Mandalore, and with the help of Ahsoka, exposed Almec as the head of the whole incident.
• Took a Level in Badass: In "The Academy", he was just a kid in over his head in trying to investigate corruption. In "The Lawless", however, he's breaking his aunt out of prison and gunning down Death Watch commandos.
• Uncertain Doom: Bo-Katan claims, in The Mandalorian, to be the last of her line, but it isn't clear if she's referring to Clan Kryze as a whole (in which case, Korkie is likely dead) or just her own direct bloodline (which, while not resolving the question of Korkie's fate, doesn't guarantee that he's dead).
• Unknown Character: There's no information regarding which of his parents is a member of House Kryze.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In "The Lawless", he was knocked out by a Death Watch commando during an attempt to break Satine out of prison. While later in the episode, Almec claimed that Satine's accomplices had all escaped, this is highly unlikely in Korkie's case since he was right beside Satine when she was attacked and recaptured. Nothing further is known about him. His fate following Satine's death and the outbreak of the Mandalorian Civil War is likewise unknown. In The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan states she's "the last of my line," though it's unclear if Korkie's branch of the family is included in that.

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