Who first appears on-screen wielding the Darksaber in live-action The Mandalorian Season 1 finale?

The story behind the answer

In Chapter 8 (Redemption), the black‑bladed saber cuts open a crashed TIE—revealing the Imperial warlord who has been hunting the Child. That live‑action debut happens before Din ever touches the weapon (he only claims it after defeating that villain in Season 2), Bo‑Katan doesn’t wield it in live action until later, and Boba Fett never uses it.

Forged by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, the Darksaber is a symbol of Mandalorian leadership that must be won in combat. Its lineage—Pre Vizsla, Darth Maul, Sabine Wren, Bo‑Katan, then the Imperial warlord, and eventually Din—maps the shifting power over Mandalore. Its surprise appearance at the end of Season 1 signaled that the series would delve deeply into Mandalorian history and politics.