This Is The Way

About

"This Is the Way" is a catchphrase from the Disney+ Star Wars television series The Mandalorian. On The Mandalorian, the phrase is a mantra used among the Mandalorian people. The phrase inspired a series of memes among fans of the series.

Origin

On November 22nd, 2019, the third episode of The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+.^[1] On the series, the main character, known only as The Mandalorian, meets other Mandalorians, who say to him, "This is the way" (video below).

Shortly after the episode premiered, Twitter ^[2] user @dannymears tweeted the earliest known reference to the phrase (shown below). They wrote, "The first three episodes of THE MANDALORIAN cover an entire movie’s worth of story better than any prequel *or* THE FORCE AWAKENS. The show gets it. This is the way."

Spread

Within minutes of the episode's conclusion, people online began referencing the line on various websites. That day, Redditor ^[3] nurvanuh posted a Kevin Hart object-labeled meme about Baby Yoda in a thread called "This Is The Way" in the /r/TheMandalorianTV subreddit. Within five days, the post received more than 3,500 points (99% upvoted) and 30 comments (shown below, left). Redditor^[4] wilharris1982 posted a Distracted Boyfriend meme with the boyfriend choosing "this is the way" over another Mandalorian catchphrase, "I have spoken." The post received more than 7,500 points (97% upvoted) and 260 comments in less than five days (shown below, center).

On November 25th, Redditor^[5] zavod311 posted an When Ancestry.com Says meme featuring the Mandalorian in the /r/dankmemes subreddit. They titled the thread "This is the way." The post received more than 91,000 points (94% upvoted) nad 745 comments in less than two days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References