Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor
*The following contains spoilers through Chapter 7 of The Book of Boba Fett*
After all of the buildup of the first four Boba Fett-centred episodes, and the two-episode reprieve focusing on Din Djarin and Grogu, it certainly seemed like this season (series?) finale was destined to be an action-packed battle for control of Tatooine. Director Robert Rodriguez certainly delivered on that front, with the action carrying much of the story of this episode.
Before we talk about the Star Wars Universe and other series moving forward, we need to put a bow on Boba Fett’s storyline as his current arc seems to have been resolved and concluded. Now successfully cemented (and battle-proven) as the Daimyo of Mos Espa, Boba seems fully recovered from his early-season ailments…just in time for a fresh set of battle bruises courtesy of the Pyke Syndicate and Cad Bane (RIP?). He and Fennec Shand have a firm grip on the territory, and also have the respect of the people who live there.
With a decently battle-tested crew of Krrsantan and the Mods, Boba and Fennec seem to have everything figured out for now. I do wonder if we will get to see a season 2 of The Book of Boba Fett and if so, what the main conflict might be. I guarantee the Pykes will not be happy about the outcome of this, especially considering how lucrative their Spice trade from Tatooine has been. I have yet to see any announcement from Disney about if the series will continue, but even if it doesn’t then I think we’ll continue to see these characters pop up in other projects.
With Cad Bane out of the picture for this timeline, I think if there is a season 2 we might see another “big bad” introduced; perhaps one of the characters many of us speculated might show up in this season. I was slightly disappointed there was no real “big bad” Pyke Syndicate mastermind, but Cad Bane being the hired muscle was good enough for me. I doubt more muscle would show up to try and oust Boba Fett in any follow-up stories, so a big bad in the form of the head of the Syndicate coming into the fray is extremely plausible now.
Jon Favreau has been clear that most of the Star Wars shows will have a pretty straightforward overlap, especially the series which take place in the same time period, as Boba Fett and The Mandalorian obviously do. The point of some of these shows and series will be to allow for some expanding of the universe and allow some “peripheral characters” to flesh out their storylines a bit, but ultimately will tie back in to the flagship show and the main story of The Mandalorian. The story of Din Djarin and Grogu is the story which currently is the central focus of all things Star Wars, and any show which takes place during this timeline will essentially serve as a conduit for the Baby Yoda story.
The reason I feel the need to say all of this is because The Book of Boba Fett is the first such show to appear since The Mandalorian hit Disney+ over two (long) years ago. The show allowed Boba Fett’s story to come to the forefront for a few episodes while also circling back to expand the Mandalorian story. We learned what became of Boba in between his Return of the Jedi mishap and his re-introduction in The Mandalorian‘s season 2, and also fit him into a place in the current timeline’s universe.
Going back to my point about the big bad of the Pyke Syndicate being introduced, it wouldn’t shock me if we didn’t get a season 2 of Boba Fett and instead saw the Pyke storyline being expanded either in The Mandalorian or another off-shoot series.
What Boba Fett managed to do was answer one of the lingering questions from The Mandalorian season 2, and now it seems clear what season 3 will focus on. After wondering if season 3 would be split between Din Djarin and the Darksaber (looking at you, Bo Katan) and Grogu and his inevitable reunion with Din Djarin, this completely resolved the latter plot point. Now together forever (hopefully), Din and Grogu now have a wide open path together (presumably with Bo Katan blocking the way).
In terms of the actual episode, I was sad to see Cad Bane meet his end, but as I mentioned last week and as I have alluded to already in this recap, it’s very possible he shows up in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series to try and tie up the loose ends created in the animated Clone Wars series.
This episode had a distinctly Western style to it; from the “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” moment in the saloon with Boba and Mando to the standoff between Boba and Cad Bane, I am glad that these Western moments have made their way back into Star Wars, starting with Solo and continuing now. I hope they continue to do so, because it has made for some great Star Wars moments which will no doubt end up remaining iconic.
I figured we would see Boba ride in on the Rancor to save the day, and while I’m upset we didn’t see more of Danny Trejo, I’m more disappointed in how confusing some of the action with the Rancor was. Boba clearly has been training in secret while we were focusing on Din Djarin, but when the Rancor bucked him off and went rogue, nobody hesitated to immediately open fire on Boba’s gallant steed. The extremely obvious King Kong reference on the tower in Mos Espa was interesting as well, but as expected Grogu came in to Force-save the day.
Another great reference in the episode was Boba Fett’s offer to the Pyke Syndicate, delivered by the Mayor’s Majordomo. The offer? “Nothing.” Straight out of the opening act of The Godfather: Part II, it made me realize that what this crime-focused series needed was exactly more of that: crime. And more overt references to classic crime movies.
Seeing Mando, Boba Fett, and Krrsantan in action was pretty fun, despite some of the confusing geography at times, but I found myself really missing Fennec Shand in these sequences. I was wondering if she would completely miss out on the action, only to have her swoop in at the end with some of the more grisly kills in Star Wars history, wiping out the entire Pyke Syndicate Tatooine Leadership chapter.
The finale offered some payoffs to earlier seeds; the Rancor ride, the Gaffi stick coming into play for Boba’s final kill of Cad Bane, and the insignia painted by the speeder gang ending up being their downfall as the Pykes framed them for the slaughter of the Tuskens. As any good series needs to do, it delivered on those payoffs without leaving any loose ends as far as they’re concerned. However, one loose end that I wish could have had some payoff deals with the flashbacks to young Boba watching Jango fly away on Kamino, and witnessing his dad’s death on Geonosis. I don’t know how you could have justifiably had them pay off in the context of this series, but it does make them somewhat pointless and ultimately fan-service-y flashbacks.
I might be in the minority saying I was pleased with the overall Boba Fett series, but that is with the understanding that it serves the greater Star Wars story, currently centered on Mando and Grogu. With that being said, I do wish we had seen a little more seediness and grittiness from the iconic bounty hunter, and wish we had gotten more action featuring some of the more minor criminals. I do understand why many people are disappointed with the series overall, but I do think that people do need to have the greater understanding of the Favreau-Filoni plan. As a one-off series, it doesn’t stand up to the quality standard set by Mando, but tying into the greater story allows it to be more flexible with its characters.
Being in the Sarlaac pit changed Boba, as did his time with the Tusken Raiders, so naturally he’s a different person than we saw during the Clone Wars, as proven by the mid-credit scene in which he has Cobb Vanth, the man who once wore his armour, in his palace’s Bacta tank. This has to mean we haven’t seen the last of Timothy Olyphant in the Star Wars universe, which is extremely good news to me. Cobb Vanth’s survival means he has a pivotal role yet to play in the overall story, and I’m very excited to see what it is because I love me some Timothy Olyphant.
With an undetermined amount of time before Obi-Wan Kenobi hits Disney+, and an even longer undetermined time before The Mandalorian season 3 begins, I think Boba Fett was an adequate placeholder on the streaming service for Star Wars content, but I do feel like if the company is going to allow Favreau and Filoni the chance to continue developing more shows, the overall quality will have to be raised. Thankfully they still have several series on tap to be able to expand the world and the story of Star Wars, and especially after the Filoni-directed Chapter 6 of this series, I have all the faith in the galaxy that they will be able to deliver time and time again.
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