Well, this is it. “The Book of Boba Fett” is closing (for now).
Over the past seven weeks we’ve seen the former bounty hunter grow into a leader, form emotional bonds with those around him, and attempt to do something right on the planet that left him for dead. While there have certainly been ups and downs, with diversions and detours (like two full episodes of “The Mandalorian”), it has been a fun ride. Each episode of “The Book of Boba Fett” has been our little weekly hot pocket of “Star Wars.” Sometimes the hot pocket is gooey and delicious, other times it still feels like it’s partially frozen; but we still look forward to it nonetheless.
But how did the show (or first season, Lucasfilm hasn’t announced additional installments yet) wrap up? Read on to find out!
Major spoilers for “The Book of Boba Fett” finale, obviously.
World War Fett
The episode opens in Mos Espa, at the bombed out remains of the Sanctuary. Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) is there with Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). “We’re at war,” Boba growls. Soon, they are joined by The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal). He tells them that the Freetown garrison is on its way, unaware of the showdown the Marshal Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) had with Cad Bane (Corey Burton) at the end of episode 6. Boba reiterates that if the Freetown garrison doesn’t show up, then they are doomed. The mod squad arrives, and Boba tells them they are going to fall back to Jabba’s Palace. But what of the town? Drash (Sophie Thatcher) says that they are going to stay in Mos Espa. Boba reluctantly agrees.
Elsewhere on Tatooine (specifically Mos Eisley), Cad Bane meets with the leader of the Pyke Syndicate. The mayor of Mos Espa (voiced by Robert Rodriguez, who also directed this episode) is there too. The Pyke leader lets Cad (and the rest of us) in on a little secret: it was the Pykes that murdered the Tusken Raiders who had embraced Boba Fett, not the speeder gang. They had staged it to look like the biker gang had done it, and delighted when Boba Fett took them out. It was a way of cutting overhead. Cad absorbs this information and promises to use it. Not to jump to conclusions, but this Cad Bane guy seems like a real jerk.
We cut to an X-Wing approaching Mos Espa, usually a sign of some official interference. The X-Wing careens into the hanger of Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), who starts to scramble around with her cadre of droid companions. As she approaches the X-Wing, she notices that there’s not a pilot inside. The hatch opens up and, surprise, it’s Baby Yoda! Apparently R2-D2 was in the back and steered the ship to Peli. She grabs Baby Yoda out of the cockpit. R2-D2 chirps at her. “Grogu? That’s a terrible name!” she says. She also notices that Grogu is wearing his little Beskar shirt. To paraphrase another Lucasfilm joint, Baby Yoda chose wisely.
Fett’s forces are starting to get into position. The mod squad is combing the streets, the Gamorrean guards are posted at the space port, and Black Krrsantan is near city hall. Are these characters posted at these locations because they are the only sets that anybody bothered to build for “The Book of Boba Fett?” Perhaps.
Back at the Sanctuary, Boba’s torture droid-turned-protocol-droid 8D8 (voiced by Matt Berry) tells him that there is somebody to see him. Boba walks out. It’s Cad Bane. Bane tells him about the Tuskens, which gets Boba’s blood boiling (“I can take him,” he tells Fennec Shand) but ultimately he backs down. When Boba Fett gets back into the Sanctuary, he starts hearing from the other teams on his comms – they’re all getting ambushed by locals. The bug boys are attacking the mod squad, lizards are after my boy Black Krrsantan and the dog men push the Gamorrean guards off a cliff. (Fennec saves the mod squad at least.)
At the Sanctuary, Boba Fett and the Mandalorian discuss what to do. Boba Fett basically gives him an out, saying he can fly off world. “It’s against the creed,” the Mandalorian says. Boba Fett doesn’t buy it. He says that they will most likely die when the Pykes return. “We’ll both die in the name of honor,” the Mandalorian says proudly.
The Pyke Syndicate arrives. The majordomo (David Pasquesi) says that he studied on Coruscant in the art of negotiation and will bring Boba Fetts terms of surrender. This is a fun scene and Pasquesi has been an unsung hero of “The Book of Boba Fett,” in this scene channeling Ellis from “Die Hard” in a big way. He goes out to read Boba’s terms and they are basically a big middle finger. The Pyke are about to execute the majordomo when – surprise! – both Boba Fett and the Mandalorian are flying around picking off gangsters. Please cue “The Boys Are Back in Town.” Please.
The Many Saints of Mos Espa
There’s a lot of Boba Fett and the Mandalorian firing their various weapons and picking off Pyke Syndicate members. You can feel Rodriguez channeling his earlier movies; some of the staging seems directly lifted from “Desperado” (still his masterpiece), although this time everything is a little clunkier and less kinetic. Still, it feels like “Mad Max: Fury Road” compared to that sleepy speeder bike chase from a few weeks ago.
As Boba Fett and the Mandalorian seem to be outnumbered and very much outgunned, they get unexpected reinforcements in the form of the townspeople of Freetown. Apparently Cobb Vanth is very much dead (the bartender makes mention of how ruthlessly he was gunned down), so the townspeople took it upon themselves to join the fight. The surviving members of the mod squad show up too, along with Black Krrsantan, sporting a gnarly gnash on his forehead. It looks like the ragtag group could have a fighting chance!
Oh wait.
Some Scorpenek annihilator droids show up. What makes these droids interesting, besides their “Terminator”-ish look, is that they have been referred to in “Star Wars” canon but never seen in any TV show or movie. Apparently, they are based on a piece of concept art for “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” that eventually morphed into another design. But here they are – huge, hulking, fully armed, and with an impenetrable force field protecting them.
Seriously, these droids are tougher than tough. Boba and the Mandalorian launch all of their weapons against them; The Mandalorian even tries using the darksaber. No luck. There’s a lot of blaster fire. Like a lot. Some would say too much.
Peli Motto shows up and there’s a little chase and she eventually says, “Look who’s here!” It’s Baby Yoda of course. The Mandalorian is overjoyed; we can tell from the cold, expressionless helmet.
But wait, there’s more! Specifically, there’s the new Rancor, being ridden by Boba Fett! He crashes into the annihilator droid, taking some severe damage. The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda try and do their part. Eventually Baby Yoda pulls a bolt out, which sends the annihilator droid tumbling. The Mandalorian uses the darksaber. Honestly it’s all kind of a blur. At least 40 minutes of this hour-long episode is pure fighting. Anyway, Cad Bane shows up and scares off the Rancor with his flame thrower, so now the poor city has an out-of-control monster on its hands too. There are days and there are days.
Boba Fett and Cad Bane have their long-awaited showdown. If you are a fan of “Star Was” lore, you know that “The Clone Wars” creator (and director of last week’s Luke-centric episode) Dave Filoni envisioned a showdown between the two characters. (In his version of the showdown, Cad Bane’s blaster fire would explain the small dent in Boba Fett’s helmet which is either incredibly cool or incredibly stupid. Now, that showdown is finally happening. “What’s your angle?” Cad Bane prods. (There’s also a lot of dialogue here that you would only understand if you watched all of “The Clone Wars” and has no real baring on the actual scene.) Boba Fett assures him, there is no angle. “This is my city!” Boba Fett bellows. Cad Bane has him on the ground, dead to rights, when he pulls out his Tusken Raider stick. He stabs him with the pointy end. Goodbye Cad Bane.
Sure, the annihilator droids are destroyed but there is the tiny issue of the rampaging Rancor. He climbs a tower in full King Kong mode and throws a speeder at Boba Fett’s amassed forces. Finally, Baby Yoda comes out and looks at the beast. It’s easily the most striking image of the entire episode. The Rancor gets down in the sand to yell at Baby Yoda. Baby Yoda puts up his hand and lulls the Rancor to sleep. At the very end of the episode Baby Yoda curls up beside him. It is adorable.
Tying Up Loose Ends
In Mos Eisley we’re back with the leader of the Pyke Syndicate. He says that more reinforcements are on their way. The Mayor still seems worried. The leaders of the various factions (dog face, lizard head, etc.) bemoan their losses. But the conversation is interrupted by raining laser fire; people are lying dead. A noose comes down and picks up the mayor and hangs him. The Pyke Syndicate leader attempts to leave but is stabbed. It’s Fennec Shand. She sneaks out of the building.
Back at Mos Espa, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand are walking the streets. The townspeople are rebuilding. They all salute Boba Fett. He waves back, which hurts. Fennec makes a crack about how he should go back into the bacta tank. He said somebody is using it. (HMMMMM…) Soon, they are joined by the mod squad and Black Krrsantan too (he lives!), along with the true breakout character of “The Book of Boba Fett” – the ratcatcher droid from a few weeks ago. What an icon. Anyway it looks like they are all happy and working together. Peace has been delivered to Tatooine and maybe (just maybe) law and order too.
Before the credits roll, we see The Mandalorian’s Naboo starfighter leaving Tatooine. Baby Yoda is in the little bubble where the droid would have gone. He taps on the glass with the little metal ball that he loves so much. “No,” the Mandalorian says. After a few more taps he finally gives in. “Okay fine,” he says. And he sends the ship into hyperspace. Stars streak by. Baby Yoda is elated. Cue credits.
We see a bunch of amazing concept art, mostly of the Rancor rampage, but wait, there’s more! There is a mid-credits scene. The camera slowly pushes in on Boba Fett’s bacta tank. It’s been a mystery until now who was in there, since Boba promised the bacta tank to Black Krrsantan earlier in the episode, and when Boba Fett somebody is using it, Black Krrsantan is already there. So who was it??
Well, as it turns out: it’s Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant). He’s getting fixed up! But that’s not all. The camera turns and we see Thundercat, who played the mod doctor in an episode a few weeks ago. Guess Cobb is going to return with some upgrades.
There was nothing after the credits, no announcement for season 2 (a la “Loki”) or anything else. Just the cold nothingness of space.
While the finale was entertaining (and certainly action packed), it was also pretty meh. There was nothing that fundamentally changed in the episode, either in terms of the people of Tatooine or with Boba Fett’s personal journey. And in terms of more oversized accomplishments, the events of the episode have no bearing on future installments of “The Book of Boba Fett” or in the continuing adventures of “The Mandalorian” (which will return for Season 3). It was a lot of sound and fury without much resolution or evolution. And that is a planet-sized bummer.