“The Book of Boba Fett” hit Disney+ last year, but most of the conversation about the “Star Wars” spinoff series was around a supporting character who showed up towards the end of the show (season?): Pedro Pascal’s The Mandalorian.
We haven’t had a new episode of “The Mandalorian” since way back in December 2020, when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) showed up to spirit away young Baby Yoda aka Grogu. What happened to the adorable little creature? And how has the Mandalorian himself been dealing with the loss of his charge? Well, as it turns out, this was all revealed in a few “The Book of Boba Fett” episodes, and if you want to catch up before “The Mandalorian” Season 3, here’s how.
These are the episodes of “The Book of Boba Fett” to watch before “The Mandalorian” Season 3.
Episode 5: “Return of the Mandalorian”
While the Mandalorian’s return was teased at the very end of Episode 4 (“The Gathering Storm”), with the strains of the familiar Ludwig Göransson theme music, the character didn’t official enter “The Book of Boba Fett” until Episode 5. This was a completely Mando-centric episode, following him on a quest (he has to deliver a gangster’s head in exchange for information about the hiding place for the rest of his clan), getting some very chunky backstory about the Mandalorian home world, the darksaber (which he now wields), and how he fits into a supposed prophecy. At the end of the episode he is exiled from the rest of the surviving Mandalorians because he took off his helmet (naturally), and returns to Tatooine to get a new ship – a modified Naboo Starfighter from “Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace” of all things. At the end of the episode, he hops in his new ride to deliver some Beskar armor to a familiar face – Baby Yoda.
Read our full recap of the episode.
Episode 6: “From the Desert Comes a Stranger”
Another almost completely Mandalorian-filled episode, we see the gunslinger travel to a forest planet in order to give Baby Yoda his new armor. Instead, he’s intercepted first by R2-D2 and later Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), who tells him that he can’t interrupt the young one’s Jedi training. (We’ve heard this song before!) Skywalker (once again Mark Hamill, returned to youthful vigor by CGI wizardry) helps explore Baby Yoda’s youth (apparently he watched his Jedi masters slaughtered during Order 66) and, towards the end of the episode, offers Baby Yoda a choice – stay with Luke and learn the ways of the Force (at which point he’ll be awarded Yoda’s adorable lightsaber) or go with his friend and get his Beskar armor. This is kind of a screwed up ultimatum from Luke considering the entire point of the first trilogy was him choosing his friends. Anyway, the Mandalorian returns to Tatooine in an effort to recruit Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) for Boba Fett’s cause. Of course, after he leaves, the villainous Cad Bane (Corey Burton) shows up and shoots Cobb. And just like that …
Read our full recap of the episode.
Episode 7: “In the Name of Honor”
This is the finale of “The Book of Boba Fett” but is still very heavily focused on the Mandalorian. The Mandalorian is there from the very first scene, when he interfaces with Boba Fett and Fennec Shand about what to do about the upcoming gang war. While most of the episode is focused on Boba Fett and his forces getting unceremoniously offed by the Pyke Syndicate forces, there’s just as much about the Mandalorian and his young friend. Luke’s X-Wing flies to Mos Espa with Baby Yoda in the cockpit; there’s a big chase sequence with Baby Yoda, and Baby Yoda plays a pivotal role in two big action sequences – first unbolting a key component from a towering murder-droid and then putting a rampaging Rancor to sleep. The Mandalorian also gets to use his darksaber, all of his weapons, and his Beskar armor saves him from the bite of the Rancor. It’s somewhat telling that, at the end of the episode/season/maybe series, it’s not a moment with Boba Fett but the Mandalorian that closes things out. The Mandalorian is leaving Tatooine, with Baby Yoda in the little bubble that had previously held a droid (like R2D2). Baby Yoda taps on the glass. The Mandalorian refuses, then finally gives in – he jumps into hyperspace. Huzzah!
Read our full recap of the episode.
So there you have it, the Mandalorian appears in three crucial episodes of “The Book of Boba Fett.” These episodes make a stand-alone trilogy that, if you are uninterested in the mechanics of how Boba Fett escaped the Sarlacc pit or the political intrigue of Mos Espa, you could just watch and totally understand what is happening. If you choose to go down this path, we support you. This is the way.
