The first season of The Book of Boba Fett wraps up with “Chapter 7: In The Name of Honor.“ It’s the predictable thrill ride Boba Fett fans wanted, adorned with so many bells and whistles that many may not notice how short it was on surprises. The only surprise was that of disappointment in the loss of a potentially great adversary.
Clone Wars fans may argue differently, offering that Cad Bane has served his purpose as a character. After all, he’s seen his share of screen time and action in the animated series, but live-action fans have been denied an ongoing rival of Boba Fett’s. Then again, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have already shown they hold aces up their sleeve. The future is bright for Star Wars live-action television, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, The Book of Boba Fett won on a bluff with a wheel straight. The series started slow and ended big with two full episodes devoted to what should be a larger arc for the group of characters as a whole but seemed to have little to do with Boba Fett’s book. Though it makes an inconsequential appearance in the final episode, the Darksaber does not play a role in the first season of The Book of Boba Fett, except to tease future conflicts that may very well take place in any number of the different upcoming series. We can likely expect the mystical weapon to make appearances across series belonging to Bo-Katan, Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, possibly Andor, and perhaps more backstory with the upcoming Kenobi series. We’re waiting on that trailer, Disney. Spring is right around the corner.
“Chapter 7: In The Name of Honor” opens in the usual establishing flyover at Mos Espa. Inside the ruins of Garsa Fwip’s club, Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) face the fact they are at war. Unaware that Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) has been gunned down by Cad Bane (Corey Burton), Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) enters with news that Vanth is raising a garrison with the people of Freetown to help rid Tatooine of the menace of the Pyke Syndicate. There’s a minor disagreement between Fennec Shand and Boba Fett as they settle Vanth’s terms for the alliance. Shand sees Freetown for its value as a spice customer base. Fett hints that he’s more interested in protecting the people than the business of spice running. Fennec wants to run Jabba’s old business as it was. Boba wants to be an honored leader. Nothing will come of this minor tension now, but these two will eventually be at odds. Save that for a second Book. The more pressing conflict is with the Pykes as they are assembling outside. Waiting for their cue, the Mos Vespas gang speaks up and puts their foot down. They want to protect Mos Espa from the ruins, and they want to fight the Pykes now.
Cut to the mysterious Cad Bane, who enters the Pyke leader’s headquarters. He interrupts a meeting with Mayor Mok Shaiz, and the Pyke leader admits to having slaughtered Boba Fett’s Tusken family. Bane’s perturbed expression shows surprise at this, and he decides it’s a good way to push Boba Fett’s buttons to draw him out.
After theme and titles, we see a new overhead view of Mos Eisley from the vantage point of an R2 unit in an X-Wing. The unmistakable beeps and whistles of R2-D2 tell us it’s Luke Skywalker’s ship. Alarms blare at the hangar of Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris). Her pit droids pop to life and prepare for the landing. Expecting a New Republic patrol to disembark, she finds only Grogu in the cockpit. If it’s not already clear to viewers that Grogu has chosen the Mandalorian creed as his way, Peli notices the Beskar chainmail under Grogu’s coat. The same way Luke left Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, without completing his training, Baby Yoda has chosen to leave Luke without completing his training. Without the advantage of dialogue from Grogu, we don’t know if his motivation is to help his friends in trouble or if he misses his Mandalorian daddy. Will his friends die if he doesn’t leave his master? “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”
Back at the ruins in Mos Espa, Fennec Shand reminds Boba and Din that the three local crime families are still on their side. The Gamorreans, Black Krrsantan, Drash, Skad, and the other Mods are posted at various locations watching for unusual activity. It was an excellent idea to post Santy with the Trandoshans. That doesn’t telegraph anything at all. Luckily, we are distracted by some real plot movement. Cad Bane makes an early arrival, and Boba Fett comes outside to face him alone. After exchanging insults, Bane implies that he’s killed Cobb Vanth. Boba shouldn’t expect his allies from Freetown to show up. When both sides display their backup, Fett insists he will only negotiate with the head of the Syndicate. Bane uses the opportunity to goad Fett by revealing the Pykes are responsible for executing the Fett’s Tusken family. Fennec brings restraint to Boba’s side, a surprise considering her penchant for choosing violence, but she’s smart. “We fight on our terms, not theirs,” she promises her partner, foreshadowing a rescheduling of the match with, “You’ll have your moment.” Morrison does a great job of changing his emotional need for revenge into a resolve to plan for round two from behind the helmet.
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Round two comes without a chance to take a corner as the Aqualish set off a firefight in the Worker’s District. The coordinated attack includes a mob of Trandoshans swarming the giant Wookiee and the defenestration of the Gamorreans over the side of a cliff. Fennec saves the Mods from their trouble, and things get quiet again until an army of Pykes shows up around Boba Fett’s holdout. Mando and Boba make a few promises to each other, then choose to ambush their attackers. Sending their Twi’Lek hostage out to “negotiate” as a distraction, the two armored allies use their jet packs to meet their would-be attackers from the air. They pick off snipers, but eventually, there are too many Pykes to handle.
Suddenly, an armored personnel carrier arrives, carrying the garrison from Freetown. The Weequay reveals Cobb Vanth was gunned down, but his fate is still unmentioned and can only be inferred. The firefight continues around town, and thankfully one of the Crayola Vespa speeders is destroyed. The Mods join the group hunkering behind the personal carrier, and Krrsantan makes it on the scene limping back to his new friends. He tosses his Trandoshan attackers like rag dolls, but he absorbs several blasts. Boba Fett pulls him from danger, cementing their alliance. The Pyke foot soldiers fall back, but the Fett gang’s celebration is short-lived.
They now face Old Republic-era Scorpenek annihilator droids with forcefields and giant guns. Their appearance implies a Syndicate alliance with the Colicoids (the Jedi-hating species that designed them). Everyone retreats while Boba and Mando attempt to take the battle droids out. The Darksaber and Fett’s missile are no match for the energy forcefields, so Mando moves to protect the others while Fett leaves to find reinforcements. Mando runs into Peli, who’s come to deliver Grogu. How she knew where Mando made you wonder if she has a tracker on him.
With Scorpenek droids all over the city, Boba’s allies are drawn to many fronts, but Fett reappears with his reinforcements. As we expected, he comes back riding his Rancor. The animal appears over the top of a building like the Cloverfield monster and commences attacking the shielded annihilator droids one at a time. It weakens the shield enough for Mando to try his Darksaber again. Mando is hurt, and Grogu steps in to take the machine down himself. The Rancor finishes it off and takes out another before dining on fresh Pyke sushi.
The bleak outlook becomes brighter as they continue to take out the droids, but this time the Rancor is hurt, too. Blasters from battle droids don’t do it, though. Cad Bane’s flamethrower does (really?). The Rancor throws off his rider and stomps off on a rampage to let Fett face Bane alone. The showdown ends too quickly as Fett goes full Tusken on his opponent, savagely impaling Bane with his gaffi stick. So we are left with the new Big Bad, and it’s the rampaging Rancor? Okay.
The monster climbs a tower a la King Kong, and he beats Mando down. Reenter Grogu, who soothes the savage beast with the Force. Exhausted, they both fall asleep in the street like vagrants. Presumably, when the Rancor wakes up, it’s in a better mood, and Fett can bring it back home before the Dog Catcher arrives.
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Back at Pyke headquarters, a hidden assassin takes out Mayor Mok Shaiz, the Pyke leaders, and heads of the crime families. She chose violence. Fennec Shand shows off the talent that may have shortened the season if Fett hadn’t reigned her in earlier episodes. Soon after, Fett and Shand walk through town as the people of Mos Espa rebuild. Mando is off with Grogu in his new ride to rehearse lines for The Mandalorian season 3.
If you don’t usually stay for the concept art and credits, this episode shows some of the best artwork to date. And since you stuck around, you’re rewarded with a mid-credits scene. Back at Jabba’s Palace, we see Cobb Vanth in Boba Fett’s bacta tank, and the Mod master is preparing his tools. Vanth was shot in the shoulder, so maybe he gets a Winter Soldier arm, one that’s more impressive than the one Drash (Sophie Thatcher) has.
A season two is inevitable. Temuera Morrison has expressed interest in seeking revenge for Jango Fett’s death in The Book of Boba Fett season 2. Mace Windu is long-presumed deceased, but as Fett and many other Star Wars characters have shown, death is only temporary. Samuel L. Jackson has also expressed interest in reprising the role. At some point, it seems like Boba Fett’s destiny to wield the Darksaber. Maybe he finally gets his revenge and becomes the Mandalore all at once. Time will tell.
