Every time an episode of The Book of Boba Fett lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on the sixth episode – Chapter 6: From The Desert Comes A Stranger. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Carl Bayliss
With Bryce Dallas Howard’s episode last week, this chapter had a lot to do to match up to it, so who could possibly pick up the reins for this? Enter one Dave Filoni!
Of course upon the announcement that he would be directing an episode of the show, speculation began as to whether we would see characters from the animated shows return or even debut in live action; we got this and soooo much more. Opening with an exchange between Cob Vanth and four Pykes we see the Marshal set out his stall, taking out three of the four and sending the survivor free with a message for the Syndicate.
A good portion of this episode is spent on an as-yet-unamed planet where Mando has tracked Grogu, and therefore Luke Skywalker. Here we see some ‘ant’ droids bullying what we are told will become Luke’s new Jedi training academy, but Master Skywalker does not tell us this himself, this nugget is shared by Ahsoka Tano (who I’m not sure if was already hanging around, or was summoned by R2 upon Mando’s arrival).
She informs Mando that Grogu misses him, but to see him may cause issues with him focusing on his training, so Mando decides to leave his ‘gift’ with Ahsoka and return to Tatooine. The deepfake/CGI on Luke is streets ahead of that we first saw 12 months ago in The Mandalorian season 2 finale, and allows us lots of call backs to the Dagobah training with Yoda, including that famous blue backpack!
We then get a brief glimpse of Boba’s newly assembled crew whilst Fennec highlights the Pykes seemingly taking up position to overthrow the regime and seize control. Mando takes a trip to visit Cobb to try to enlist the Mos Pelgo (or Freetown as they have renamed themselves) residents to help in the fight. Mando leaves with Vanth begrudgingly agreeing to speak to the townsfolk, and here we get the next big moment – through the desert haze we see a lone figure approaching the town, and at this point even in silhouette fans of The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch and Rebels will have been sat open-mouthed at the sight of Cad Bane.
Although his trademark hat was somewhat smaller than the animated rendering, he was every bit as menacing as we’ve come to expect, and in a full on western showdown he shoots both Cob Vanth and his deputy, before delivering the message that ‘so long as the spice keeps running, no one else will get hurt’, disappearing back into the the desert.
The final cliffhanger takes us back to Luke and Grogu, where Luke sets out to him that he can make a choice between being a Mandalorian foundling and returning to Din, or training as a Jedi and taking on Yoda’s lightsaber.
Again, this delivered so many things as did BDH’s episode last week, and really pushes the links between the stories, although this does mean we’ve had almost a third of the season now which has been set away from the central story of Boba Fett. It also means that showrunner BobRod (Robert Rodriguez) has a pretty big job to wrap these threads up into the season finale. It does also suggest that with so much having been built up across multiple character threads, not only will ‘Book…’ almost certainly get a second season, the other shows around the ‘Mandoverse’ (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and possibly a revamped Rangers of the New Republic) will have more crossed threads than a weaver’s loom.
Paul Naylor
Wow. What a chapter. What revelations. What future possibilities. In no particular order, my top 10 moments:
Cobb Vanth: he might be armourless, but he’s far from harmless, dispatching three of the four Pykes passing through Mos Pelgo on a spice run. The fourth gets away with his life, foregoing the chest of spice. Vanth, stares down at the chest and flips it open in disgust with his boot. He watches casually as the dusty prize – worth more than Pelgo itself – is carried on the wind. Clearly a man of high standards.
R2 and the Ants: no, not an Adam & The Ants cover act, but the first characters Mando encounters on his mission to find Grogu. Curiously he addresses R2 as “friend“. R2 should feel honoured, as we the audience know Din Djarin’s dislike of droids. Of course, Mando knows R2 is the counterpart of Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Master he has entrusted his diminuitive friend to. As R2 leads Mando to a clearing we witness an army of ant droids, going about their business, building a Jedi temple. With a colour scheme similar to our fave astromech, R2 looked every bit the sie manager.
Luke and Grogu: “It’s like poetry, it rhymes“, is a famous quote from George Lucas, referring to reocurring themes throughout Star Wars. Here, we witness a parallel to Luke and Yoda’s relationship in The Empire Strikes Back – with Luke now taking on Yoda’s role as master and Grogu, the padawan learner. Whilst not always perfectly executed, the digital version of Luke – now five or six years older than the events told in Return of the Jedi – is jawdroppingly good. Quite often you believe it is a young Mark Hamill you are witnessing. The technology is now capable of delivering a believable continuation of our beloved characters, proving once and for all “no one is ever really gone“. The relationship between Grogu and Luke is beautifully told, never moreso than when Luke walks with Grogu, telling him about Yoda. Luke uses the Force to make Grogu skip ahead every now and then, helping him keep a pace. Subtle and wonderful.
Good/bad old days: Luke helps Grogu to remember the day he was snatched from from the Jedi temple on Coruscant, with the 501st troopers enacting Order 66, capturing him. We see three Jedi protectors blasted by the clones, prior to Grogu waking from his memory. Another superb link to the prequels. This show is great at doing that.
Ahsoka Tano: It’s like birthday and Christmas rolled into one this episode. Next up, Ahsoka appears before Mando. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” says Mando. “I’m an old friend of the family,” replies Ahsoka. A lovely moment, conjuring memories of Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka’s adventures in the animated Clone Wars. It is Ahsoka’s job to convince Mando that he should not meet Grogu – for Grogu’s sake.
Training kit: okay, who else want’s a blue back-pack and training remote? Seeing Luke with Grogu peaking from his back-pack was a nod to the training on Dagobah, complete with acrobatic flips. The training remote, first seen onboard the Milennium Falcon in a scene with Luke and Obi-Wan back in 1977, is lovingly given use during Grogu’s lessons.
Back to Tatooine: Mando returns to Boba’s palace in time for a debrief. We see Black Krrsantan, the scooter gang from a few chapters ago, Fennec Shand and Mando in conference, with a silent Fett. Hey, many of you asked for him to be quieter. You can’t get much quieter than he’s been in chapters 5 and 6. With the ‘muscle‘ assembled, Mando goes over to Mos Pelgo (or Freetown) to call in a favour from Cobb Vanth. He wants foot soldiers. The same that helped in the slaying of the Krayt Dragon in Mando season 2. Mando exits as another visitor arrives to see Cobb Vanth.
Wild West, only better: if you love cowboy films, the arrival of a gunslinger is always a highlight. When that gunslinger is a beloved alien bounty hunter that has, until now, only appeared in animated form, I can only imagine the collective look on the faces of the fanbase. Cad Bane in a live action show is fan service at its very best. Cobb get’s blasted – hopefully not dead – and the onlookers are told by Cad Bane that they will be left alone, as long as the syndicate can traffic spice. We’ll see.
Explosive stuff: Back at the familiar cantina, a couple of Pykes casually walk in, leave a camtono and exit. The camtono explodes shortly after the pair exit. Terrorism in a galaxy far, far away. I note Max Reebo was not on stage. Presumably he’s taken the day off, or self-isolating with a virus? Whichever, he lives to play another bar.
Grogu’s choice: in the final scenes, Luke asks Grogu to choose between the Beskar gift from his Mandalorian bestie or to become the new owner of Yoda’s preloved lightsaber. Which he chooses could determine his path here on in.
An incredible chapter, still a bit too devoid of Boba Fett for my liking, however probably the finest Star Wars I’ve seen in years.
Ross Hollebon
The relationships and interactions are natural and real. The discussions, both friendly and rival, offer opportunities between the right thing or the easy thing. The rapport between characters—and the introduction of a feared bounty hunter—led to cheers, tears, and smoke possibly billowing out of ears during The Book of Boba Fett, Ch. 6: From the Desert Comes A Stranger.
Banter. No, not a funny accent talking about the big, wooly beast the Sandpeople ride on Tatooine—the wordplay gamesmanship between characters was at an epic level in this episode starting at the very beginning with Cobb Vanth. Timothy Olyphant’s gift of two-toned delivery made his threats friendly suggestions, as long as possible, with the spice-running Pykes. The exchange basically nominated Freetown as the next immediate enemy of the Syndicate. Marshal Vanth had an even more dire verbal exchange, near the end of the episode, as legendary bounty hunter Cad Bane made his live-action debut, including a haunting Pan’s Labyrinth-esque mouth reveal. This time it was the blue-skinned Duros who took lead on the oratory hoe down, keeping Vanth off balance before issuing a warning shot (Vanth) and a death sentence (his meathead deputy) and proclaiming Tatooine now belongs to the Syndicate.
Just prior to Bane’s arrival there was a much more friendly discussion between Din Djarin and Vanth, as each side of this coming crime war states their case for allies. The Mandalorian and the Marshal have some classics during their exchange as well, with my favorite being from Vanth: “See, that’s what I like about you Mando. That big smile of yours lets you get away with anything.”
All of this takes place after Djarin has what I consider one of the most moving conversations in Star Wars history. On an unknown planet where Luke Skywalker is building his Jedi Academy, and currently training Grogu, we are treated to a surprise appearance by Ahsoka Tano. The banter between her and Djarin, after also seeing R2-D2, plucks heartstrings better than Tobias Beckett would have strummed the valichord. Ahsoka’s cadence and approach really seem to be influenced by her quality time with Yoda on Coruscant. She is thoughtful, questioning, at times playful, and definitely a weather vane for introspection. It is a maternal, Force-sensitive veil she symbolically places over the hardened warrior who just wants to see his little partner again—but realizes Ahsoka is correct before leaving.
The Togruta has a lighter yet relative exchange with Skywalker about the future of Grogu and her past with Luke’s father that was excellently written and delivered. And if that wasn’t enough, Luke has a critical face-to-face meeting with Grogu that ends with the chapter with the cliffhanger: return to the Mandalorian or pursue the way of the Jedi. This can’t be concluded with one more episode, can it?
Greig Robertson
Will the wonders of Favloni ever cease? Clearly they have invented a time machine to go back to the 1980’s to grab a younger Mark Hamill! What is this WIZARDry?
From the joygasm that was episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett to this jaw on the floor episode directed by the legend Dave Filoni. My jaw is still on the floor and I’ve been coughing up dust bunnies since Wednesday. There is so much awesome in this episode and it hits you right in the feels from the get go. R2-D2! Ahsoka speaking to Luke “So much like your father.” Din leaving without speaking to Grogu – grown man blubbering like an idiot on the couch alert!
Some stunning Spaghetti western shots on the reveal of The Clone Wars legend Cad Bane, who looked awesome in live action and sounded as cool as ever. There is so much to unpack in this episode and I think I’ll be rewatching this for weeks to come. Congrats to Lucasfilm for hiring the deep fake gentleman, as I could have sworn Hamill was on screen the whole time.
Can’t wait to see Grogu in his Beskar Frodo vest by the side of Din where he truly belongs and then in his wee domed spot in the N-1 Starfighter. So friggin WIZARD!
Clair Henry
This episode made me gasp out loud at least 4 times! I’m not sure I can keep up with it all and hasn’t Dave Filoni set us up for many off shoots. The possibilities are endless, but here’s the obvious ones.
Ashoka: This is the opening for her new series and storyline, and it’s clear that Luke will have a part to play.
Grogu: He’s surely going back to the Mandalorian. They survived one Jedi purge, so please don’t tell me he’s going to have to go through it all again with kylo Ren!
Cad Bane: Now, where’s this is going I have no idea, but his leap out of animation greatly interests me!
The one though I’m so shocked about is the explosion at Sanctuary! It’s unfortunately not lived up to its name, but remember that Jennifer Beals who plays Madam Garsa said this – ‘Madam Garsa is no one’s fool’. I think you may find she and her establishment have been played for one. A real shame as I was looking forward to a potential plot development from the Sanctuary and a spin off. I know, in the universe of Star Wars never say never.
As for the brief appearance of the main man, I hope the next and final episode is #allabouthim .
Daniel Lo
If you have ever played the earlier LEGO Star Wars console games, you may recall that each one had a central hub location that houses portals to each level. Scattered about are light references to the bigger story in the form of characters, vehicles, and events. In short, within that one environment is a sampler of the larger worlds that branch from it.
If the films and TV shows were a LEGO Star Wars game, chapter six of The Book of Boba Fett may be the closest thing to a central hub. Tatooine, the training remote, [baby] Yoda in a backpack, and of course Luke Skywalker himself were proverbial portals to all three original trilogy films. Glimpses of each prequel were provided by Mando’s Naboo starfighter, Yoda’s lightsaber, and Order 66 courtesy of Grogu’s memories. The sequel trilogy got some love via the construction of Luke’s future school. Clone troopers, Pykes, Ahsoka, and Cad Bane have made appearances across most of the animated series. The Mandalorian was obviously represented, and R2-D2 added to his impressive attendance record with an unexpected but welcomed return to the small screen. Last but definitely not least, we even got a few measures of John Williams in the soundtrack as well.
Did I mention Luke Skywalker? Thanks to ever evolving visual effects, a young Mark Hamill featured prominently in this episode. Jedi Luke was no longer hiding under a hood and only revealing his face for a small handful of tentative, mostly stationary shots. This time, he was a full on main character in the episode and moved freely in his environment as needed. Was he still stuck in the uncanny valley, somewhere between Return of the Jedi and Battlefront II cinematics? Very much so, but it was good enough for me to sit back and enjoy watching a live action Luke at the height of his powers taking center stage again. For all the limitations of technology and/or budget (the Grogu puppet still doesn’t perform action scenes very convincingly), it felt like Star Wars to me, and that’s what counts.
The remainder of the episode appeared to be a series of setups for the season finale. Or was it? There have been multiple unresolved cliffhangers on the show already so it’s difficult to tell. Either way, stakes have certainly escalated. Cobb Vanth lost a duel against Cad Bane. The Sanctuary cantina was blown up. Whether we have lost any key characters was unclear. All I know is Max Rebo has survived an explosion before.
Now, to address the bantha in the room: Grogu’s choice. If I had to go with my gut, I would say that Grogu will choose the chain mail because that would ultimately explain why Ben Solo turned out to be Luke’s first student. Yes, there have been outlandish rumors that the sequel trilogy will be relegated to an alternate reality but that scenario seems highly unlikely. The main element that severely compromises my certainty was Yoda’s lightsaber. It would seem odd to bring back such a major Star Wars relic for the sake of having it be rejected, whereas most fans probably wouldn’t miss the tiny chainmail suit if it was never seen again. It’s also unclear if this cliffhanger will be resolved by this show, or on another.
With just one episode remaining, this may be an appropriate time to begin commenting on the overall show so far. In my opinion, it has felt increasingly unnecessary to have dedicated so much screen time to Boba Fett’s flashbacks (oh right, the show is about him). They were portrayed as a relevant part of the story in the form of Boba’s dreams whenever he entered the bacta tank. That concept was definitely a clever one and I appreciated the risk taken, but the pace and momentum of the storytelling suffered as a result. On the other end of the spectrum, I thought about the use of flashbacks in the first season of The Mandalorian. We learned about the critical events of Mando’s childhood without spending multiple episodes’ worth of screen time and speaking lines to convey. It almost felt as if there wasn’t enough material to fill an entire season so Boba’s time with the Tuskens was shown in painstaking detail in between spurts of present day storytelling, before the show slammed on the brakes and took a hard left into full-on Mando mode. The rhythm of this season has been a strange one and there is nothing that can be done at this point to repair that particular aspect of the show, but it will still be interesting to see what’s in store in the final chapter.
Richard Hutchinson
Episode 6 begins to answer the questions that the sequel trilogy should have done. Although ultimately we are heading towards an epic battle finale in this season there are so many offshoots to explore which are being set up, one of which will hopefully be the Han, Luke and Leia trio story that is so central to the core of the best of the saga.
I’m almost considering this series as a reboot of the franchise, with Disney finally saying “Ok, we got it wrong let’s give the original fans the stories that they played out in their heads as kids, or read in EU novels, and actually continue with the Skywalker story“.
Although I’m not a huge Cad Bane fan from TCW I think the way he was portrayed here is the best to date, he actually appeared menacing and worthy of his reputation. I’m all for quality episodes that don’t move the story forward at pace as long as the payoff is worth it… let’s hope this isn’t another Crimson Dawn and Q’ira type of thing! Great stuff Disney.
Lewis Pohles
S3E2 of The Mandalorian was quite good. We had some visually beautiful scenes, some cameos from beloved characters from animation, and….. wait, right, this is supposedly episode 6 of Book of Boba Fett. I’m really struggling to wrap my head around exactly what Lucasfilm thinks they’re doing with this series and just what they’re trying to accomplish. This series has been so frustrating, filled with interesting ideas and storylines with great potential, but they’ve been mismanaged and poorly executed at every step resulting in a series that feels messy and disjointed.
No matter how long next weeks final episode is, I can’t see the series wrapping in a satisfying way, or with the impact it rightfully should have. Our titular character has been sidelined for the better part of two episodes, last week he didn’t even appear on screen and was only mentioned in passing at the tail end of the episode. This week he had a brief moment of screen time in the final 1/3rd of the episode. The plot that was left off in episode 4 was only briefly picked up at the tail end of episode 6. We basically have no stakes, and no memory fresh in our mind of what’s actually going on heading into the final episode and final showdown. We’re still thinking about gallivanting around with Mando, Luke and Grogu training together, reminiscing about Ahsoka, and wondering just how furry Jawa’s are.
It was really cool to see Cad Bane. Ever since we heard live action shows would be coming, I’ve been eagerly awaiting his appearance. He looked awesome, and lived up to his reputation from animation. While we’re on the topic of looks, lets talk about Ahsoka. Rosario Dawson has done a great job portraying her, she really nails Ahsoka’s little mannerisms and it’s a nuanced portrayal, but her head piece is just plain terrible. Her Montral and Lekku are far too short, and the whole head piece looks like it was carved from upholstery foam and spray painted. I get that there are practical concerns here, especially with an athletic Jedi who’s doing battle and jumping around, but there has to be a better solution then what they have currently. When low budget cosplayers who look nothing like the character to begin with can pull off a more authentic and convincing Ahsoka then a giant production company with near unlimited resources and an actress with a strong resemblance to the character as a starting point, something is wrong.
I love Ahsoka, she’s one of my favourite characters, but I didn’t like her appearing in this episode. First, it felt like a ‘we did it because we could’ reasoning, which for my money, isn’t a good enough reason. She served no real purpose in this episode. Second, given her history with Anakin/Vader, and him being Luke’s father and all, the first on screen appearance of the pair together should have been much more profound, emotional, and meaningful. I don’t care if that moment is coming in another series, their interactions felt hollow, and it’s a slap in the face of all 3 characters.
Now, I feel a little bad using this particular scene to illustrate my point as I didn’t totally hate it, but I want to touch on fan service and paying homage/respect to what came before. I get the feeling that /Lucasfilm maybe have taken onboard some of the criticisms of fans who aren’t exactly thrilled with what they’ve been doing with the IP, and are trying to address their concerns.
Take the scene from this episode where Luke and Grogu are running through the woods, Grogu in his backpack a’ la Yoda in Episode 5. At least for me personally, when I opine that I wish Lucasfilm respected the characters/story more, this isn’t the sort of thing I mean. While it can be a nice call back and bring back the warm and fuzzies for a moment, I don’t want them to recreate old scenes with new characters, I want them to respect the work that came before by not creating major contradictions of long established lore, or rewriting beloved characters to better suit modern day sensibilities or social/corporate agendas.If you can’t work with a character or piece of lore/history without changing it, for the sake of the art and posterity, please, just leave it alone and create something new. Just let things remain beautiful, don’t bastardize things that many people hold dear for the sake of whatever this weeks social or corporate trend is.
As I said in last weeks review, taken as a stand alone piece of content, this episode is really quite good and had a lot of strong points. Most importantly, as with Episode 5, it had the feeling of being Star Wars. That’s important, as I haven’t really felt that in the first 4 episodes, or even dating back to some episodes of The Mandalorian. Taken in it’s actual context as an episode of The Book of Boba Fett, it’s a failure.
We’re heading into a series finale after 2 episodes that are, at best, tangentially related to the series and the larger plot established therein, and we have but vague memories of the storyline we’re meant to be mopping up next week. Though I don’t think it’s neccesarily the case, it feels like after episode 4 the production team realized what a disaster they had on their hands and decided to graft in a couple episodes of Mando S3 just to get some good episodes under their belt. The change in tone and story post episode 4 is incredibly jarring and it doesn’t even feel like they’re from the same series.
In closing, I’ll leave you with what I remarked to fellow author Dan Lo after watching this latest episode – I really wish we could just get consistently good Star Wars, not either extremely good or extremely bad Star Wars, often in the same episode.
Becca Benjamin
The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger, is an Apprentice’s love letter to his former Master. Directed and co-written by Dave Filoni, this sixth chapter fan-feeds every generation of Star Wars fans, young and old, and everything in between.
That said, Dave’s chapter is an overload of visual and emotional content that unapologetically puts your heartstrings through the wringer. Why? Well, because that is “Dave TV.” And he learned this from the Master, George Lucas. Like Lucas, Dave knows that an image alone, paired with a matching musical composition, can move emotional mountains.
We begin chapter 6 with Cobb Vanth and Pykes. The Pykes have moved their spice route even farther into Tatooine, reaching the boundary of Cobb’s town, Freetown. But, let me pause right here and remind you all of the Lothal settlement once known as Camp 43. During the Star Wars Rebels series, Camp 43 became known as “Tarkintown” when the Empire moved in. Now, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Dave is “tooling with us” and giving us a play on inverse parallelism.
Next, we cut to Din Djarin flying into the orbit of a planet lush with green foliage that looks a lot like Ajan Kloss, followed by a familiar astromech’s antenna and beep-boops. And this is when our feelings start to have feelings.
Din follows R2-D2 to a clearing where he finds spider-like droids that bear the same markings and colorings as R2-D2 and Ahsoka’s headtails are busily building a structure. As R2-D2 powers down, Din lays down for a nap while waiting to meet with Skywalker. That is when we see the first Jedi training session between Master Luke Skywalker and Padawan Grogu. Oh, and frogs. Lots of croaking frogs.
Since frogs can be super distracting to someone like Grogu, Luke decides a walk is in order, and this is when Luke begins “passing on what he has learned” by telling his Padawan learner about Grand Master Yoda. Simultaneously, Luke uses the Force to help Grogu remember his past, specifically Order 66 and the purge of the Jedi Temple.
While Jedi training is in session, Din Djarin awakes to a hovering Ahsoka Tano. When he questions her presence, she replies, “I’m an old friend of the family.” Is anyone else wishing we could see Din’s face at that moment as he tries to figure out what the Farrik she means? The audience is well aware of her familiarity with the Skywalker family. And that is why this particular scene is so overwhelmingly emotional for a large portion of the Star Wars fandom, as it’s no secret that we’ve been waiting for this to happen on-screen for years.
The conversation between Ahsoka and Din is heavy with meaning as it mirrors past dialogue from the Prequels. When Din reveals he has a gift for Grogu, Ahsoka questions, “so he’ll remember you?” which mimics Anakin’s words to Padme’ when he presents her with the Japor Snippet “I made this for you, so you’ll remember me.” This discussion follows up, with Ahsoka asking Din to look within himself as she poses the question of who he is doing this for, Grogu or himself? Din says, almost to himself, “I came all this way.”
Now, for those of you who couldn’t wait to see, well, you got it! Luke ignited the green! Yes, we finally see Luke training with his saber as Grogu searches for balance, literally and figuratively. But, if you’re a Star Wars Rebels fan, then I’m sure you noticed the similarities between Anakin’s Holocron saber training session (that Ahsoka shared with Ezra Bridger) to the technique and form Luke is using in this scene.
Ok, let’s get back to Tatooine. Din pays a visit to Fett and Fennec for a quick briefing and then heads off to see Cobb Vanth. Din gives Cobb, the Marshal of Freetown, the lowdown of what’s transpiring between the Pykes and the Syndicates. After some persuading, Cobb agrees to adhere to Din’s warning and side with Boba Fett. But, as Din takes his leave, from the desert comes a stranger. Cad Bane. So much for the tune, “I Shot the Sheriff.” The Deputy is not coming back from this one, but I have a feeling that our loyal Marshal will be ok. Still, Cad Bane! to quote my son, “He did it! That crazy son of Bith did it!”
And so, back on the lush world that looks a lot like Ajan Kloss, Luke offers Grogu a “choice.” “Change, Choice, and Cost” these things are a huge factor in any story, but in a Star War, they are the driving force of what will impact an entire Galaxy forever.
Like Anakin, Grogu must choose. To quote Shmi, ” this path has been placed before you. The choice is yours alone.” That said, this decision is not an easy one. To choose the armor, he is leaving behind the Jedi way. On the other hand, if he picks up the saber, he detaches himself from all of those he fears losing and abandons the Mandalorian Creed. All of this, and then Luke adds one more layer to the choice by reminding Grogu that “a short time for you is a lifetime for someone else.”
All in all, “From the Desert Comes a Stranger” is one helluva chapter, and we’re all still trying to digest it. There’s only one more chapter to go, and I’m not sure if any of us are ready for it to end. That said, I have no speculations or expectations on how this series concludes. But hopefully, Boba finds his purpose, and the series ends on a high note.
Johanna Nybelius
Yes, I loved seeing Luke Skywalker doing his Jedi thing. Unfortunately as much as I loved seeing Luke, most of the time I also felt like screaming “Grogu is a toddler” to him. All the talk about Grogu’s heart not being into it all, well how many children know what they want to do?
Also Ahsoka left the old order and Luke saved his father through his love for his father, and now they are all back to “attachements are bad”. To me it unfortunately they seemed to more set up the reason why Luke would fail with Ben Solo than showing what a great Jedi master he is.
I am looking forward to the finale now though, when it seems as if the pieces are lining up for a really interesting battle for the power over Tatooine.
Andrew Walker
Encouragingly this week’s episode continued the upward trend of my enjoyment of the series that started with last week’s Mando invasion. Worryingly it seems to be for the same reason, a lack of Boba Fett! The main character of the series again appears only fleetingly.
Instead, we are treated to another expansion of what I am starting to think of as the Star Wars TV-matic Universe. All the different stories and series are melding into one big universe with characters from each popping up in the others just like a certain superhero series. This week we saw another old friend from The Mandalorian drop in, a character from The Clone Wars cartoon make an all too brief appearance and everyone’s favourite farmboy turned Jedi Master was back! The computer wizardry that brings a young Luke back to our screens was seen briefly at the end of the last season of The Mandalorian and is used much more here. I think it’s amazingly well done 90% of the time with just a few strange angles sometimes but not enough to make me react badly. But, was it just me who thought his hair was a bit weird looking? There’s nothing specific I can put my finger on, just something a tiny bit off…
The Pykes now seem to have declared open war on Boba Fett. I can’t wait to see how all the various elements come together and defeat them. Or will we get a The Empire Strikes Back style finish with the “good” guys beaten and reeling? That would really make for an interesting end!
As with last week this episode felt like we were putting the pieces in place for a big finish next week. It was also a major set up for The Mandalorian season three. Given a choice of two paths, which will that one central character take and how will it affect the rest of the events in our favourite galaxy far, far away?
I’m still sticking to my opinion that The Mandalorian is a better series, but I am hoping for a really climactic end to this first series of The Book of Boba Fett and then hopefully maintaining that level in season two. As far as I know that is not even confirmed yet but, if it’s not, then surely it is only a matter of time!
Eric Onkenhout
So much happened in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6: From The Desert Comes A Stranger, I don’t even know where to begin. Literally, as I sit here and think about what to say first, I’m at a loss. Chapter 6 is one of those moments in Star Wars that fans will talk about for years to come and will play a pivotal role in later stories. There is no doubt about that. There are too many prominent characters in this episode for that not to happen. So might as well dive right in.
From the Desert Comes A Stranger opens with a group of three Pykes doing a spice deal on the outskirts of Mos Pelgo when Cobb Vanth, played by Timothy Olyphant, shows up and basically tells them to scram. My question is, were the Pykes selling spice to themselves? I thought they ran the spice trade? And how did Vanth arrive without being seen first? Anyway, Vanth shoots two of the Pykes after they try to shoot him first, but he’s quick on the draw. He lets the third Pykes leave without the spice. I really like Vanth, and Olyphant’s acting fits right in the role perfectly.
Next, we see Din Djarin approaching a blue/green planet in his modified N-1 Naboo starfighter. In the last episode, Din tells Fennec he will help Boba, but he has to pay a visit to an old friend. I’m not sure how Din knew where Grogu was, but apparently, either Luke or Grogu told Din where they would be. I have my theories on what planet they are on (Tython), but chances are I’m wrong. The landscape looked sort of similar to Tython, possibly a different part of the planet. And Luke was somewhat local when he rescued Grogu in Chapter 16 of The Mandalorian, two episodes after Din and Grogu were on Tython.
Din knew enough to even land in the general area of where to find Luke. When he comes out of his ship, R2 is there to greet him. R2 leads Din to a hut being built by ANT droids. The ANT droids looked fantastic. I’m not sure if they were CGI or robots from Boston Dynamics like we’ve seen in earlier episodes. This is Luke’s first Jedi temple. Unfortunately, it’s the one that will be destroyed later by Ben Solo. In the words of D-O, sad. The location of Luke’s temple has never been stated, so it’s fun to speculate. In Star Wars #19 and #20, Luke travels to different planets looking for Jedi artifacts, hoping to help find something that will teach him about the Force or what it means to be a Jedi. So I’m wondering if he chose one of those locations. From what I’ve learned, none of them match what this planet looks like. My guesses are Tython or Arashar, but who knows?
And now we see Luke and Grogu sitting under a tree in tall grass. Luke is meditating, and Grogu is getting distracted by all the tasty frogs hopping by him. So yes, the frogs were funny, and I’m not sure why Luke was making them all float, but let’s get to Luke. Luke looked so good in this episode I had a hard time telling if it was an actor or CGI. It looked absolutely amazing. A thousand times better than what we saw in The Rescue. Also, what they did with Mark Hamill’s voice is astonishing. I noticed that the voice never changed pitch much, which makes sense for a Jedi to keep their voice sort of even keel.
So Luke starts talking to Grogu about Yoda and how he spoke in riddles, then asks Grogu if anyone else spoke like that back home. Home being the Jedi Order, apparently. I guess they will keep Yoda’s actual home a secret for a little longer which is fine. So far, I’ve gathered that Grogu didn’t know or doesn’t remember Yoda. Luke asks Grogu if he remembers home and if he wants to remember, then places his hand on his head and a vision of clone troopers assassinating three Jedi appears. Grogu is obviously very frightened as they approach him. Why would Luke show a baby this traumatizing event? Doesn’t seem right to me. And how did Luke make that image appear? Why not show Grogu a pleasant memory if the goal is to teach him about the Force? I guess the point was to teach Grogu how dangerous the galaxy is and that Luke will teach Grogu how to defend himself.
Meanwhile, Din is still waiting by the hut, resting on a bench built by the ANT droids. We hear a twig snap and see Ahsoka leaning against a tree. So many questions. What is she doing there? Last we heard, she was searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn and couldn’t train Grogu. I loved how Din asked her the same questions we had, which she never answered. I think Ahsoka knew Din would visit and wanted to be there to distract him. But thinking about it now, if anyone knows that the Jedi’s philosophy about attachment was skewed, it’s Ahsoka, and Luke knew all about the Jedi hubris. So why not let Din see Grogu? It had to have been gut-wrenching to be so close to Grogu and not talk to him. Then again, why tell Din where they are but not tell him you can’t see him? Ugh, so many questions.
The whole training montage mirrors what we see on Dagobah and on the Falcon in A New Hope. It also had a very Karate Kid-vibe with Grogu learning balance. Reminded me of Mr. Miyagi teaching Daniel about balance and then tipping the boat over. Obviously, this isn’t the first time Luke and Ahsoka spoke. I still want to see their first meeting. Funny how Luke is still unsure what to do about Grogu.
Now The Book of Boba Fett starts. Din arrives at Boba’s palace on Tatooine to help Boba. Standing around a holo of the city, Din joins Boba, Fennec, Black Krrsantan, and the mod bikers to discuss their plans. We learn the Pykes have been building their army, and the mayor is on their payroll and was flown off-world for his own safety. So something is about to happen. But, for whatever reason, the mayor’s majordomo is still around being annoying. Boba and Fennec know they need more soldiers if an all-out war starts, so Din volunteers to find help. So he heads to Mos Pelgo to talk to Cobb Vanth.
Vanth isn’t very interested in getting involved with someone else’s fight, and neither are the folks of Freetown (Mos Pelgo). Vanth offers to talk to the people and see what he can do, so Din leaves at that. This entire scene is straight out of a spaghetti western, and it’s great! From the bartender’s accent to the deputy to the town-folk to the wind chime signaling an approaching threat. On the horizon comes a stranger. Even from afar, it’s pretty evident who this stranger is. Someone who I’ve been wanting to see in live-action for a long time. Cad Bane. Queue Ennio Morricone.
Bane advises Vanth to stay out of their business, them being the Pykes. And says Boba is a cold-blooded killer who worked with the Empire. Has Bane forgotten that he worked with a Sith Lord? As Bane’s hand hovers over his blaster, Vanth does the same. The deputy’s nerves tighten. The camera pans to all three gunmen, like in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The deputy goes for his gun, as does Vanth, but Bane is too fast. Bane shoots VAnth in the chest, knocking him backward, and puts three in the deputy. He’s dead. Before Bane leaves, he announces to the town that everyone will be safe as long as the spice keeps flowing.
And that’s no tall. A pair of Pykes walk into Garsa Fwip’s bar, sit at a table then leave, leaving a camtono on the table. A droid notices the camtono and tries to return it to them, only for it to explode, destroying and probably killing everyone inside the cantina.
Back at the temple, Luke shows Grogu what Din left for him and tells him to choose between the gift and returning to Din or staying with Luke and continuing his training. Luke also shows Yoda’s old lightsaber and offers it if he decides to stay. But Yoda’s saber from Revenge of the Sith was destroyed in a kiln in the comics. So I assume Yoda built a new one while on Dagobah to maintain a certain connection to the Force. What an episode!
Mark Mulcaster and Mark Newbold discuss From The Desert Comes A Stranger on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: From The Desert Comes A Stranger.
Clair Henry and Johanna Nybelius discuss the first five chapters of The Book of Boba Fett on Planet Leia Episode 7: You Have Your Moments.
