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 fourth episode – Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Becca Benjamin
The plot thickens, and so does the character growth in Chapter 4: The Growing Storm, Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. While some may still hem and haw over the flashback sequences, it’s the story device of choice to tell Boba’s spiritual journey. Yes, spiritual. There’s an old Mandalorian motto (from a popular Mandalorian fanfiction), “Helmet on, Heart gone,” which seems to fit Boba Fett during his physical and spiritual journey across the sands of Tatooine. Essentially, he is baring it all and allowing himself to feel, to endure. Not just the present, but the past as well.
As an audience, we finally see what happened to Fennec Shand. Not just “see,” but we learn the “why” and “how,” too. And I have to say the whole mod-parlor scene made me cringe a lot.
In addition to all the character growth, we see Boba get his ship back, and it’s such a rewarding scene, too! Similar to that feeling of watching Han and Chewie step aboard the Falcon in Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Boba is home.
But not all is right in Boba’s galaxy, not yet. He still has a few bones to pick, and the matter of recovering his armor, too. Interestingly enough, Fennec decides to stay for the ride and see where Boba’s endeavors lead her.
By the final scenes of chapter 4, we see Boba and Fennec working with the surrounding families or syndicates for mutual understanding and benefits. And then, we hear it. A familiar theme plays as Boba and Fennec watch their guests leave. Jokingly, Fennec makes light of where to find extra muscle, leading the audience to believe a certain friend will join their cause in Chapter 5.
Paul Naylor
This chapter, in many ways, belongs to Fennec Shand. We witness the approach of Boba Fett to her seemingly lifeless body, first seen at the close of Chapter 5 of The Mandalorian, Season 1. The story arcs were beautifully integrated and we get to see how Boba saved Fennec’s life by taking her to a ‘mod parlour’ – the type of place where droid modifications to humans are made, as detailed with the introduction of the scooter gang in Fett Chapter 3. Fennec, who seemingly has taken it upon herself to owe Boba a life debt, joins him in rescuing his ship from Jabba’s/Bib’s palace and yes, all references to Slave-1 were omitted. “I want you to help me recover my Firespray Gunship,” says Fett to Shand.
I did say to a bunch of my Star Wars buddies that it would be Boba himself who would reference the ship. Cleverly, they have avoided renaming Slave-1 by simply referring to its make, rather than model. It would be like me saying “I’m off out in my SEAT”, rather than IBIZA. I’m fine with it for the show, but still believe that by changing the way we refer to it highlights the issue rather than removing it. Oh well, the modern world I guess?
The recovery of Sla… – the Firespray Gunship – is pretty cool, with Fennec’s tiny drone buzzing around the palace to create a map and identify where guards were likely to be. Boba bids farewell to his trusty Bantha, effectively severing his final connection to the sandpeople. The end of a significant part of his life, heralding a new era. But first he needs his ship.
En route to the ship we are treated to a few great sights. I’m pretty sure the cell Chewie and Han occupied in Return of the Jedi was the same that Fennec cut the bars of. The chef droid – aided by an EV-9-D-9 lookalike – displayed a General Grievous trait with his knife skills. And then there was the LEP droid, which I seem to recall from The Clone Wars. A battle with various Weequay, Nikkto and Gamorreans before rescuing Boba’s ride ensues. I much prefer these Gamos to the shirtless variety!
Ship rescued and a couple of scores are settled – first, the Nikkto biker gang were picked off. but were these really the culprates of the Tusken Raider tribe slaughtering, or was it in fact the Pyke Syndicate?
Secondly, a return to The Pit of Carkoon, home to the Sarlaac and a fruitless search for the Beskar armour prior to a tense battle with, and destruction of, said Sarlaac. Seeing Slav…. damn it…. Boba’s ship ensnared in tentacles was cool, as was the use of one of the best weapons in Star Wars, the seismic charge.
Back in the present, we see Boba exit his bacta chamber, perhaps for the last time and then, in a great scene, we see my new favourite wookiee, Black Krrsantan doing what his kind like to do best – ripping limbs from Trandoshans. I can’t wait for the Black Series figure.
The show draws to a close with Fett and Shand asking for help from the groups formed on Tatooine to rid the streets of the Pykes. Whilst the alliance does not happen, the groups agree to remain neutral, paving the way for other allies to Fett and Shand to help without interference, but who will be on the way? A familiar tune blends into the closing credits, hinting at Din Djarin’s involvement in the forthcoming chapter. This promises to be something to relish.
Mark Newbold
When Star Wars is good, it’s very good, but when it clicks into another gear the satisfaction of grinning can make your face hurt. The Gathering Storm might not be top, top tier Star Wars, but in parts it was as good as it gets.
There’s an element of the fandom who don’t quite get the myth of Boba Fett, and it’s understandable. Of all the characters, he’s the one who will hit differently to older fans than newer ones, and the trick is being able to separate the Fett of old – i.e before being swallowed by the sarlacc – and afterwards as he recovers and re-evaluates his life after being as near to death as anyone since Darth Maul has been. With a legend (and much of his reputation now resides in Legends) spanning the decades back to The Holiday Special and the release of his legendary action figure in those heady pre-The Empire Strikes Back days, older fans used to his Dark Horse Comics heyday can be forgiven for struggling with this ‘new man’ while newer devotees brought up in the Prequel era, introduced to Fett as a youngster in Attack of the Clones will have missed much of those reputation building years and as such won’t get the fuss over Fett. All completely understandable, but an open mind is definitely required for this storyline as he finds his feet once again and makes a play for power much like the aforementioned Maul did with Crimson Dawn years before.
Speaking of those moments, the Firespray assault on the Kintan Striders brought a grin of glee from this faithful viewer, the menacing, silent swoop of Fett’s ship a delight to watch (not so much if you’re a Strider fan) and the sequence around the sarlacc pit was chefs kiss superb. Many have questioned why he would go back to look for his armour when he had it taken from him by the Jawa’s. Remember, he was fresh out of the pit (RIP Christos Achilleos) and delirious so why would he recall their mugging and assault? Either way, it afforded us a scene that won’t be forgotten in a hurry, and a jump scare to match the ice spiders of The Mandalorian season 2.
There may be reservations regarding the ‘Mods’ – sure, they feel slightly incongruous on Tatooine, but this is a galaxy where 45 years ago a giant grasshopper, a dog and a snot vampire drank at the same cantina bar – and the story feels like it has yet to really flex and deliver some widescreen, epic action, but as the plot develops and the final three episodes lie ahead with the promise of a familiar bucket arriving soon, how can we be anything other than excited?
Ross Hollebon
The Fennec-sode I’ve been waiting for! I don’t know how this ends for Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, but the role she plays in helping to revive the once-feared bounty hunter to prominence is massive—and it makes sense after he saved her life and now we get the full backstory. The bacta pod flashback set the stage with flares in the Tatooine night sky, beyond Boba and his loving bantha, taking us to Chapter 5 of The Mandalorian. Din Djarin and Toro Calican are on speeder bikes racing towards Fennec and have disappeared by the time he arrives.
But Fennec is shot and left for dead on the sands of Tatooine, just like Boba was, only to be discovered by a rejuvenated soul, who takes her to a mod-parlor for a life-saving mechanical upgrade. Post-modifications, Fennec awakens by the fireside with her savior and begins to bond over the all important black melon milk while discovering he is indeed the legendary Boba Fett.
They work together to steal back Boba’s Firespray ship from the palace formerly occupied by Jabba—and Fennec’s hand-to-hand combat skills are again on display, as were her planning and sharpshooting prowess. She erases her debt to Boba during the rescue but he has made a mark on her (or become a mark of hers?) as she ponders joining his crime (found) family.
A trip to the Sarlacc allows her more opportunities to show charisma, athleticism, and quick thinking as she releases a seismic charge, complete with the awesome galactic twang sound, before helping Boba discover his armor is no longer there.
Back to current time, Fennec eloquently leads the meeting of the crime bosses of Mos Eisley at the palace. She is a natural in the role (foreshadowing?) communicating to the bosses of the Trandoshans, Aqualish, and Klatooinian families while Boba finally persuades them to agree not to betray him, for what that is worth, to the Pykes. Boba and his partner know they need to prepare for war.
The ending was brilliant with Fennec calling out the need for hired guns and knowing where to find the right ones—queuing The Mandalorian theme music as we dip to black, roll the credits, and anticipate next Wednesday’s chapter.
Richard Hutchinson
This was another episode which appealed to my Expanded Universe love. It has opened so many possibilities and I’m raring to see where it’s heading.
I particularly like how these episodes seem to fit as one big narrative and not a ‘threat of the week’ kind of show.
Clair Henry
My husband is yet to watch The Book of Boba Fett, and he wanted to catch up before we watch this weeks episode, so I started back at the very beginning with Chapter One and watched it right through to the end of this week. To watch the progression from the start to now was great, you can see the development of the characters, the plot, the motives. It was like watching one big long Star Wars movie, and it was fantastic.
The scenes and cinematography are just sublime, the development in this weeks line is definitely leading me to think that there’s something else behind all this, but what I’m not so sure.
Fennec is definitely a character to watch out for and she is portrayed fantastically and a joy to watch. I get the feeling that there’s something missing, something that’s going to be a big plot twist at the end and then we’re going to have to wait another year to find out what’s going on.
Each week with the introduction of new characters and the development of the ones existing has been amazing. This series is possibly one of the latest things to come out of the Star Wars camp that I truly enjoy; it feels like a Star Wars to me.
Greig Robertson
So after the first 4 episodes, I’m starting to think The Book of Boba Fett chapters are working like the Trek movies. The odd chapters are alright, and the even chapters are excellent! Chapter 4 was a return to the quality of the second episode which remains my favourite to date.
What has stood out for me so far has been the time spent with the Tuskens, getting to know more about the tribe and what life is like as a Tusken Raider. I feel a Tusken costume build coming on – Mulcaster, I may be coming back to the Legion!
Black Krrsantan has been brought to life from the comics beautifully by Carey Jones and seeing him rip an arm out of the socket was eye candy!
Laughed when the gang were called “The Mods” cementing the nod to 60s scooter gangs and the music of bands like The Who and the Small Faces. Very cool seeing Suicide Tendencies legend Thundercat as the Mod artist.
I’m excited about next weeks episode and having rewatched Chapter 3 prior to this weeks, I enjoyed it so much more on second viewing. The big question after the music queue at end of Chapter 4 is, who might we see from The Mandalorian next week!
Digging this show like a Tusken digging for black melons. Hot Dang!
Eric Onkenhout
In this review, I want to pick out a few details I thought were interesting, but I also want to trace Fett’s steps from when he fell into the Sarlacc to when he became the new daimyo. For decades Fett’s only backstory came from Legends, but we’re in a different time now. And what we know of Fett post-Return of the Jedi is literally nothing. And what we did know wasn’t all that impressive; he got knocked into a pit by a blind guy. That is why I believe it’s essential to follow his steps.
So Fett falls into the Sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi. He’s in there for an undetermined amount of time, but it seems like a while. Eventually, he frees himself but falls unconscious, and that’s when Jawas come and take his armor off his lifeless body. At some point after that, the Tuskens find him, help him recover, and take Fett in as one of their own. While Fett is under their care, he helps them defend their camp from the Kintan Riders and the Pykes. Fett is now Tusken Fett.
As much as he tried to help the Tuskens defend themselves, the Tusken camp gets attacked, and there were no survivors. Fett knows he is stronger with a tribe and so is forced to live on his own for the time being. He wants to retake his ship back, but he can’t do it alone as it’s still locked up in Jabba’s palace. One night Fett sees two flare shots and investigates and comes upon an injured Fennec Shand. At this point, The Gathering is overlapping with The Mandalorian Chapter 5: The Gunslinger.
Fett takes Shand to a mod-parlor to get fixed up. Apparently, there are no hospitals on Tatooine. Shand agrees to help Fett obtain his Firespray back, and then she is free to go. Fett gets his ship back, but Shand decides to stay for the ride. Now Fett wants to find his armor which he thinks is still in the Sarlacc. Obviously, it’s not there, and Fett blows up the Sarlacc with a charge. So when Fett appears in The Mandalorian Chapter 9: The Marshal, he has already met Fennec and knows where he can find his armor.
Now we’re up to The Mandalorian Chapter 14: The Tragedy. Boba meets Din Djarin and reclaims his armor. Fett helps Djarin, Shand, Cara Dune, Bo-Katan, and Koska Reeves board the Imperial cruiser to rescue Grogu but then jumps to hyperspace. At some point, shortly after that, Shand rejoins Fett on Tatooine. Fett kills Bib Fortuna and claims himself the new daimyo.
Now that we’re up to date, let’s get to some interesting bits. We catch a glimpse of the mod bikers again. They remind me of something from The Fifth Element. Additionally, I hear arguments that they don’t belong in Star Wars. Doug Chiang didn’t have a problem with them being in Star Wars, and if anyone knows what Star Wars looks like, it’s Doug Chiang. I liked how Fett called Fennec Master Assassin Fennec Shand of the Mid-Rim. He knew who she was, but she didn’t recognize Fett without his helmet. I appreciated the comment by Fennec when she said the Tuskens made Fett soft. So many dudebros felt the same way. Fett disagrees.
Fennec asked Fett if he wanted to “head a gotra.” The term gotra was used in James Luceno’s Tarkin as in the Droid Gotra. According to Wookieepedia, the Droid Gotra supported droid rights. So maybe Fennec meant heading a gotra as in leading a group that supported bounty hunter rights. Based on the conversation Fett was having with Shand about getting “tired of dying because of the idiocy of others.” And killing “that bloated pig who double-crossed me.” Fett gets the rug pulled out from under him in the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, and it almost costs him a bounty. Fett’s done working alone and working for others. It’s his time now.
Daniel Lo
I am a big believer in taking risks, and have a great appreciation for those who do so. Sometimes it produces amazing results. Other times, it does the opposite. The latest episode of The Book of Boba Fett, for better or for worse, included pronounced examples of both.
I’ll get the latter out of the way first. Just as I thought the present day story was gaining momentum, particularly with such a compelling cliffhanger last time out, we’re suddenly plunged back into another bacta dream. This time Boba did not wake up until 33 minutes in, and essentially only two things happened afterwards: Krrsantan was recruited, and a shaky and temporary alliance with some crime bosses was formed. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that of course, but I admit I’m experiencing heavy fatigue from the stop and go rhythm of the overall story so far. However, we did also learn that Boba is now completely healed. Does this mean the end of flashbacks?
For the sake of not dwelling on the negatives for too long, here is a quick run through of the rest: Boba scoping out the palace scene looked visibly flat. Would it have come across that way if we weren’t aware of the show’s use of StageCraft technology? Hard to say. The combination of the costumes and dance music in the mod parlor scene completely knocked me out of the Star Wars universe, or at least off Tatooine. Boba’s affection towards his bantha seemed to come out of nowhere and felt a bit odd and unnecessary. The two droids in the kitchen also looked more like animatronics at a theme park than something out of live action Star Wars, especially when the vegetable chopping droid went into Grievous mode (Nice tribute though!). The facial expressions of the Trandoshans bordered dangerously on comic relief. It made for a startling contrast from the menacing presence of Bossk, or the Trandoshans from the first season of The Mandalorian.
On the brighter side, I thoroughly enjoyed every scene involving Slave I. This included the very cool holographic scan of the palace interior, courtesy of Fennec Shand’s drone. The entire hangar escape sequence was nothing short of spectacular. The action, pacing, soundtrack, and visual effects were all on point and within the realm of top tier live action Star Wars. Fennec shooting the counterweight as the ramp closed was easily the coolest scene in the entire show so far. For those few minutes, I almost forgot I wasn’t watching a movie. Seeing the Kintan Striders getting gunned down by a Firespray was oddly satisfying. While I was puzzled why Boba thought his armor was still inside the sarlacc, the showdown between starship and sand monster was an incredible concept filled with striking frames. The sarlacc’s beak (I guess that was never going to go away) attacking Fennec after she dropped down on the glass canopy was another cinema caliber moment. I’ve got to question her logic behind releasing a seismic charge while the ship was face down and at the mercy of gravity and sarlacc tentacles, but the payoff was worth the gamble. Last but not least, the latest cliffhanger: the prospect of seeing Mando on the show is definitely a tantalizing one!
If I had to summarize my thoughts on this episode (and to some degree the overall show so far), “too many cooks” immediately comes to mind. How did some of the best sequences in Star Wars and moments that felt distinctly un-Star Wars both make it into the same installment? The vibe and technical quality of individual scenes also varied wildly, and made for an uneven viewing experience. I felt a similar dilemma about the flashback: it stalled the momentum of present day events, but on the other hand also gave us some spectacular scenes that would have been a crime to omit (not to mention some fun Mandalorian easter eggs). Despite the letdowns, I’m still looking forward to the rest of the series and am hopeful for a strong ending.
Carl Bayliss
Having been a little critical of last week’s episode, I’m glad to say that ‘Chapter 4 The Gathering Storm’ set things back on an even keel, with a great episode, ramping up the expectation for the last 3 episodes.
Story-wise we get our customary flashback sequence from the Bacta tank, which this week deals with how Boba & Fennec ‘meet’ – and cue some cool overlaps with ‘The Mandalorian’ episode, ‘The Gunslinger’ where Boba sees the flares that were used to blind Fennec’s scope in the sky. We then see the moment where that Mando episode ended and Boba finds the near death Fennec.
Taking her to the mod crew that presumably are responsible for the gang he employed in the previous episode, she is saved by way of a techno upgrade to pretty much most of her abdomen.
They they infiltrate Jabba’s palace to reclaim Boba’s ‘Firespray Gunship’ (seriously though, would you refer to your car by make/model “I’m just going to get the Audi Quattro” (© Gene Hunt)) and after a bit of a skirmish (which was reminiscent of the docking bay 94 sequence in ‘A New Hope’) the escape with the ship. In the space of five minutes (show time) Fennec changes her mind from ‘I’m outta here’ to ‘sticking around for the ride’ as Boba lays waste to the Biker gang seemingly responsible for the slaughter of the Tuskens – I say seemingly as Fennec makes a ‘blink and you miss it’ comment “yeah, like a biker gang would take out Tuskens’. Is there more to this than meets the eye…
We also get a visit to the Sarlaac as Boba thinks his armour is still in there somewhere – cue a genuine jump moment when the beak comes out and grabs ‘Slave 1’ (there, I said it).
We also get a nice sequence back in the Sanctuary where Black Krrsantan decides that a group of (wookiee enemies) Trandoshans are having a bit too much fun for his liking, and despite Madame Garsa’s best attempts to talk him down he ends up ripping the arm off one of the unfortunate patrons.
Boba quickly recruits him and we get the controlling families of Mos Espa coerced into helping by staying neutral in the expected standoff between them and the Pykes – amazing how persuasive having your own Rancor is.
With Bryce Dallas Howard’s episode next, followed by Dave Filoni’s ahead of the season finale, I’m looking forward to this run in all the more and as many people are saying – I think the season as a whole will merit a ‘binge watch’ once Chapter 7 airs, and the episodes that I haven’t enjoyed as much will merely be the slower paced bits of the full story.
Johanna Nybelius
I said after earlier episodes that I wanted to stop with the flashbacks and start going more forwards instead. Well, I was wrong. This episode is one long flashback, but it was the best episode yet. I loved seeing the story on how Boba and Fennec teamed up, and it was pure fun to see them take Slave 1 back.
I am still not sure that even Boba knows what to do and why he wants to be his own crimelord, but then it’s good that we have Fennec there that seems to think more clearly. With the line that Boba is healed and doesn’t need the bacta tank anymore it feels like we are going to gear up and go full forward in the coming episodes.
Mark Mulcaster and Mark Newbold discuss The Gathering Storm on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: The Gathering Storm.
- Hardcover Book
- Szostak, Phil (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 256 Pages - 02/15/2022 (Publication Date) - Abrams Books (Publisher)
