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 fifth episode – Chapter 5: Return of The Mandalorian. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Mark Newbold
Where do you start when reviewing an episode like Return of The Mandalorian? Well, I start with making a cuppa and parking myself in front of the PC, watching the episode again and taking a deep breath, because this episode found the almost perfect balance between fan service, logical nods, clever twists, mythology, world-building, plot-seeding, character development and sheer exhilaration.
Flashbacks aside, we’re away from Tatooine for the first time in this series, heading for the stars and the hugely impressive Glavis ring world where we find Din Djarin at work, bounty hunting and moving beyond his quest to return Grogu to his people. He still has the Darksaber and while he’s never been shy of bringing out his brutal side it’s hard not to compare the return his classic line of ‘I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold‘ to his first appearance in Chapter 1 on the ice planet Pagodon. Not that he’s given much of a choice; he pulls his initial punches, but when he injures himself with the Darksaber, that goes out of the window. Removing the head of Klatooinian boss Kaba Baiz behind the plastic screens was brutal (but obviously easier to deliver an indentifiable head than drag a corpse with an injured leg).
He’s there to find the remnants of the Tribe, and he does using Mandalorian ingenuity, but there’s something distinctly off about how The Armorer speaks to Djarin. While Paz Vizlsla is no doubt a great ally, it’s evident that Djarin’s status as a foundling ranks him lower in the Mandalorian hierarchy, making his claim to win the Darksaber in cobat and losing. Just like last weeks episode, this is motivated by a sense of family. Dismissed by The Armorer for removing his helmet he leaves Glavis with the Darksaber.
These scenes with the Tribe are the ones that will bear the most fruit down the line. The Armorers dismissive description of Bo-Katan, the flashback to the brutal subjugation of Mandalore by the Empire (what a scene) andf the legend of the Darksaber. Certainly, this episode is about Djarin and how he has tried to move beyond his attachment to Grogu, but its underlying theme appears to point towards Fett – not Djarin – being the one who will defeat the twenty and ride the mythosaur. If Fett learns to ride that rancor easier than Mando did a blurrg, that may point towards the future direction of Mandalore’s fate. However, Mando did learn to ride the blurrg, and Fetts focus is honed on the underworld, not Mandalore. We could be heading towards uncomfortable confrontations or alllied objectives that place the people of Mandalore in key galactic positions.
Scarily fast N-1 Naboo starfighters with room for a diminutive Jedi in the back, Carson Teva on Outer Rim patrol, an Ishi Tibb, Mos Eisley, BD droids, womp rats in Beggars Canyon, references to Fathiers, dating Jawa’s, this episode had it all in spades, and as we roll out with Fennec Shand catching the hefty bag of credits she tossed to Djarin as he tells her this one’s on the house…Chapter 6 is now set to be an absolute blockbuster (and remember, this episode was 50 minutes long and we still have 2 chapters to go – that’s potentially a 90 minute live action Star Wars film ahead of us).
Oh, and one final thought. After seeing the shape of the N-1 under the dust sheet…Ben Kenobi kept the Soulless One after Revenge of the Sith and that’s the ship he’ll use in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Just sayin’….
Greig Robertson
I love Bryce Dallas Howard! She has just directed my favourite 50 minutes of television ever. I had a joygasm watching this episode.
This episode had so much awesome packed into it, and setting up the story for the last two episodes of the series and I suspect a season 2. As the show was going, I found myself hitting pause to order myself an N-1 Starfighter to custom before the price on these shoot up. I missed out on the Razor Crest due to being skint, so this was the next best thing!
Throughout the show I had a big smile on my face, laughed out loud at “WIZARD” and even slapped my thigh, I slapped my thigh!!! This is what Star Wars has always meant to me, the pure joy that it brings and this episode brought it HOT DANG big time!
Richard Hutchinson
Although this was a very cool episode I don’t think it stands head and shoulders above other episodes as others have claimed online. It did exactly what Marvel are doing with crossovers, bringing two arcs together. I loved the nods to the prequels – and of course R5-D4 has a place in my heart – but this episode wins as the Mandalorian has a lot of mystique about him whereas Boba is losing that with his increasingly more human nature and interaction.
There is so much that these two could do together, and I’d love to see how the battle with the Pykes and syndicates will go.
EU on the screen!
Ross Hollebon
A funny thing happened with Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett—in just over 50 minutes it turned into a two-part mini-season of The Mandalorian. Bryce Dallas Howard directed a masterpiece that could have been a roast event of Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau—complete with a wide array of Mando characters, droids, and Star Wars Easter eggs spanning numerous films and shows. I’m imagining the initial endorphin rush was purposely calculated to give each fan a taste of what a spice dream is really all about.
The second half of the episode was great with its magical prequel trilogy nods and a hot-rod tribute to George Lucas, but what made the most impact was the Mandalore history lessons in the first half—that could set the stage for where all of these Disney Plus shows will intersect—and the idea that Boba Fett could play a massive role in it (and yes, this is all speculation on my part). It was absolutely wizard (YES!!) to have the Armorer and Paz Vizsla help explain more of the history of the downfall of Mandalore, the stories surrounding the Darksaber, the Great Purge, and the Night of A Thousand Tears, all while getting intense visuals of each. But there were two specific items that I think assimilate this to a chapter of The Book of Boba Fett when all things are said and done.
“The songs of eons past foretold of the Mythosaur rising up to herald a new age of Mandalore. Sadly, it only exists in legends,” the Armorer explained to Din Djarin while preparing to make some form of Foundling armor for Grogu out of the beskar spear. I wonder if training to ride a rancor can help someone prepare to tame a Mythosaur for riding? But where would that thought-to-be-extinct creature come from? Maybe it appears during the rediscovery of the “lost living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore” (Fellowship of the Rings, anyone?) when Din Djarin seeks to atone for removing his helmet. Boba Fett may not have been present but I believe incredible aspects of his future were teased during this chapter and that the ride is just beginning for anyone tied to Mandalore’s past and future.
Andrew Walker
The more I see it, the more I think that Series 1 of The Book of Boba Fett is all about getting all then playing pieces onto the table, setting the scene for all hell to break loose in Season 2! We’ve seen how Boba survived the Sarlaac pit, we’ve got him established as a crime lord in Mos Espa and he’s got a rancor to charge around on which will doubtless be VERY cool (assuming he does learn to ride it) so now we just need a major victory to solidify his position; then we can run wild in Season 2.
This was The Book of Boba Fett’s The Force Awakens. One major character missing completely (okay in TFA Luke did turn up for 30 seconds at the end). With that said, this was by far the best episode yet. The action stepped up a notch our new favourite bounty hunter showed exactly why he is the best in the business and we reestablished contact with The Armourer (and even a lot of that felt like setup work for Mando Season 3).
It also solidified my feeling that Fennec Shand is the best character in this series, not Boba Fett himself. She was in the episode for about 3 minutes and had more feel and depth than Boba has shown so far.
Now, do I think that it is ok to take almost a whole episode from the somewhat lumbering Boba Fett storyline just for a pretty simple Mando setup and to remind us just why we love Din Djarin? Well, I’m not sure I do. Everything that happened in this episode could easily have been episode one of Mando S3. All we needed in terms of TBoBF was for Fennec to find Djarin and recruit him. It feels like the producers knew the storyline wasn’t progressing well enough and that they needed to reignite our enthusiasm. So, while I liked this episode A LOT, I do not like how it has messed with the focus on Boba and Fennec.
Lewis Pohles
Hello there! Since I’m a new name here on Fantha Tracks, I’ll start with a brief intro and give you an idea of my history with Star Wars. For the first 30 odd years of my life, I lived blissfully ignorant of Star Wars, I’d not seen any of the films or shows, and my only knowledge of the IP was the Family Guy parodies and the basic things that are part of the cultural zeitgeist like Vader being Luke’s father (spoiler alert!), lightsabers, etc. Then, in early January 2020, that all changed. Fellow author Dan Lo is a good friend of mine and I knew he was a major Star Wars fan, so I finally watched Star Wars. It started with the first season of The Mandalorian, then I moved onto the films. I started with Ep IV and fell in love, and over the course of 2 days I watched all 9 films in release order. Then I moved onto the animated shows, watching The Clone Wars, then Rebels over the course of a month or 2. Later that year I watched all 9 films again, Mando S1 several times, rewatched some arcs of The Clone Wars a few times, etc. I was hooked. I also binge watched some Star Wars YouTubers, basically anything Star Wars I could find, and I’ve been a fan since.
With my preamble out of the way, let’s fast forward to Ep. 5 of The Book of Boba Fett. I won’t go into too much detail about my thoughts on the series thus far, they can basically be summarized as decent ideas and story, poor execution. I thought Ep. 5 was the best episode so far, likely one of the best live action Star Wars episodes to date, though I must say I’m somewhat disappointed that it took inserting what could be S3E1 of The Mandalorian into The Book of Boba Fett for them to finally get a solid episode under their belt.
On top of that, it was an episode with no appearance from the titular character himself, only a brief mention at the end. That aside, I really enjoyed all aspects of this episode, the cinematography, design, sound, everything was wonderful. It was great to hear the Mando music again, and equally as nice to see him ruthlessly take care of business and complete another job back on the bounty hunting grind.
Some little odd ball things that stood out to me:
• The Armorer and Paz Vizla being on the space ring kind of felt unmotivated to me. I’d have liked a couple lines explaining how and why they ended up there. I understand they’re where they are because that’s where the story needed them to be, but as presented that felt super obvious and a bit lazy on the writers parts, and kind of took me out of the show for a couple minutes. Also, are they really that concerned with being secretive and covert? They’re just down there for anyone flying around to see, and surely there must be maintenance workers and security patrols that access that area.
• The bit about the weight of the saber didn’t really play for me. I could well be mistaken, but I seem to recall that lightsabers are only the weight of the hilt, and what makes them difficult to wield is all your weight is concentrated down low making it difficult to calibrate your movements and have fine control of the tip of the blade. The idea that the saber is heavy and fighting it makes it heavier doesn’t really work for me, but it’ll be interesting to see where they go with this. I hope they don’t try to rewrite established lightsaber lore.
• The ship refitting scene at the end was fun, as was Pelly and her droids, but the reeling off of part names felt a bit silly. I’m sure it was fun for the actors though, and it didn’t really bother me.
Earlier I touched on how what could be S3E1 of Mando, and an episode without Boba, was the best of this series so far. Examining this episode in a vacuum, as a stand alone piece of Star Wars content, it’s excellent, nearly without flaw. But looking at it in the wider context of it being an episode of The Book of Boba Fett, it’s troubling. Mando the character, in this episode, is essentially everything fans wanted to see from Boba himself in this series. This mysterious man of few words who kicks ass and takes names, gets the job done, and moves onto the next one. It kind of feels disrespectful to Boba and the collective vision of him fans have built over the decades, like Disney is rewriting Boba, and co-opting some of his traits and grafting them onto other characters.
That being said, we still have 2 episodes left, and it seems we’re gearing up for some heavy action, so there’s still time to see Boba back in action. I look forward to seeing what’s to come.
Carl Bayliss
I said last week I was looking forward to this Bryce Dallas Howard directed ‘chapter’, and it didn’t disappoint….unless you wanted to see more of Boba!
In what is being dubbed ‘Mando season 3 episode 1’ we get an episode that instead focuses on Din Djarin and provides a big building block in the Disney Plus live action crossover between these ‘offshoot’ series and The Mandalorian.
The opening scene is reminiscent of the start of the Mandalorian itself, with Din chasing down a bounty but, now wielding the darksaber albeit clumsily and injuring himself in the process. Upon returning the head of his bounty he requests information rather than payment, and after some exploration he locates hidden symbols leading him to what remains of the covert. We see the Armourer and Paz Vizla and after the Armourer melts down the beskar spear (“beskar should be used for armour, not weapons”) and makes something for the ‘foundling’ Grogu – who is still clearly playing on Din’s mind.
We get a bit more story of the origins of the darksaber and the fall of Mandalore – the night of a thousand tears, and Din is then challenged by Paz Vizla who wants to take his ‘rightful possession’ of the darksaber to lead the remaining Mandalorians. Din defeats him, but stops short of killing him (well, this IS Disney!) but at this point the Armourer asks Din if he’s ever removed his helmet, thus refreshing us on the factions within the wider Madalorian creed. He answers that he has, and is informed that according to their beliefs he can no longer be considered a Mandalorian (does this mean he’ll become known as ‘The bounty hunter formerly known as the Mandalorian’??)
He then boards a commercial transport to Tatooine and meets up with Peli Motto who has found him a new ship, and so begins the prequel nostalgia-fest. The ship in question is a Naboo N-1 starfighter, and after an ‘A-Team’ style montage of fixing up the ship (including a cameo from the bracing pole as used the trash compactor scene in A New Hope), Mando takes it on a test drive – both on the planet where he takes in the pod race circuit from The Phantom Menace and Beggars Canyon, and then in orbit where he runs in to an X-Wing patrol, featuring Carson Teva and a younger pilot, played by Max Lloyd-Jones who was Luke in the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian.
After a brief discussion, where Teva mentions that the voice sounds familiar, Din hits the booster button and disappears at a rapid rate. When asked if they should report it, Teva asks his younger wingman if he wants to spend the rest of the day filling out reports.
On returning to Peli’s hanger he reports that the ship is ‘wizard’, an alarm is triggered and we get our first reminder that this isn’t Mando and in fact The Book of Boba, as Fennec Shand appeals to Din to join Boba’s efforts. He agrees, and for no payment, but says first he has to go and visit a little friend….
With more Easter Eggs than your local supermarket (Yes, they’re on sale since Boxing Day!) this was a great episode, although possibly not of The Book of Boba Fett.
Eric Onkenhout
And now for something completely different!
The Book of Boba Fett apparently has an interlude in the middle where we catch up with the exploits of one Din Djarin. Since relinquishing custody of Grogu to Luke in The Mandalorian, Djarin seems to have returned to his bounty hunting days. Return of the Mandalorian has received a lot of fan support since it aired, and as I said to a friend, that is strange. The reason why it was so well received is the exact reason why it was not one of my favorites. Looks like it is my turn to play shoulda, coulda, woulda.
Return of the Mandalorian begins with Djarin confronting a bounty on a Klatooinian. They are all the rage these days, it seems. I really enjoyed how the actor played the Klatooinian. It was not “Star Wars” acting; he acted like he had no makeup on and just played it naturally, which I will come back to later. Djarin ends up taking out half of this guy’s team and decapitates the bounty. All with the darksaber. As you will recall, Djarin took the darksaber from Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian.
Djarin takes the head back to the boss, an Ishi Tib, to collect the bounty. It was fun seeing another background alien from Return of the Jedi. Djarin asks the boss where the substrata is, but the Ishi Tib boss wants him to sit and eat. So it sounds like Din Djarin had to collect a bounty just to get directions which is weird. I feel like these things are added in like video game side stories. It seems for any information, someone needs to collect a bounty or complete a task to get the answer. Can anyone just answer a question just out of politeness in Star Wars?
By now, Din Djarin is on a ring-shaped space station, a new design for Star Wars but brings back old ideas. I loved how the sunlight and the shade would cover the station as it rotated. The station reminded me of The Wheel from the old Marvel Star Wars comics, a little of the rotating wheel space station from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even the Ring of Kafrene in Rogue One. That station was definitely one of the highlights for me in this episode. I hope we learn more about it.
So Din Djarin reunites with The Armorer and Paz Vizsla on this space station where Din asks The Armorer to forge him a gift out of the beskar spear for Grogu. Din wants to visit the little guy to see how he’s doing. Apparently, he knows where Luke took him, but that information has not been relayed yet. The Armorer starts training Din how to use the darksaber, but her manner of teaching is strange. Instead of teaching him how to do what she wants, she tells him how unfocused he is. So the darksaber is heavy for Din because he’s not connected to it; as The Armorer says, he’s “fighting it.” But he seemed fine with it when he fought the Klatooinians earlier. Although he did burn his leg.
This whole thing about the darksaber being heavy confused me because Sabine had no issues with its weight when she trained with Kanan in Rebels. I hope this gets explained eventually. Paz Vizsla offers to duel Din for the darksaber, but loses. The Armorer randomly asks Paz if he has ever removed his helmet; obviously, he hasn’t. Then she asks Din, and he confesses that he has, so she proclaims he is no longer a Mandalorian and asks him to leave and calls him an apostate. I admit I had to google that word. An apostate is a person who renounces a religious belief. There are only two left of this clan, and it’s beginning to feel a lot like a cult to me.
While visiting The Armorer, she spoke about the history of the darksaber (which was also mentioned in Star Wars Rebels) and revealed a little more about the Night of a Thousand Tears. From those images, it looks like the Empire laid waste to Mandalore, suffering from TIE Bomber assaults and Imperial K-2SO droids shooting at random objects. Which made me wonder why security droids would be in the heat of battle. Where are the dark troopers? Anyway, I am sure the rodian child waving at Din on the passenger ship reminded him of Grogu.
Here comes my unpopular opinion. I love Peli Motto as a character. I think she’s great. She’s funny! Amy Sedaris plays her perfectly; so natural, which is unlike some of the stiffer performances we’ve seen in some Star Wars. However, I wish the scene with her and Din was a little shorter to have more time with Din and Fennec. Because I would’ve loved to hear more details about what they were going to talk about. In the background on Tatooine, you can see a similar structure in Nima Outpost on Jakku.
Having said that, that entire scene was great. Peli is so funny! All the droids! BD-1! Furry Jawas! Hot Rod N-1 Naboo starfighters. Which I thought was a cool nod to George’s love of hot rods. What are the chances of that being Anakin’s Naboo fighter? Is it a coincidence that a Naboo fighter somehow finds its way back to the planet of one of its very famous pilots? Seeing a fighter that Anakin flew speed through the Boonta Eve course was very cool! And having two X-Wings pull Din over for speeding was funny. I hope Lucasfilm revisits Rangers of the New Republic, and we get a Star Wars police drama. Although I don’t think a one-seat fighter is a good fit for Din. How would he transport captured bounties?
I want to say Din saying to BD, “higher, just a little higher,” was taken from Han telling Lando where to aim so he can shoot the Sarlacc tentacle. Lastly, how did Fennec know Din was even on Tatooine? From what we know, Peli sent a message to Din about a new(er) ship. Then Fennec contacts Peli about Din. So either Fennec told Peli to send him a message to get him to come to Tatooine, or Fennec told Peli to keep an eye out for Din and let her know if he came back. And a cameo by Kitster would have been a welcome surprise.
That is all! Talking about Return of the Mandalorian helped me appreciate this episode more. The little things don’t really matter, but it’s just something I would’ve done differently. I liked how the ship repair scene reminded me of a montage from the A-Team. Okay, I’m done. Go watch it!
Johanna Nybelius
I didn’t realize until this episode just how much I missed space in the series. I loved that we took a break from Tatooine and got to actually travel around the stars. And yes, some of my favorite scenes were the scene on the star line, even if it really makes you wonder why so many people want to go to Tatooine?
With two episodes still to go it feels as if the pieces are starting to fall into place for what I assume will be an intense third season of The Mandalorian.
Daniel Lo
About 15 years ago, I bought a Honda Fireblade from a gentleman named William. He lived several hours away and was kind enough to meet me halfway. I had a friend drop me off while he arrived on the bike by himself. After paying him I asked how he was getting home and he said he would be taking the bus. That must have been a long ride. Brutal.
That was probably how Mando felt sitting on a commercial flight around the halfway point of the latest episode. He had just spent an action-packed 25 minutes reminding us of his brutally efficient combat skills, and now he was suddenly reduced to an exiled space bus passenger after being forced to check his weapons in by the TSA droid (pardon the ethnocentric reference). He was a notepad and pair of headphones away from being B-Rabbit on his way to work after his car wouldn’t start.
This wasn’t 8 Mile, of course. It wasn’t The Mandalorian either. Or was it? Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian felt completely out of place in the context of The Book of Boba Fett, yet also in the best ways possible. I can’t decide if this speaks poorly of the show because of the superior production and overall quality (in my opinion) of this Mando-focused episode, or speaks well of the show because, well, it’s actually part of the show. After four polarizing episodes of stop and go storytelling in the desert, we suddenly got a fun basket of Star Wars easter eggs that kept me grinning ear to ear from start to finish. There was a ton of fan service, but the best kind. Yes it was a blatant Halo copycat but I loved the ring world of Glavis (Thanks, Wookieepedia). The flashback scenes of the Night of a Thousand Tears were incredible to behold, instantly ranking among the most striking frames from live action Star Wars. I have a soft spot for TIE bombers. Peli Motto continued to cement herself as a fan favorite. Was that a nod to Jurassic Park? Live action BD unit was well done. I momentarily thought it was General Grievous’s Soulless One sitting under the tarp, and just as excited to find out what it was instead. Seeing a rebuilt N-1 starfighter tearing through Beggar’s Canyon was an absolute joy. My brother pointed out that the vacant astromech socket might later serve as Grogu’s seat. I wonder how Mando’s new ride would fare against Poe’s X-Wing in a drag race.
And was it perfect? Of course not, but that’s okay. The fridge room at the beginning looked like one you might easily find on earth, complete with plastic curtains and populated with what were essentially butchers wearing alien masks. The idea of a heavy Darksaber blade didn’t immediately make sense. Mando behaved more like old school Boba Fett than Boba himself, who didn’t even make an appearance on his own show this time out. And… that might be about it as far as nitpicking goes.
In short, after four episodes of wandering in the proverbial and literal desert, it feels like 100% Star Wars again: A lightsaber (well, Darksaber) was ignited. Gigantic space stations. Walkways without railings. TIE fighters and X-wings. Podracing on steroids. So what’s next? I have no idea, and it’s kind of exciting. Title characters from both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have now prominently featured on each other’s shows, forming quite the potential Star Wars hub. It seems likely that we may see Grogu soon, and Luke Skywalker just might be part of the package deal.
Becca Benjamin
Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, Return of the Mandalorian, tells the tale of Din Djarin’s current happenings, both professionally and personally. As a Mandalorian bounty hunter and a father missing his son.
The internal conflict is palpable as he delivers his lines in an eerily monotonal voice like someone just going through the everyday motions to get through the day. The physical proof would be the self-inflicted Darksaber wound at the top of the show. To say Din is struggling would be an understatement.
All that said, the plethora of Prequel connections, both visually and referenced, are a feast for any The Phantom Menace Fan! Not to mention all the lore and connective tissue that’s tied to Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, specifically, Mandalore and the Darksaber. In other words, Chapter 5 is a tall glass of Juice Jawa for those fans that thirst for Prequel content.
Let’s not forget about the armorer and her lessons and lectures. I mean, there’s a distinct difference between her demeanor and that of Bo-Katan’s. And, I have a feeling Din does too. His gears seem to be turning as he processes his new quest to seek out the “living waters” in the mines under Mandalore.
In addition to all that Mandalorian lore, we see an adorable wide-eyed Rodian child, a wrapped gift in the shape of Grogu’s little head, a cute BD droid, a Naboo Starfighter, and a nasty Womp rat (ok, we don’t “actually” see it). Plus, the return of local gal, spunky mechanic, Peli Motto, played by Amy Sedaris. Who inadvertently “clues us in” about her past intergalactic relationship with a very “furry” Jawa. Ummm, Peli, “TMI!”
All in all, seeing Beggar’s Canyon again and watching a Naboo Starfighter take flight, like something out of a Top Gun or Iron Eagle flick, and placed in a Star War is amazingly satisfying!
WIZARD!
Paul Naylor
Well, well, well. That was an awesome chapter. As I write this review, I am watching The Mandalori… erm, I mean The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 5 for the sixth time. I enjoyed all previous chapters of this series, but have been somewhat conflicted by how this fifth installment is head and shoulders the best….so far.
I say conflicted, because this series should focus on Boba, not Din. I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed Mando for one, but could it be that I now prefer this character to Fett? Chapters 6 and 7 have a lot of work to do to convince me otherwise. So, we all know what happens in the chapter, therefore I will focus on my fave aspects.
Chapter 5 Top 12
1) Mando wielding the Darksaber – it is interesting that the Disney execs seem more concerned about showing Leia in a gold bikini than they do in slicing characters in half, decapitating them and having lead characters walk around with a severed head in a bag. Odd priorities, but the sight of Mando struggling with the Darksaber was superb all the same.
2) Ishi-Tib client – this was cool, not only because it brought another familiar alien species to the foreground, but did you know that the voice actor portraying her has another Star Wars connection? Helen Sadler previously voiced Rey in The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special.
3) Return of The Armourer and Paz Viszla – so along with Mando, these three are all that remain of their creed. Paz wanted the Darksaber back in his family following a potted history lesson and The Armourer gave an icy performance, effectively banishing Din from the order for removing his helmet in the past.
4) Destruction of Mandalore – Wow. In flashback we witness Mandalore destroyed by countless TIE-bombers and a ground search for any survivors to be purged by Probe Droids and K-2SO lookalikes. All very Terminator 2!
5) Mando’s concern over Grogu – ahhh. Just cute that he missed his little green friend so much. And the forged Beskar gift was wrapped in such a way that it resembled Grogu’s head. Such a thoughtful gift.
6) Mando catches the bus – or plane if you prefer. The sight of Mando on public transport served as a reminder that he no longer has a ship. Not since the destruction of The Razor Crest. More on that in a bit. Even with his helmet on, you could sense his embarrassement and annoyance of being on ‘the bus’. And the Rodian kid waving at him did little to improve his mood. I did enjoy the scene prior to getting onboard where he removed all his weaponry. Classy humour.
7) Peli Motto and pals – injecting humour with her menagerie of droids inclucing a BD Droid that wouldn’t look out of place with Cal Kestis.
8) Furry dates – we discover that Jawas are very furry beneath the cloak and they like to date humans! Thanks Peli for that troubling imagery!
9) That ship – Mando’s new ride. Whoa. What an amazing way to link to the prequels. I loved the inclusion of the Cryogenic Density Combustion Booster – or the long pipe used to brace the walls of the Trash Compactor in A New Hope. Another lovely Easter Egg.
10) Is it Boonta Eve already? – oh wow! Mando takes his first spin in his N-1 around the familiar racecourse from The Phantom Menace. It was glorious to see it again.
11) Winging it – then it was time to venture into space, where Mando is ‘pulled over’ for speeding by a couple of patrolling X-Wing pilots. One of the pilots we were already acquainted with, the other it transpires had a cool Star Wars link. Max Lloyd-Jones doubled for Luke’s scenes at the end of Mando Season 2, and now he’s an X-Wing pilot? Could be emulating Luke’s career in reverse. Perhaps he’ll appear in a future episode as a moisture farmer?
12) Wizard! – nuff said on that. My only cringe moment in an otherwise immaculate slice of Star Wars.
Roll on next week for a possible reunion with Grogu, but for now, all that remains to be said is Bryce Dallas Howard – I love you xxxx
Clair Henry
Two different parts of the galaxy collided together last night to produce probably the best episode of the series so far. Bryce Dallas Howards brought her knowledge of The Mandalorian and was able to fuse it together with Fennec Shand and Boba Fett. Where their path will go I’m not sure, but I know I’m excited to see it.
A potential clash of the Mandalorians with Bo-Katan looks inevitable. They are poles apart but can the unite in the quest to receive the Darksaber.
It was great to see the return Of Pelli Moto. Man, who knew that we would see our first interplanetary relationship and who knew Jawas were that attractive!
They have described the book of Boba Fett as 2.5 series of The Mandalorian and now I can see why. The slow build up and the tension and development of characters certainly seems to show that the two worlds are going to now collide and move on together. Hopefully we will see the motivation for Boba Fett and why he’s been such a benevolent leade. All I can say is I’m glad Fennec Shand is there to spice it up a little.
With only two episodes left I’m looking forward to seeing Boba Fett become the supreme leader of Tatooine, but whether that will happen or not I’m not so sure – roll on next week!
Why not listen to Episode 7 of Planet Leia on Friday 4th February for an in-depth talk about the female characters we’ve seen so far in The Book of Boba and where we think they’re headed.
Mark Mulcaster and Mark Newbold discuss Return of The Mandalorian on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: Return of The Mandalorian.
- Hardcover Book
- Johnston, E.K. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages - 04/05/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
