If you were a fan of the Mandalorian, you’re probably excited for the Book of Boba Fett and here at FLG we love all kinds of nerdery, so let’s dive into recapping what happened during Episode 2 of The Book of Boba Fett.
First and foremost as a full disclosure, I absolutely loved the Mandalorian. It’s western inspired themes made me fully immersed into the story and who doesn’t love a little bit of some Grogu? Now with the Mandalorian finished the Book of Boba Fett has some pretty big shoes to fill if they want people to be as crazed about the show as they were with the Mandalorian and so far it’s slowly getting there.
Episode 1 for many was a bit of drag early on. With a lot of backstory being filled into the episode showing Boba Fett coming out of the Sarlacc pit from Return of the Jedi, the Book of Boba Fett follows the famously known bounty hunter as he becomes the Crime Lord of Mos Espa on Tatooine after the death of Jabba the Hut. So it’s setting up how Boba Fett is going to deal with everything happening in Mos Espa as he struggles to find footing for his power to rule over the outer rim of Tatooine.
Going into Episode 2 we’re getting even more backstory with how Boba Fett befriended a tribe of Tusken Raiders leading up to a huge futuristic train robbery scene that’s sure to leave you entertained.
This episode, The Tribes of Tatooine, really shows how passive Boba Fett has become with violence becoming one of his last options in his new role as a Crime Lord trying to take hold of the throne of Mos Espa and it’s proving to become more and more difficult as we see more characters reaching for the seat. One of which are the Hutt twins who have conveniently made their way back to Tatooine to claim heir to Jabba’s throne.
When Boba Fett has a stand off with the two along with Fennec to back him up, the Hutt twins back off to make their move at a later time. We do get to see Black Krrsantan, a Wookie bounty hunter that used to serve under Jabba in the Marvel Doctor Alpha series. We’re also met with the mayor of Mos Espa, an Ithorian by the name of Mok Shaiz after a pretty cheeky conversation between one receptionist and a retired deadly bounty hunter.
As far as what’s happening during present times in The Book of Boba Fett that’s all that really happens, the true core of this episode is the relationship between the Tusken Raiders and Boba Fett. After proving his worth in Episode 1, Boba Fett continues to work with the Tusken Raiders by helping them stop a hover train transporting Spice on the planet. Taking on a night mission with only a Tusken Rifle and their signature Gaffi stick Boba Fett visits Tosche Station to take down some Nikto miners and grab control of their speeders. There’s also a nice little Easter Egg of Luke Skywalker’s friends, Camie and Fixer hanging out at the bar – if you didn’t recognize them that’s totally fine because you would only know they existed if you watched a particular deleted scene from A New Hope.
After gaining access to their speeders, Boba Fett returns to the Tusken Raiders to try and come up with a plan to rob the train that’s been killing off the Tusken’s while doing it’s rounds to transfer Spice. Training the Tuskens to ride the speeders and jump from one to another in hopes that they can take out the train, the gang jumps it on it’s passing by. This is the highlight of the episode, and although some of the action scenes can seem a bit wonky, it’s still a fun ride watching a futuristic train robbery just because it’s such a classic western trope reimagined in a Star Wars realm.
When the Tuskens and Boba bring down the train, Boba announces that the Tuskens deserve to be paid a toll for traversing their lands and in return grant safe passage throughout their sea of sand. Without much choice, the Pyke Syndicate obliges to his commands before being marched off back to where they came on foot while the Tusken’s break open their water tank and start spilling it all over the sand. Pretty demeaning if you have to walk through the desert with just a single gosh darn melon per person.
Now that the Tusken’s finally understand that Boba Fett is indeed an ally they put him through a rite of passage to create his very own Gaffi stick. Albeit with a super intrusive Lizard that crawls up his nose, Boba Fett marches through the desert to find a stick and comes back to create his Gaffi stick with the help of the Tusken’s with the final shot showing his acceptance into the Tusken Tribe.
Altogether, the second episode sets up more back story for Boba Fett since we really don’t know what happened to him since the Sarlaac pit but at the same time the beats of the show sometimes falls flat. Even with a banger soundtrack, I’m waiting for the stakes to rise during present time and how Boba’s new found avoidance of violence is going to affect him on Mos Espa.
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