After the title character was suspiciously absent for a few chapters of his own book, Boba Fett himself makes a triumphant return to The Book of Boba Fett for his war with the Pyke Syndicate in the finale. The Robert Rodriguez directed episode had its work cut out for it, trying to follow two fan favorites that were more a continuation of The Mandalorian than anything else, with a loose connection to the events happening in Mos Espa. Backed up against a wall like that, you just have to come out guns blazing, and who better for the job than Rodriguez.
Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones) has certainly caused plenty of conflict since emerging from the sarlacc pit, even if he’s done so with the best of intentions. By taking a stand with his adopted Tusken Raider family against the Pykes, he caused their demise, and now those under his protection at Mos Espa have been subjected to bombings and threats of violence after his stand against their spice trade. The Boba Fett presented throughout this Disney series seems hesitant and easily influenced by the advice of others, with most of the choices he makes on his own, including trusting the local crime bosses to remain neutral, costing him greatly. Not much of what we have seen from him and the series has gone as expected, but “Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor” offers the opportunity to see all of the backstory, setup, Mandalorian side quests, and even information from the greater Star Wars canon come together for a larger payoff.
Early on, we get a little Ocean’s Eleven “here’s the plan” explanation from Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen, Mulan) as we tour around the city and see how they have positioned their forces to help see the threat coming. Unlike those movies, this plan quickly goes to shit. Cad Bane (Corey Burton, Star Wars: The Bad Batch) trades some sinister banter with Fett, and then all hell breaks loose. Guns are pulled from all directions, and the betrayal from the crime bosses is made clear as the team is overwhelmed on all fronts. Everyone’s favorite Gamorrean guards (Frank Trigg, Shameless and Collin Hymes, Scorpion) get the unceremonious 300 treatment over a cliff, Black Krrsantan (Carey Jones, Creepshow) is dogpiled upon, and the mod street gang is pinned down under heavy fire. Fennec lends a hand to Drash (Sophie Thatcher, Yellowjackets), Skad (Jordan Bolger, The 100), and the rest of the mod squad before disappearing for majority of the episode, which is sadly very on brand for the writers.
It’s certainly the most action-packed episode of the series with continuous blaster fights happening throughout the streets, Scorpenek droids causing “problems, real problems,” Grogu saving Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian) again and again – oh, and Boba rides the rancor. Yours truly guesses we didn’t see much of Boba the last two episodes because he was off with Danny Trejo training how to ride his pet. It’s glorious, looks fantastic, and everyone wanted to see it happen, even if it seemed a little rushed. Might have been easier to ride his ship into battle, but can a ship climb a building King Kong style after ripping seemingly indestructible droids apart limb from limb? No, no it can’t.
The episode again, is all about payoffs. Grogu, fresh off his Sophie’s Choice, is reunited with Din Djarin (Mando) in adorable fashion. Black Krrsantan gets to show what he can really do, flinging assailants around and shooting them mid-air for good measure. The Freetown folks come to their aid inspired by Cobb Vanth being gunned down, and Boba Fett finally gets to be a badass. It’s unfortunate that it took this long, but Fett is finally healthy. If you hated all the bacta tank flashback episodes, at least they brought us here, and learning the truth about the Tusken Raiders gave Boba some extra incentive to lead the fight.
Watching Boba Fett and Mando fight side by side against overwhelming odds is everything you could hope for. The sheer spectacle of it all is fantastic, with them flying around, fighting back-to-back, and using every weapon from their armor. It’s choreographed beautifully, as are the shootouts throughout, which harkens back to Rodriguez’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico in a lot of ways. We are treated to over half an hour of continuous action, filled with explosions, stunt falls, and Wilhelm screams.
With the back-and-forth Boba Fett has with Mando before they are prepared to go out Butch Cassidy style, the impressive rancor riding, and the epic showdown with the magnificent Cad Bane, we know that Fett as a character has what it takes to lead this show forward. Add in Fennec ruthlessly eliminating all those that betrayed them, Black Krrsantan as a one-Wookiee-army, and even Mok Shaiz’s Majordomo (David Pasquesi, Veep) being legitimately funny in perfectly timed moments, and the show demonstrated what it can be at its best.
The Book of Boba Fett seemed to miss an opportunity to take a darker tone from the beginning, one more akin to something we saw with Rogue One. Instead, they opted to show the lighter, gentler side of the once feared bounty hunter. A near death experience like he had could certainly change someone’s priorities, but if his goal was to be a crime lord, it would have been much more interesting to have him as a contrast of Din Djarin. That’s an argument that can be made about the show as a whole, but within the established parameters that led us to this finale, it was as satisfying of one as you could ask for. Temuera Morrison plays the role well, and it’ll be interesting to see where Favreau takes the character within the quickly expanding Star Wars universe.
The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7 is now streaming on Disney+
