The Book of Boba Fett episode five has been released on Disney Plus, and damn, is it good.
One thing must be acknowledged right off the bat, which is that this wasn’t an episode of the Book of Boba Fett, this was a teaser episode for The Mandalorian season three. However, that must be waived aside, simply because it’s the Mandalorian. Everyone’s favourite Mandalorian bounty hunter (sorry Boba Fett, you’ve lost that spot) returns for a full 52 minutes, and he has returned to doing what he does best.
This episode reintroduces the Mandalorian in a very similar way the character was first shown to audiences, right down to the choice of dialogue. This reminds them that it is the familiar character they’ve seen before, except there are some slight changes to him. He has: the darksaber, fully upgraded armour and most importantly, he has taken off his helmet – signifying his growth as a character.
But the audience also sees that the Mandalorian has some clear problems. He struggles with the darksaber. He has to take civilian transport later in the episode, forgoing his sacred weapons in the process. These are all signifiers of his struggle.
After the introductory sequence, the audience is treated to a beautiful space ring, very evocative of the Halo rings found in the world of Halo. It is here that the audience learns more about the darksaber and about the Great Purge, call it MandaLORE if you will. The short sequence was a delight to witness, with scenes influenced by the Terminator series and featuring the first (albeit brief) live action look of Mandalore and its capital of Sundari. This sequence also gives satisfying answers to the lingering questions from The Mandalorian Season Two, and the whole scene sets up the quest for the next season of The Mandalorian.
After this, the audience is treated to a visit to Mos Eisley and to Peli, where Mandalorian is in need of a new ship. She and Mandalorian talk about their pasts whilst building an N-1 starfighter, and racing through Beggar’s Canon, an amazing callback to the prequels. This callback is just the obvious top on the wealth of call backs and tie-ins to all iterations of Star Wars, even the video games. Favreau continually demonstrates an understanding of how to use these references to inform his story, something that was started in The Mandalorian but continues throughout all of his work.
The New Republic also makes an appearance in this episode, and they are utilised very well. They come to arrest the Mandalorian for speeding too near to a civilian transport, attempt to bog him down in paperwork and then take him in for questioning due to his involvement in destruction of the Imperial Remnant on Nevarro.
This highlights their general incompetence as a government, and helps the viewer understand why they were destroyed so easily. No one will cooperate with them, and they get too bogged down in procedure to realise that the planet below them is under the control of a crime syndicate. However this is only the start of great justification and government building, and hopefully they will be given some more development in the series.
Returning to the hanger, the Mandalorian is approached by Fennec to work for Fett, and while he accepts, he states he has to pay a visit to Grogu, to give him the chainmail armour. While it would be extremely adorable to see the child in Mandalorian armour, this should wait until season three of the Mandalorian premieres.
Devoting too much time to stories that belong in The Mandalorian would lose focus on Boba Fett’s story, and while this is more than acceptable for one episode, for two it would be out of place, especially with the threat of war looming over Tatooine. The Mandalorian is sure to have a major role in this war, a tantalising tease for the series final two episodes.
By Kieran Burt
Feature image: Lucasfilm/Disney