Chris Connor reviews the fifth episode of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett…
After teasing the return of Din Djarin at the end of last week’s episode, The Book of Boba Fett acts as The Mandalorian Season 2.5 in an episode with the rather on the nose title of ‘Return of The Mandalorian’. We pick up Din’s journey not long after his confrontation with Moff Gideon and it appears he is back to his bounty hunting ways, as we encounter him in the midst of a job.
We quickly learn he has found the remnants of his group of Mandalorians and is keen to re-join the order, whilst grappling with a sense of sadness following Grogu’s departure to train under Luke Skywalker. The added weight of the Darksaber gives the dynamics a slightly new angle from when these characters last interacted. It is refreshing to find out more Mandalorian lore, learning of the feuds between different factions and the origins of the Darksaber. We can expect to have even more revealed come season three of The Mandalorian.
In many ways this episode plays as a Mandalorian greatest hits with us revisiting the key characters of the show with appearances from Amy Sedaris’ Peli Motto and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Captain Carson Teva. The quality levels are up to the standard found in the show however it is hard when watching not to think that some of the storylines and moments could have been saved for the season three premiere due later this year and perhaps will dilute that eventual premiere.
The biggest issue is that audiences seem to have connected more with this episode which feels far removed from the show in which it features. Yes it is fantastic to find out what has happened to Din Djarin and see him find a replacement for the Razor Crest however this means the main narrative of The Book of Boba Fett is not featured, bar an aside at the episode’s end, and has effectively stalled with a lot of ground still to be covered in the final two episodes of the series.
From a technical standpoint this is one of the best live-action TV episodes to date with Bryce Dallas Howard once again showing a clear understanding of the franchise both tonally and visually, this episode soars in terms of spectacle and action. One can only hope she is given an expanded role within the upcoming projects as she has delivered three of the strongest episodes across the two Star Wars shows.
The nods to The Phantom Menace are well done with a Naboo Starfighter our hero’s new ship and the sequence of him finding his groove with the ship was clearly a nod to the podracing sequences of Episode I with some of the same locations and similar camera angles. This also brings a sense of fun to proceedings that The Book of Boba Fett has perhaps been lacking.
‘The Return of The Mandalorian’ is a fine continuation of Din Djarin’s story but feels out of place here with 40 minutes devoted to what he has been up to and the main Book of Boba Fett story relegated to nothing more than a brief cameo. This perhaps underlines a problem with the franchise, making standalone projects feel less individual when they should have their own identity. It is regardless a treat as ever to dive into the world of The Mandalorian which represents some of the most impressive work of Disney’s Star Wars content and hopefully the final two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett can employ Din to the correct effect and deliver in telling Boba and Fennec’s story and making this spinoff series justify its existence.
Chris Connor
