Book of Boba Fett Spoiler Recap: Stranger in a Strange Land
After a full year of waiting, and coming in just under the wire as a 2021 show with three days to go, The Book of Boba Fett has premiered at last on Disney+.
While we’ve all spent the last year in deep speculation for what would or wouldn’t be shown, guessing at character cameos, and loudly manifesting a Bonnec (Boba/Fennec) kiss, the first episode manages to get the expected plot beats out of the way without making it feel rote or obligatory.
The episode begins with Boba in a bacta tank, at once answering the question of how he came to look so much healthier between his appearance on The Mandalorian and now. While submerged, he dreams of the events that brought him to this point. We all knew that flashbacks were likely going to occur, and kudos to the series for incorporating them diagetically.
They get right to the big question right away - namely how did Boba escape the Sarlacc? The easy answer is that he punched and burned his way out. The more complicated answer is that while the escape was the easy part, the recovery was much less so. Throughout two extended flashback sequences, we see that upon escaping, the severely weakened Boba is immediately beset by Jawas who steal his armour, followed shortly by Tuskens who take him captive.
Though his initial breakout attempt is botched, he earns something like respect from the Tusken tribe for fighting back and not backing down when they try to break him.
He and his fellow prisoner are then taken by one of the younger Tuskens to a moisture farm being raided by marauders. Before leaving, the thieves tag the building with a symbol, and I wonder if this is something that will reappear in the present day timeline.
After witnessing the raid at the farm, Boba and the other captive are taken out into the dunes to dig for the water pods the Tuskens value greatly. Their meager efforts are interrupted by a massive sand creature with too many legs, too many arms and a 24-pack. While the Rodian prisoner is eventually killed by the beast, Boba manages to subdue and behead it, returning the head and the unharamed Tusken youth to the village, where he earns the chiefs begrudging respect.
I’ve been a fan of the Tuskens for a while. I think they get a lot of unfair hate from characters who are colonizers on their land, and the new Star Wars trend of making explicit the fact that the Tuskens are the original residents of Tatooine makes my heart very happy. Though we now know how Boba escaped his ordeal with his life, I hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of the Tuskens in the series. I hope whatever outlook on life Boba gains through his time with them follows him forward into the present day.
Speaking of present day, Boba’s first day as crime boss of Tatooine are just as rife with potential as the flashback scenes are. Midway through his recollection of his time with the Tuskens, he is woken by Fennec (in a professional way, sadly not in a Bonnec way) who tells him that the local crime lords have lined up to pay tribute.
Though brief, the moment where they receive tribute from the Aqualish and Trandoshan bosses is a cute one because it speaks to the casual, even joking nature of their relationship. Moments like this, and Boba’s observation that his dreams are back speak to a certain closeness between them, even if they now have to figure out what that looks like in this new, crime boss setting.
Boba is told at multiple points in the episode that he needs to present a stronger, more intimidating front, much like Jabba once did, but it’s clear he wants none of it. He refuses point-blank to torture Bib Fortuna’s Gammorean guards, he won’t be carried about on a litter, and he insists on making the rounds to all the local businesses personally. Fennec cautions him that fear rather than respect might be the way to go, and despite his insistence to the contrary, by the end of the episode she still doesn’t agree.
After a visit to the Sanctuary, a glamorous gambling den and cantina run by the elegant Twi’lek Garsa Fwip - which I honestly hope we see more of for the vibes alone - both Boba and Fennec are beset in the street by a group of attackers. They dispatch most of them, with Fennec leaving a single one alive on Boba’s orders to presumably answer questions about who hired them.
A likely candidate is Mos Espa mayor Mok Shaiz, whose majordomo was less than pleased at Boba’s refusal to pay tribute to his employer. Whoever sent them though, despite Boba’s best intentions, it looks like there’s already trouble in paradise.
An absolute standout of the series overall is the dynamic between Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen. They have such an easy chemistry, and are living proof that badassery in Star Wars is not just reserved for the under-40 set. Though the episode was light on dialogue overall, I hope the two of them get more chances to banter over the course of the season. Perhaps on that romantic looking balcony from the trailer?
An unexpected feature of The Book of Boba Fett are the nods back to the prequel era. Perhaps this is because we’ve spent so long with creators whose love began in 1977 and ended in 1983, but as a prequel kid, I really appreciated the connectivity. The series so far seems like it will primarily be set in Mos Espa, which fans will remember is the setting for the Tatooine portion of The Phantom Menace. Incidentally, I didn’t realize Jabba actually lived there in town. You learn something new every day, I guess.
The flashbacks even kicked off with a quick glimpse at Kamino’s Tipoca City, and with Boba’s final appearance in Attack of the Clones, crouched alone in the Geonosis arena, holding his fathers helmet. This, more than the Mos Espa setting, feels especially appropriate, since Temuera Morrison first joined the world of Star Wars playing Jango Fett in AOTC, so if nothing else, it was a nice little homage to his first appearance.
But if the way the episode seemed to progress is any indication, I don’t think Boba’s past is something to be shown and dismissed, but rather is going to form an instrumental part of the man he has become.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Ludwig Göransson’s excellent score. I’m not a musician, but it feels like it exists in the same musical realm while managing to maintain its own distinct musical identity. The themes are powerful and haunting, and really it’s got to be a matter of time before Fennec gets her own distinct theme right?
I also really enjoyed the pace of the episode. It’s a much slower build, not big or flashy. It, to me, feels like a more mature outing than The Mandalorian - which is absolutely not a knock on that series at all, its a very different vibe all around. The road to leadership is not a smooth one, that much is clear, and it will be fascinating to watch Boba and Fennc navigate the road bumps in real time.
Unlike The Mandalorian’s first two seasons, The Book of Boba Fett didn’t end the episode with some kind of shocking reveal, but instead progressed the plot to a point we all expected, but one still filled with the potential for character growth and exploration. Here’s hoping they manage to sustain this energy throughout the season. If the premiere episode in any indication, the chances look good.
What did you think? Is the identity of the mayor going to be a big reveal? Will we see more of the Tuskens? Is #Bonnec already canon, or is the show building to it? Let us know on Twitter!
For more Book of Boba Fett, be sure to catch our episode recap panels on Space Waffles, and check back here each week for a spoiler deep dive!
The Book of Boba Fett airs new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+