At least they didn't kill his dog.

One of the most enjoyable things thus far about 'The Book of Boba Fett' is how Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau have not only leaned into the underworld enterprises, but also how the cast are playing this out.

There's a brief moment in a scene where Fett is addressing the former captains under Jabba the Hutt and trying to make them see that working together is better than fighting against one another. Temeura Morrison as Fett, with his helmet off and seated at the top of the table, scratches the side of his face like he's Marlon Brando as Don Corleone from 'The Godfather'. Even his gravelly tones seemed to echo the character. Ming-na Wen, meanwhile, is playing the role with just the right amount of disinterest. She's muscle, she's the heavy, so she's never going to feel threatened or even overtly emotional about anything. It's not that she's Luca Brasi, she's closer to Al Neri, the guy Michael Corleone sent to kill Don Barzini on the steps of the church.

Much of this week's episode is set in flashback, however, and covers how Fett and Fennec Shand met and decided to team up. Featuring an extended cameo by office favourite Stephen 'Thundercat' Bruner, Shand is given some light modifications around her midriff and then repays her life debt to Fett by helping him steal back his ship. A note here - apparently official LEGO sets and the like are referring to the ship simply as 'Boba Fett's Ship'. Folks, that thing is called Slave I. Like everybody knowing Han shot first, that thing is called Slave I. End of digression, moving on. After the two of them sneak inside Jabba's palace, Fett and Shand have a fantastic shootout and a rollicking good punch-up that sees Ming-na Wen kick twelve shades of bantha fodder out of people before they make their escape. After that, Fett decides to use the Slave I to get even with those damn bikers who killed the Tuskens who took him with a little aerial bombardment.

Going back to how interesting it's been to see the character of Boba Fett go from bounty hunter to crime boss, there's almost a "bounty hunters of the galaxy unite!" moment when the aged gunslinger speaks about how he's tired of almost dying for idiots. After all, it's their labour that's keeping crime bosses like Bib Fortuna and Jabba the Hutt in power, so why shouldn't they utilise it for themselves? Again, this feels like it's either intentionally or unintentionally inspired by 'John Wick', where you had a master assassin decide to get back at those who hired him for double-crossing him. Revenge is a common enough theme in stories set in a criminal underworld, but the rampage that Fett goes on - sure, it's not like they killed his dog, but the intensity feels similar.

The final moments, however, point to the return of a familiar face / helmet, with it being all but certain that Din Djarin is going to join Boba Fett's bench for the upcoming rumble with the Pyke Syndicate. What will Din Djarin be like, now that Grogu has gone off with Luke Skywalker? Our guess? He's going to be like Inigio Montoya in 'The Princess Bride' - drunk, aimless, only doing muscle work to pay the bills because there's not a lot of money in revenge these days.

Final Thoughts

  • Thundercat being a canonical 'Star Wars' character is just fantastic AND it might just be that 'The Book of Boba Fett' has much better incidental characters than 'The Mandalorian'
  • Also, he absolutely wrote that music when he's operating on Fennec Shand, no question
  • Black Krrsantan tearing the arm of a Trandoshan because he was being too loud and annoying is something we can relate to on a deep, personal level