Awesome / The Book of Boba Fett

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

"I'm with you until we both fall."

From the team that brought you The Mandalorian comes the spin-off focused mainly on Star Wars' most popular bounty hunter and his rise to power, and it is nothing short of awesome.

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Season 1

Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land

• The opening scene shows Boba sleeping in a bacta tank, looking much more healthy than the last we saw of him. We are then shown his dreams as he relives his entrapment within the guts of the Sarlacc. What follows is him using his wits, tools, and sheer force of will to burn his way out of the beast's stomach and dig himself back up to the surface.
  • Keep in mind, he's doing this all while suffocating from the toxic fumes of the monster's innards and suffering from severe acidic burns, and this is after he regained consciousness after what must have been hours since he fell in. If not for finding a poor Stormtrooper and taking their air-tube to regain some strength, this would have been an even more difficult feat.
• Boba's entire ordeal on Tatooine didn't end with escaping the Sarlacc. Rather, it was just beginning. From having his armour stolen by Jawas to being captured and enslaved by Tusken Raiders, there's no end to his suffering, and yet he still finds the determination to power on through and survive this no matter what it takes.
  • The first display of his determination and combat prowess is when Boba first attempts to escape, only to be sold out by an enslaved Rodian. When the Raiders catch up with him, Boba stands his ground against one of their best warriors, and though he hardly gets any footing, his fighting spirit is more than evident.
  • A minor one comes later when a young Raider takes him and the Rodian out to go digging for water. When Boba finds some and takes a sip for himself, the juvenile Raider attempts to put him in his place, only for Boba to quickly grab the stick before it hits him and calm the Raider down before surrendering the water.
  • The biggest moment comes near the end when, during more digging, the Rodian accidentally uncovers a beast hiding underneath the sand. It quickly attacks the group, kills the Rodian, and attempts to do the same to the rest. Boba takes a hell of a pounding as well, but as the beast goes to attack the young Raider, Boba sneaks up onto the monster's back, using his own chains to choke the beast, and kills it then and there. The young Raider can only stare in awe as Boba stands triumphant over the corpse of the beast.
  • Returning to the Raider encampment, both Boba and the young Raider are met with praise when they bring the head of the beast to show their kill. The chief of the tribe then offers water to Boba as a sign of respect, finally putting an end to his long and exhausting ordeal since his escape from the Sarlacc.
• The assassins who come after Boba and Fennec using superior numbers and shields to surround the two and limit their ability to fight back. If not for the intervention of the two Gamorreans that Boba had previously spared giving them an opening, they would certainly have been killed.
  • Boba is lacking in weapons on this visit, so one of the assassins flees by climbing a wall. He uses one of the few ranged weapons he has equipped: a wrist rocket.
  • Fennec chasing down two of the fleeing assassins, kicking one of them off a roof.

Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine

• Boba Fett and his crew get in a standoff against the Twins, a pair of Hutts laying claim to Jabba's old stake on Tatooine. When they bring in Black Krrsantan, a very mean Wookiee recognizable to fans of the comics, Boba tells him off unflinchingly. The Twins decide that a shootout in the streets of Mos Espa would be bad for business... for now.
• Boba is shown training with the female warrior in the use of a Gaffi stick. Boba manages to hold his own, and ultimately disarms the warrior and sends her own Gaffi spinning into the air... only for her to roll to the side, catch it on the way down, and drop Boba to the sand with a trip.
• After the Tusken camp is hit by a drive-by from an armored speeder train, Boba Fett puts together a plan to take down the train the next time it appears, beginning with dealing some Laser-Guided Karma to a speederbike gang he saw terrorizing a settlement in the previous episode. He beats the entire gang senseless without saying a word, then steals their bikes to bring back to the tribe.
• After a Training Montage, Boba Fett leads a raiding party to overtake the train, with covering fire from a group of Tuskens lying in ambush. When the assault gets bogged down, the tribe matriarch boards the train and helps them fight their way to the front so Boba Fett can disable the train and bring it to a crashing halt.
• After helping bring down the train, thus saving many more Tusken lives, as well as helping themselves to the great deal of cargo and water, Boba is made an official member of their tribe, sending him on a Rite of Passage to obtain a tree branch to forge into his own gaffi stick, be adorned with their tribal garb, and take part in a ritualistic dance. The whole process of Boba making his gaffi stick almost feels like a Jedi creating their very own lightsaber for the first time.

Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa

• Boba asserting his new kind of rule by calling out a water seller for price gouging, threatening to run him out of business if he doesn't shape up, and hiring the street gang who had previously stolen from the man to work as his new enforcers.
• Black Krrsantan attacks Boba while he's recovering in the bacta tank. Despite being half-naked and mostly unarmed, Boba still manages to do pretty well for himself, managing to stay alive long enough for his underlings to save him and getting some pretty solid hits with his gaffi stick on the brute (with one hit leaving the weapon stuck in Krrsantan's back by the club spike)
  • Drash (the female gang member and de facto leader) gets props for her coolness in the situation. There's a giant, angry Wookiee in the room, and she doesn't falter. She walks right up to Krrsantan and shanks him.
  • For that matter, the fact that Krrsantan is fought by Boba, his new gang enforcers, and two Gamorreans at once, and is able to match them all. It takes Fennec dropping him into the Rancor pit to finally stop him.
  • The Gamorreans, who in Return of the Jedi were mostly funny-looking ineffectual Red Shirts, show themselves once again to be capable in a fight, at one point going two-to-one versus a very dangerous and angry Wookiee after he had already tackled both of them down a flight of stairs. One of them gets a back slash in with his shortsword that is deep enough to make Krrsantan yell in pain.
  • Boba's gang of oddballs manage to wrangle him over the trapdoor, where he is dropped into the dungeon below. Even then, he defiantly grabs onto the edge of the trapdoor, and doesn't fall until Fennec gets his hand with a throwing knife.
• Boba's choice to recruit the scooter-speeder mods pays off three times over in the course of this episode: as mentioned, they thwart Black Krrsantan's assassination attempt on Boba, but also chase down Mayor Mok Shaiz's fleeing majordomo through the streets of Mos Espa (and unlike the clumsy-driving lackey, do vastly less property damage), and Skad, the rider with the eye implant, does a solid recon job catching sight of the Pyke squad right as they arrive.

Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm

• Boba (without his armour or weapons) and Fennec (still recovering from being gut-shot and rebuilt) infiltrate Fortuna's Palace and steal Boba's ship back, fighting off the entire guard contingent in the process.
• Boba returns to the Sarlacc to search for his armor, only to find that it's Not Quite Dead. It wraps its tentacles into the gaps where the ship's wings are, being both strong and heavy enough to physically drag the starship to it against the pull of its engines. It takes Fennec shooting one of the ship's trademark seismic charges into its mouth to bring it down. Jabba was only slightly exaggerating when he called the monster “all-powerful.”
• After Boba recovers Slave 1 from Jabba's palace with Fennec's help, he tracks down the Kintan Striders, finding them on the Dune Sea. We're treated to a shot of Boba descending on them from above and then lighting them up with his blaster cannons. The speed bikers have no chance to fight back and can only attempt to flee, but Boba wipes out the entire gang in a single pass. There's a very good reason the ship is designated "Firespray-class."
• Boba Fett has such a reputation that merely stating who he is terrifies a droid into switching itself off.
• Black Krrsantan absolutely decimates a group of Trandoshans, presumably taking out his anger on a species with a long history of enslaving Wookiees. No one in the cantina tries to stop him. Garsa can only offer to erase Krrsantan's tab and then back off when he refuses.
  • Garsa deserves some credit for calmly walking up to a raging Wookiee and attempting to talk him down. She notes how feared Krrsantan is, and yet she doesn't flinch for a second. Her efforts to calm him may not have worked, but, as Boba agrees, it was worth trying.
• During a summit with Jabba's former captains, one asks Boba what's stopping them from just killing him. He gets his answer in the form of the claws and growl of a Rancor.
  Boba: Easy, boy. Easy. [feeds him a scrap of meat] Think he's a little hungry.
• At the end, Boba and Fennec discuss how their overall situation is, namely that while they have finances they're still short on muscle. Fennec says that credits can buy muscle, if you know where to look... and as Boba looks thoughtful, the Mandalorian theme starts playing.

Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian

• Din Djarin makes his appearance hunting a bounty in a meat-packing plant. When his target and minions prove reluctant to leave, he does as the Romans do, whips out the Darksaber, and brings his target in cold... and in pieces.
• On the visual front, Sci-Fi fans get the first on-screen appearance of an honest-to-Maker Ringworld. A small one, as the structure seems to be orbiting a white dwarf, but it's as close to Larry Niven's vision as has ever been seen.
• Din is challenged to a duel by Paz Vizsla over the darksaber on the bottom ringworld, and both remove their jet packs for it, basically making it a sword/knife fight over a bottomless void. Din is losing when using the Darksaber, but manages to fight back and overcome Paz when he grabs for the Darksaber, which, if it was too heavy for Din, is way too heavy for Paz.
• Din gets a new ship, and it's none other than a heavily customised N-1 Starfighter. He takes it for a joyride through the legendary Beggar's Canyon (the same one that Anakin Skywalker once traversed during the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace all those years ago) before going to space and pulling a fancy flyby next to a departing freighter. To top all of that off, he leaves two New Republic X-wings who pull him over in the dust, going so fast that the younger pilot thinks he went to hyperspace.

Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger

• Cobb Vanth vs. four Pykes. The result? Three dead Pykes, with the fourth running away.
• We get to see Grogu and Luke again — with the latter's de-aging CG tech improved considerably, even if still not perfect — and see them train for a considerable length of time, even as Din watches Grogu from a distance during his talk with Ahsoka.
  • At long last, we get the first known canon interaction between Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, giving the Jedi Master a chance to meet the former apprentice to his father. Ahsoka doesn't stay for long, but she indicates that she and Luke will see each other again, opening the door for further meetings between them.
• Grogu has come a long way with his Jedi training, or as Luke puts it, remembering his Jedi training. At the beginning of the episode, he can barely jump an inch off the ground. As Luke nurtures his latent abilities, he eventually starts leap-frogging the way Yoda used to, before just outright crushing Luke's training device with the Force.
• And during the training, Luke demonstrates a series of perfectly-controlled lightsaber moves, showing Grogu what a fully-trained Jedi is capable of.
• Another longstanding Star Wars character makes his live-action debut here: Cad Bane is back! And he proves himself better than Cobb Vanth in a quickdraw.
  • Even better, because they'd have to dub over the voice anyway, Corey Burton is still voicing him.
  • Even more impressive is that in his duel with Cobb Vanth, Cad Bane uses his left hand to fire. People who have watched Cad for years have seen him dual wield, but he primarily uses his right hand when using a single pistol or in a quick draw. Him outdrawing Cobb the way he did not only shows he's faster than him, but he's faster even when he's giving himself a handicap.

Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor

• When Cad Bane is trying to rile up Boba, he (with some help from Fennec) refuses to rise to the bait. Then Bane snarks about how Boba's lost his former edge, only for Boba to indirectly turn the insult right back on him.
  Cad Bane: You're going soft in your old age.
  Boba Fett: We all do.
• Black Krrsantan is last seen in his solo fight being dogpiled by Trandoshans. When he reappears to help the Mandalorians at Sanctuary, he's dragging one of them, who's been holding on for all those blocks while hurling Pykes around. For the kicker, he throws a Pyke over his shoulder and then shoots him in the groin while he's still airborne.
  • Even while wounded and limping, he takes many laser blasts from behind, but just keeps going. Even after that, he physically tries to pierce the battle droid's shields (singing his fur while doing so), takes a heavy kick from its leg, and is still able to move with some help from the mod squad.
• Boba sends Fennec out on a Decapitation Strike. On her way out, she bails out the Mods pinned by the Aqualish gangsters, one of them taking a Railing Kill through an awning into a pair of water barrels.
• While it was delivered by the Majordomo, Boba's "negotiation message" is one hell of a middle finger to the Pykes.
  "I, Boba Fett, speaking as daimyo of the Tatooine territories, formerly held by Jabba the Hutt, do present the following offer: nothing. You will leave this planet and your spice trade. If you refuse these terms, the arid sands of Tatooine will once again flourish with flowered fields, fertilized by the bodies of your dead."
  • Cue Boba Fett and Din Djarin flying into action with blasters blazing, and fending off the Pykes side-by-side and briefly back-to-back.
  • We get to see the utility of Mandalorian jetpacks against superior numbers. The elevated position robs them of cover, sure, but between the mobility the jetpacks afford, improved sight and firing lines, beskar armor, and Mandalorian lethal accuracy, Boba and Din eliminate almost the entire first wave before their feet even hit the ground.
• Right when Boba and Din are about to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of Pyke soldiers and their combined blaster fire, the people of Freetown rush in with an armored speeder with a mounted heavy blaster cannon to even the odds. Turns out that Cad Bane shooting the marshal just pissed the Freetown folks off.
• The Pykes pull out their trump card against Boba Fett: a pair of giant Scorpenek battle droids with Droideka-style shields. While Boba has Din keep them busy, he goes to get his own equalizer: the Rancor, who he rides into battle with, and it is pure awesomeness. Though the shields allow the droids to withstand their blows, once robbed of them, the Rancor shreds the first droid by ripping it in half, and the second one is finished off by being stabbed with its own guns.
  • Every scene involving Boba’s Rancor fighting the Scorpeneks basically plays out like a love letter to Star Wars fans who are also fans of recent Kaiju movies. From the way the camera quakes at each strike and footstep of the Rancor, to the sheer visible weight choreographed behind each of the Rancor’s movements, to everyone on the battlefield stopping cold at the sound of its roars - even the Scorpenek droids - it's obvious that Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau took notes from legendary giant monsters such as Godzilla and King Kong.
  • The level of teamwork between Boba and his Rancor. Boba guides the Rancor in the fight, but mostly lets the beast do what comes naturally... kicking all the ass, while Boba provides some fire support from atop. Notably, the Rancor at one point grabs a Pyke soldier and raises him up to Boba's level so Boba can effortlessly blast him.
  • One of the last Pykes goes into the Rancor's mouth, a well-earned treat for his heroics. Then another takes some potshots, and the Rancor gives an Offhand Backhand, more invested in finishing his snack.
  • Just finally seeing a Rancor in live-action out in the open, not confined in cages barely big enough for it. The things are terrifyingly strong, deceptively agile, exceptionally tough, constantly hungry, fiercely loyal and unrelentingly brutal.
  • To top it all off, many forget that Boba’s Rancor is still just a JUVENILE. The very thought of what it’ll be capable of once it’s fully-grown is both Badass and High-Octane Nightmare Fuel.
• While Boba and the Rancor are fighting one of the battle droids, Din slips under its shield and cripples it with the Darksaber. It throws Din off and tries to stomp him with its legs, until Grogu Force-rips a connecting joint out of its leg.
• Boba and his Rancor get the Pykes on the run, then out-stroll Cad Bane right in front of them. And how does the Clone Wars veteran deal with a fourteen-foot monster? He blasts his wrist flamethrower right into its face, making it throw off its rider in the process. Bane gives it another burst of fire when it looks like it'll try to attack again. The Rancor goes off to rampage elsewhere.
  • This time, we get to see an actual showdown between Boba Fett and Cad Bane.
    Boba: Don't toy with me. I'm not a little boy anymore, and you are an old man.
    Bane: I'm still faster than you.
    Boba: That may be, but I have armor.
    Bane: Let's find out.
• Cad Bane spends the whole episode taunting Boba over the fact that the Tuskens were killed by the Pykes, not the speeder gang. Boba finally kills Bane using the Gaderffi he made with them.
  • Though Cad Bane dies, he does get the last laugh on Boba, stating he always knew that Boba was a killer deep down. In a strange sense, this is how Bane has always wanted to go down: killed by his own student mercilessly in an epic final duel rather than dying of old age in an obscure retirement home. However, Bane being killed by a weapon that represents camaraderie can also be seen as a Shut Up, Hannibal! moment by Boba Fett for thinking that Virtue Is Weakness.
• Din tries to calm the raging Rancor, but it proves to be too much for him, ultimately knocking him painfully to the ground. Grogu then steps forward to use the Force to soothe the scared and angry Rancor. Even when the creature gives a ferocious roar in the little guy's face, Grogu doesn't even flinch as he looks up at it. He simply puts his hand up, makes a Force connection with the animal's mind, and soothes it to sleep in seconds.
  • Doubly awesome when you remember what he was taught in the previous episode; though he may not be under Luke's tutelage anymore, it's clear Grogu has at least taken one thing to heart from his former master and from Yoda as well by proxy: "Size matters not."
• Remember that decapitation strike Fennec got sent on? Pure Mook Horror Show. She takes out the Mayor, the head of the Pykes, and the other bosses who betrayed Boba in seconds, without being seen. Master assassin indeed.
• After the credits for the episode, we get one final shot: Cobb Vanth still alive, in Boba's bacta tank, with the Mod doctor getting ready to work on the wounded marshal.
• Just as this episode shows us why people are so terrified of Rancors, it also reprises the brief flashback in The Mandalorian, showing us why the Droid Army of the Separatists was a terrifying force to anyone who didn't happen to be a Jedi, or super soldiers trained from childhood and led by Jedi. Just two Scorpenek are enough to nearly destroy Boba and his allies - if not for the intervention of a Rancor and a Jedi trainee, they would have all died.