Having taken over Jabba's operation from Bib Fortuna, Boba Fett works to establish his base of power. During this time, Boba also dreams of his escape from the Sarlacc and subsequent capture by Tusken Raiders.
Tropes:
- Acrophobic Bird: Boba Fett, surrounded by enemies with handheld energy shields and spears, does not simply use his jetpack to fly into the air and attack from that angle, instead remaining on the ground while having his jetpack on.
- Action Girl: The Tusken chieftain's second-in-command, who easily defeats Boba when he attempts to escape (she's played by Joanna Bennett, a Stunt Double for both Brie Larson in Captain Marvel and Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman). And of course master assassin Fennec, who acts as The Lancer for Boba in his new role as crime lord.
- Amazing Technicolor Population:
- Most Rodians shown onscreen in Star Wars are some shade of green, but the one enslaved alongside Boba has red skin. It's unknown if this is his natural color or a result of being stuck out in Tatooine's sun(s) for far too long.
- Twi'leks include a green male and paler female.
- And I Must Scream: Boba's situation in the Sarlacc's belly is a horrific experience. He's trapped in a slimy stomach with acid coating his armor and barely has any oxygen in his helmet. When he turns on his light scanner, he sees a Stormtrooper stuck on the wall, partially digested, highlighting the eventual fate of Boba if he doesn't escape. The Stormtrooper seems to be dead but if any part of the Sarlacc legend is true, then the worst-case scenario is that they're still alive but unable to move or scream as they're slowly digested for a thousand years.
- Attack Backfire: A literal example. Boba tries to use his Arm Cannon on the assassins, but their shields completely reflect the blast and it only staggers him and Fennec.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Boba Fett's two Gamorrean guards once served as guards for Jabba the Hutt and later to Bib Fortuna, refusing to surrender even after their masters had been killed. Recognizing their loyalty, Boba asks if they would extend that loyalty to him if he were to spare them both. Both kneel to him on the spot. Both then have a Big Damn Heroes moment saving Fett and Shand from the hit squad in Mos Espa, and even haul the injured Boba back to his bacta pod in the aftermath.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Boba and Fennec are losing to the assassins when the Gamorreans rush in and start swinging, breaking their formation and allowing Boba and Fennec to fight back.
- The sand monster is about to eat the Tusken kid when Boba kills it. Of course, it would have eaten him as well (and was about to earlier when the Tusken distracted it), but this act earns Boba the respect of the tribe.
- Big Guy Rodeo: Boba jumps on the back of the sand monster to wrap his chain around its neck. The monster tries reaching behind it with its claws, but Boba holds on and manages to strangle it.
- Bratty Half-Pint: The young Tusken Raider is this to Boba for most of his time with the tribe, first leading the other young Tuskens in beating Boba for fun, then dragging him roughly to dig for water out in the desert with the threat of more abuse.
- Break the Haughty: The flashback opening shows that Boba's trip into the Sarlaac pit was just the beginning of his troubles. After he clawed his way out, Jawas stole his armor and stunned him, then he was enslaved by Tuskens, their children beat him, then one of their warriors gave him a Curb-Stomp Battle when he barely managed an escape.
- Butt-Monkey:
- The unlucky Stormtrooper that Boba finds in the Sarlacc's stomach. How that trooper ended up in the belly with Boba remains a mystery, but there's no denying this is yet another sign of the Stormtroopers' universal misfortune. And if that trooper was still alive, then they had further misfortune when Boba cuts their life-support cord just to get extra oxygen (though in this case, that would be a Mercy Kill, considering the hellish nature of the Sarlacc).
- Ever since Greedo tried to confront Han Solo and got a blaster bolt for his troubles, the Rodians have been universally featured as unfortunate losers in nearly every appearance they make in all timelines and continuities. So the moment it's shown that a Rodian was also being held prisoner by the Tuskens, it is inevitable that he would meet a similarly unfortunate end (though in that case he's an Asshole Victim).
- The Cameo:
- Max Rebo and a male Bith with a string instrument (likely one of Figrin D'an's band, though not D'an himself) appear playing a gig at the Sanctuary, performing what sounds like a flamenco/salsa version of "Mad About Me".
- An RX droid from Star Tours shows up in the same scene as a dealer.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Boba witnesses a raid by speeder bike riders on a farm, with the raiders painting the sigil of the Kintan Striders Gang on a wall.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: While Boba insists on ruling with respect rather than fear, Fennec suggests using some of the more traditional ways — like Cold-Blooded Torture — because that is what's expected of him.
- Combat Pragmatist: The assassins surround Boba and Fennec six-to-two, use ray shields to box them in, and electrified prods to disable them. If not for the Gammoreans, they likely would have won.
- Control Freak: Downplayed, but the conversations between Boba and Fennec (particularly the latter's comments that Jabba's rule of his criminal empire didn't involve the frequent face-to-face approach Boba is using) suggest this is how Boba's attempts at being Affably Evil is coming off to the mistrustful Tatooine underworld.
- Creator Cameo: Showrunner Robert Rodriguez briefly appears as the Trandoshan paying tribute.
- Decapitation Presentation: Boba and the Tusken youth bring the severed head of the sand monster back to the Tusken camp as proof that it's dead.
- Dented Iron: Bacta treatment has markedly improved Boba's condition over his last appearance in The Mandalorian, but he's still not at 100%, and the attempted assassination toward the end of episode weakens him considerably, forcing him to leave the capture of the assassins to Fennec.
- Disaster Scavengers: In the flashback of Boba's escape from the Sarlacc's stomach, a bunch of Jawas are attracted by the wreck of the Khetanna (Jabba's barge) nearby, find a semi-unconscious Boba and steal his armor, knocking him out when he wakes up to resist.
- Double-Meaning Title: The flashbacks depict Boba as a stranger to his Tusken captors, in the strange land of the Dune Sea. In the present, Boba becomes a stranger to uncooperative Mos Espa denizens, in the "strange land" of leading a criminal organization.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: In Anakin's time, Tusken gender roles were segregated, with men as warriors and women as homemakers. Whether because of differing tribe rules or social progression in the next 26 years, the clan Boba encounters contains women warriors in its ranks, and they're equally as brutal in battle as the men.
- Evil Wears Black: The Tusken Raiders who enslaved Boba wear black robes mixed in with their usual sand brown, along with additional spikes and fearsome adornments. This may indicate them to be a more hostile tribe than the rather negotiable Sand People that Din Djarin met, who wore traditional robes.
- Exact Words: Boba issues the order "Alive" to Fennec as she's about to pursue the two remaining assassins. Fennec takes this to mean she only needs one of them alive, so she captures both then kicks one off the building as a warning to the other.
- Flashback: The episode opens on Boba in a bacta tank, flashing back to his escape from the Sarlacc. This is split into the first and third parts of the episode, with the middle focusing on the present until Boba is forced to return to the tank.
- Fire-Forged Friends: After Boba defeats a sand monster and saves a juvenile Tusken, the chieftan begins to treat him with greater respect instead of enslaving him again.
- Forgot About His Powers: Boba is surrounded by assassins who box him in with energy shields but he doesn't use his jetpack to escape.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Subverted. The Sarlacc's digestive acids are indeed very slow — showcased by a Stormtrooper who's clearly been in the Sarlacc far longer than Boba — and Boba has Beskar armor to protect him from the corroding effects. But Boba immediately begins gasping for air once he wakes up and has to sip up all the oxygen in the Stormtrooper's life-support before he claws his way out of the stomach. When the Jawas remove his armor from his body, it's revealed that some of the Sarlacc's acid made it onto his face and horribly scarred him.
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: Gender-Inverted with a green-skinned male Twi'lek. Even Fennec can be seen giving a downward glance.
- Happiness in Slavery: The Rodian prisoner of the Tuskens shows no attempt at trying to escape. When Boba cuts his bonds and offers to do the same for his fellow captive, the Rodian sounds the alarm, foiling Fett's chance for freedom. Then when made to dig for water for the Tuskens, the Rodian seems to respond to their finds with joy, and ignores all of Boba's offers to break them both out. However, for all of the Rodian’s loyalty, the Tusken juvenile doesn't return the favor when push comes to shove and the sand monster unceremoniously kills the slave with no rescue from the Tusken.
- Honor Before Reason: Boba defies many of the usual crime lord tropes — killing to make a point, being Too Important to Walk, and so forth — despite their utility because he insists on ruling with respect, not fear.
- Hypocritical Humor: When the assassins flee, Boba, too injured to continue fighting, spitefully blows up one of them with a wrist rocket. He then turns to Fennec and simply orders "Alive" for the remaining two.
- Idiot Ball:
- Boba and Fennec go strolling into Mos Espa to collect tribute from one of Jabba's ex-vassals. Fennec actually lampshades it, pointing out that Jabba was rarely seen outside the safety of his palace — and not long after, the two of them are ambushed by a cadre of would-be assassins, who surround them with ray shields and electropoles.
- Rather than use his jetpack to escape to a more advantageous position, Boba fires a rocket straight into one of the shields; it detonates about three feet from his face and bowls both him and Fennec over.
- Fennec, meanwhile, despite being renowned as the deadliest Cold Sniper in the galactic underworld, doesn't have her rifle or even a sidearm at the time of the attempted assassination, and is forced to fight unarmed until she wrestles a polearm away from one of the assailants.
- Iron Butt Monkey: Despite being eaten by the Sarlacc, exposed to the intense heat of Tatooine, robbed by Jawas, and taken into slavery by the Tusken Raiders, who constantly thwart his escape attempts, Boba persists through all of it. Even in the present day, when he gets pounded by assassins, he still has enough prowess to beat them back and even blows one up with a wrist rocket.
- I Want Them Alive!: Boba tells Fennec to capture one of the fleeing assassins alive. She corners two, then kicks one off the roof to make a point to the survivor.
- Karmic Death: The Rodian that rats Boba out during an escape attempt is eventually killed by a monster when both were digging for water under the Tusken overseer. Even more karmic is that Boba ends up killing the monster and earning the Tuskens' respect, ensuring that he'll be better treated by the tribe while the Rodian remains dead and forgotten in the sands.
- Kill It with Fire: Boba uses his flamethrower when he was trapped in the sarlacc, allowing him to escape from it.
- Mayor Pain: With Jabba and Bib gone, the mayor of Mos Espa feels confident enough to blow off Boba and, given what's said by his majordomo, is implied to be responsible for trying to have Boba and Fennec killed.
- Mythology Gag: Boba kills the sand monster the same way that Leia killed Jabba the Hutt back in Return of the Jedi — by wrapping his chains round its neck and strangling it to death.
- Near-Death Experience: Boba's ordeal escaping the Saarlac.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Boba offers to free a Rodian being held with him by the Tuskens. The Rodian starts screaming and Boba's quiet escape is cut short.
- Out of the Frying Pan: Boba's escape from the Sarlacc is revealed to be the beginning of his misfortune rather than the end. He escapes the beast's thousand-year digestion, only to pass out from exposure to the chemicals in its stomach. A bunch of Jawas steal his armor, leaving him exposed and defenseless to the harsh environment. And then the Tusken Raiders find and take him as their prisoner to slave away for water.
- Le Parkour: The assassins escape up the walls and by Roof Hopping once the Gamorreans turn the tables. Fennec follows with equal grace.
- Pet the Dog: Boba spares the lives of two Gamorreans who worked for Jabba and then Fortuna, and they immediately pledge fealty to him. This kindness is repaid when they save him and Fennec from an ambush.
- Pocket Rocket Launcher: The title character uses micro-rockets fired from his Mandalorian gauntlets against a group of assassins.
- P.O.V. Cam: When Boba escapes from the Sarlacc and crawls out of the sand pit, there's a shot from his POV, looking up at the sky through a T-shaped cutout (matching the shape of his visor).
- Prisoner's Dilemma: Bitterly lampshaded by Boba while digging for water, as he knows he and the Rodian stood a better chance of making a bid for freedom together instead of the guy sounding the alarm to save his own skin.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The Tusken Chieftain who runs the village that Boba was enslaved by projects authority without even saying a word. When Boba escapes in the night and is pursued by seven Tuskens and one massiff, the Chieftain gives Boba the opportunity to earn his freedom through Trial by Combat against the villages' champion instead of all of the Raiders ganging up on an obviously dehydrated and exhausted Boba. Later on, when Boba has killed the sand monster while saving the young warrior, the Chieftain gives Boba some water.
- Reality Has No Subtitles: None of the alien languages spoken in the episode are subtitled. Boba even lampshades the situation by saying that they really ought to get a protocol droid after a long speech by an alien offering tribute that neither he nor Fennec can understand a word of.
- The Reveal:
- Nearly forty years after we saw Boba Fett fall into the Sarlacc Pit, we finally learn how he escaped from it (the Legends timeline notwithstanding): by using his flamethrower to burn the Sarlacc alive from the inside.
- Boba was robbed by Jawas after escaping the Sarlacc, showing how his armor ended up with Cobb Vanth. Additionally, his capture and eventual acceptance by the Tusken Raider tribe shows how he came by his Tusken Raider equipment in his official reintroduction.
- Series Continuity Error: A justified example. In the flashback to Attack of the Clones where Boba Fett is looking at his father's helmet shortly after his death, the corpse of the Reek is noticeably absent from the background of the shot even though it was prominently included originally. (In addition, the destroyed Battle Droids are strewn in a different pattern in the background than they were in the original film.) However, the scene in question is established as how Boba specifically remembers the scene rather than how the audience does, and the shot itself emphasizes that the young Fett is all alone after Jango was killed. Possibly subverted in that the positioning of certain objects implies that the Reek may still be there, but may just be out-of-frame.
- Shoot the Messenger: Averted. The mayor of Mos Espa's representative doesn't bring tribute and says the mayor is actually asking to be given tribute instead. Fennec thinks the guy should be killed to make a point. However, Boba says he just works for the mayor, so there'd be no point.
- Shout-Out:
- The sand monster looks a lot like Ray Harryhausen's Kraken from the original Clash of the Titans (itself a Reused Character Design from 20 Million Miles to Earth, also by Harryhausen), right down to its facial structure and number of limbs. It's also structured and walks like a centaur and Boba does a Big Guy Rodeo on it — Harryhausen created a Stop Motion centaur for The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, in which one of Sinbad's men also does a Big Guy Rodeo on it. Phil Tippett has stated that Harryhausen was a big influence on him, so it seems very fitting.
- Boba climbing out of the Sarlacc Pit is a shot-by-shot recreation from Patton Oswalt's memorable filibuster in an episode of Parks and Recreation.
- The episode title itself is a reference to the famous sci-fi novel of the same name.
- Stock Footage: The flashback to a younger Boba Fett (played by Daniel Logan) looking at his father Jango's empty helmet makes use of alternate takes from Attack of the Clones, with the sole exception of the over-the-shoulder shot of him looking at the helmet that uses a Fake Shemp instead.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- The horrifying scenario of being digested alive by the Sarlacc for over a thousand years... is revealed to be an exaggerated story told to scare people. Boba has been in the Sarlacc's belly for barely a day before he starts gasping for air. Had he not found a seemingly dead Stormtrooper's oxygen tank, he would have likely suffocated to death before he can even feel the new definition of pain and suffering for the next thousand years.
- Boba is a legendary badass, so we expect him to easily defeat a Tusken Raider in single combat. However, Boba is badly injured, severely dehydrated, has no armor and only has a small club for a weapon. The Tusken is a seasoned warrior well-conditioned for the environment who clearly knows how to use her long metal staff. As such, Boba is quickly disarmed and knocked out.
- In The Mandalorian, we saw Boba and Fennec utterly destroy squads of stormtroopers, so one would expect them to easily take out a bunch of assassins. However, the assassins have the element of surprise and know what they're doing. Their shields nullify Boba's weapons and Fennec's acrobatics, and give the pair no space to maneuver. Without the help from the Gamorreans, Boba and Fennec would have been brought down with shock batons and then finished off on the ground. Even the best fighters can be easily taken down if they're outnumbered and surrounded by competent adversaries.
- Boba, a Walking Armory who favors explosives, learns the hard way that you shouldn't shoot a rocket at a guy holding a shield less than a meter away from you.
- There's also the matter of the very premise of Boba taking over Jabba's empire. While some are clearly willing to accommodate as long as the business is booming (like Garsa Fwip), others (like the Mayor) will be more inclined to begin inching for power and territory for themselves, Klingon Promotion-style or otherwise.
- There's also the matter of Boba's Honor Before Reason. On a Death World and Wretched Hive like Tatooine, crime lords like Jabba and Bib Fortuna thrived on Might Makes Right. With Boba intending to rule with respect, major power players like Mos Espa's Mayor don't take him as seriously and warn him that other, less friendly "delegations" may come for him, and Fennec constantly warns Boba to Make an Example of Them. Sure enough, someone is confident enough to hire a squad of assassins that almost kill Boba and Fennec (if not for the Gammorean bodyguards Boba employed) specifically because Boba didn't crack enough skulls to secure his rule.
- Thrown from the Zeppelin: Suggested but averted. New crime boss Boba Fett demands tribute and pledges of loyalty from the local bigwigs. The mayor refuses to give any and tries to shake him down for a bribe. Fennec suggests killing his majordomo, but Boba settles for threatening the messenger, as he doesn't think killing the lackey would accomplish anything.
- Too Important to Walk: Defied by Boba himself — when Fennec suggests that he be carried in a litter like the Hutts were, Boba insists on walking himself.Fennec: You should have let them carry you on a litter.
Boba: I'm not being carried around the streets like a useless noble.
Fennec: It is a sign of power to the people of Mos Espa. They're used to seeing the Hutts paraded around the streets. Things would go a lot smoother if you accepted their ways. - Took a Level in Badass: For possibly the first time in Star Wars, Gamorreans (specifically Boba's two new bodyguards) actually prove to be competent fighters instead of their usual status as jobbers, even killing a couple of the assassins who ambush Boba and Fennec. And only with shortswords to boot.
- Trauma Conga Line: Boba managed to fight his way out of the Sarlacc. From there, his armor was stolen by Jawas, he was captured by Tusken Raiders, and forced to work as their prisoner until managing to earn their trust.
- Undying Loyalty: The two Gamorrean guards that Boba employs; they originally served Jabba and later Bib Fortuna, maintaining their loyalty to their former masters even after they were killed. Boba respects this resolve of theirs and spares their lives in exchange for them serving as his guards, which both accept. When Boba is severely injured, the two Gamorreans quickly take their master back to the palace and put him inside of the bacta pod to save his life.
- Villain Takes an Interest: The Tusken Chieftain, who early in the episode seems to barely consider Boba worth looking at, in the finale hands him a water melon after Boba proves his worth by killing a dangerous sand monster and saving a young warrior.
- Womb Level: The Sarlacc Pit when Boba wakes up trapped inside of it.
- Worf Had the Flu:
- Boba is handily beaten by the Tusken chieftan's second-in-command, both because she's just that good and because he's in terrible shape, having had no chance to receive proper medical attention for the acid bath, then suffering from exposure and being marched across the desert until he couldn't stand.
- Boba was shown in The Mandalorian to still be a deadly and near-invincible combatant even before regaining his armor and weapons and then afterwards, after having some years to recover from his injuries. When attacked by the assassins in the present day, however, he makes serious tactical errors that allow the assassins to get the jump on him and Fennec, and the constant shocks eventually force him to retreat to his bacta tank to recuperate.
