The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 7 review!

The Book of Boba Fett has wrapped up, with the seventh and final episode of the first season premiering today.

We don’t yet know if there will be a second season of the show, but the showrunners did bring a satisfying conclusion to this story, whether we see the continuation of it in this series or whether it happens in a different one. With the Pykes ready to launch an attack to claim Tatooine, Boba Fett rallies his forces for a desperate yet determined final stand.

Let’s jump in to our review for The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7, “In the Name of Honor.” And be warned that, as always, full spoilers are ahead!

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SUMMARY:

Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Din Djarin take in the wreckage of Garsa Fwip’s casino, preparing for the war that is to come. Meanwhile, Cad Bane reports back to Mos Eisley, where the Pyke leader is meeting with the Mayor of Mos Espa. The Pyke leader reveals that it was they who killed the Tuskens, and Bane says he can lure Boba Fett out of the casino. Fett and Fennec strategically place their forces at different points throughout the city so that the Pykes won’t be able to sneak up on them… but Bane shows up unannounced, accompanied by Pyke snipers. Bane and Boba acknowledge their shared history together, and Bane then reveals that it was the Pykes who killed the Tuskens, and that Marshall Cobb Vanth’s reinforcements aren’t coming. At this Boba is ready to fight back, but Fennec talks him out of it, telling him there will be another time – but on his terms rather than Bane’s.

Meanwhile, a lone X-Wing shows up and arrives at Peli Motto’s shop in Mos Eisley – it’s R2-D2 bringing Grogu back to Din Djarin. The Mandalorian, though, is not there but is at Garsa’s casino with Boba and Fennec. They hear from the mods, who realize something is wrong. Suddenly, the other crime families – the ones that Boba seemingly persuaded to stay neutral – all begin attacking. They kill some of the mods in one part of the city, they kill the Gamorreans in another part of the city, and they overrun Krrsantan in yet another part. Boba sends Fennec to rush to Mos Eisley and deal with the Pyke leadership, hopefully before it’s too late – but before she does, she stops by the Mods and saves them.

With only Boba and Djarin left at the casino (along with the Mayor’s Majordomo and Boba’s droid), the Pykes begin mounting in numbers outside. Boba refuses to flee, as he wants to protect the people, and Djarin refuses to leave him behind, as he’s loyal to the creed. They decide they will both die with honor, at which the Majordomo offers another solution: he can represent Boba’s terms of surrender to the enemy. Boba agrees, writing down his terms on a tablet, which the Majordomo takes out to the Pykes. As he starts reading, however, he is surprised that Boba is accepting no terms and is not surrendering – and at this, Boba and Djarin launch a surprise attack on the Pykes, flying in with their jetpacks and fighting back. They fight together, covering one another as they’re hit, and make full use of their vast arsenal of weaponry. But they are nonetheless overrun by too many Pykes… when reinforcements arrive from Freetown. The Mods then show up, as does Krrsantan – who takes heavy fire as he approaches, causing Boba to leave his cover to rescue him.

Boba’s gang fights back, but their victory is only momentary as heavily-shielded droid walkers appear. Boba orders the others to flee while he and Djarin draw the fire of the walkers, but they can’t manage to penetrate the shields. Boba asks Djarin to protect the others while he flies away to get reinforcements. Not long after this, Peli Motto finds Djarin and finds herself caught in the firefight – and Djarin is surprised to see Grogu again. The two share a touching moment while racing away from the walkers, but they are soon caught, while meanwhile the others begin to stake out and prepare to fight back against the Pykes and the walkers. But as the walkers close in on Djarin, Boba shows up riding his Rancor, and the Rancor destroys the droid – along with some help from Djarin (using the darksaber) and Grogu (using the Force). The Rancor takes out the droids, and Djarin and the others pursue the Pykes to drive them away.

But Cad Bane shows up to face Boba Fett, and he uses his flamethrower to stun the Rancor, who throws Boba off his back and runs loose throughout the city. Boba and Bane face off, and Bane beats him to the draw, shooting him multiple times. Bane approaches Boba and pins him down, removing his helmet and preparing to kill him, when Boba uses his gaffi stick to take Bane down, killing him. Djarin, meanwhile, tries to calm the rampaging Rancor but can not; Grogu, however, uses the Force to put the Rancor to sleep. Back in Mos Espa, the Pyke leader prepares to flee the planet, upsetting the other crime families that had allied with them instead of Fett. But Fennec arrives, killing each of the leaders, the Mayor, and the Pyke boss, putting an end to their trouble on Tatooine.

Later, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand walk through the streets of Mos Espa, and the people bow and pay respect to Boba as he walks by, honoring him as the new daimyo. He tells Fennec that they aren’t cut out for ruling, but that they’ll find some one who can. They approach their gang, including the Mods and Krrsantan and the rabbit droid from Jabba’s Palace, and share a moment together. Meanwhile, Djarin and Grogu leave the planet in the N1 starfighter, while Grogu convinces Djarin to use the sublight thrusters once more.

In a credits scene, we see Cobb Vanth in the bacta tank in Boba’s Palace, with the same Mod who saved Fennec preparing to work on him.

REVIEW:

This was a satisfying finale, tying up a lot of threads and delivering on some really thrilling action sequences. It wasn’t perfect, but it was still really good and enjoyable. One of the interesting things about the finale, however, is that because it went mostly as we could have guessed and expected, there’s a bit less to really break down and speculate about. But I suppose that’s going to be the case with a finale like this, as it’s tying up an inordinate amount of threads that had been thrown out as the season went on.

Let’s start with Boba Fett, who returned to center stage this week after two episodes where he was really nothing more than a cameo. Boba was the focus here, and that means both in the action sequences and in the emotional stakes (but not the ending, which I’ll get to in a moment). He was undoubtedly the focal point of the show’s first four episodes, but that was almost exclusively about his character arc rather than exciting action sequences. There weren’t many in the first six episodes, but the finale certainly delivers on that front. There are three of them that really stand out. The first is when Boba and Din Djarin fight alongside one another against the Pykes, and what was especially great about this one was how both of them made use of so many of their different weapons, as well as their jetpacks. The way Boba used his blasters, his knee rockets, his wrist rocket, etc., was fantastic, and I loved it. The second moment, then, was one we had long seen coming: Boba riding the Rancor into battle. This was foreshadowed when the Rancor keeper told Boba that the Nightsisters on Dathomir used to ride them, and Boba said he wanted to learn. We didn’t actually see him learning it, but I’m not as upset about that as others might be, because I think it works well that the first time we see Boba riding the Rancor is when he’s arriving heroically with backup to save the day. It’s a great reveal. And while it did kind of feel odd that the Pykes had these droid walkers (which were unused prequel designs, which was awesome), and while it did kind of feel like they were just used to provide a big “boss” for the Rancor to fight, seeing the Rancor in action was awesome.

The third action sequence was when Boba faced off with Cad Bane. I really appreciated how this episode leaned into acknowledging the history between the two of them, and Bane even mentioned having taught Boba some things (all of which further implies that the unfinished arc from The Clone Wars is considered by storytellers to be canon). I will say that I think they should have brought Bane into this season much earlier and dove deeper into his character and his rivalry with Boba, as I think it would have made a lot of sense and helped narratively to have him as the main villain throughout (the Pykes just never seemed totally compelling as villains). But anyway, having Bane quicker on the draw than Boba, yet having Boba win by utilizing his gaffi stick, was something I think many of us had thought and hoped would happen, and it was satisfying when it did. It represented Boba’s growth and progress in this show. We long assumed that there was more behind the Tuskens’ deaths than the Nikto bikers (as even Fennec Shand expressed doubt that those bikers could do it), and it is indeed revealed that the Pykes were behind it. This gives some emotional weight to Boba in this episode, but he listens to Fennec and doesn’t attack Cad Bane right away – prompting Bane to accuse him of going soft in his old age. What’s interesting with that is that it’s the same thing some fans accused Boba of throughout this series, all without realizing that it was part of his character’s development. The fact that the villain is now accusing him of it should be a clear indication that this show doesn’t view Boba’s growth as weakness, unlike Cad Bane. In fact, Bane represents the contrast with Boba in important ways: Bane taunts Boba for being the same old cold blooded killer that he’s always been, where in reality it’s Bane that hasn’t changed. He’s still the merciless bounty hunter for hire, just like he’s always been. These two have known each other a long time, and they represent a contrast in this series: one has given up his old ways and tried to be better, while the other is the same as always. It’s like Obi-Wan Kenobi responds to Maul’s taunting in Rebels: when Maul says “look what has become of you,” Kenobi responds, “look what I have risen above.” That’s Cad Bane for Boba Fett here.

So then why does Boba kill Bane? After all, Bane’s last words were that he knew Fett was a killer… and this happens right before Boba actually kills him. I think it’s clear that Boba isn’t exactly a shining example of a good guy, and he’s still got some rage in him – but he’s now motivated by something different. Before it was all about himself, but now it’s all about his tribe. That’s been a big message of this series: Boba found his tribe with the Tuskens, and he’s tried to build his tribe as the daimyo. Everyone around him to start the episode was personally helped by Boba, and he makes it clear that he’s not going to leave the people of Mos Espa behind. He’s staying to fight. He’s not fleeing. While the Pyke leader and the other leaders hide out in Mos Eisley, far away from the fighting, Boba literally fights in the streets for the people. There’s a powerful message there about how Boba isn’t just in it for himself any longer. That’s the point. It’s not that Boba is some heroic Jedi who avoids taking life; he’s still got some rage, but it’s funneled in a different direction. He has a family now, and he’s motivated by more than just himself.

The same is true of Din Djarin, who is reunited with Grogu. I think we all saw it coming when Luke presented the Child with the choice at the end of last week’s episode, and this week they’re brought back together – and Grogu actually winds up stepping in and saving Djarin twice, showing how he’s growing more and more in his powers even though he’s given up his Jedi training. It’s pretty cool to see Grogu growing into more of part of the team rather than just the prize everyone’s after, and the moment with him and Din in the N1 starfighter at the end of the episode was so good. I loved it. But I also have somewhat mixed feelings about this whole storyline. I don’t mind Grogu returning to Din; it’s surprising, but I think it works and I’m on board with it. But I can’t help feeling like this deserved more than a couple of episodes in a show about Boba Fett to develop that! The end of The Mandalorian season two was so emotional and the culmination of a two-season arc of getting Grogu to the Jedi. Din Djarin’s mission was done. And now, by the start of The Mandalorian season three, Grogu’s back with Djarin for good. I’m good with the story they’re telling with Din and Grogu, but I feel like it could have been given more time to really flesh out where the characters are at and the implications of it. That’s a relatively minor complaint, and it’s about more than just this one episode, but I just wish we’d have had a bit more chance to deal with it.

I also find it curious that the final scene of this episode focused on Djarin and Grogu rather than Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, and the typical ending music from The Mandalorian was playing as it did. I don’t have a strong opinion on this one, but I do think it’s a pretty telling choice: this story has been a bit of a side trail on Boba Fett, but it’s really about the Mandalorian. If that wasn’t clear before, this is yet another indication of it.

Speaking of the ending, though, it’s especially interesting that Boba Fett is now telling Fennec, “We are not suited for this.” Fennec finally seems to have come around to Boba’s way of ruling, the people finally respect him as the daimyo, and now Boba realizes he’s not cut out for this. It’s an interesting conclusion to the season narrative, and we’re left wondering who it might be that would rule in his place. While this episode didn’t really set up a ton of cliffhangers for another season, and while we don’t know if another season is coming or not, this is the aspect that I expect to be picked up on at some point. And I have a theory as to who it might be…

COBB VANTH LIVES!! The episode really made it seem like he died, and I was sad about that, but then in the credits we see that he’s in the bacta tank and about to get some cybernetic enhancements to keep him alive (although I’m not sure why the bacta isn’t good enough for just a shoulder wound…). And I wonder if Vanth might be the one who Boba turns to instead, as one who can rule Tatooine? He’s been doing it for Mos Pelgo, and maybe he can operate on a larger scale? Doing so, in turn, would allow Fett to do some other things – like, say, return the favor for Din Djarin and help him in a quest to re-take Mandalore? That’s all a discussion for another day probably, but it’s interesting that Boba seems to no longer have much interest in ruling.

Overall, I thought this was a very enjoyable episode filled with a lot of fun and exciting moments. Though there’s elements of the story as a whole that I still find a bit curious, that’s more about the overall structure of the season rather than this one episode – this episode did a really good job of tying together a lot of different threads and delivering a satisfying and thrilling finale.