The Book of Boba Fett, Episode 7 Review

CONTAINS SPOILERS

The Book of Boba Fett has been a mixed bag.  There have been highlights (such as the arrival of the Mandalorian, which was met with cheers in our household) and lowlights (the introduction of the Mods has been a real "What??!" moment).  This final episode is similar, with some genuinely awesome high points, and some strange moments that raise a few eyebrows and a few questions.

Firstly: Boba, Fennec and Mando (along with the Mayor's Assistant) visit the scene of the Sanctuary bombing.  This is not ignored or played down; it was a declaration of war from the Pykes, and Boba knows it.  His thinly-spread army are monitoring the situation on three fronts in Mos Espa - the Gamorrean guards; the Mods and Black Krrysant are out on patrol.  Does anybody else think this is a bad idea, or is it just the way it's filmed that shows large crowds of people outnumbering our heroes?

There are a few very interesting lines of dialogue early on in the episode which are strangely inaccurate.

Boba Fett, looking around the ruins of the Sanctuary bar:  "We are at war... even if we win, there might not be anything left of this city."  Okay, so that one is proved to be true.

Fennec Shrand: "The Pyke Syndicate has not yet arrived in numbers, but the minute they do, we will see them before they see us.  The truce you negotiated will ensure that they remain neutral, and we will have the upper hand over the arriving soldiers."

To quote Luke Skywalker: "Every word of what you just said was wrong."

As if to prove the point, Cad Bane appears at the front door of the Sanctuary bar - "I thought you said nobody could sneak up on us."  The discussion is short, and highlights just how many times Boba has been wrong throughout the series.  The Tusken raiders were killed by the Pyke Syndicate; and then to add to the list, "He killed Vance; the reinforcements aren't coming."  Is anybody keeping track of the inaccurate comments?

It very quickly degenerates - all three reconnaissance groups are attacked by the locals: the other crime families who promised Boba that they would stay out of any future battles instead betray him, and without warning attack Boba's troops.  Spread thinly, and unable to join forces with each other, their situation looks bleak.  Indeed, the Gamorrean guards are forced back over a precipice - I have to say that I was sorry to see them go.  Fennec races off from the Sanctuary to support the Mods, leaving Boba and Mando - and the Mayor's Assistant - preparing to defend their central position.  The Pykes seem to have unlimited numbers, and the heroes are desperately outnumbered.  So much for 'not yet arrived in numbers'.  The crime families have all made a deal with the Pyke Syndicate to get Boba Fett off the planet.

Meanwhile, Grogu has made his decision:  Mandalorian way or Jedi training?  R2D2 pilots an X-wing to Tattoine, landing at Peli Motto's repair station (she fixed up Mando's new Naboo fighter).  She's delighted to see him again (as we all are) and notes he's wearing his new Beskar shirt.  R2D2 leaves Grogu with Peli, who will take him to be reunited with Mando.

At the Sanctuary bar, the Mayor's Assistant plays a useful role - yeah, you don't say that very often - by buying Mando and Boba the time they need to prepare a counter-attack.  His wordiness is ideal for stalling for time, as he embarks on a long speech in front of the Pykes... which seems to end badly.  I genuinely feared for his personal safety, and thought he was going to get shot - by a member of either side.

It all falls apart, and in a highlight of the episode, Boba and Mando fly into the scene, jetpacks firing, and guns blasting - and they can't miss.  The Pykes can't shoot straight, and it looks like the battle might turn... until the Pykes start finding their aim.  Boba and Mando fight as a great team, each covering the other's back, but their Beskar armour starts to feel the strain.  The only complain I have is that there are far too many Pyke soldiers to be plausible - to quote Boba, "They just keep coming."  Still, a fight is only a fight when it's balanced, and the people of Freetown come in on a light hovertank, more guns blasting... and still they're outnumbered and pinned down.  Black Krrsantan, previously thought gone, also manages to stage a retreat to the Sanctuary bar.  Indeed, the soldiers note that the Pyke "are falling back."  Except that's just to make way for Scorpenek droids (like the Destroyer Droids from Episodes 1 and 2, or like something out of RoboCop, and with very heavy shields).

There then follows a very long and futile attempt to destroy these droids by defeating their shields.  It's not going to work... and in fact, you have to wonder why the Pykes didn't start off with these droids in the first place.  It's a running battle, which means the heroes are running away and failing to make any progress at all against the Scorpenek droids.  It all looks grim (hasn't it always?), until Peli Motto manages to catch up with the Mandalorian (with precious cargo in tow).  The sequence where Grogu and Mando are reunited, and Mando realises that Grogu is wearing his little Beskar shirt, is the best moment of the series.  Sorry, Boba, but it is; you became a supporting character from the second that Mando appeared at the start of episode 5. 

Boba decides it's time to call in the final round of reinforcements:  his pet Rancor.  Remember how Boba said earlier that even if the heroes win, their might be nothing left of the city?  Well, the Rancor certainly goes a long way towards making that happen.  It turns out that Rancors are completely impervious to everything except fire, as it tears its way through the city and the first Scorpenek droid, while Mando and Grogu (who can now use the force more precisely) take on the second.

Which just leaves a wayward Rancor, and a dangerous gunslinger.  Grogu puts the Rancor to sleep (it seems that he's totally fearless), while Boba and Cad Bane get the fight they were due.  Cad Bane has a long history in Star Wars (the Clone Wars in particular), and a good villain needs a good death.  There are no lightsabre-wielding Jedi around (Luke Skywalker chickened out), and no exhaust shafts to throw the villains down, so it's a straightforward gun fight, fist-fight and scrap to the finish.  In the end, Boba finishes Cad with the wooden stick he carved with the Tusken's help - a poetic end: Cad slaughtered the Tuskens, and so Boba kills him with the Tusken's staff.

The battle is won; all that's really left is to explain what happened.  It transpires that the Mayor is not offworld, he's still on Tattoine, overseeing Boba's intended demise and conspiring with the Pykes (Fennec sorts them all out in a brutal conclusion).  The other crime families were also in on it - people really didn't like Boba Fett at all, although I missed why.  

Grogu and Mando are reunited, ready for their next series of adventures, and no surprises, the back seat in Mando's Naboo fighter is just the right size for Grogu (who loves the turbo boost button).  No date yet on when they'll be back on our screens.

And if you watch right to the very end of the episode - even past the credits - you'll discover another twist in the story:  Cobb Vanth was not killed by Cad Bane's shot - it wounded his shoulder, and he's now recovering in Boba's bacta tank.  I was particularly pleased by this: although the armour belonged to Boba Fett, at least Cobb Vanth was putting it to use in upholding the law.  Boba, even with his armour, was not as interesting and had less character that Cobb Vanth had without the armour, and giving it back to Boba seemed like a complete waste.

So, that's the first series of Boba Fett wrapped up.  If I had to compare the series overall to anything else, I would probably compare it to Forrest Gump (which seems a little strange, I know).  Both stories follow the title character through important events, meeting people who are more famous, better known and more interesting, and then telling the story from that character's perspective.  

Boba Fett the character (and Boba Fett the series) was definitely better when the focus was on the characters around him, which, to be fair, was exactly how it was in the original films.