In “The Book of Boba Fett’ recap for the debut, Fett attempts to secure his position as the new head of a criminal empire on Tatooine while flashing back to his days following the events in “Return of the Jedi”…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
The long awaited continuation focused on famed bounty hunter Boba Fett has finally arrived with “The Book of Boba Fett” debuting on Disney+.
For a character who appears only in a handful of minor scenes in two “Star Wars” movies, Boba Fett somehow became one of the most famous and beloved members of the entire universe despite very little connection to the overall series until his backstory was finally developed.
As a quick reminder — Boba Fett was actually born as a clone of his father Jango Fett, who served as the DNA basis for the entire clone army created in the prequels. As part of his deal with what would eventually become the Galactic Empire, Jango requested one clone made just for him that he could raise as a son.
Years later, Jango was battling with the Jedi on a planet called Genosis and that’s where he met his fate after engaging in a battle with Master Mace Windu, who beheaded him at the conclusion of their fight. Boba ended up finding his father’s severed head on the battlefield before picking up his armor and procuring it for himself before becoming one of the most infamous bounty hunters in the entire galaxy.
Of course, Boba Fett helped to deliver Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt before he met his untimely demise after his rocket pack was damaged and he was sent flying into the belly of the Sarlacc at the bottom of the Great Pit of Carkoon where he was supposed to be digested over a thousand years.
What happened to Fett after that moment has remained a mystery, although he eventually reappeared on “The Mandalorian” as he sought to retrieve the armor that was stolen from him after he escaped the Sarlacc. Fett ended up helping Din Djarin as he sought to defeat the last remnants of the Galactic Empire — specifically Moff Gideon and his forces — while attempting to save Grogu aka Baby Yoda from falling into his hands.
After Fett finished working alongside Din Djarin, he returned to Tatooine along with his new partner Fennec Shand — an assassin left for dead who he eventually rescued — and they appeared at the palace that once belonged to the ever so powerful Jabba the Hutt.
Except now Jabba had been dead for years and his criminal empire was being run by his former underling Bib Fortuna. It took Fett about six seconds to dispatch him and take over the throne in order to procure his own criminal empire and that’s pretty much where we pick up with this debut episode.
With that said, let’s recap the first episode of “The Book of Boba Fett” titled “Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land”…
Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land
This particular episode went to painstaking lengths to reveal more of Boba Fett’s backstory without actually taking too much time to establish where he’s going to move forward with this series. Still, it seemed like some of the narrative that unfolded in this episode was helping to set the stage while revealing exactly what had happened to him after the events in “Return of the Jedi.”
For clarity sake, we’ll keep this recap in linear fashion to cover his backstory before revealing what actually happened after Fett ascended to the throne on Tatooine.
The episode begins with Fett recovering in a bacta tank — the same kind of machine that helped nurse Luke Skywalker back to health after he was attacked by a Wampa in “The Empire Strikes Back.” As Fett continues to heal in the bacta tank, he begins having dreams about his past starting with the moment he picked up the helmet belonging to his father after he was decapitated by Mace Windu on Genosis.
From there, Fett remembers the moment he woke up covered in stomach bile after being swallowed by the Sarlacc on Tatooine. After freeing himself from tentacles and stomach muscles, Fett uses the air hose attached to a Storm Trooper also being digested right next to him in order to get some oxygen back in his lungs before literally punching a hole through the creature.
Fett then uses his flame thrower to burn his way out of the Sarlacc before finally clawing his way back to the surface where he appears through the sand, still covered in bile and gunk from the creature that was attempting to have him as a snack.
Exhausted and nearly broken from his escape, Fett collapses on the sand and that’s where the Jawas find him unconscious. The little hooded creatures steal his armor, which then explains how it ends up in the hands of Marshal Cobb Vanth, who served as the protector over Mos Pelgo on Tatooine until he was discovered by Din Djarin during “The Mandalorian” season 2.
After he’s stripped of his armor, Fett is once again left for dead and this time he’s discovered by a group of Tusken raiders, who tie him up and take him hostage, dragging him back to their village behind a caravan of banthas.
There, Fett is abused by a group of Tusken younglings as the leader sips water out of a gorde and just watches as he’s beaten by them.
Later, Fett manages to break free of his constraints and even tackle a massif — the reptilian creature that the Tuskens keep as a watch dog — but a Rodian prisoner held beside him alerts the Tuskens that he’s attempting to get away. Fett only makes it so far before he’s drawn into a fight with one of the Tusken raiders and he’s soundly defeated, which leads to him being dragged back to their camp yet again.
Finally, Fett and the Rodian prisoner are taken by a Tusken child to a nearby home where moisture farmers like Luke Skywalker’s Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are being robbed by a group of thieves, who also paint a symbol on the side of the home that will almost certainly pop back up again in this series. After the thieves are gone, the Tusken child leads Fett and the Rodian down to the sand where they are ordered to dig for more of these gordes that contain the precious water required for survival.
The digging is going well with the Tusken child just kicking back and relaxing but then the Rodian finds something unexpected with a giant claw hidden beneath the sand. A moment later, a sand creature emerges from under the ground and it rips up the Rodian before turning its attention to the Tusken, who is frozen in fear by the massive monster.
Thankfully Fett is there to save the day as he jumps on the creature’s back and chokes it to death with the chains that have been keeping him captive much like Princess Leia did to Jabba the Hutt. After the creature falls dead, the Tusken child is understandably grateful to Fett for saving his or her life.
Back at the Tusken village, the child arrives with the head of the sand creature to show the elders the spoils of war from that day. The child is followed home by Boba Fett, who is no longer being dragged around like a prisoner.
As the child celebrates, the head Tusken emerges from a tent and silently hands over a gorde filled with water to Fett, who is finally invited to drink with them. It appears this is a sign of trust because when Fett reappears during the events in “The Mandalorian,” he’s wearing robes that belong to a Tusken while also carrying a gaderffii stick, which is the primary weapon used by Tusken raiders in hand-to-hand combat.
That’s where the flashbacks end but it’s almost certain we’ll find out more about what happened to Fett after he befriended the Tuskens.
Fast forward to present day and Fennec Shand arrives to retrieve her boss from the bacta tank because emissaries from various factions in the area have started showing up to pay tribute to the new Daimyo leading Jabba’s former organization.
One person shows up with a stack of Republic credits and Dokk Strassi — the leader of the Trandoshan family, who previously employed Fett as a bounty hunter. He hands over a Wookie pelt as tribute while remarking how he hopes Fett never leaves Mos Espa, which is the port that served as the home to Jabba’s empire.
Mos Espa was also the birthplace of Anakin Skywalker, which is where he and his mother served as slaves until Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived.
While the first arrivals to Fett’s palace present tribute to him, the third is the majordomo representing Mok Shaiz, the Mayor of Mos Espa, and he’s not there to give anything to the former bounty hunter turned crime lord. Instead, the Mayor is actually demanding tribute paid to him by Fett, which doesn’t sit very well with the man charged with heading up the criminal empire once ruled by the Hutts.
Fennec Shand knows this sign of disrespect would never have happened to Jabba but Fett tells his second in command that he’s not interested in torturing the mayor’s representative or just killing him dead right there. Instead, Fett wants to do things differently under his reign, which he wants to be led by respect rather than fear.
So Fett grants the majordomo the gift of his life as tribute — he’ll leave the palace with his head still attached to his shoulders — but even that barely seems like enough as the mayor’s representative tells him that he may receive another delegation from the leader of Mos Espa in the very near future.
Fett does receive some new members of his army after a pair of Gamorrean guards are brought before him after they were loyal to both Jabba and then Bib Fortuna. Fett offers to spare their lives if they will swear fealty to him instead. They both agree and now Fett has his own Gamorrean bodyguards.
From there, Fett seeks to further solidify his hold over the area by visiting a bar called the Sanctuary where he sets up a meeting with a Twi’lek woman named Garsa Fwip.
Rather than be carried by a litter into the establishment, which is how Jabba was received during his reign, Fett refuses and decides to walk on his own two feet. Fennec Shand tells him that Fett’s introduction as the new crime boss would probably go a lot easier if he adapted to some of the old ways that helped keep Jabba in power for so long.
Inside the bar, Fett and Shand are greeted by Garsa Fwip, who is just now learning that this will be the new leader to protect her establishment. She thanks Lord Fett for his arrival and allowing her business to continue to thrive before two of her employees return his helmet filled with coins as tribute.
Fett sees this as a sign of respect as he continues to gather strength around Tatooine.
Sadly his plan goes awry just seconds later after stepping outside the cantina as a group of assassins drop off the top of the buildings and launch an attack at Fett and Shand.
Using shock staffs and shields, Fett and Shand are overwhelmed by the assassins but thankfully the Gamorrean guards arrive to save the day. Fett and Shand eventually get the better of the assassins but not before the new crime boss is severely wounded, which will require him to return to the bacta tank for further treatment.
Fett does manage to use one of the missiles on his armor to destroy one of the assassins.
As he receives help from the Gamorreans to return to his palace, Fett sends Shand after the last couple of assassins as they attempt to escape and he reminds her to return at least one of them alive. Shand follows orders extremely well as she eventually catches up to the assassins and kills one of them before capturing the other as her prisoner.
Who sent these assassins after Fett? Was this the delegation from the mayor or perhaps another criminal faction such as Crimson Dawn — the organization once led by former Sith apprentice Darth Maul that was eventually taken over by Qi’ra, a character played by “Game of Thrones” favorite Emilia Clarke in “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” Could Clarke return to reprise her role for an appearance in this series?
If “Star Wars” can pull off a Luke Skywalker cameo, then the Mother of Dragons returning seems entirely possible.
Those answers will have to wait until next week when “The Book of Boba Fett” returns for a new episode on Wednesday on Disney+.
