The Star Wars ranking team has done it again! We’ve selected a new top-ranking episode of The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 6 - From the Desert Comes a Stranger. Like it’s predecessor, it’s heavily focused on someone other than Boba Fett. However, it still ties in with the story, and it’s quite enjoyable seeing some familiar faces. Tune in as we continue the discussion between fan service and context while also preparing to celebrate Star Wars Podcast Day 2022!
*February 7th is the official Star Wars Podcast Day. That day in 1999 was the premier for the very first Star Wars podcast: Jedi Talk.
“They just wanted fangasms. That’s what it was.” - Charley
“And they delivered.” - Amanda
There’s so much to get excited about with this chapter of the show. Cobb Vanth showing the Pykes who the sheriff (or marshal) in town really is. Din Djarin tries to see Grogu, but instead visits with Ashoka Tano and R2D2. We get to see Master Luke Skywalker train with authority and lift a bunch of Sorgan frogs. The 501st gun down some Jedi in Grogu’s memory of Order 66, and freaking Cad Bane owns the duel we didn’t think we’d get. It’s so fun watching this kind of fan service. Not only was this story contributing to The Book of Boba Fett, but it was great for Star Wars in general. It undeniably gets ranked higher than the previous episodes. However, we’re still discussing the detour from the show’s main protagonist (Boba Fett), because we’re led to believe the main protagonist is still supposed to be Din Djarin…maybe even Grogu now!
“They did not do the same kind of service or care I think with the characters within The Book of Boba Fett as they did with the characters of The Mandalorian.” - Charley
Mando does go on to see Grogu, and we love it, but (as Amanda mentioned in our last episode) it has nothing to do with Boba Fett. The entire Boba Fett show is split into B.M. (before Mando) and A.M. (after Mando) timelines. Is Boba Fett like Captain America? Steve Rogers’ third movie in his own trilogy wasn’t necessarily about him, but it still had something to do with him and it was still a great movie. This chapter does get back on track with the story of The Book of Boba Fett - bringing the fight to the Pykes. However, the fan service of bringing in Ashoka, Grogu, Luke, the Marshal, and Cad Bane has us latching onto them instead of Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Black Krrsantan mainly due to their lack of character development. Why did the producers decide to name the show after Boba Fett and yet heavily focus on Din Djarin? Will we keep seeing Boba Fett throughout the Filoni-verse as like a limited Godfather type figure?
“You can tell Dave Filoni directed this episode.” - Brody
Good on Lucasfilm for hiring the deep fake artist from YouTube. That Luke Skywalker did so well capturing the look and sound of the Jedi we picture from the Expanded Universe. Watching him train Grogu felt so right. The practical effects for Cad Bane were also amazing. Sure, he looked less slender in the face compared to Clone Wars, but they made him so much more terrifying than expected, which is more important. Though, where was his toothpick? We enjoyed seeing the famed ice cream maker make its way back into this chapter as a vessel for transporting spice. The Krayt dragon mounted on the Jawa’s sand crawler, and the ribcage inside the bar of Freetown was a cool nod too. Dave Filoni had his fingerprints all over this, reminding us that there's a bigger story than Boba Fett’s at play.
“I won’t hear any complaints about that deep fake. That deep fake could win an Emmy for all I care.” - Amanda
Not only were Cad Bane and Luke looking great on screen, but Grogu’s puppetry blends well within the series. He got a lot of action in this chapter and they didn’t shy away from keeping him active. We see him jumping, getting carried by Luke both physically and with the force. We kind of want to see him wield the lightsaber! But we also know he has to take the beskar shirt and reunite with Din, right? We think he’ll get the best of both worlds with the choice Luke presented him. Despite Grogu’s arc, why were they taking their sweet time with Mando waiting for Grogu and Luke & Grogu force-lifting those frogs? Both scenes seemed like they were needlessly eating up the minutes for this episode. Though, Amanda’s favorite moment was Din Djarin asking, “Is that a bench?”
“Luke looks good carrying these little green guys.” - Christian
Hot Takes
We don’t need any more Luke Skywalker.
Yoda is a jerk, because he abandoned his son Grogu.
No more Boba Fett in The Book of Boba Fett.
Cobb Vanth is a recovering spice abuser.
Grogu is the real Mandalorian.
Our hot takes got pretty interesting with a listener, Ben, joining in on the action. He shared his wife’s hot take, which was the best of all this week: No more Boba Fett, even from his own show. I think many have that same attitude after seeing how this show has paced out. It seems like that was the goal all along, but it wasn’t obviously advertised that way. Mine was more of a theory instead of a hot take, unless it bothers you that Cobb Vanth had a past of spice addiction. Hence his look of disgust tipping over that box of spice. We haven’t seen the negative side effects of spice and why the Pykes are tied to it. We know from the Rise of Skywalker, being a “spice runner” was no compliment. I think the show would benefit from seeing the consequences of a spice market growing on Tatooine, thus giving Boba Fett more of a spotlight. Brody has a lofty prediction: Grogu will leave Luke to be with Din Djarin in order to become the Mandalorian he was meant to be. The choice is a big one, and with all of the predictions out there, it seems likely that he’ll get the best of both worlds somehow. We were so glad Ben could join us live for these takes and the rest of the show. We hope to see him again soon!
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