The majority of the past two episodes being spent away from the main action of The Book of Boba Fett, it’s no wonder the finale feels so uninterested in itself. Underdeveloped allies, boring foes, and a bludgeoning hour of disorganized, frenetic action ensure that this oft-embarrassing season of television ends in anticlimax. But considering early episodes never successfully justified their own existence, it hardly comes as a surprise.
In fact, the only real surprise of the finale, titled “In the Name of Honor,” an eye-roll in and of itself, is also its biggest disappointment. Just last week, director Dave Filoni reintroduced bounty hunter Cad Bane (a veteran of the much-lauded animated Clone Wars series that made Filoni arguably Lucasfilm’s most valuable storyteller) with the gravitas of cinema’s classic gunslingers. But here, under Robert Rodriguez’s direction, implied menace transforms into lumbering disappointment. Fett and Bane wax poetic about their last meeting, a story yet to be told (when it matters most, The Book of Boba Fett suddenly becomes flashback skittish), before the villain is whisked away for much of the episode, save for a cheap-looking final showdown in which Fett kills Bane. The moment so clearly meant to feel triumphant falls completely flat and is sure to anger Star Wars diehards who hoped for more from this genuinely imposing figure.
Perhaps the moments of machismo fan service scattered throughout can help ease their pain. Amid a lifeless, atrociously edited Mos Espa gun battle—Fett’s agents, Mando, and a handful of Tatooine’s free people vs. the Pykes, Bane, and local crime lords—Boba Fett turns the tide by riding into battle on his new pet rancor. It’s internet fan art come to life, a guy with a jet pack riding an uncontrollable beast (not 20 minutes later, the rancor becomes a King Kong-sized problem Mando has to deal with) for no reason other than to look cool. It doesn’t.
The emotional through-line attempting to keep the action together is that Fett is suddenly fighting for the people of Tatooine. After the battle is won, as if there was any doubt it would be, the former bounty hunter receives gifts from citizens in the streets. The season is trying to sell Fett’s story as a story of the people of Tatooine, but nothing here or in Star Wars lore successfully links the man and the planet we saw him die on in Return of the Jedi. Had Fett’s story taken him off-world, virtually nothing of value would be lost. In actuality, it’s best we forget his new awkward backstory with the local Tusken Raiders.
The only thread throughout “In the Name of Honor” that manages to feel like anything is the reunion of Mando and Grogu. The Book of Boba Fett’s best two episodes were the two that felt more like entries of The Mandalorian. Having gone on independent journeys in the previous two episodes, the only two characters who grew in this series are the stars of its sister show, and thus their reunion, Grogu using his new Force skills to jump to his father figure, earns its aww!
But in battle, their dynamic has evolved further. As the rancor threatens to crush Mando, Grogu steps out and uses the Force to soothe the beast to sleep. Our “Baby Yoda” has become the silent pacifist that could heal a once ruthless killer. Further within the context of their reunion, there’s a larger chance for Star Wars to evolve. Last week, none other than Luke Skywalker offered Grogu a choice between the old and the new—the lightsaber of a storied Jedi Master or a piece of armor recently forged for him as a gift from his former caretaker. Choosing the latter meant leaving behind the same old Jedi story in favor of the fresh dynamic that made The Mandalorian a heartfelt hit. Whether fans who didn’t watch Boba Fett will be confused when the pair is suddenly together again in season three is another issue entirely, but as it plays out here, it’s genuinely rewarding.
In a way, including this mini arc for The Mandalorian’s main duo bisects The Book of Boba Fett between the old and the new as well. Here we watched Boba Fett live with Tusken Raiders, take over Jabba’s Palace, get revenge on the Sarlacc Pit, and kill a fan-favorite villain. Fans willed this show into existence, just as they helped will the undeniably insane technology that allows Mark Hamill to still play young Luke Skywalker, albeit without any of the spirit that made his turn in The Last Jedi as an older, downtrodden Luke his series high point. But Grogu rejects the life the Jedi offers him, just as the writers eventually rejected Boba Fett’s story in favor of giving us episodes of The Mandalorian. “In the Name of Honor” returns to the Tatooine-centric story of the first half of the season, but it’s not Fett in the finale’s last shot, it’s our two newer heroes. As Mando and Grogu fly off to some uncertain future, they may be escaping the trappings of Star Wars’ past. But after The Book of Boba Fett, lightspeed may not be fast enough to save this beloved franchise.
