– Spoiler Review –
It’s hard not to spoil the latest The Book of Boba Fett, as it’s all sort of there in the title, isn’t it? “Chapter 5 – Return of the Mandalorian” takes us into a different world, leaving me to argue its title means The Mandalorian not the Mandalorian, but once one makes peace with that, director Bryce Dallas Howard takes viewers on a joyous ride of an episode.
After the end of “Chapter 4 – The Gathering Storm,” it was clear Din Djarin of The Mandalorian would make an appearance alongside Boba Fett’s quest to be the best crime lord of Tatooine, but we didn’t know in what capacity Djarin would appear. Was it a cameo? Him riding in as Mandalore, Mandalorians galore at his side? When “Chapter 5 – Return of the Mandalorian” started right on Din Djarin in the middle of another bounty, I figured we’d see him do his thing and then we’d get back to Boba and Fennec, but it quickly became clear we weren’t. I didn’t expect a full episode of Din Djarin, essentially a prequel episode to The Mandalorian S3 coming this December, but I found myself immensely enjoying it, the thrill of seeing his quest to understand and use the Darksaber while hoping to reunite with Grogu again brought plenty of emotions. However, considering The Book of Boba Fett only just got into the core of its main characters, and hasn’t quite narratively found its footing yet as it just left its flashbacks behind, this episode of The Mandalorian in the middle of its final run of episodes felt out of place, snatching away the main show’s chance to finally rejoice in its own story and characters. There are still two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett left, and they could still stick the landing with lengthy, character-focused episodes like this, but “Chapter 5” made me wonder if it really will be possible. Regardless, since I do love this episode and its return to Djarin, how about we celebrate it now, hey?!
“Return of the Mandalorian” is a stellar episode of a different show, bringing in many of its highlights in one packed and delightful Chapter, but it’s so easy to get caught up in it that it hardly matters in the end. After his latest bounty, where Djarin shows he still has a lot to learn about wielding the legendary Darksaber, he makes his way to a beautifully rendered ring-world named Glavis, like something out of Halo or Mass Effect, where he meets up again with the Armorer and Paz Vizsla for the first time since the finale of The Mandalorian S2. She fills Djarin (and us) in on her perspective of the Darksaber and what happened with Bo-Katan, and how her covert’s methods saved the Mandalorians, basically throwing infinite shade at how Bo-Katan was given the Darksaber and later lost it, the act of receiving it instead of winning it in combat bringing with it a curse, made real in the Great Purge, hence why many Mandalorians don’t like her. There’s a brief, Terminator-like flashback to the Great Purge, where we see Imperial bombers lay waste to Mandalore and K2-series droids picking off survivors, the covert hiding on Concordia (aka Death Watch’s home) the only reason they escaped alive, hence such strict adherence to their rules ever since. While Djarin loses the beskar pike, the Armorer considering beskar only for armor because, (besides her name) the weapon could actually pierce beskar, he does request her to then mold it into something for Grogu and I about just cried right then and there.
She then starts teaching him to use the blade, mentioning its history of being forged by the Mandalorian Jedi Tarre Vizsla (as first revealed in Star Wars Rebels), and his clumsiness with the weapon comes from his distracted mind, as she says he’s fighting the blade instead of accepting it. The big Mando in the covert that helped Djarin escape Nevarro, Paz Vizsla, sees Djarin’s weakness with the blade and comes to claim it considering it was his ancestor who forged it. He was already mad with Djarin, learning he didn’t kill Moff Gideon and instead gave him over to the New Republic for interrogation, but now the guy cut himself trying to use his family’s fabled blade? The duel is short but brutal, Djarin barely able to come out the victor, but he wins and retains the blade…but when the Armorer asks her favorite question about helmets, Djarin decides not to lie and is shunned from the covert, told the only way for penance is to access some ancient well under the ruins of the planet Mandalore. Will this be something season 3 of the show will explore or is he done with this sect of Mandalorians, finally taking to heart some of what he learned from Bo-Katan? We’ll have to watch Djarin’s show in December to find out! Either way, the whole sequence with the covert felt like it crossed off several bullet points to cover, from delving into more Darksaber lore, Paz’s likely desire to claim it, what the Armorer is up to and how she’d feel about his adventures since he left them, and more, which isn’t a bad thing actually, as it puts to rest some questions hanging since December 2020.
Djarin departs Glavis on a commercial liner, still without a ship since the destruction of his Razor Crest, and carts off to Tatooine to visit Peli Moto (Amy Sedaris), as she’s got a ship for him. Prequel fans are absolutely served this episode, as Peli reveals the ship is an incomplete Naboo N-1 Starfighter and Djarin’s test flight later takes him through some locations in Anakin Skywalker’s fateful podrace circuit…not to mention the exclamation he uses afterwards! I’ve been here and there on Peli, but this episode really made her character work for me, the entire montage sequence of her selling Djarin on the ship and building it with him, alongside some help from the crafty Jawas and a BD droid like the one from Jedi: Fallen Order, provides tons of laughs and is a really refreshing sequence. The joy ride afterwards is just as enjoyable, a fantastic series of shots and scenes, making it look like it was really shot with a real ship, as he flies through the podrace course and buzzes the commercial liner in the air when taking it to space. New Republic Officers in X-wings ping him, pointing out what Peli already told him about the ship and it not being registered since it’s so old, and while one officer is new, the other is Carson Teva, who’s trying to piece together the Imperial Remnant activities in the Outer Rim! Teva is willing to let Djarin goes because he believes he knows who it is from their previous dealings, wanting to question him about what all went down on Nevarro, but Djarin activates the souped-up engine and leaves them in the dust. Djarin now has the means to travel the galaxy again on his own terms, without having to de-arm himself every time he enters a ship, and we have the thread of Teva and his investigations still on-going to remind fans of his importance as well.
Remember how I mentioned Djarin had the Armorer forge something for Grogu? While we never get to see it, it is wrapped in a delightfully cute package that I’m assuming unintentionally looks like his head and big ears, Djarin takes it out on the liner when a young Rodian peers over their seat at him. It’s clear the distraction he has while wielding the blade is whether he’s worthy or not, but also his attachment to Grogu, wondering how his little foundling is while in the care of Luke Skywalker. When Fennec Shand appears at the very end of the episode, finally tying “Chapter 5” back into the actual show it’s a part of, he agrees to help Boba Fett, for free, just after he checks in on Grogu! I don’t believe we’ll see that here in The Book of Boba Fett as it’s already spent enough time away from its own main narrative, but this potentially means we’ll see Luke again, and Grogu, in Season 3 of The Mandalorian! So what does this mean in terms of Djarin coming to help and appearing again in this show? Will he appear in the finale, coming in right when things are looking dire, maybe with Grogu at his side? Or are we to presume his visit happens off-screen and in “Chapter 6” he’s already back and helping Boba? I’m interested to see how it pans out and how The Mandalorian proper will deal with this episode in its third season for those who might not have watched this show.
Here are a few other things:
- The bar Djarin’s bounty drop-off location is at, to me at least, looked to be a lesbian/queer bar, which would be a cool little step for live-action if true, but it still feels performative at best as it’s not explicit and only implied…here’s hoping the shows can take it one step further, and soon.
- Anakin’s cry of “Wizard” in The Phantom Menace has been met with disdain from some but humor and acceptance by many others, and it was so much fun to hear it here, and it only gets better: if you read The High Republic – Midnight Horizon (out Feb 1), you might find out its origin! All the prequel serving is much appreciated.
- Bryce Dallas Howard has directed some fantastic episodes of The Mandalorian, “Chapter 4 – The Sanctuary” and “Chapter 11 – The Heiress,” and now this, so I hope she comes back again and again for more shows in the future. However, I really hope she drops her support of the NFT grift, as it destroys our environment, and finds a more sustainable way to champion the causes she wants.
The Book of Boba Fett’s “Chapter 5 – Return of the Mandalorian” felt at home in a different show, and is one of its best episodes to date, period, but here it felt a little out of place…though it’s hard to care too much since it was so much damn fun.
+ The Mandalorian really returned alright
+ Catching us up on Djarin’s life
+ Much Prequel love
– Distracts from main show’s already lacking narrative
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT REVIEWS
Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land | Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine | Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa | Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm