– Spoiler Review –
After a solid opening chapter, The Book of Boba Fett’s second chapter not only builds on the first, but expands in meaningful, exciting, and engaging ways that opens the world and possibilities in the story. Head below for our “Chapter 2 – The Tribes of Tatooine” review!
It’s even more clear now this show really is designed to be like a book, each episode really a chapter in its larger narrative. It means sometimes either its “past,” which is Boba Fett living with the Tuskens after escaping the sarlacc, or its “present,” Boba Fett and Fennec Shand staking their claim on Jabba the Hutts’ empire, feel like they end too abruptly, but after “The Tribes of Tatooine” it’s clear The Book of Boba Fett will make the wait for resolution in its following chapters more than worth it.
In the present, Fennec returns to the Palace with the remaining assassin, and once again their banter makes this scene work so well, as they toy with him to try to find out who hired him. Seriously, there are some good laughs, and even better ones in the second “past” set part, but how they scare this assassin, a member of the Order of the Night Wind which Shand dismissively says is overrated, was perfect. He claims it’s the Mayor, so Boba and Shand drag their captive to finally see the mayor, Mok Shaiz. It’s a tense, layered meeting, as it’s clear the mayor, an Ithorian (loved how they aged up the species here) has been doing this a long time, considering his age, calm demeanor, and ability to answer without answering; there’s a reason he’s dealt with Jabba and Bib and survives to this day and I wonder if he’ll outlast Boba Fett or not. Either way, after some traded threats, Boba promising he’s in charge now, Shaiz warning him it’s difficult to rule a family, pointing Boba back at Garsa Fwip, the Twi’lek woman we met last episode. As I noticed last episode, when Boba shows up she’s clearly surprised and unsure of how to proceed, with him even calling her out for sweating, so it’s possible she sent the assassins or at least agreed with the mayor’s decision. She’s definitely not happy about a new boss, let alone a previous bounty hunter, though their confrontation is cut short, just as she mentions the Twin Hutts staking their claim on their cousin’s empire, drums echo through Mos Espa. I hope we get more time with her though as I’m sure she has an interesting story and Jennifer Beals has been acting the bantha poodoo out of her scenes.
As Fennec was telling Boba, and the mayor’s majordomo references again when he appears at the office, the Hutts are all about pomp and circumstance, making a big show of themselves and their entrances with a litter, and I sort of get why they do it now after seeing it. It’s a show of power and confidence, loudly proclaiming their presence as a warning to those that fear them and a target for those want to kill them, but would anyone take the bait? Boba and Fennec, and the two Gamorreans, await the Hutt Twins outside Garsa’s, and wow did the animation for the Hutts look really, really good. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Hutt on-screen and Jabba’s CGI in The Phantom Menace was alright, but this brother/sister pair looked great! I especially loved the little details, like the symbols on the twins’ chin-ish areas, as well as the weird mouse/rat like creature the male one was using to wipe sweat/slime off itself. Having other Hutts opens the scale of the show, which I felt was way too small in Chapter 1 for what was transpiring, and it makes Boba’s grab for the throne less in a vacuum. They provide a form that supposedly shows they own their late cousin’s affairs now, but Boba doesn’t care, even standing tall after they show of their big muscle: Black Krrsantan! Reader, let me tell you, I nearly jumped out of my house when Krrsantan appeared!! First debuting in Darth Vader #1 (Vol. 1) way back in 2015, the deadly Wookiee bounty hunter has made a name for himself in the comics ever since, especially as he interacted and worked alongside Doctor Aphra, my favorite character of all-time. Krrsantan has helped Darth Vader and Aphra on many schemes, often betraying the latter when she can’t pony up the credits, while he’s battled Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine as the Jedi protected a young Luke Skywalker, and we’ve gained some insight on his gladiator background. We last saw him working with Aphra again in the opening of her latest series, but hasn’t been seen since so it was damn cool to see him on screen here now, just as threatening as ever. Since Boba Fett and the Hutts decide no bloodshed, for now, we don’t get to see him in action but I hope there’s a chance he and Boba will duke it out at one point. And yes, I also hope it means we’re THIS much closer to a potential Aphra cameo too. Anyways, this is where the present set story ends, the Hutts warning Boba to sleep lightly and Fennec making sure he understands they mean business. While this felt abrupt last week in the premiere, knowing the structure better now means it didn’t now.
As Boba bathes in his bacta pod again, we flashback to his time with the Tuskens and, while I loved the expansion to the world of the present, the portion in the past became my favorite part of the episode. Some time has passed when we pick up with Boba amongst the Tuskens, as he’s now training with one of them to fight and can speak some of their version of sign language. It’s peaceful, for the most part, and Boba’s really come to accept his lot in life for the moment, learning and respecting the Tusken culture. The peace doesn’t last long, when does it ever for the Tuskens, as a mysterious sound sends them hiding behind dunes and preparing for a fight. I originally thought the approaching object was a Kryat dragon, but it’s actually a high-speed train, barreling through the dunes, which opens fire on the Tuskens without provocation, killing many, including banthas. As Boba’s come to accept his home with them for now, seeing the skills he can learn and how it can harden him, and this attack on his benefactors spurs him to action, and when he sees the marauders on speeder bikes, he requests leave to track them down. Finding them at Tosche Station in Anchorhead, messing with two (familiar) locals,* Boba lays waste to the crew and steals their bikes, bringing them back to the Tuskens. Their response to this gift, this ability to stop the train harassing them? Tearing them apart! But thankfully Boba and the leader get them to stop, though the more difficult part is next: training them to ride!
Remember how I mentioned there was some good humor this episode? Boba training the Tuskens was a damn delight of a montage, from Boba pretending to be a bantha to all the funny failures as the technology-adverse culture learns to use the machines. It’s a great show of Temuera Morrison’s range and just the beginning of exploring the Tusken culture, giving us a moment of levity before the big train attack. Once the attack begins, Boba leading the group against the Pyke controlled train, it’s a tense, riveting, well-shot sequence of action that flowed and ebbed in fun and exciting ways. The Mandalorian has already shown the type of big action Lucasfilm can bring to the small-screen and this feels even more epic than the train caper in Solo: A Star Wars Story, so big thank you and shout out to Steph Green with her directing this episode, from this action scene to the smaller moments and the crazy interesting moment Boba has with the Tuskens once the train’s stopped. After the train crashes, Boba and the Tuskens gather the Pykes on board to see if their leader remains, asking them about their cargo of spice once they make themselves known, and then Boba set the terms of an agreement next. Much like he is in the present as Lord Fett, Boba is both gracious to the survivors, letting them live even if they have to walk back, but also supportive of the Tuskens and their claim to the land, saying the Pykes and their syndicate will pay a toll to the natives and in return they shall protect them on their walk back. This arrangement and the spoils they receive please the Tuskens and upon return to the camp they offer Boba a gift in one of the truly unique moments of the episode.
In both The Mandalorian and now The Book of Boba Fett, there’s been a lot of work being done to humanize the Tuskens by exploring their unique culture, from coming to terms with the settlers to attack a greater enemy and their beliefs around their connections and past to the planet of Tatooine. To initiate Boba, they gift him what he terms a cheeky bugger, a little lizard that…jumps into his nose and starts some type of spiritual journey! In an enchanting sequence, Boba goes down memory road, including some new footage of him watching his dad Jango blast off from Kamino as a child, and later finds himself in the sands of Tatooine at a barren tree, which begins to strangle him, making him think back to being in the sarlacc. He breaks free and next thing we know we’re in the Tusken camp again…with Boba arriving with the piece of the tree he broke off to free himself. It felt like this scene meant to show him breaking free of his past, of his failures, and forging ahead to be something more than just a bounty hunter, and maybe it’s what spurns him on to consider taking over Jabba’s empire once he’s complete again with his armor. Either way, upon his return the Tuskens outfit Boba in the black robes we saw him with in The Mandalorian and he forges his own gaffi stick from the tree branch, another great sequence where music carries the scene. They end up doing a pow wow that night, making Boba one with the tribe of Tuskens, closing out the episode in stellar fashion. There was more content with Tuskens in Legends, with one of the standouts being the unforgettable Kenobi novel by John Jackson Miller (I keep hoping one of these Tuskens is A’Yark) that did a lot of work with helping readers emphasize with the natives of Tatooine, but this was one of the best ways of doing that on-screen and in canon. I’ll be curious if there’s anymore in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series later this year.
Here are a few other things:
- The two locals inside Tosche Station that Boba inadvertently saves are never named but will be a familiar and fun Easter Egg for some fans: these two are Camie and Fixer, friends of Luke Skywalker when he used to live on Tatooine! It’s okay if that’s not ringing a bell, as their scene in A New Hope didn’t make the final cut but you can still watch it here! Camie did make a more recent appearance as part of a Force dream Luke Skywalker has in the opening for The Last Jedi novelization. I wonder if they know about how Luke is a Rebellion hero now? Either way, this was both a cool little nod but also very sad for them, still stuck on Tatooine and hanging out at the same places.
- The droid controlling the spice train was the MVP of the episode for me, from their multi-arm design, using the engine to knock people off, and setting the train to blow as they bail; the Pykes don’t pay it enough to be captured or killed by Boba!
- I cannot be the only one who, while the Tuskens raked the sands, thought of Spaceballs, right?!?!
The Book of Boba Fett started off solid enough but went to stellar highs for its second chapter, “The Tribes of Tatooine.”
+ Every single bit of the flashbacks with Boba among the Tuskens
+ Humanizing Tuskens
+ Broadening scope in the present
+ Great humor and action
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