We’re past everyone drooling over Ahsoka showing up in live action and Din and the kid with the stupid name have moved on to Tython where the kid will sit on a rock and maybe a Jedi will feel his presence and come searching for him. Honestly… it seems like a dumb plan but it is what it is.
Let’s get to it.
*They are really trying to drive home the kid’s name. Look, you can say it as much as you want, I’m not going to like it.
*Din can’t land the Razor Crest on the plateau with the “magic” rock so he lands in a valley and jetpacks to the spot, all of which was obviously set up for what was to come.
*Boba Fett is back complete with his starship, Slave 1 and while I wasn’t loving the idea of him returning after the first episode, this paid off that cameo in grand fashion.
*Fett wants his armor (obviously) and he’s brought along a friend to help. Remember the assassin from the first season’s visit to Tatooine? The one that was left for dead but a mysterious figure shows up and her fate was left ambiguous? If so, well then you know Fennec Shand and we now know that mysterious figure was Boba Fett and he saved her from certain death.
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*Shand and Fett are working as partners. Shand has eyes on the kid as he communes with the Force while Fett and Din face off. It’s a stalemate but Fett offers a deal, give him back his armor and he’ll make sure the kid stays safe. Seems like a good deal to me.
*Before a deal can be made, an Imperial transport enters the atmosphere and the trio decide that the troopers are more important to take down before their deal is finalized. And for most of the rest of the film it is non-stop action.
*The action is well choreographed and expertly shot. It’s fast and exciting and Shand and Fett look like badasses. Din on the other hand tries to get Baby Yoda and instead gets force knocked back and takes a little nap.
*Fett decides to finalize the deal himself and retrieves his armor and once it’s one, yeah… he’s pretty awesome. Look, I’m not a crazy Fett fanboy and I think the love the fandom has for him is a bit crazy considering his limited screen time and unfortunate end, but it is hard not to look at the weathered armor and see him fighting with intensity and not feel good about the choice to bring him in to the series.
*Gideon, in a cruiser in low orbit, has had enough of his troopers inability to take down Din and his new found friends so he orders a bombardment on the Razor Crest and drops in a team of Dark Troopers. Seeing the Razor Crest get destroyed was actually pretty sad. Despite the show only being two seasons old at this point and relatively new in the scheme of Star Wars, I had developed an emotional attachment to it.
*The Dark Troopers timed their drop perfectly via luck and get to the kid just as his Force force field drops, kidnapping him before Din, Fett, and Shand can get there. I can’t say I’m happy about him being in Imperial hands but this season has been a lot of slow building to this event and an eventual high powered finale. As long as the kid is back in Din’s satchel by the end of the season, I’ll be happy. Right now though, I’m not.
*Boba Fett revealing his Mandalorian lineage was really cool. As I said, I’m not a big Fett fan but I like that they’ve fleshed out his armor history. And I like that he has a code of honor and even though Din didn’t technically give him his armor back, he’s offering his services to get the kid back to make good on the deal he had offered.
*This episode just continues the call backs. With no ship and in need of some help, Din visits Cara Dune, who has joined up officially with the New Republic as a Marshall and gets her to look up Migs Mayfeld. You’ll remember Migs from the awesome prison break episode from season one, where Migs (Bill Burr) ran a team (including Din) to bust someone out of a max security New Republic prison. Din didn’t like how the crew was so bloodthirsty and also that they were going to double cross him so he shut them down, leaving them locked on the prison ship. Well, it seems Mayfeld will be needed for rescuing the kid. I’m not sure why but I did like Burr in the role so it’ll be a fun time I think.
*And finally, Gideon has the kid locked up on his cruiser. When we visit in on him, Baby Yoda is tossing stormtroopers around the room like rag dolls. It’s pretty awesome and I loved it. All that Force usage though makes the kid tired and Gideon mocks him a bit, shows him the Darksaber, and then has him put in baby handcuffs.
All in all, I had a blast with this one. Despite seeming like just an action episode, there are lots of tiebacks to things set up in previous episodes. This is how I like the reveals to happen. Ahsoka felt unnecessary, other than to reestablish her as existing during this time period, and the Thrawn reveal seemed extra fan servicey. It all felt a little forced while this week, everything seemed to fit perfectly. The plot moved forward and it all felt earned, while still staying true to what the series is.
Anyway, enough from me, what did you think of this week’s episode?
