What’s up, my know-it-alls! It’s time for the finale, the extra-long finale, sixty minutes of The Book of Boba Fett. Chapter 7, “In the Name of Honor.”
I’m not going to sit here and bury the lede. This was probably the most epic episode of the series, and it’s everything we wanted it to be. Spoilers from here on out. If you don’t like to know what happens, hold off, go watch the episode, then come back.
The Burned-Out Bar and the Ambush
The episode starts with an awful lot of questions, and it starts over Mos Espa, in the burned-out husk of that little bar the Twi’lek had. Fennec and Boba are surveying things, Mando shows up, and they’re all looking around like, I don’t know what we’re going to do, we’re going to have to go back and hole up in the palace.
That’s when one of the Mos Espa Vespa group speaks up, one of the gang members of the Power Rangers. The girl, who I love, and I can’t remember her name right this second. I don’t know that we’ve gotten her name at all. Anyway, she’s amazing, and she’s like, we can’t abandon these people. So they split their forces up.
Then Cad Bane shows up to meet with the Pykes, and he’s taken care of Freetown. It turns out the Pykes are the ones responsible for what happened to the sand people. It’s rough. The mayor’s like, look, man, I just want all this to be done and handled. I didn’t realize there was going to be all this violence. There’s explosions. I can’t run a town that doesn’t exist anymore. And they’re like, quit crying. Then we get our title sequence, which is awesome.
Over at the mechanic’s place (Mando’s mechanic, played by Amy Sedaris), an X-wing shows up, and she’s immediately like, oh, it’s the police, I’m sorry, I registered for whatever. The thing opens up and R2’s there. And we literally get the answer to the question, because it’s Grogu. Come on, man. That adorable little guy. Baby Yoda. He has clearly chosen to go home to dad, and I could not be more moved.
Back with the group holed up inside the old casino bar, the kids on the colorful bikes are watching the transport area, and Cad Bane shows back up for a conversation. If you’re doing one of those little bingo cards, the things you can expect from The Book of Boba Fett, and you’ve got Cad Bane confronting Boba on there, don’t check it off yet. Not yet.
The filmmaking in that conversation is amazing. Robert Rodriguez directed this episode, and there’s one scene where Bane’s talking and you see the dust in the air and the sun past his hat, and it’s wonderful. He finally lets Boba know that the Pykes were the ones responsible for what happened to the sand people.
And then the gang has to figure out what they’re going to do, because they suddenly find themselves under attack. The kids watching the workers’ district are under attack from the locals. Krrsantan is under attack from the guys he was supposed to be sitting there guarding. The two Gamorrean guards are under attack as well. The whole thing so far has been an ambush, and everybody’s fighting as hard as they can.
So Boba sends Fennec. You need to go help, how fast can you get there? She rushes off and she does eventually get to the kids in the workers’ district and starts defending them. They look up and there she is. She’s a bad woman. She knows how to be a shadow when she wants to be.
Nothing at All, Get Off My Planet
The Pykes approach Boba’s position, and that’s when our little Twi’lek guy raises his hand and is like, hey, I went to school on Coruscant, I know a little something about negotiation. Empower me to negotiate on your behalf and we’ll be good. Boba says okay, great, writes some things down on the guy’s little pad, and the guy goes out there and gets asked to read what’s on it.
It’s basically Boba telling them: I’m going to give you nothing. Nothing at all. Get off my planet and take your spice with you. And the Twi’lek is standing there like, man, I just got bum-rushed. Talk about being thrown to the wolves. Or the fish.
Next thing you know, out fly Boba and Mando, and they’re in the air just schooling fools. It’s awesome. They’re shooting off leg rockets, they’re all over the place doing what they’re supposed to do, but they start getting overwhelmed because of the numbers. There’s just more of them.
So finally the rescue shows up. The Freetowners come flying in on their little speeder and unload, and that’s when the kids show up too. Somebody gets chucked out into the street looking like Jazzy Jeff on the old Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and it’s Krrsantan. Krrsantan made it. At one point he throws a dude, and as he’s throwing him he whips his gun up and shoots. It’s amazing.
It looks like they’re going to win. The Pykes are pulling back. Then they hear something, and Mando switches views on his visor and sees something coming from down the street.
Remember the prequels, those big robot guys who spun into a ball? It’s basically two of those, except they don’t ball up. I think it’s a scorpion kind of thing. They’ve got massive guns and they’ve got shields, so they start blowing things up and everybody scatters. Mando tries the Darksaber, and it’s this whole back and forth, but the Darksaber can’t get through the shield quickly enough. Krrsantan’s trying to do the same thing, he gets injured, and the kids show up to help him.
Then here comes the mechanic lady, zipping around in one of those little covered seats with a robot out front pulling it. We saw one almost get hit a couple of episodes back. She’s trying to tell him, hey, by the way, I’ve got something of yours, and he jumps on and he’s like, go, go, faster. And then she says, hey, look who’s here.
He sees Grogu and he’s like, what are you doing here? And the kid jumps up into his arms, and it’s the greatest moment ever. He’s like, all right, okay, we’ll figure it out. Then he puts him down, notices, and goes, hey, you got the shirt. Right on, bro. I can’t. I just can’t. This is an amazing episode.
Boba Fett Rides the Rancor
They’re shooting at this thing, and right when it looks its worst, you hear this massive roar. That’s right. The sound of the rancor.
If you had it on your Book of Boba Fett bingo card, Boba Fett rides the rancor, go ahead and check it off. Sure enough, there’s Boba mounted on top of this thing. He doesn’t have a saddle, but there’s definitely a setup, because he’s got little stirrups and he’s got a chain attached to the ring on the rancor’s nose. And he’s riding this thing, dare I say, majestically.
The rancor hops down, and you have this mega kaiju robot match as it starts hitting these giant droids. Then you notice the shield on one of them go from blue all the way around to blue predominantly in front. It’s reinforced the front of its shields because the rancor is trying to get into it.
So what does Mando do? He takes the opportunity. He leaves Grogu, tells him just hang on for me, ignites the Darksaber, and goes running toward the back of this thing. The rancor’s pushing so hard on the front that there’s enough pressure for Mando to slip through the back, and he cuts the arm off and starts whooping up on it.
Mando gets knocked down. He’s on the ground. And all of a sudden Grogu comes walking out and starts doing his little Force thing. He’s got his little hand up, and the next thing you know the joint comes shooting off the knee of the robot and the robot can’t stand anymore. That’s when the rancor rips in, grabs it, and just, boom. Bro, it’s epic. It’s so dope. Chef’s kiss. Nicely done, you guys.
Meanwhile, over where the kids and the Freetown folks have been backed up, she tells them flat out: we’ve got to take our stand here. They’re like, what are you talking about, we’re going to die. And she’s like, no, I was raised around here. The only thing that way is a dead end, where we’re going to die. This is our best bet. So she and one of the Freetowners go up on the roof and start firing, the robot turns, and sure enough Boba Fett comes around on the rancor and jumps in. The rancor and this robot is an epic, epic kaiju fight.
In the middle of it the mechanic lady sees the Twi’lek and she’s like, come on, pretty face. He’s like, well, happy to make your acquaintance, and she goes, don’t have time for that. It’s great.
The Pykes are scattering. The rancor picks one up and chucks him, and it’s awesome, because you get the little Wilhelm scream. Then he picks up another one, and if you had “rancor eats someone” on your Boba Fett bingo card, check it off, because the rancor eats this dude.
Boba Fett and Cad Bane
And then out walks the guy with the biggest balls, and that’s Cad Bane.
The rancor of course tries to attack him. He unleashes fire on it and manages to shoot it in a way that knocks Boba Fett off, and the rancor takes off. So now the rancor is loose, and it’s literally Boba and Cad Bane, impressively facing one another.
Cad Bane’s pretty quick. He shoots and knocks Boba down, the helmet comes off, and he warns him. You’ve got to remember, I taught you better than this.
Boba takes the weapon he created when he was with the sand people and uses it to disarm him. He’s angry. And he finally just stabs him. That there is the end of Cad Bane. Or is it? I don’t know. At the moment, I’m taking it as the end of him.
Baby Yoda and the Rancor, Cuddling
The kids and the Freetowners hear the rancor, notice Boba’s not on top of it, and they’re like, the rancor’s loose, and they start trying to shoot it. The Mandalorian says no, no, stop it. The rancor climbs up a tower and does its best King Kong impression, ripping the thing apart from the middle. Mando shows up and tries to jump on its back, and the rancor reaches up, snatches him off, and throws him away.
The Twi’lek and the mechanic are backed away, and then Baby Yoda walks out. Grogu raises his hand, he’s concentrating, and the rancor slowly leans down toward him. And I’m thinking to myself, if they have him eat him, it’s over. I’m done. Don’t be trying to eat Baby Yoda.
But sure enough, he puts it to sleep. The rancor puts its head down, and Grogu walks up and even pats it a couple of times. Then he kind of goes, whoo, I’m tired, lies down, and cuddles up right next to it.
I never knew I wanted Baby Yoda and the rancor cuddling, but I’ll take it all day.
Fennec Cleans House
We cut back to the Pykes in their hideout, and the three heads of the people that betrayed Boba Fett are all there. What’s going on, what are we going to do? And the Pyke’s like, I don’t know, but I’m leaving, because I was assured this place would be secure and welcoming. This is not welcoming. The mayor’s like, oh no, it could totally be welcoming. Dude, half my forces were either killed or eaten by a rancor. This is not welcoming.
Suffice to say, the two guards outside are killed. Everybody gets killed mysteriously and very quickly. The mayor is hung. And out of the shadows stands Fennec, having stabbed the head of the Pykes and effectively assassinated all of Boba Fett’s enemies.
From there, Boba and Fennec are walking through town and people are acknowledging them. How’s it going, thank you. They bow. They’re giving them fruit. Black Krrsantan and the kids show up, and one kid makes a joke: why does the Wookiee get a meal but not us? It’s kind of a callback to the original Star Wars, where everybody else got a medal but him.
Then we get the shot we all wanted, which is Mando leaving Tatooine, and in the little dome in the back, sure enough, there’s Grogu, tapping on the glass. No. He taps on the glass. No. He taps on the glass again. No, I’m not doing it again. Finally Mando’s like, okay, fine, and pushes the little igniter button, and you see Baby Yoda’s face. It’s awesome, and that’s how the episode ends.
There’s a post-credit scene, and I’m not going to spoil it for you. Go watch it. There is hope for the future, and I can’t wait for it. I think Season 2 is going to be good.
The Verdict
The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7, “In the Name of Honor,” is a 10 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
These last three episodes have brought the curve up. Take all seven, the four backstory, character-building episodes and the last three, which were fan-servicey but also really good, entertaining episodes, and the entire series is getting a 9 out of 10. Not too shabby, and well worth the wait.
And now we know what was happening over those last two episodes. Boba Fett was learning how to ride the rancor. I’m okay with that.
There you go. Now you know. And if knowing is half the battle, then you’re halfway to being a know-it-all yourself.
I really enjoyed this series. Star Wars is doing some amazing things, and we’re living in a golden age of entertainment right now, especially if you’re a geek or have ever been one.
I’d love to hear what you thought, especially about the final showdown between Boba Fett and Cad Bane. Put it in the comments on the video above. And never forget, everyone loves a know-it-all.
