Boba Fett returns to kick ass in The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian is a fast paced show. Last week’s episode re- introduced Ahsoka Tano into Star Wars and in Chapter 14 The Tragedy everybody’s favorite bounty hunter returns – Boba Fett. It is odd that The Mandalorian manages to pull this off without the need for any kind of dramatic entrance. We have seen Boba Fett twice of course. In season 1 there was a glimpse of a man inspecting the supposedly dead body of wanted bounty hunter Shand (played by the lovely Ming-Na Wen). Earlier in season 2 we got confirmation of this when we saw Temuera Morrison’s face in a small epilogue. Now, both Fett and Shand return to make a deal with Mando. But before all that happens Mando has a nice moment with Grogu. Now that he knows the child’s name and that he wields the force Mando has been playing little games with him.

Boba Fett is back! And Shand too!

That stops when they reach the planet Tython and its little Jedi temple. Grogu is placed on the center stone and starts meditating. They are interrupted by the familiar sight of Slave-1 – Boba’s ship. Mando is unable to interrupt Grogu’s meditation because of a force field and so decides to take on Slave-1’s occupants. A standoff ensues between Mando and Boba Fett that turns sideways when Shand is revealed to be alive and holding a sniper rifle at Grogu. Despite the antagonistic posture Boba Fett wants to make deal. Grogu’s safety for his father’s armor. Mando agrees despite not being comfortable with giving Beskar to what he perceives as a non-Mandalorian. Just as the agreement is made the episode ups the ante even more with the arrival of the Imperial troops. In a hilarious action sequence two squads of stormtroopers are massacred by the three bounty hunters.

Fans of Boba Fett will not be disappointed when Temuera actually dons his classic armor. Though, age has not been kind to the actor around the waist. Moff Gideon fully expected his stormtroopers to fail and activates his backup plan. After Grogu’s meditation he falls asleep, lowering the force field. Four robotic Dark Troopers arrive from Gideon’s ship and kidnap Grogu. Boba Fett attempts to interfere but has no luck as Mando is unwilling to risk Grogu. With Grogu kidnapped the question is “What now?”. Moff Gideon destroys Mando’s ship from low-orbit. This time no amount of duct tape will fix it. In yet another twist to the show Fett and Shand agree to help Mando get Grogu back. Just how on future episode the entire extended cast will fit inside Slave-1, I do not know. But it is good to see the scale of this show expanding.

Getting a new gang back together

Back on Nevarro Mando recruits Car Dune into the rescue mission and with her help hopes to spring former Imperial sharpshooter (not a contradiction as he can shoot straight) Mayfield from a new Republic prison. That part we will see in the next episode, though it is clear Mando will have to start from the beginning in his hunt for Moff Gideon and Grogu. Meanwhile, onboard Moff Gideon’s light cruiser Grogu has been accosting the stormtrooper that guard him. Gideon shows little concern for this and even taunts Grogu with attempting to take his Darksaber. As though we do not already know Mando is on the clock Moff Gideon informs Dr. Pershing that the donor, Grogu, is available.

Opinion on Chapter 14 The Tragedy

Overall, Chapter 14 The Tragedy was an excellent episode. The return of Boba Fett was a surprise though with so few episodes in the season remaining it had to happen now. While I enjoyed the action scenes the special effects were not best in class. With Grogu in Gideon’s hand the series will have to go into a reboot mode. Mando will have to call in every favor to get at Gideon. And then there is the big question: Did Grogu succeed in finding his path during his meditation? Will a Jedi come to help Grogu? Will we see a live-action version of Luke Skywalker during the season finale? It is all possible. Between this episode and the last it feels The Mandalorian is reaching for the stars, and that is just fantastic. If you enjoyed this review then please fill out the subscribe widget on the right!