The Book of Boba Fett Double Take: Chapter 2

The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine, to put it lightly, was a stellar episode of television. We now more fully understand the purpose and scope of the show and I am all in. I wish the first two episodes would have either aired at once, or been combined for an extended premiere because they both really flesh out where Boba’s been and how it affects him as the new Daimyo of Tatooine. That being said, the longer runtime of this episode gave it the space that both stories deserve and I appreciated staying with each storyline for longer periods of time versus going back and forth multiple times throughout.

The first portion of Chapter 2 handles current day Crime Boss Boba as he shakes down assassins (loved the humor in this part, although seeing another Rancor or beast would have been fun), barges in to confront the mayor of Mos Espa, and gets up close and personal with Jabba’s twin Hutt cousins. This entire section of the episode was chock full of impressive visual effects—both practical and computer generated. The mayor was the best version of a live action Ithorian we’ve seen to date and the live action debut of Black Krrsantan, while awesome for die-hard comic fans, was successful in showing the menace and dread the Wookiee imbues. And while the brother sister twin duo of Hutts were obviously CGI, their characters were still super effective to the storyline, I predict they’ll be back for a showdown later in the season. Not the spring chicken he used to be, Boba’s back in the bacta tank after a long day politicking and thus ushers in the second portion of the episode, back to Fett’s time with the Tusken Raiders.

This portion of The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 2 exemplifies how original streaming content is king in the 21st century. In the old days of network and cable television, there just wouldn’t have been the time or creative freedom to spend so much time on this type of storyline. In Chapter 1 I thought it was nice that Boba seemed to be trying to redeem himself in as ethical a way he knows how. Chapter 2 takes this idea and runs with it as we see Boba double down on his commitment to both trying to understand, communicate with, and ultimately become one with the Tusken Raiders. I was blown away at how effective this portion was in firmly establishing Boba Fett as a character viewers can’t help but fall in love with. Yes, he has his badass bounty hunter edge, but his humanity is really coming into focus. One could argue he’s playing nice with the Raiders for selfish reasons (he is still armorless and without many options after all), but come the end of the episode I found myself emotional at the journey he went on. I’m not sure I’ve ever been affected by a piece of Star Wars content the way I was with Chapter 2. Plus, the female Tusken warrior who was central in forging Fett cannot go anywhere anytime soon (can we also get her name please?). And add to it that the show runners seamlessly included the Pyke Syndicate into the storyline. They weren’t just included as another cool easter egg (though, keep them coming Favreau and Filoni), they were smuggling spice as they’ve been known to do and it made perfect sense that they were included. Seeing their alien faces for the first time was pretty cool though.

I can’t conclude this wrap-up without mentioning Tosche station, the site of Boba’s bar brawl with the Tatooine gang. Only ever being shown via deleted scenes from A New Hope, Tosche was often visited by young Luke Skywalker and his pals. Two of those friends, Laze “Fixer” Loneozer and his girlfriend Camie, apparently haven’t ventured far, they’re the two humans in the scene, a great Easter egg for eagle-eyed Star Wars uber fans.

The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 2 could easily have been combined with Chapter 1 and made for a more complete introduction to the series. Unfortunately, they didn’t consult with me so I bask in the pleasure of witnessing a stunning 52 minutes of Star Wars television and anxiously await Chapter 3.

What did you think of The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 2? Did you catch all the Easter eggs? What are you most excited about for next week? Sound off with us on social media, we’d love to connect!