*WARNING* THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS FOR EPISODE FOUR OF THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT

This felt like two very different halves of an episode. The past and the present, in this case, do not mix very well. Part of the whole excitement about The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian is seeing new places and new faces in Star Wars. However, with this episode, we got lots of the old. It was a retread of things we’ve already seen or guessed before for the first 30 or so minutes. It’s all building toward war between Boba Fett and The Pike Syndicate, but it took a while to get there. Sure, it was cool to see Boba get his ship back. Was it awesome to see and hear the depth charge blow the hell out of the Sarlacc? Yes, it was. So for the people complaining about the frequent flashbacks, they have some merit finally with this episode.

Those flashbacks might be just a bit too long, but the final 20 minutes were very worth it here. Seeing Black Krrsantan tear up the Trandoshans was a major highlight. Finally getting to see a Wookie dismember someone in Star Wars after hearing about the fearsome acts of Chewbacca all the way back in A New Hope is awesome. It’s easy to see where this story is going after hearing and seeing this episode. Hopefully, we don’t have too many flashbacks left, because we’ve really seen all we need to see. Boba is a changed man because of his experiences with the Tuskens. He’s gotten back at the Biker Gang that killed his tribe. We’ve already seen him get his armor back.

Let’s keep it in the present for the final three episodes and build toward the Magnificent Seven for Star Wars.

A Familiar Musical Cue At The End

If you didn’t notice it, right at the end of the episode when Fennec says they need more muscle and muscle can be bought, parts of the theme for The Mandalorian play. That can’t be a coincidence, so let’s hope we get to see Din Djarin helping out Boba with some of his Pike Syndicate issues. I would bet that some of the Tattooine society is going to turn on him, but which one is any guess. They’re also teasing the Rancor pretty well. Them sitting at the dinner table right above the Rancor pit was a nice touch.

This show might be taking a bit to get where it’s going. However, that way is showing us how Boba Fett is more than just the cool-looking bounty hunter of our childhoods. He’s a multi-faceted character that deserves a better story. These final three episodes need to ratchet up the tension, stakes, and action. Boba Fett needs to either succeed in defeating the Pike Syndicate or fail and set the course of events forward. How we get to that point is anyone’s guess, but Boba is in for some major muscle coming up.

This episode is definitely weaker than the previous three. Star Wars fans whined and complained about colorful speeder bikes, but the last episode was solid in showing where the story is going. The first two gave us more character development for Boba Fett than most Star Wars properties since his first appearance. This one rode the balance between the past and the present but gave us just too much of the past to make a great impact.

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