Book of Boba Fett – Getting to Know the Man Behind the Mask Chapter 5

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Candace Bissonette
| March 8, 2022
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THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS 

Chapter 5: The Return of the Mandalorian 

The title of this chapter is a throwback to Return of the Jedi. Immediately we are met with a shift in the storyline. In a Klatooinian meat processing warehouse, the Mandalorian, silhouetted in a doorway, walks in like he belongs there, finding his way to his quarry. Amid the noise, you can hear his armor’s distinctive clanking, reminiscent of the sound of spurs. “You look lost,” an unnamed Klatooinian states. I thought this was Boba’s story. Perhaps a jest as to why we’re seeing Din Djarin instead of Fett?  

“I’m here for Kaba Biaz,” Djarin says, speaking directly to the one that seems to be in charge sitting at a table. He takes out the tracking fab from his belt, shows it, and puts it back, “He owes someone important money.” “Well, if I see him, I’ll let him know,” the lead Klatooinian dismisses him. “I see him right now,” Djarin persists, placing a holopuck on the table showing the Klatooinian’s face. “That’s not me. That doesn’t even look like me,” it’s clearly the same Klatooinian with the same facial piercings and distinctive face tattoo. “I’m going to give the rest of you the opportunity to walk out that door. I have no quarrel with you,” he’s offering the rest of the crew an easy out. Kaba Biaz insinuates that Djarin is surrounded and outnumbered, “You look like the practical type. Let’s discuss our options.”

Djarin pauses before delivering his signature line, “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.” As he starts reaching for his blaster, a Klatooinian on his right makes a move and bites his hand making him drop the blaster. He headbutts the biter and turns to a second attacker coming at him from his left side punching him out of commission. The one behind him starts shooting at him. He is used to taking hits with the Beskar armor and steels himself for his next attack. 

He activates the Darksaber, spins, and takes a swing at the blaster happy baddie. He lets out an oddly surprised grunt as if he’s not used to the weapon’s feedback. Another attacker takes a swing with a meat cleaver, and Mando kicks him away. He punches another out and turns back to the one he kicked away in a slow circular motion dragging the Darksaber in an arc to finish him off. 

The blade seems heavy, which is unusual for a weapon of this caliber. He spins again and stabs another of the attackers straight through with the heavy blade but misjudges the weapon weight and arc, burning the outside of his left thigh in the process. A very accurate depiction of what can happen to someone who is not well-versed in using a lightsaber and is only just beginning to learn the weapon. 

Two more Klatoonians attempt to grab him, but he holds each on either side of himself, the three locked in a brief struggle before he can break free and swing the Darksaber, slashing the two offenders. Kaba Biaz gets up from the table and starts unloading his blaster into Mando’s back. Again, in the defensive pose, weathering the attack because of the beskar, he waits until Biaz is within grappling range, spins, sticks a knife into Biaz’s chest, picks him up and lands him onto the table filled with credits. He does a complete over the head attack with the Darksaber cleaving Kaba Biaz and the table in two. Kaba Biaz is coming in cold. 

The workers in the other room had stopped and gathered outside the door hearing the fray from within, only seeing shadows and shades of the fight through the semi-translucent doorway. Din steps out, with a bag in his hand presumably containing the head of Kaba Biaz, and sees the crowd, “Your boss is dead. I’m here to collect on his bounty. I have no trouble with any of you. There is a pile of New Republic credits in there that I have no right to. If you do me the honor of letting me pass, you all can help yourselves to whatever you think you deserve from your former employer.” The workers all look at each other in silent agreement; they are not looking for a fight. One starts to edge around Mando, giving him a wide berth yet wanting a chance at that pile of credits. The rest of them rush past him into the back room. He slowly limps through the warehouse making his exit. 

Glavis 

Glavis is an immense ring space station floating in the cold of space, with day and night cycles alternating throughout the ring. We see Djarin slowly limp his way to his destination stepping from night to day. He enters an elevator with a Caskadag who looks down toward the bag, slowly eyeing upward, checking out the Beskar armor. Din turns to look at them, and the Caskadag sharply turns back, acting like they were not just eyeing him up. Way to make an elevator ride even more awkward. 

The elevator door opens, and Djarin steps out into a sophisticated bar with ambient laid-back yet upbeat electronic lounge music. The patrons are dressed in the familiar flare of what we’ve seen in Coruscant’s nightlife in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. I love the aesthetics, and this place fits right in on the modern ring world. 

“That was fast. You’re a good hunter,” the mystery client admires in Huttese. “I would like my reward and the information you promised,” ever straight to business, he places the bagged head of Kaba Biaz on the table amidst the diverse party-goers enjoying dinner. “Why are you rushing business Mando?” presses the client. “My business is my own. Where is it?” he gently demands. “Sit and feast with us or I will tell you nothing,” urges the client. If he were to feast with them, he would have to remove his helmet, and that’s against his religion. Insulted, he says, “You can keep your reward. There is a bounty on the Klatoonian. If you won’t give me the information, someone else will.” He grabs the bag and turns to leave. “It’s down Kolzoc Alley by the heat vent towers.” He turns back, places the head on the table again, and claims the credits, “I’d put that on ice if I were you,” referring to the now cold bounty.

He makes his way back to the elevator. When he is alone, he checks the side of his left thigh where he incurred the wound from the Darksaber. Getting a closer look, it’s bad, Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar bad. Charred skin around deeply burned muscle tissue. The elevator stops near the Klozoc Alley. As he approaches the location, he pushes some buttons on his forearm, which changes his visual perspective in his HUD (heads-up display). He starts seeing secret indicators of which direction to go, finally seeing a secret mythosaur skull painted above a nondescript door. Accessing the substrata of the station, he starts to climb down to the walkways but loses his grip on the ladder and has to catch himself. 

The Armorer kneels at the end of one of the walkways, with the belly of the city overhead and an undisturbed view of the starscape below. Djarin makes his way slowly to her, but his injured leg gives out at the bottom of the descent of the stairs leading to her. She turns, “Tend to him.” Paz Vizsla, voiced by Jon Favreau, the larger hulking Mandalorian in blue armor, approaches Din with a medkit and kneels to help him, “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.” “Thank you for saving me on Nevarro. I am sorry for your sacrifice,” Din is referring to the last time he saw his tribe who abandoned their covertness to help Din escape Nevarro with Grogu. In retaliation, the Empire massacred their now exposed tribe. “There are three of us now,” says Paz. Djarin is clearly in a lot of pain as his wound is being tended to.  

The History of the Mandalorians & The Night of A Thousand Tears

“What weapon caused such a wound?” inquires the Armorer. Din holds out the Darksaber. The Armorer orders Paz Vizsla to bring it to her. Paz carefully takes the weapon and reverently carries it to the Armorer. “All this talk of the Empire, and they lasted less than 30 years. Mandalorians have existed 10,000,” she activates it, “What do you know of this blade?” “I am told it is the Darksaber. Whoever wields it can lead all of Mandalore,” Din offers. “If it is won by Creed in battle. It is said one warrior will defeat 20, and the multitudes will fall before it. If, however, it is not won in combat and falls into the hands of the undeserving, it will be a curse unto the nation,” she sheaths the blade, “Mandalore will be laid to waste and its people scattered to the four winds.” “The hilt is of a quality of beskar I have never seen before,” Djarin notes. “It was forged over 1,000 years ago by the Mandalore Tarre Vizsla. He was both Mandalorian and Jedi,” she explains. “I have met Jedi.” Ascertaining that he has completed his quest, she says, “Then you may rejoin our covert as we rebuild.” “This is the way,” they each repeat. The Armorer returns the Darksaber to its rightful owner. Vizsla has taken an obvious interest in the blade.

Din and Paz get to work on setting up the Armorer’s forge. Vizsla inquires how Djarin came across the Darksaber. “I defeated Moff Gideon,” explains Din. “Did you kill him?” Paz asks a loaded question. “No. But he was sent off to the New Republic for interrogation, and he will face justice for his crimes,” Din prefers the course of diplomatic justice than brutal vengeance. “Death would have been justice for his atrocities,” Vizsla disagrees. “This is true. The blood of millions of our kind is on his hands,” the Armorer agrees with Paz, referring to the Moff’s participation in the Empire’s Great Purge of Mandalore. “Then he will be executed for his crimes by the New Republic Tribunal,” says Djarin, convinced his course was the better for justice. 

“We shall see,” the Armorer turns as the forge is fired up. She goes to unpack the rest of her tools, “The songs of eons past foretold of the Mythosaur rising up to herald a new age of Mandalore. Sadly, it only exists in legends.” I, for one, am hoping to see this Legend brought to life. The Armorer notes Djarin has acquired a beskar spear. He explains how it came to be in his possession and how he used it to defeat Moff Gideon. Djarin seems to fancy the spear and how it’s so far served him. “It can pierce beskar armor. Its mere existence puts Mandalorians at risk. Mandalorian steel is meant for armor, not weapons,” the Armorer makes a valid point. “Then forge it into armor,” he readily offers the spear. “The Darksaber is a more noble weapon for you to wield,” the Armorer immediately gets to work on the spear. Din takes his place next to the forge as she works, watching the process. 

“Have you ever heard of Bo-Katan Kryze?” asks Djarin. “Bo-Katan is a cautionary tale,” explains the Armorer as she further works on the spear. “She once laid claim to rule Mandalore based purely on blood and the sword you now possess. But it was gifted to her and not won by Creed. Bo-Katan Kryze was born of a mighty house, but they lost sight of the way. Her rule ended in tragedy. They lost their way, and we lost our world. Had our sect not been cloistered on the moon of Concordia, we would have not survived the Great Purge.” Bo-Katan was gifted the Darksaber by Sabine Wren in Star Wars Rebels and used it to rally the remaining Mandalorian clans in a resistance against the Empire. 

We see a flashback of TIE bombers over Mandalore coalescing in a major attack on its capital domed city Sundari which can be seen in The Clone Wars animated series. “Those born of Mandalore strayed away from the path. Eventually, the Imperial interlopers destroyed all that we knew and loved in the Night of a Thousand Tears.” The imperials decimated everything on the surface, leaving the planet scorched. Imperial Security and probe droids searched for survivors to finish them in the complete annihilation of the Mandalorian people. 

“Only those that walked the way escaped the curse prophesied in the Creed. Though our numbers were scattered to the winds, our adherence to the way has preserved our legacy for the generations until we may someday return to our homeworld,” the Armorer finishes recounting their turbulent history.

Not Ready to Say Goodbye 

“What shall I forge?” the Armorer asks. “Something for a foundling,” he clarifies, “For a specific foundling. Grogu.” “He’s no longer in your care. He is with his own kind now,” she reminds him. “I want to see him. Make sure he’s safe,” Din is not ready to leave Grogu completely just yet. “In order to master the ways of the Force, the Jedi must forgo all attachment,” she says. “That is the opposite of our Creed. Loyalty and solidarity are the way,” he reasons. Even if Grogu has accepted the path of the Jedi, Din’s way of life means he will forever be loyal to Grogu because of their attachment. “What shall I forge for the foundling Grogu?” the Armorer concedes. 

Metalworking montage; it’s a process to forge the toughest metal in the galaxy. We see small chain links in a pile which probably takes even longer to forge due to its delicate intricacies. Will Grogu receive his own chainmail? The Armorer wraps the finished piece in a small orange and white kerchief. How she artfully wraps it resembles the recipient. She gently places the wrapped gift into Din’s hands. 

The Blade Never Lies

In Mando’a: Solus. T’ad. Ehn. One. Two. Three. The Armorer and Djarin spar with the Darksaber. She dodges one of his attacks, and he follows through on his momentum from the swing and falls off of the walkway. “You are fighting against the blade,” she observes. He uses his jetpack to return to the walkway. “It gets heavier with each move,” he admits. “That is because you are fighting against the blade. You should be fighting against your opponent. Stand up,” she chides. He stands, but it’s clear the blade is indeed heavy as he drags it along the ground until he’s ready to strike again. They resume sparing, but he’s slow. She knocks him on the top of his helmet with her hammer with a loud ring that reverberates. Ouch. She grabs the lower end of the T-shaped visor with her tongs. 

Reset. Before he is able to get the Darksaber up in a defensive position, she strikes fast and presses the attack. They lock. “There. Feel it. You are too weak to fight the Darksaber.” As they are locked, she presses him into taking a knee. You can see the saber is heating the beskar tools, which she has been fighting with. “It will win if you fight against it,” she pulls away, “You cannot control it with your strength.” “I want to try again,” he says determinedly. “Persistence without insight will lead to the same outcome. Your body is strong, but your mind is distracted,” the Armorer senses. “I am focused,” Din lies. “The blade says otherwise,” she reminds him.  

“Maybe the Darksaber belongs in someone else’s hands. It was forged by my ancestor, founder of House Vizsla,” explains Paz. “And now it belongs to me,” Djarin evenly states. “Because you won it in combat. And now I will win it from you,” Vizsla states his intent. The standoff feels like a disagreement between two brothers. 

Duel of the Fates

“Do you agree to this duel, Din Djarin?” inquires the Armorer. “I do,” Djarin is not backing down from his claim to the Darksaber. The two Mandalorians face off. Both remove their jetpacks and place them to the side. Din removes the Darksaber from his belt and ignites it. Paz’s weapon of choice is a vibroblade and gauntlet shield. 

They approach each other with intent and purpose. Din strikes low at the shield, the blade still heavy in his hands. Paz strikes his blade between Din’s chest plate and pauldron, driving him back a few steps. Attempting to lift the blade in defense, Din fails and gets hit in the helmet by Paz’s gauntlet shield. Din is able to manage a telegraphed overhead swing, but it is met by Paz’s shield, and again the blade sinks to the ground. Attempting another wide arc from the left, Din meets Paz’s right gauntlet but bounces off. Paz tries to take advantage of the opening on Din’s right and goes to strike with his vibroblade, but Din sees it coming and lifts his left arm in defense, blocking the blow. Paz uppercuts him with his fist with a loud clang and slashes overhead with the blade again, which is met by the Darksaber cutting the blade’s hilt rendering it useless. Paz stares down at the blade for a moment, and Din takes the opportunity to elbow him in the face. He tries to take another swing at Paz with the Darksaber, but Paz grabs the hilt. They are locked in a struggle over the blade. Din headbutts Paz and turns to elbow him again in the face. Din is able to swing the blade around for an upswing attack at the unguarded Paz. He pushes the attack. Paz takes a knee as Din swings down and meets Paz’s gauntlet. Paz alters his grip to occupy Din’s grip on the blade and returns the headbutt. Paz grabs Din, being much larger in size, throws him to a lower segment of the walkways. Din lets out a surprised noise as he falls. He took off his jetpack, so any type of freefall in this environment would not be welcomed as they are still in the underbelly of the city with nothing but open space below them. 

Paz jumps down with a loud thud and grabs Din as he is trying to recover from the fall, brutally throwing him against a pillar. Paz reaches down and claims the fallen Darksaber, igniting it. “Fate has brought this blade back to my clan, and now fate will end yours,” he exclaims as he takes a downward swing at a downed Djarin. Din is quicker and moves out of the way, stabbing Paz in the leg as he passes on his missed swing. Paz is struggling with the blade as well. Paz takes two more swings at Din but gets the blade stuck on the pillar. Din gets up, but Paz grabs him by the helmet and throws him once again against the pillar, downing him. Din gets back up and moves backward as Paz advances with the blade. Paz swings and gets stuck on the pillar again. Din jumps up and stabs Paz in the side and knee, where he knows there is a defenseless spot in the armor. Paz takes a labored overhead swing, but Din is quick and avoids it taking another slash at Paz and spins around behind Paz, grabbing him and placing the vibroblade to his throat. 

A Victorious Loss 

“It is done,” states the Armorer. “Paz Vizsla, have you ever removed your helmet?” she asks. “No,” he says.” “Has it ever been removed by others?” she inquires. “Never,” he says, defeated. “This is the way,” she continues. Paz repeats after her. As this exchange is happening, you can read Din’s body language shift, there is a cold realization of what is coming, and there is no way to avoid it. The reliance of subtleties in the building of a fully masked character is done spectacularly. 

The Armorer shifts her focus, “Din Djarin, have you ever removed your helmet?” He doesn’t respond. She presses, “Have you ever removed your helmet?” He remains silent. “By Creed, you must vow,” she reminds him. He lets go of Vizsla. “I have,” he admits. There have been two occasions where other living beings have seen his face: the first time with Mayfeld in the Imperial refinery obtaining information for the quest to find Grogu and the second on the bridge of Moff Gideon’s ship saying goodbye to Grogu as Din turns him over to Luke Skywalker. 

“Then, you are a Mandalorian no more,” a heavy statement from the Armorer. “I beg you for your forgiveness. How can I atone?” he pleads. “Leave, apostate,” Vizsla says. “According to Creed, one may only be redeemed in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore,” she offers. “But the mines have all been destroyed,” Din says. “This is the way,” there is a finality in the Armorer’s statement. They stand in prolonged silence. Djarin reclaims the fallen Darksaber along with his jetpack and leaves the new enclave without another word. He’s been banished from his Tribe. 

Commercial Flights & Security Checks

He makes his way to the spaceport and is forced to take a commercial flight because his Razor Crest was destroyed. As he tries to board, an alarm sounds, and he is greeted by an RX-Series droid, “Excuse me, sir. You’re going to have to remove your weapons.” “I’m a Mandalorian. Weapons are part of my religion,” Djarin says. The calm perky droid is persistent and states he will have to remove his weapons to board the commercial flight. “Fine,” Din takes the ticket for the cargo container. Unarming montage, the Darksaber being the last weapon he parts with. “I know everything that’s in there,” he reminds the droid. Personally, I’m not sure I could part with the Darksaber. He boards the starcruiser. 

Window seat, gazing into the void of space, contemplating what’s transpired, Din turns to look at a child Rodian who’s intently peering at him from over the back of his seat. The child waves and its mother pats the child, reminding them not to be rude and to turn around and face forward. This child reminds him of his child. He reaches for his present resembling Grogu and looks at it, contemplating his little green friend. The ship lands in Mos Eisley. Din is greeted by another RX-Series droid and finds all his weapons intact in the case. Nothing is missing. 

Return to a Spunky Mechanic 

In Peli Motto’s hangar bay, a BD unit cutely wanders into view, shortly after getting grabbed by a womp rat. BD units were designed as small companion droids programmed to be the assistant to explorers alone in the field. BD-1 appears in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This kind of droid is rare to see in the galaxy because its manufacturer went out of business many years prior. 

Peli is taking potshots at the rodent disturbance, “Treadwell, get in there and move that engine block so I can blast it.” Treadwell does not go to move the engine block. “No? You can’t say no. You’re a droid. What is this, a democracy all of a sudden? R5?” Remember the R5 unit that had a bad motivator in A New Hope? “Fine, I’ll take care of it,” Motto says, her odd collection of droids cowering in fear behind the spunky mechanic wielding a blaster. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she chides as she slowly moves toward where the rat was last seen. She screams, and something takes her down behind the engine block. She hangs on to the edge, trying desperately not to get dragged away. “Oh, it’s got me! It’s chewing!” 

Enter Djarin. He blasts the womp rat, and it lets go of Peli. “What an entrance!” she exclaims as she gets up. She checks on BD. The little droid seems okay, but its right leg seems injured. “Hey, look, everyone. It’s Mando.” The droids don’t seem as enthused as she is to see him, but he doesn’t really care for droids, so I’m sure the feeling is mutual. “What do we owe the pleasure? You here to slay another dragon? Chasing down some elusive bounty?” she recounts his recent adventures. 

“I got your message,” he says. “Message. What message?” She is genuinely confused. “You said you found me a replacement for the Razor Crest,” he reminds her. “Yeah, that’s right. That’s what I said. That’s what I do. I’ve been working my butt off, yeah. Did you bring the cash?” she inquires. She instructs the droids to count the money he hands over and fire up the grill before the womp rat gets gamey.

“Where’s the Razor Crest?”

“Where’s your unlikely companion?” she inquiries of Grogu.“I returned him to his own kind,” Din explains. “Why the hell would you do that? I could’ve made good money off that thing. Open a petting zoo,” ever the entrepreneur. I mean, she has a point. I would pay good money to go hang out with Grogu at Peli’s Petting Zoo. “Ready to have your mind blown?” She unveils the ‘ship’ from under a heavily dust ladened cover. “Where’s the Razor Crest?” Djarin exasperatedly asks. “I never said I had a Razor Crest. I said I had a replacement for a Razor Crest,” Peli reasons. “I don’t have time for this,” he turns to leave. “Hang on a second,” here comes Peli’s hard sell, “Do you have any idea what this is? This is an N-1 starfighter handmade for the royal guard and commissioned personally by the Queen of Naboo.” “This is a pile of junk,” he’s not sold. “Droids, bring this lovely man his money. Sorry to waste your time.” 

Caption: The N-1 Starfighter as seen in Episode I: The Phantom Menace in its original condition 

She heavily sighs, and there is a shared awkward silence between them. “While we’re waiting, can I tell you a little something about this honey? I know she doesn’t look like much, but you got here a lot earlier than I expected, and I didn’t get a chance to finish. I mean, clearly, you can see I’ve got all the parts right here. It all has a home.” This ‘ship’ clearly has seen better days and is in pieces; long abandoned, it will need a lot of work. “You know how hard it is to find all original parts from way back in the Galactic Republic?” As Peli is making her way around the ship, Din starts taking a closer look at it. “I mean, these are all handmade. No droids.” That’s quite a selling point for him. “And not only that, what I’m gonna do, just because I like you, is I’m going to add on some custom modifications that’ll make her faster than a fathier, and because this baby’s pre-Empire, she’s off the grid. And did I mention she can jump into hyperspace with no docking ring? I mean, come on! You gotta see the potential.” She pulls off the last sheet so he can get a good look at the entire piece. “I’m telling you, Mando, you gotta believe me. This is a classic. Look, at least let me put her together before you decide. Can you give me that? Get this baby up and goin’. You know it’d be a lot faster if you helped,” she offers him a wrench. Peli Motto knows how to make a sale. 

Parts are everywhere. Djarin is a car mechanic lying under the grounded starfighter working on its underbelly. The little BD droid is working on getting the lighting just right for him. “Great news. I found you a turbonic venturi power assimilator. You’re going to be the fastest ship on the Outer Rim,” Peli celebrates. “Where did you get this?” Din inquires. “It’s brand-new. Well, Jawa new,” she goes on to explain that she gives the Jawas a list of parts she wants. They go and find whatever she needs under a strict “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, “Tatooine is a garden of many bounties.” Djarin wants to meet the Jawas. Peli asks R5 to summon them, admitting, “Dated a Jawa for a while. They’re quite furry. Very furry,” she makes a weird licky face, “Lot of issues.” Din shrugs unphased, nonjudgmental. The Jawas enter the hanger. Peli speaks Jawaese, “They said make a wishlist, and they’ll see what’s available.” The Jawa says something to Peli in Jawaese. “Oh, that’s okay. I’m working on me right now. Just go find the parts.” She turns back to Din and shakes her head, “Furry.” 

Fixing the ship montage: Djarin sanding the yellow paint off one of the engines, Peli fixing the cockpit display’s wiring and finding a scurrier inside, both cutting the underside of one of the wings, the pit droids trying to find the right parts. “I don’t know why you’re always in such a hurry. Build me a ship. Fix my blaster holes. You know, I never went anywhere, and look how good I got it. You know, I’ve never even been off-world. That’s all right. I’m a local gal,” Peli admits while they’re working. Din finds some of Peli’s modifications, and she explains why her way will be more efficient overall. With all of this ship-building montaging happening, I feel like I know more about Djarin’s new ship than I do my own car. 

“Where does this panel go?” asks Din. BD scans the part and holoprojects where it should be placed on one of the engines. “Thanks, little guy,” Din seems to be warming up to the little droid, and the droid is excited to be helping. They get the canopy in place over the cockpit and part of the 2 Nubian 221 sublight engines in place with the pit droids.

The Jawas approach with one of the requested parts. “That was fast. Where did they get a cryogenic density combustion booster?” Din asks. Peli speaks Jawaese again, “They said they crawled under a Pyke spice runner and crimped it off while they were refueling.” “Gutsy little fellas,” Din is impressed. “Let me tell you something. Pykes do not mess around. Ever since they’ve been moving spice through the system, everything’s gone to hell. Everyone’s afraid of ‘em, and law enforcement won’t even go near ‘em,” Peli explains Tatooinie’s current situation, bringing us back to the series’ ongoing conflict. “Well, thanks,” Din throws the Jawas a few credits.

Quite the Pair 

Dawn of a new day on Tatooine. The now silver N-1 fighter stripped of all but a few yellow stripes of paint gleams in the sun as the pit droids glide it out of the hangar. Din walks around the ship hesitantly, admiring her. Din noticed the droid port had been changed, “I figured with your disposition you’d wanna forgo the astromech,” Peli knows him well. He continues revering the ship, Peli looking on, noticing his change of opinion toward the once pile of junk. A stringed version of the Mandalorian theme plays. He looks good with his new ship; they make quite the pair. “Think she’s ready?” he tentatively asks. “Ready as she’ll ever be. Start her up,” Peli urges.  

After giving the ship a little more juice, she turns over, and the engine starts up powerfully. “That’s a lot of engine for a little ship. Shouldn’t we run a diagnostic first?” he worries. “Nah! I can hear her! She’s purring! Send her up!” Peli wants to see what the ship can do. The N-1 Fighter gradually rises above Mos Eisley. “She handles a little bumpy,” he admits at first. “You’re used to a gunship, but she’s a starfighter, so fly her like one,” reminds Peli. “Okay, I’ll open her up,” engines fully engaged, he takes her out of the city, “Dank Ferrick, she’s fast.” “Point your navigational disposition between the two suns. You’ll come up to Beggar’s Canyon,”  Peli instructs, then asks, “How’s the handling?” “ Tight. She tracks like a railspeeder,” he says. “Let’s see what she’s got.” Djarin pulls out of Beggars Canyon and straight into the atmosphere. 

Check Out the Beggar’s Canyon Run From Episode I versus Din Djarin’s Test Flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HstwEUUGfYY 

We see the Rodian child and its mother again on a commercial flight. Din pulls up alongside the star cruiser in the N-1 Fighter. The child stands up and takes note of the shiny little ship. Din gives the kid a nod and buzzes the cruiser. He’s out for a joy ride as he’s testing the controls, looping the ship. An alarm starts to beep. Dank Ferrick. It’s two New Republic X-Wings. What a buzzkill. 

“Was I doing something wrong, officer?” Djarin inquires as he is getting pulled over by the authorities. The first X-Wing pilot goes on to state the law about not flying so close to a commercial ship, operating without a beacon, engine model not matching the power drive, title tabs, sending a ping, the whole nine yards of bureaucratic rundown for the legalization of a starship. Djarin remains calm and respectfully explains the situation of the newly built ship and taking her for a test run. The X-Wing pilot wants Djarin to relinquish the controls so these officers can help him get things sorted. The second X-Wing pilot, Carson Teva, finally speaks up, “I think we can let him off with a warning this time. One thing before you go. Your voice is mighty familiar. Did you used to fly a Razor Crest?” Teva was in one of the X-Wings that tracked Djarin with the Frog Lady passenger when the Razor Crest crashed on the ice spider world, Maldo Kreis, “That ship showed up on a transponder log back in Nevarro in an incident involving Imperial remnants. I’m just connecting some dots here. You mind answering a few questions?” Djarin looks over and activates his sublight thrusters. He’s gone. “There’s no trace of him on our sensors. We reporting this?” Lieutenant Reed asks, played by Max Lloyd-Jones, who was also a double for Luke Skywalker in the Mandalorian. “You want to go back to base, fill out reports all day?” Teva retorts.   

“Well, how was it?” Peli asks on Din’s return. “Wizard,” he says. What a great throwback line of Kitster, Anakin Skywalker’s friend in Episode I. Speaking of old friends… “By the way, an old friend of yours dropped by; she said she was looking for you. Don’t worry. I told her I didn’t know where you were. Then I locked her out and engaged the hangar security system,” Peli has Din’s back. “She tell you her name?” he asks, genuinely curious.  

“Wizard”

“Fennec Shand,” Fennec calls from one of the rafters of the hangar bay. Fennec descends fancifully. “By any chance, are you looking for work?” she approaches with a pep in her step, “The pay is good,” she offers as she tosses him a bag of credits. “What’s the bounty?” Djarin asks. “No bounty. We need muscle,” Fennec explains. “Boba Fett,” Djarin understands. “He sure would appreciate it,” she states. “Tell him it’s on the house,” he tosses the credits back to her, “But first, I have to pay a visit to a little friend.” 

Conclusion

Intrigued by Mando’s current situation and slipping deep into the escapism the Star Wars universe easily offers, I felt like this next phase of the story needed to be told at this particular moment. We are seeing how there are unique intricate facets of the universe, each playing a key role in larger events yet bringing our main characters together to achieve aligned goals in massive galaxy-altering story arcs. 

I didn’t mind stepping back into Djarin’s life for a moment to see how his story would cross once again into Fett’s. We were all ecstatic to see Boba make his appearance in The Mandalorian Season Two. As much as I love Fett, it felt fair to welcome Din back into Boba’s story, as the larger story starts to foreshadow the two of them becoming brothers in arms. The obvious respect for each other, along with Djarin’s eagerness to help Fett out with his current situation on Tatooine shows a growing camaraderie between the two. Perhaps Djarin is redefining what he has always thought was family? 

Din and Boba’s lives share a similar tragic arc. Both were orphaned in the Clone Wars, finding their way to hunting as a career path. Boba figuratively died in the sarlacc pit and put to rest his old life, to be reborn into a new life with grander aspirations. Din started to experience internal change as he discovered the true meaning of family with Grogu. His priorities shifted, and now he has been shunned by his tribe because of two occasions he prioritized Grogu over his own vows to his strict order. Both men have come to realize that they are stronger with loyal ones at their back rather than alone. Boba and Din, both the last of their ‘tribes,’ have forged an inevitable friendship and bonds of loyalty true to the Mandalorian way. 

I find it interesting they decided to do a full rundown of Mandalorian history within the Book of Boba Fett and not in the Mandalorian. Could they be foreshadowing a story arc that will intertwine both men’s fate? Fett has his eyes set on grander goals and may be able to help Djarin realize his full potential now that he’s acquired the Darksaber. The Book of Boba Fett seems to be setting the stage for a much larger tale. 

Bryce Dallas Howard knows how to weave a seamlessly flowing story where we crave to see more. Once we realize we are at the end of her Chapter, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next as we get new glimpses into the events of the Star Wars universe as the story continues to unfold. 

A brief summary of Chapter 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evMEJT0STp4 

What did you think of the transitioning story of Chapter 5? Let me know in the comments! 

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