'The Book of Boba Fett' Episode 6 takes almost every 'Star Wars' action figure out to play

Fresh off of not appearing in Chapter 5 of his own series, Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) continued to take a back seat in the latest installment of The Book of Boba Fett. He did appear, and the storyline of the actual show did progress, but Boba himself mostly played second kloo horn to… many, many other characters. 

Dave Filoni directed this episode, and he co-wrote it with Jon Favreau. Filoni famously trained under George Lucas while creating Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he went on to create Star Wars Rebels, and he has been a dominant guiding force on both this series and on The Mandalorian. He broke open his case of Star Wars action figures this week and dumped them all on the floor, daring the viewer to ask who they wanted to see. 

We love the show’s take on Boba and his continuing journey, and though we are eager to get back to the man himself (the one who has his name in the title), this episode was so packed with Star Wars glory that we don’t even care anymore. 

***WARNING: There will be spoilers ahead for Chapter 6 of The Book of Boba Fett. If you have not watched yet, then jetpack out of here right now.***

We returned to the show’s central issue with the Pyke Syndicate on Tatooine right away, as Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) crossed over from his appearance on The Mandalorian to throw some of them out of Mos Pelgo. Before we even have time to register the fact that Vanth is back, we cut to Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) flying his N-1 Starfighter over a beautiful forest planet and meeting up with R2-D2. Yep, it’s going to be that kind of episode. 

Mando is "looking for Skywalker" because he wants to see Grogu. While some “ant-droids” work on building Luke’s new Jedi Temple, Mando rests on a bench and Artoo shuts down. We cut to Luke Skywalker himself training Grogu, and once again he is played by a de-aged Mark Hamill. Grogu’s training in the force isn’t going very smoothly, mostly because of his attachments. Luke asks him about Yoda, saying, “He once said to me, ‘size matters not.’ He would speak in riddles. Have you heard anyone talk like that back home?” 

Luke then asks if Grogu even remembers his home, and then asks if he would like to. He uses the force to induce a flashback, and we see some of Order 66 from Grogu’s perspective. Luke promises Grogu that he will teach him to protect himself. Mando, meanwhile, wakes up suddenly and draws on someone who has approached him. It’s Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) because of course it is, and she tells him that she’s “an old friend of the family.” Yep, it’s that kind of episode. 

Though she decided not to train Grogu, she can’t make choices for others. Luke made his choice, so Grogu is being trained. She also reminds Mando that she warned him about attachment, and asks if he is doing this for Grogu, or for himself. With Grogu not far away in the distance, Mando painfully decides to let him be. He hands over the little gift that he had the Armorer (Emily Swallow) make him in the last episode, and leaves. 

Luke continues to train Grogu, and there are plenty of references to “balance” as well as the line, “Don’t try. Do.” Grogu begins to jump and hop around like a pro, taking out a training remote in the process. He tells Ahsoka that he’s really just helping Grogu to remember. He wonders if Grogu’s heart is really in this, and Ahsoka responds with, “So much like your father.” 

Ahsoka leaves, probably to go and continue shooting her own Disney+ series. This brief Luke/Ahsoka scene is utterly magical however, letting us know for certain that Ahsoka and Luke know who each other are and are aware of their respective histories. As she said, she’s a friend of the family. Luke knows that. Luke and Ahsoka just shared a scene in live-action and Ahsoka made a reference to Anakin. It’s that kind of episode. 

Mando flies back to Tatooine and meets up with Boba’s growing posse. Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) introduces him to those that don’t know him, and says that she needs foot soldiers. Mando thinks he knows where he can find some, so he goes off to Mos Pelgo and tries to recruit Cobb Vanth.

Vanth proves to be a hard sell, but once Mando is gone he calls a town meeting to discuss the ongoing threat of the Pykes. He then has a shootout in the street with a legend who has decided to transition into live-action, a legend who has appeared on both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. We don’t know if Vanth is dead dead, but we do know that the Duros who shot him is working with the Pykes. Who is this legend? Cad Bane. More about him here.

As if the Pykes hadn’t made it clear that they mean business, they proceed to blow up Madam Garsa’s sanctuary. We don’t know if Garsa herself (Jennifer Beals) made it out. We’re not done, either, because we cut back to Luke and Grogu. Luke presents Grogu with Mando’s gift, which is a shirt of beskar chain mail. He also presents him with a lightsaber… and not just any lightsaber. It is the lightsaber that belonged to Master Yoda himself, lost towards the end of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. 

Grogu has to choose. The lightsaber means that he chooses the ways of the Jedi. The armor means that he chooses attachment, forsaking the way of the Jedi and choosing Mando.

Which one does he choose? We don’t know, because it cuts to credits. It’s that kind of episode. 

Photo: Lucasfilm

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- If he chooses the lightsaber, then Grogu will be the first student in Luke’s new Jedi Academy.

- In Legends, Luke’s Jedi Academy was located on Yavin 4. This is no longer the case, and the location of where Luke’s school is now has not been revealed in the new canon. This forest planet could be where the school remains for the duration of it’s existence, but we don’t know what planet it is yet. It’s gorgeous though, so there’s that. 

- The Weequay bartender of Mos Pelgo returns, once again played by W. Earl Brown. It’s another Deadwood reunion between him and Olyphant.  

- The Bartender tells Mando that Mos Pelgo has been renamed “Freetown.” This is somewhat in line with the canonical events of the Aftermath books by Chuck Wendig. 

- Lines of the episode: Ahsoka’s aforementioned line, “I’m an old friend of the family” sticks out, but we also love Luke’s line, “Get back up. Always get back up.” 

- Some Jawas have a huge skull on the top of their sandcrawler (it could be the Krayt Dragon's skull, we don’t know), and they chitter and wave to Mando as he flies by them. They’re fans of his now. 

- Cobb Vanth thinks that him losing his armor (which was not actually his) is the same as Mando having to part with Grogu. “I guess we both lost something we were fond of,” he says. Not on the same level at all, but keep trucking Vanth. 

- Before the explosion at the Sanctuary, we see shots of many different patrons and workers. Though the Bith musician is clearly there, we don’t think that we saw Max Rebo. We’re hoping that he took the night off and is still alive. 

- What the kriff happens in the season finale? Is Garsa dead? Is Vanth dead? What choice will Grogu make? How is that even a question that we’re asking about when it comes to this series? With almost two episodes of free time, we’re really hoping that Boba has learned to ride his rancor. Boba Fett riding a rancor into whatever season-ending battle is coming will remind everyone who’s “book” this truly is. 

The Book of Boba Fett streams on Disney+ every Wednesday.