Warning! Spoilers ahead for this week’s episode of The Book of Boba Fett, “The Streets of Mos Espa.”
The much anticipated first spinoff of The Mandalorian, featuring one of Star Wars’ most iconic characters of all time, has, at last, arrived on Disney+.
Last week’s episode primarily focused on Boba’s time with the Tuskens, showing how he became accepted as part of their tribe and was accepted into their culture after defending them from an attack.
This week’s episode spent more time in the present, introducing viewers to an exciting crop of new characters that hint at the overarching theme of the series.
The Fallen Tuskens
While last week’s episode spent most of its time in the past, this week’s flashback was brief, revealing that the tribe of Tuskens Boba had been living with was massacred while he was out on a mission.
The end of this particular segment focused on Boba’s mourning. Losing the Tuskens was heartbreaking for Boba, not just because of the brutal tragedy, but because they had embraced him as one of their own.
A Brewing War
After another run-in with the Hutt Twins, resulting in a surprising Rancor gift, Boba learns they’re ceding Jabba’s throne after discovering the Mayor has already promised Mos Espa to someone else: the Pyke Syndicate.
Considering Boba’s history with the Tuskens and Pykes, the fight for the throne is growing more and more personal for the daimyo.
This week’s episode ended with a suspenseful moment of Boba telling Fennec to prepare for war, making the external conflict of The Book of Boba Fett clear, but his internal journey may be revealing itself, too.
Head of the Family
The present timeline in this week’s episode saw Boba taking in a street gang so they could work off their debts, once again showing Boba’s willingness to recruit people to his cause rather than use violence.
It seems Boba took in the teens because he saw something of himself in them, reflecting on his journey as a young bounty hunter when he was first leading his own amateur gang. After Jango’s death, Boba’s family, for better or worse, was his fellow hunters.
Later in the episode, Fennec explicitly tells Boba he’s the head of a family as they sit at opposite ends of a huge table overflowing with food. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this idea mentioned in the series, but it’s the first time it’s been discussed so directly in a scene.
On its face, the notion of family could be interpreted in the classic gangster sense, but for Boba Fett, and what we’ve seen of the series so far, it seems likely to go deeper and explore Boba’s internal drive for belonging and connection.
While Boba has mostly been viewed as the ultimate Star Wars gunslinger, he’s also a lost man. As a clone whose father was killed in front of him when he was very young, it’s likely The Book of Boba Fett will explore Boba’s search for connection, like he found with the Tuskens, as he rediscovers his own identity in Tattooine.
The Book of Boba Fett is available to stream on Disney+.