Why You Can Trust CNET The Book of Boba Fett episode 1 recap: The moment we've been waiting for since 1983
As Boba and partner Fennec Shand take their first steps towards seizing control of Tatooine, we get a look into the past.
Boba Fett and Fennec Shand bring a new brand of crime to Tatooine in The Book of Boba Fett.
The Book of Boba Fett kicked off on Disney Plus on Wednesday, with the first installment of the seven-episode live-action Star Wars show hitting the streaming service. It follows Boba and super best friend Fennec Shand (Temeura Morrison and Ming-Na Wen) after The Mandalorian's season 2 finale, in which they took over the late crime lord Jabba the Hutt's palace with their most marketable skill – violence.
Boba was reintroduced to the Star Wars universe in 2020's Mandalorian season 2 opener, having survived his encounter with the sarlacc in Return of the Jedi. He saved a badly wounded Fennec before tracking down Mando and awesomely reclaiming his armor.
With his iconic look restored, a clone bounty hunter took over Jabba's territory and built up his new underworld empire around five years after Return of the Jedi. Let's take a look at all the SPOILERY details from the first episode.
Survival in the sands
The bulk of this episode is spent revealing exactly how Boba survived his fall into the sarlacc in flashbacks to Return of the Jedi, which he dreams about while snoozing in healing bacta fluid.
Turns out he used his flamethrower and digging skills to escape the sarlacc's yucky belly, but a bunch of cheeky Jawas nicked his armor and he was captured by ruthless Tusken Raiders. After a failed escape attempt and being forced to dig for water, he ultimately earned the Tuskens' respect by killing a terrifying sand creature.
He's out.
This episode is straightforward and low-key, but it's exciting to see a plot thread we've been waiting for since Boba fell into the sarlacc in the 1983 movie play out in live-action.
Since Boba is wearing Tusken-style robes and wielding their weapons when we first see him in The Mandalorian, it's possible he continued living among them or at least dressed like them while hanging out in the desert.
Sometimes you dig a little too deep when looking for water on Tatooine.
Seizing Jabba's territory
In the present storyline, Boba and Fennec are struggling in taking over Jabba's empire after killing Bib Fortuna (Boba's title is "Daimyo"). It seems like the Mayor of Mos Espa in particular is gonna be trouble – he doesn't bother coming to the palace, refuses to pay his dues and actually demands tribute from Boba.
"I would not be surprised if you receive another delegation in the near future," the mayor's Twi'lek majordomo says as he leaves.
Garsa Fwip seems rather charmed by Boba.
Things go more smoothly with Garsa Fwip (Jennifer Beals from Flashdance), who has a real fancy cantina, pays tribute without hesitation and flirts with Boba (to be fair, he's infinitely more charming than Jabba or Bib Fortuna). She must have known he was coming, since her servers fill his helmet with credits super quickly.
It seems that his decision to spare the Gamorreans was the right one though, since they save him and Fennec from the assassins and loyally escort him back to the bacta tank.
The Night Wind assassins almost overpower Boba and Fennec.
Assassination attempt
The guys who attack Boba and Fennec are credited as "Night Wind Assassins," but this isn't a group who've previously been in Star Wars. It's also unclear who sent them.
Based on what we've seen, the most obvious candidate is Mos Espa's unseen mayor. However, there are plenty of others who might take a poke at Tatooine's new crime boss and Boba has undoubtedly made plenty of enemies during his career as a bounty hunter.
Since Fennec captured one alive, we'll hopefully learn more in the next episode. Unless they're one of those cult-like silent assassin groups or the types that take their own lives rather than talk.
Fennec ruthlessly dispatches one assassin to show her captive she's serious.
Unknown injuries
Even though Boba seems physically capable in the flashbacks and the present day, his sleeping in bacta fluid suggests that he may be dealing with long-term injuries from the sarlacc's nasty juices, his rough treatment by the Tusken Raiders or the beating he received from the sand creature.
Either way, that apparent dependence seems like a weakness his enemies could exploit.
The green "bacta effect" that shows up in Boba's flashbacks also suggests that the healing liquid is resurfacing these memories.
Observations, WTF questions and Easter eggs
- Boba's digging his way up from the sand outside the sarlacc is a little like what Patton Oswalt described in his iconic Parks and Recreation Star Wars Filibuster.
- The first dialogue of the episode – "Rodian. Do you want me to cut your bonds?" – comes at 9 minutes and 21 seconds. Unfortunately, the Rodian happens to be an idiot and ruins Boba's escape attempt.
- The first places Boba dreams about are Kamino, the watery planet where he was cloned from Jango Fett along with the Galactic Republic's clone army, and Geonosis, the sandy world where Jango was decapitated by Jedi Master Mace Windu. These moments were seen in Attack of the Clones.
- Boba's armor was acquired from the Jawas by Cobb Vanth during Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy of novels, and Cobb gave the armor to Mando in the first episode of The Mandalorian season 2.
- The Tusken Raiders' black robes look awesome. No wonder Boba wore them for years.
- It'd be nice to have droids to dress you in the morning.
- Dokk Strassi, the Trandoshan who pays tribute to Boba, is played by Robert Rodriguez.
- 8D8, the white droid who introduces guests in Boba's throne room, was previously seen in torturing a gonk droid in Return of the Jedi. He's voiced in this episode by Matt Berry, from What We Do in the Shadows and The IT Crowd.
- Mos Espa is the settlement Anakin Skywalker lived in when we were introduced to him in The Phantom Menace.
- It seems Boba wasn't the only survivor of Jabba's sail barge. The Ortolan (blue elephant-looking guy) musician in the cantina is Max Rebo, whom we last saw in Return of the Jedi. It's likely he and his fellow musicians fled when Luke Skywalker and his allies started killing the Jabba's goons.
- Boba, the Rodian and the Tusken child witness a swoop gang attacking a home in the desert, but it's unclear what group they belong to (they tag the house with a gang symbol). We'll likely see them again.
Join us for more Easter eggs and observations next Wednesday, Jan. 5, when episode 2 of The Book of Boba Fett hits Disney Plus.
