From The Desert Comes A Stranger (The Book of Boba Fett - S01E06) - Live Action Series

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"You're trying too hard! Don't try, do!" SPOILERS.

Pretty Planet No. XVI

The Book of Boba Fett is the weirdest series I have ever watched. To me it feels as if halfway through the season Jon Favreau decided that he'd rather actually do something entirely different, since Boba turned out to be rather boring, and thus decided to just go for it and said "heck, I'll just do what's really fun instead. And I know what's fun... I'll have the Mandalorian, Cobb Vanth, Cad Bane, Ahsoka, Grogu and freaking Luke Skywalker in one episode and it will be the best thing ever!" And it is. Last week we had a Mandalorian season 3 (or 2.5) episode which was, until then, the best "Book of Boba Fett" episode by far, very ironic given the fact that Boba Fett did not appear at all in this episode. This week we get something entirely different. The episode is more or less a perfect backdoor pilot for an "Adventures of Luke Skywalker" show on Disney+. It's really strange how we went from "Boba makes a Gaffi Stick" to seeing Luke's Jedi Temple being built and Luke training Grogu in the ways of the Force.

Din Djarin at the site of Luke's Jedi academy under construction with everyone's most favorite droid

The episode begins with a short prologue in which Cobb Vanth encounters Pykes near his small town, transporting spice. He disposes of them but lets the smart one go, since he's the only one who didn't try to shoot Cobb. Cobb sends the Pykes a clear message, get out of Mos Pelgo and sell spice elsewhere.

Luke, the master levitator

But before you even begin to think that this may be an old-fashioned Gunsmoke type episode focusing on marshall Vanth we cut away to Din Djarin approaching a beautiful jungle world. We all remember what Din said to Fennec last week, that he wants to visit his little friend. And thus we get to see Din traveling to Luke's Jedi academy which is still under construction. At first we only get to see R2, who greets Din and leads him to the construction site where dozens of droids build the academy out of hewn rocks, but no living soul is to be seen anywhere, and you may think that the episode just wants to tease you and that Luke and Grogu are probably off planet. But then the episode goes all in and we spend about half the entire episode's runtime with Luke and Grogu. Luke is giving Grogu lessons and it turns out it involves levitating frogs. A lot of them. This may or may not be a direct reference to an unused idea by JJ Abrams who wanted to introduce Luke on Ahch-To by showing him levitating countless rocks. Something Rian Johnson abandoned in favor of his own ideas. The less said about that, the better, but we will return to that later.

Grogu remembers

Luke tells Grogu about Yoda and how much he reminds him of the old Jedi Master. He asks Grogu if he remembers home, but it's apparent Grogu doesn't really or has suppressed these memories. So Luke asks Grogu if he wants to remember home and he uses the Force to help Grogu remember. Home in this case means the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and this episode is yet another one with a (very short) flashback as we get to see Order 66 from Grogu's perspective as three Jedi are defending him but are shot down by an army of clone troopers. It's maybe not as flashy as last week's glimpse of Mandalore's destruction but carries more emotional weight.

Ahsoka is visiting Luke

Din Djarin gets a little bored meanwhile since R2 had him wait at the construction site. But then Ahsoka approaches Din and they discuss everyones favorite little toddler. Even though Ahsoka is no Jedi (technically speaking), she still seems to support the old philosophy. She talks about attachment and how it can be distracting for a Jedi. She also tells Din that Grogu misses him very much but that it would be better for him not to see his foster father. But Din insists, he wants to give Grogu the gift he had had made for him last week.

Luke teaches Grogu about the Force

Luke meanwhile keeps training and teaching Grogu, we also get to see Luke briefly training with his lightsaber, doing some nice somersaults, jumping across rivers, displaying his effortless use of the Force, all the while carrying little Grogu around in a backpack like he once did with Yoda on Dagobah. The feels!

Me brokes it!

Luke then tries to teach Grogu how to use the Force to jump. Grogu fails at first but Luke reminds him not to try, but to do, quoting Yoda of course. Luke then uses a good old training remote to give Grogu some proper motivation to Force jump around. Little Grogu gets zapped at first, but Grogu quickly learns to jump and hop around similar to Yoda in the prequels. But eventually Grogu figures out that the best way to stop the remote from bothering him is to force choke it, which still seems to be Grogu's most favorite trick. The sad little face he makes though as his toy breaks is just adorable.

Ahsoka and Luke - talking about Grogu

Ahsoka meanwhile convinces Din that it's actually best for Grogu if he does not see him, since Grogu is already greatly missing him and seeing him would only make things worse for Grogu. Din realizes that it's really more about him wanting to see his adopted child and that his own feelings should maybe take a backseat, as he's watching Luke training Grogu from a distance, so Din hands over the little gift bundle to Ahsoka. Din leaves the planet in his Naboo starfighter and Ahsoka goes to Luke, who is still training Grogu. Ahsoka mentions the strong bond between Din Djarin and Grogu and Luke asks Ahsoka for advice, which makes sense, she is the older, more experienced Jedi, but she simply tells him to trust his instincts. Then Ahsoka leaves and tells Luke that he may perhaps see her again, as he asks if she will return again.

A Krayt dragon skull on a sandcrawler. As if the episode hadn't enough spectacular eye candy before that! The next HasLab?

We then cut to Tatooine. Din meets Boba and Fennec in the palace and they discuss options (yes, Boba is in the episode for a minute or two, not that it really matters) and Din tells Boba that he can find help. So Din takes his starfighter and flies across Tatooine to Mos Pelgo, the little town that Cobb watches over as marshall.

The stranger from the desert has arrived.

Cobb's new deputy wants to write Din a parking ticket because he's parked his starfighter in the wrong spot, in what is a very hilarious and much better take on a similar scene in The Last Jedi, but then Cobb appears and the overeager deputy is reigned in. Din tries to enlist the help of Cobb and the inhabitants of the small town, but they are very reluctant. Din literally asks for a favor, something he finds difficult and Cobb promises to see what what he can do. Din leaves again and Cobb is about to talk to the townspeople as a shadowy figure appears on the blurry horizon. A figure wearing a broad rimmed hat and coat. A silhouette people familiar with The Clone Wars will recognize immediately.

Cad Bane in the flesh. Still voiced by Corey Burton, fortunately!

It turns out the Pykes have hired outside help as well. And they hired none other than Cad Bane. Yes, this is the live action debut of one of the most popular shady bounty hunters. It comes to an archetypical stand off, seen countless times before in countless westerns, but it never gets old.

Probably only a flesh wound. People in Star Wars have survived worse things!

Things tense up and violence erupts as Cad, Cobb Vanth and his deputy all draw weapons. But the two of them are no match for Cad Bane who shoots Cobb Vanth once and obliterates the deputy with multiple shots. Cobb lies in the dust, motionless, as Cad Bane leaves behind a warning that Tatooine belongs to the syndicate. We don't lean if Cobb still lives, but chances are he will survive.

My future wife(s)

We then cut to the Mos Espa cantina, Pykes pay a visit and leave behind an ice cream maker (aka portable safe) as they leave again a short while later. Which usually doesn't bode too well... and the container promptly explodes. We see a violent explosion, with flames bursting out of the cantina door... and the fate of Jennifer Beals and orange skinned Twi'lek is unknown. If The Book of Boba Fett follows the ancient tradition of old serials then next week will reveal both are alive, because they ducked behind a table or something like that. Or maybe the droid who saw the container and wanted to bring it to the Pykes made it to the door just in time so that most of the explosion did not actually devastate the inside. We'll see! And when you think it's all over, that's it. The episode cuts back to Luke and Grogu again. There is still the unresolved matter of the gift bundle.

The big eyes anyone would make if Luke showcased Yoda's old lightsaber and promised it as a gift to them

There is still some awesome left in this episode, we have not reached peaked awesome yet. It turns out that a very crucial decision lies ahead of Grogu. Luke knows about Grogu's conflicted feelings and thus he gives him a choice. Luke first presents Yoda's old lightsaber to Grogu, promising him that it will be his.

Red pill or blue pill? Choices!

But then Luke shows Din's gift to Grogu. The cutest little mithril, I mean Beskar, chainmail you have ever seen, meant to protect Grogu from harm. And then Luke offers Grogu a choice. Pick the lightsaber and choose the Jedi path, pick the chainmal and choose family, Grogu will return to Din, abandon his Jedi training and never be a Jedi. And then the episode cuts to black. But we all know what Grogu is going to pick. And that's it. The most emotionally satisfying 45 minutes of Star Wars in a long, long, long time. Even outclassing the season 2 Mandalorian finale.

Where to begin... this review is much too long already, so I will try to be brief. First things first, hiring the YouTube guy who did the Star Wars deep fake videos obviously paid off big time for ILM. While Luke did look a little weird and off in the Mandalorian season 2 finale it was close to perfect this time. Yes, here and there something felt a little off, but this is nitpicking. No, this was almost picture perfect ca. 1983 Mark Hamill as Luke. Technology can be so awesome! I say that this episode is a brilliant argument and showcase for a potential Luke Skywalker Disney+ series, or maybe even a movie. Jon Favreau was apparently very confident about the results this time, because the episode spends almost 25 minutes with Luke, not shying away from close ups, action (training) sequences, massive amounts of dialogue. Very well done!

What else can be said about an episode that not only features the Mandalorian again, Timothy Olyphant as Cobb Vanth, reunites us with Ahsoka and R2-D2, shows us the new Jedi academy being built and then indulges us with tons of Luke Skywalker and Grogu scenes? It feels like a Star Wars fan went all in with all of his most favorite ideas ever and said, "to heck, it's not about me and pretentious delusions of being an auteur or subverting expectations because I am so edgy, it's all about the fans and the fun!". And heck, does this episode deliver in the fan service and fun department. It is incredible to see how Lucasfilm's output has transformed in recent years. Now there are people who genuinely think they like the sequels, good for them, no argument here, you like what you like, but let's all be honest. The sequels were terrible. Rehashed ideas, put in a blender, then handed over to an iconoclast who put his own feelings and agendas over that of the fans and destroyed a childhood icon, one of the most iconic heroes in modern mythology, while cracking silly "yo momma" jokes. Rey, even though portrayed by the very likable Daisy Ridley, just feels like a knock off fake made in China Luke Skywalker wannabe (or one of those hilarious Turkish bootleg Star Wars action figures from the 1980s), because the writers back then had either no clue and talent or Lucasfilm had no idea really how to make good Star Wars content.

The 45 minutes of Star Wars content released today feel like one big love letter to fans, like a showcase and also sad reminder of what could have been if more talented people had made the sequels. THIS is the Luke Skywalker people wanted to see, not talking about age here, but personality, character and attitude. The benign and extremely powerful Jedi master, building his academy so he can reform the Jedi order. It's literally heartbreaking to know that according to JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy it's all for nothing since either some discount Palpatine puppet or a spoiled emo kid will destroy everything, but at this point in time I feel I should no longer consider that canon. There are these wild and crazy rumors that Favreau and Filoni want to retcon the sequels, consign them to some weird and dark alternate universe, and it could be done, there is the World Between Worlds, but for the longest time I felt this is just wishful thinking. But after this episode I am not so sure anymore. It literally shows us everything that people have wanted to see since 1983. Luke the Jedi Master, Luke the teacher. The academy. The promise of a bright and better future with exciting adventures, not a future with The Empire 2.0, the Death Star 3.0, the Rebellion 2.0 and complete and utter failure and destruction. Han and Leia quasi divorced, Luke a grumpy and disillusioned old man who tells kids to get off his lawn. Jon Favreau knows very well, it seems, how MUCH the sequels hurt many, many fans. And this episode today felt like a promise that things will be good again. I hope JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson watched the episode and I hope they feel very dumb and small, especially Rian Johnson. JJ Abrams is a hack, but his idea for Luke was still much better, but it's Johnson who massacred an iconic modern day hero. But I digress...

A few words about the series... as I said in the first paragraph The Book of Boba Fett is the weirdest show ever. It's a show that is no longer about Boba Fett AT ALL. I suppose the finale will give us more Boba again, but let's be honest, all the gaffi stick making or moped gangs fade to nothing and become completely irrelevant in light of The Mandalorian episode last week and the "Adventures of Luke Skywalker" backdoor pilot with a little helping of "Gunsmoke in Space" on the side today. But still... maybe Favreau and Filoni should have chosen a different title for the series and structured it differently, because, objectively speaking, The Book of Boba Fett is a confusing mess. Sure, the two episodes last week and this week are some of the best things we have seen in a long time, but we completely deviated from the original premise. As if Favreau himself got bored with Boba Fett. I feel bad for Boba Fett and Temuera Morrison, both get completely upstaged by Din Djarin, Grogu and larger than life Luke Skywalker. Yes, Luke Skywalker is a scene stealer, yes, I can completely undertand why talentless JJ Abrams decided to cut Luke from the story in The Force Awakens because no one would have given a single dime about his carbon copied female clone Lucasfilm tried to push as the new heroine for a new generation. And one more thing: in light of all this things like Galaxy's Edge or the new Galactic Starcruiser come across as hilariously bad missteps. Imagine that... a Star Wars theme park that won't even give you the most popular Star Wars characters ever, including new additions Grogu and Din Djarin. What were they thinking?

So I will end with this... this episode was much better even than the Mandalorian season 2 finale. It was better than ca 99.9% of all things Lucasfilm has released since 2003. The Clone Wars season 7 finale is maybe better, more epic, very tragic and moving, but Luke Skywalker hits you much more deep inside than Ahsoka and Rex can, no disrespect to them, they are both great, but Luke is mythic. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni apparently really want to save Star Wars from creatives who feel their own needs and agendas should be put above what fans want. This episode was not just a love letter, it felt like a 45 minute apology for all that was done to Star Wars between 2015 and 2019. To which I say... Apology accepted! No Force chokes required either. I am genuinely pleased and happy. Thank you! I rate this episode 11 out of 10 stars. Let's just forget that this was supposed to be a Book of Boba Fett episode, okay? I really wish Favreau and Filoni will give future projects much better titles. It's kind of tragic that Boba is a quasi false protagonist in his own series, almost like Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, but at least Boba is still alive and he will probably play a larger role again in the final. But quite frankly, unless Luke, Han and Leia show up on Tatooine to hand over little Grogu to Din, with Luke visiting his old home, going to the cantina, cutting Pykes into little pieces, I feel the finale can only pale in comparison to what we got today. But I am ready to be pleasantly surprised, despise Robert Rodriguez helming next week's finale. Dave Filoni directed this week's episode and he really delivered the goods, just like Bryce Dallas Howard last week (and any other director on the show that was not Robert Rodriguez).