SPOILER WARNING! The following contains slight spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett Episode 2! Do not proceed if you wish to avoid spoilers!
MAJOR POINTS
- Not all Sandpeople are bad
- The assassins who tried to kill Fett and Shand were allegedly sent by the Mayor of Mos Espa
- Jabba has family that now want control of his criminal empire
Shand brings the captured assassin before Fett. When he refuses to talk, they dump him into the Rancor pit, much like Jabba did to Oola in the famous Return of the Jedi scene. As the rancor door slowly opens, the terrifying assassin blurts out that the mayor hired him. Of course, it turned out there is no rancor and the pit is empty.
Fett meets with the mayor, who denies involvement. But not before one of his guards shoots the assassin. The mayor warns Fett that Jabba’s twin cousins have arrived on Tatooine and have claimed ownership of Jabba’s empire.
The twin Hutts arrived in true Hutt fashion, atop a pedestal carried by minions. They are accompanied by the Wookiee bounty hunter Fett informs them that he now controls Jabba’s empire since he killed Bib Fortuna. If they want Jabba’s empire, they will have to kill him to get it. The Hutts decide to leave since “bloodshed isn’t good for business”. Both Fett and Shand are skeptical that Hutts would simply depart without some sort of plan.
Back at the palace, Fett again sleeps in the bacta pod and dreams about his past with the Tusken Raiders.
The Raider whom Boba fought in the last episode teaches him to fight with a gaffi stick. A hovertrain appears manned by several pirates, the same ones Boba previously saw pillage a civilian home. They ambush the Sandpeople and shoot several of them dead. Boba is appalled by this and vows to stop the train.
Boba travels to Tosche Station on foot and sees the pirates bullying a civilian couple who resemble Fixer and Camie from original Star Wars deleted scenes. The gang scoff at him when he tells them to stop. Of course, these pirates are dumb and try to attack him. Fett easily disposes of them and takes all of their speeders back to camp.
Fett returns the training favor to the Sandpeople by teaching them how to ride the speeders. Once the training is complete, Fett leads the Raiders in a train heist. After an intense battle, the train is eventually destroyed.
The Raiders loot the train to collect all its weapons and equipment. They also find loads of illegal spice. Boba makes a deal with the crew to leave and never bother the Tuskens again. If they travel through the tribe’s land, they must pay the tribe a fee, much like taxation on space trade routes. If they agree, then the Tuskens will protect them during their travels.
That night, the Raider chief explains to Boba that there are many tribes of Tuskens. Some hide while others kill. Boba replies that they shouldn’t need to hide now that they have weapons and speeders. The chief presents a lizard to Boba as a gift, which promptly climbs up into his nose. Boba, under the guidance of the lizard, wanders off into the night and finds a lone tree. As he experiences flashbacks to Kamino and the Sarlacc, he breaks off a branch of the tree and carries it back home.
The tribe clothes Fett in a cloak and other tribal fittings. They then show him how to carve his branch into his very own gaffi stick. The episode ends with Boba apparently fully accepted into the tribe.
MAJOR QUESTIONS
- Why did Jabba’s cousins wait so long before attempting to take over his business?
- Why are so many Sandpeople ruthless pillagers while others seem to be genuinely good and honorable people?
- Will we see Boba Fett vs. Black Krrsantan?
- What kind of minions will the Hutts throw at Boba?
- If that couple at Tosche Station really was Camie and Fixer, then they’ve aged very well for living in a desert for a dozen years or so.
OVERALL GRADE: A
I know there have been some mixed reactions to this show, but I have really been enjoying it so far. Then again, I am a big fan of the prequels as well, so it may be just me. I never thought I would see something that would make me sympathetic to Tusken Raiders. But much like I speculated in my podcast review, it’s possible that there may be different tribes of Raiders, with some being less barbaric than others.