‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Episode 5 – “Return of The Mandalorian” Review

The Book of Boba Fett returns to our screens with a fifth episode that takes a break from our regularly scheduled programming. This is a spoiler review, so please check out our previous coverage of the series HERE. For our coverage on The Mandalorian, please click HERE.

Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) appears! He’s in a meat processing plant, looking for a bounty. He’s hunting Kaba Baiz, because he owes someone important money. He tells Baiz he can bring him in warm, or cold. Then, a fight sequence, with the darksaber! As a result, Djarin takes the head off Baiz, and leaves the meat processing plant with a lightsaber injury. 

Djarin walks out carrying Baiz’s head, on what looks like the Halo game planet. He turns the head over, finding the information he was looking for. A passage down to the substrata. He turns on some sort of vision where he can see symbols that have been painted on the wall, and makes his way down through the substrata, where he finds the armorer (Emily Swallow) and Paz Vizsla (Jon Favreau). Djarin hands the armorer the darksaber, we get a short history, and she hands it back. The armorer allows Djarin to join their covert, and the armorer melts the beskar spear. 

Djarin asks about Bo Katan Kryze, and the armorer warns him of her, using the history lesson of the darksaber to explain the Night of a Thousand Tears. There’s a flashback, which shows the T.I.E.s, as well as the dome of Mandalore exploding. He asks the armorer to make something for Grogu. She states Jedi to master the force must forgo all attachment. Djarin states this is the opposite of their creed, which is loyalty and solidarity are the way. The armorer makes something for Grogu, what looks like could be beskar chain mail. 

The armorer and Djarin practice fighting with the darksaber. Djarin is losing. He treats the darksaber the same way Sabine did. Djarin fights against the blade, instead of going with the blade. He wants to continue practicing, but Vizsla interjects, he wants the darksaber. A duel it shall be! Vizsla manages to get the saber from Djarin, but once Djarin loses the saber he wins easily.

The armorer tells him enough, and asks both if they have removed their helmet. Djarin admits he has, and the armorer tells him he is no longer a Mandalorian. He asks how he can atone, and is told the only way is to bathe in the waters below the mines of Mandalore. Which have conveniently been destroyed. He leaves the two Mandalorians and boards a starliner ship bound for Tatooine!

Peli Motto appears! She’s dealing with a womp rat problem, which Djarin helps her deal with. He’s here because she told him she had a replacement for the Razor Crest. She takes him to a tarp covered ship, which at first looks like a pod racer. But it’s actually an N-1 royal starfighter from Naboo! Some maintenance occurs, some… furry Jawas appear, and they put the fighter back together. I didn’t know humans could speak Jawa.

They finish the ship, and Djarin takes her for a test ride, through Beggar’s Canyon! The New Republic pulls him over, one of which asks of his past driving a Razor Crest. Said it was seen on Navarro in an Imperial skirmish. The pilot asks if he’ll answer a few questions, but Djarin manages to get away. He returns to Motto, where he runs into Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), who offers him a job. He tells her it’s on the house, but he has to pay a visit to a little friend first. 

This episode felt like stepping back into season one of The Mandalorian. Bryce Dallas Howard returns to Star Wars to direct this episode of The Book of Boba Fett and man, the emotion she manages to draw up. We last left Djarin with Fennec, Bo Katan, Koska Reeves and Cara Dune aboard Moff Gideon’s ship, so it was good to see his story pick back up, especially since we aren’t supposed to get season 3 until the end of this year, or beginning of next. Djarin left the family he’d built since he lost the covert in season 1 of The Mandalorian, also losing Grogu, which has clearly hit him harder than he’d like to admit. And now he loses his covert. No longer is he a Mandalorian.

The Book of Boba Fett has always been portrayed as Book 2.5 of The Mandalorian. So much so in fact, the cast thought they were filming season 3 of The Mandalorian until they were told otherwise. So while this episode may feel like part of a different show, it’s meant to. That being said, I definitely can understand being frustrated it doesn’t feel like part of the narrative efforts of The Book of Boba Fett. It’s my only critique about the episode. Other than that, this truly is the best of Star Wars right here y’all. We’ve got two episodes left of The Book of Boba Fett, I wonder what will happen next. And who precisely is the little friend Djarin has to pay a visit to, but that’s for next time. –Katie Rentschler

Rating: 9.5/10

The Book of Boba Fett episodes 1-5 are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes air every Wednesday on Disney+.