Star Wars Explained is our ongoing series where we delve into the latest Star Wars shows, movies, trailers, and news stories to divine the franchise’s future. This entry explores Episode 7 and the ending and post credit scene of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett (Chapter 7: “In the Name of Honor”) and considers where the franchise can go from here. Yes, prepare for SPOILERS.
Blood in the streets! Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7 delivers on its promise. The Pyke Syndicate and Lord Fett (Temuera Morrison) square off against each other, and Mos Espa is nearly reduced to dust in the process. Rallying around the former bounty hunter are Din “Mando” Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Fennec Shand (Ming–Na Wen), Krrsantan (Carey Jones), Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), the Mods, some Freetown soldiers, Grogu (a.k.a. Baby Yoda), and one bloody big Rancor.
Despite their increased numbers, they are barely enough to hold back hired killer Cad Bane (Corey Burton/Dorian Kingi) and the duplicitous Tatooine gangsters who previously pinky-swore to stay out of the fight.
Sorely missed from the battle is Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant), the Freetown marshall who took a blast in the chest last episode. For the majority of Chapter 7, we’re led to believe that the gunslinger is down for the count permanently. And as Fett kills his way to Daimyo dominance, the audience is muttering under their breath, “Why would you gift us Timothy Olyphant only to steal him away so quickly?”
We should never have worried. Lucasfilm is not some dimwit hive. They’d never murder a handsome mug like Olyphant’s to prove Cad Bane’s severity. They’re going to keep him around for a little while longer, and The Book of Boba Fett‘s Chapter 7 post-credits scene is designed to calm fandom’s nerves.
Cobb Vanth Will Return
Initially, as Lord Fett and Fennec Shand are surveying the Mos Espa damage, we’re led to believe that Black Krrsantan is cooling his jets in the Bacta tank in Jabba’s palace. The Wookiee took a serious beating from the Pykes, and his recovery will undoubtedly be long and painful. However, the Bacta tank is occupied, and Krrsantan must wait his turn.
The Book of Boba Fett post-credits scene reveals Cobb Vanth enjoying a healing soak. Cad Bane did not kill him during their duel. The Freetown people got Vanth to Fett in the nick of time, and the marshall will live to geek out over Phantom Menace era starships once again. But he may not be the same Vanth we first met in The Mandalorian Season 2.
Also featured during the end-credits scene is the Modifier (Stephen Bruner, a.k.a. Thundercat). As he did for Fennec Shand, Drash (Sophie Thatcher), and Skad (Jordan Bolger), the Droid doctor will enhance Vanth with a few cybernetic upgrades. When Vanth returns, he might be sporting a shiny shooting arm. Or protective chest armor. If Vanth can’t be the fastest gun under two suns, and he can’t steal Fett’s armor back, then he’ll need robotic leverage to survive his time as Freetown’s good-hearted guardian.
Cobb Vanth is tied to Tatooine, as is Boba Fett. Din Djarin can leave the desert behind, but these two are linked to the OG Star Wars planet for the foreseeable future, which means we’re not shaking these sands anytime soon either. Fett has found his family on Tatooine, and Vanth could very well be a part of it in The Book of Boba Fett Season 2.
Din Djarin and Grogu, Lone Wolf and Cub
Early in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7, R2-D2 returns Grogu to Tatooine in Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing. Last week, the Jedi gave the child a choice. He can choose the Mandalorian chainmail and return to Din Djarin’s side or select Yoda’s lightsaber and become Luke’s first pupil at the new Jedi temple. Grogu said thanks but no thanks to Luke, and based on The Last Jedi, the kid clearly made the smart choice. Luke’s temple is destined for flame and torment.
The option given to Grogu is lifted straight from the Lone Wolf and Cub manga series by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. In the comic, after the Shogun murders Ogami Ittō’s wife, the samurai sets off on a revenge quest. He presents his son Daigorō with a sword and a ball. If the kid picks the ball, Ogami Ittō will strike him down so that he can join his mother in the afterlife. If he picks the sword, Daigorō will tag along with his father down the demon’s path, damned to a vengeance quest. The kid picks the blade.
Luke’s presentation is less grim for sure, but you have to wonder how hurt the Jedi was when Grogu walked toward the Beskar chainmail. He’s lost his first student. But we know, he’ll have plenty of more opportunities to fail younglings later.
Lucky for us, Din Djarin and Grogu are back together again. The Mandalorian spent two seasons exploring the two characters as a father and son foundling set. We knew that they belonged side by side. Din Djarin’s desire to return Grogu to “his people” was fruitless, but we were also charmed by Luke Skywalker’s return. As gobsmackingly epic as it felt, we also sensed that it was wrong.
When Djarin lifted his helmet to Grogu, we were overcome by the love shared between them. They are the story, and The Mandalorian as a series is nothing with them apart. The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 7 finally confirms what we sensed. This is the story, this is the way: Grogu the Mandalorian, not Grogu the Jedi.
The Book of Boba Fett’s Next Page
Where does Boba Fett go now that he’s firmly seated as head honcho on Tatooine? Nowhere. He parks his butt on his throne and protects the people the way he could not protect the Tuskens who rescued him from the deadly desert.
Sitting on a throne is not a task for the lazy. He may have fought back the Pykes in this skirmish, but their Syndicate will not retreat. They will be back, and they’ll bring more with them than one old bounty killer.
Cad Bane’s death was Boba Fett putting a pin in his past. The clone slew the clone killer. There is some poetic justice to the execution. However, with the past behind him, the future looms treacherously.
There are more gangsters in the Star Wars universe than the Pykes. The Syndicate could partner with the Hutts. That would be bad news for Fett, as the Twins are probably still stinging from their retreat earlier in the season. With a little extra muscle, they could put a serious squeeze on the person who failed to protect Jabba from Luke Skywalker.
We still have not forgotten about Crimson Dawn. Solo: A Star Wars Story proffered their arrival into the live-action realm as an epic moment. Lord Maul might be dead within continuity, but we still hold out hope that Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) could worm her way back to the franchise. As a Crimson Dawn mini-boss, she proved herself connivingly destructive. As the big cheese, she’s no doubt transformed into something even more sinister.
Chapter 7 does not end with a big “oh, snap” moment. The last one The Book of Boba Fett delivered was Cad Bane’s arrival, and maybe the Rancor going full King Kong crazy during Episode 7’s Mos Espa explosion-fest. In the finale, we see a Star Wars IP refusing to slow down. With Din Djarin and Grogu speeding through the galaxy and Boba Fett circling the wagons on Tatooine, danger and possibility lurk everywhere.
Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett Episode 7 is now streaming on Disney+.
Related Topics: Book of Boba Fett, Star Wars, Star Wars Explained
