The Book of Boba Fett – Chapter Four – The Gathering Storm Review
**SPOILER WARNING**
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen (Agents of Shield), the fourth chapter of Boba’s Bacta Tank starts immediately with a flashback. A little salty from the last episode I eye-rolled at the flashbacta commencement but this would be the only time. This episode focuses on the formation of the bond shared between Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) by filling in the blanks on their past.
To fully understand what is happening here one must be familiar with Chapter Five of The Mandalorian featuring the introduction and apparent death of bounty hunter Fennec Shand. After being left for dead footsteps, accompanied by a familiar spur sound, approach Fennec’s body. Diehard Star Wars fans knew what that spur sound meant. Boba Fett was bacta! Erm back! Fennec would then reappear with Boba in Mandalorian season two with a brief mention and flash of her cybernetics explaining her survival and loyalty to Mr. Fett. What we didn’t see in The Mandalorian we are shown here with Boba taking Fennec’s body to modifiers (similar to the teens in Chapter Three) to save her life. The music in this scene was a little bit weird here. Not that the music itself was bad it just felt like we were jacking into The Matrix for a minute. Upon her awakening/revival Fennec ultimately decides to stay with Boba and assists him in the reacquiring of his ship from Bib Fortuna’s possession. This scene showcased parts of Jabba/Bib/Boba’s palace that we haven’t seen before and new droids including a chef with a General Grievous complex. The scene ultimately culminates in an action sequence with Boba and Fennec taking out a bunch of guards and flying away in Slave I.
“Congratulations, Master Fett. You are completely healed.”
Dressing Droid – The Book of Boba Fett – Chapter Four
Boba’s first priority now that he has his ship back is paying a visit to the biker gang that was responsible for the death of the Tusken tribe he had been apart of. Boba flying Slave I over the biker gang and blasting them all is the show I signed up for. Call me juvenile.
Something with these shows, for me, is there are times I feel like we could be doing something more interesting with the screen time but then I usually end up enjoying what is shown and put my foot in my mouth. Such is the case when we return to the Sarlacc pit with Boba in search of his armor. Now, I’m a little confused how this thing survived Boba burning his way out of it in the pilot episode but not the craziest thing to happen in Star Wars. The Sarlacc and Slave I have a tangle with Fennec struggling to reach buttons to assist Boba in freeing them from the creature. Whoever designed Boba’s ship should be fired as its layout is incredibly inconvenient. This scene gave us the return of one my favorite Star Wars sounds. Fennec releases a seismic charge from the ship that finds its way into the Sarlacc’s mouth before detonating underground.
We seemingly skip Boba actually locating his armor (see The Mandalorian, Season Two) and instead are given a quick recap of the post credits scene of The Mandalorian where he relieves Bib Fortuna of his life with the music swelling as Boba sits on his new throne and the flashback ends. The music and the shots here feel like the end of this flashback sequence was actually the official start of the series. As if the previous three and a half episodes have just been setup or a prologue for what is to come. “Congratulations, Master Fett. You are completely healed.” Thank the maker we might be done with the bacta baths!
Later, Boba returns to The Sanctuary where we find Black Krrsantan drinking and clearly not having a good time as a loud group of Trandoshans patrons enjoy themselves at a nearby gambling table. Why so racist, Santy? In a rage, the drunk Wookie starts destroying the Trandoshans and is about to dismember one before Garsa Fwip played by Jennifer Beals (Flashdance) asks him to stop him by reminding him of the great gladiator he once was and to give us, the viewers, a little exposition on the character. Fwip’s request to spare the patron is denied by Krrsantan as he rips the arm off the Trandoshan and leaves the bar. Boba needing some muscle for his house follows the Wookie and offers him a job. Yes! Black Krrsantan joining Boba can only mean for some great scenes to come and hopefully elevates the character to a more well known place in the Star Wars fandom. He looks awesome and he means business. He’s what you have always wanted to see in Chewbacca but couldn’t cause Chewy is a good guy. Santy doesn’t give a f*ck and I’m here for it.
Boba hosts all the clans of Tatooine, over a live rancor pit, to discuss an alliance which ends with Boba basically asking the clans not to oppose him if they won’t join him and they agree. This episode closes with Boba and Fennec discussing their need to hire some muscle and then you hear it. That Mando jingle jangle! Yes, the familiar tune of The Mandalorian (and my ringtone) plays us out of the episode. Credits. Yes yes yes! Crazy how just a few notes from another show can raise hype. Hearing the Mandalorian’s theme at the end of this chapter gave me goosebumps and felt like we’re finally about to get rolling. I mentioned in one of my previous reviews that I assumed we were headed towards meeting up with the events of The Mandalorian. Today’s chapter offered an alternate look at some events from the show and it looks as though we might be getting even more than a flashback with the possibility of Din himself arriving.
Thankfully this episode was not in vein of the previous one. Showing the starts of Boba and Fennec’s relationship is something I would’ve like to have seen sooner but happy we finally got some answers. When it’s all said and done, this show could be an interesting experiment in how streaming content is viewed/released and how the feedback that follows can differ based on the timing of its distribution. When all chapters of a series are released at once a subpar episode can be quickly forgotten by the next. Whereas a series with episodes being released on a week to week basis allows for 7 days of bad press and word of mouth that can halt momentum and ruin a show. As of now The Book of Boba Fett has been average for me but I still remain optimistic for what’s to come. I’m strangely more hyped to see Din, and others, come into the show than I am to continue with Boba and Fennec. Are thruples a thing in Star Wars? Spice it up by bringing someone new in the bacta tank. The apparent imminent intersecting of the two shows is something to look forward to. Mando episode 105 gave us Boba’s tease. Mando episode 205 gave us Ahsoka’s live action introduction. Will Boba episode 105 follow suit? I believe Dave Filoni’s writing credit is on the penultimate, Chapter Six, so I would expect something exciting or of note from that chapter. This episode was titled “The Gathering Storm”. Boba now has Krrsantan in his employment and if Mando is going to join his ranks, as well, there is some fun to be had in the weeks to come.
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