‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Recap – ‘Chapter 5: The Return of the Mandalorian’

Written by Joel T. Lewis

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’. To revisit the prior episode, click here.
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With the final musical cue of last week’s episode of The Book of Boba Fett, director Kevin Tancharoen set the stage for an iconic reunion, hinting at another meeting between the two most prolific Mandalorians in Star Wars history as Din Djarin’s epic theme sounded over the credits. Would we see Mando seated on the throne of Mandalore? Would we catch a glimpse of Grogu reunited with his surrogate father? Maybe wielding a little lightsaber!?!
 
Needless to say, my excitement for this series has only intensified week after week, and with a title like ‘The Return of the Mandalorian’, Chapter 5 did not disappoint.
 
In this episode we catch up with the Mandalorian Din Djarin crossing blades with an unsavory bulldog-faced alien with a price on his head in the back of a meat locker. Mando collects the bounty but in the process, he struggles to wield his newly acquired prize, the Darksaber and injures himself. 
 
Limping and alone, Mando retreats to the subterranean domain of the Creed-governed Mandalorian remnant and reconnects with the mysterious Armorer who offers him aid and inquires about his acquisition of the Darksaber and the beskar spear.  The Armorer then details the Darksaber’s prophecy and history and their connection to the Throne of Mandalore. She also highlights the fundamental incompatibility of the teachings of the Jedi and their own Creed when Mando asks her to forge something for the foundling Grogu, even though he has been taken by Luke Skywalker to be trained in the ways of the Force. 
 
Despite this inherent conflict of doctrines, and the potential tension they portend, the Armorer agrees and gives Mando a small bundle of something mysterious forged from beskar and proceeds to teach him how to use the Darksaber. Mando struggles, and when the other surviving member of the group challenges him to a duel he manages to prevail, but not by wielding the Darksaber. After the duel, the Armorer asks if Mando has ever removed his helmet, and he confesses to the sacrilege he committed in order to save Grogu from Moff Gideon. His shame over this heresy and his complicated interactions with Grogu, Bo-Katan, and the Armorer have cast his faith into doubt and this is why the Darksaber is resisting Din’s commands. 
 
Though this violation of the Creed strips him of his identity as a Mandalorian, Din is told that he may redeem himself by bathing in the living waters below the mines of Mandalore. Unfortunately for Din, all the mines on Mandalore were destroyed by the Empire during the Night of a Thousand Tears. 

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Din then returns to Tatooine in disgrace to reconnect with Amy Sedaris’s comedic mechanic Peli Motto who has scraped together most of the vintage parts necessary to put together a new starship for Din. An N-1 Naboo Starfighter to be exact. And then Peli and Din restore a vintage starship together, which Din then test flies through Beggar’s Canyon. THE Beggar’s Canyon! And then, Din Djarin, when asked by Peli about how the newly restored ship handles, offers a single word in reply, “Wizard.” And that’s not even the end of the episode! We end with Mando going to visit Grogu during his Jedi Temple before offering his services as muscle to Boba Fett pro bono.
 
Look, is there a disconnect in this series between the tone of the A and B plotlines episode to episode almost to a fault? Yes. Is the Armorer in this episode just dumping exposition for people who didn’t watch the Mandalorian? Yes. Do I mind? No, no I don’t, and here’s why: Jon Favreau isn’t cherry-picking with these shows. He’s got all the Star Wars toys and he’s dumped them all in the sandbox for the directors to play with. They’re just playing with it, and they’re recapturing the charm of this grand old franchise.
 
To date my biggest complaint about this Disney Plus series has been one of pacing, however as the series has gone on, I have come to think of these episodes as segments of a sweeping western in the style of Lonesome Dove (1989) with a larger arc that takes priority over the pacing of the individual episodes. Even so, the flow of each episode remains distracting but if I’m honest, pacing is almost quaint in comparison to the powder keg that is Star Warsreception both critical and casual. Knowing how insufferable we as a fanbase can be about the tiniest of inconsistencies, I’ll take “a bit plodding” in a Coruscant minute every time. 
 
I won’t apologize for it: I like that Boba Fett is slowly building up a Tatooine animal rescue. I like that there are commercial airlines with TSA that force Din to relinquish his weapons. And yes, I like the cyborg anime street urchin gang with the wicked retro-futuristic space vespas (especially the leader’s as it takes clear inspiration from British “mod” protagonist Jimmy’s scooter in 1979’s Quadrophenia).
 
I continue to return to these shows because the fan service is charming, they continue to lean on rounding out these worlds and making them feel even more lived-in than before, and they’ve made the badass bounty hunter Mando into the single dad who having dropped his kid off at summer camp learns how to use his new sword and then restores a vintage car with his friend the mechanic.
 
I cannot wait for the probable return of Grogu next week, the naming of the Naboo Starfighter, and the reunion of my 2 favorite helmets in the Galaxy, Boba and Din! Until next time, Geek Out!

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