The Book of Boba Fett has reached its narrative midpoint with “Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm,” and with Boba Fett’s (Temuera Morrison) time in the bacta tank complete, the remaining three episodes will undoubtedly focus on the present storyline and the aforementioned storm brewing in the streets of Mos Eisley.
Fennec Shand’s (Ming-Na Wen) unceremonious “death” in “Chapter 5” of The Mandalorian, which Wen confirmed was meant to be permanent, left a lot of fans frustrated. Fortunately, the creators saw a way to bring her back and make her an integral part of the story. “The Gathering Storm” provides a much-needed flashback into how Shand and Fett partnered up.
In the wake of the tragedy at the Tusken camp, Boba Fett made his way to Mos Eisley in pursuit of his Firespray gunship, which was left at Jabba’s palace. With only a bantha and limited weapons, Fett opts to not take on the guards alone. Later that night, while bonding with his bantha, he spots a flare on the horizon and takes off across the Dune Sea to see what’s happening. There he discovers Fennec Shand’s prone form, left for dead in the sands of Tatooine, much like he was. He throws her over the bantha’s back and sets off to a Modder located outside of Mos Eisley.
As Boba walks past the modded-up youths loitering outside of the mod-parlor, his kindness towards the Mod Squad last week makes sense. He ventures inside, throws some coin down on the table, and the Modder (Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner) sets to work repairing the near-fatal gut shot. It’s a brilliant merger of sci-fi meets fantasy. And while there is a little discomfort in the idea of someone being cybernetically modified without their consent while unconscious, The Book of Boba Fett does well enough with Shand’s reaction that it can be overlooked. She was dying, and he did what had to be done to save her.
Boba tells Fennec about what happened to him after the Sarlacc Pit, and while she is skeptical about who he says he is, she agrees to help him retrieve his ship from Jabba’s palace. Before they venture into the palace, Boba sets the bantha free and makes it clear to Fennec that once they get his gunship back, she’s also free to leave. After their reintroduction in “The Tragedy,” a number of people were concerned about the power dynamic of Fennec Shand being indebted to Boba Fett, but “The Gathering Storm” makes it clear that Fennec has remained at his side of her own volition, even when he’s making bad decisions.
The pair head into Jabba palace and face off against a myriad of humorous and nerve-wracking situations—from the droid kitchen staff to an adorably panicked rat-catching droid to actual guards. This whole sequence shows off how well the duo works together as partners, covering for each other and bantering a little along the way. Once they reclaim the Firespray, Boba sets out to enact revenge against the biker gang that murdered the Tuskens. They also make their way to the Sarlacc Pit in pursuit of his armor and while they did come up empty-handed, their run-in did make the Firespray fans’ morning with a delightful seismic charge.
While Jon Favreau’s dialogue tends to be pretty sparse, requiring unspoken performances to carry the weight of character motivation, “The Gathering Storm” did provide some elucidating information about why Boba Fett wanted to take over Jabba’s palace. Essentially, he has worked for too many people who didn’t care if he lived or died, and now he wants to take over and rule differently. He’s tired of people dying because of incompetent rulers. It’s a noble aspiration, even if it has now led to him being caught up in a war with the Pykes.
In the present, we find Black Krrsantan (Carey Jones) hanging out at The Sanctuary, brooding over liquor and plotting the demise of a few gambling Trandoshans. Garsa Fwip (Jennifer Beals) attempts to talk him out of murder by reminiscing about the Wookiee’s gladiatorial prowess, but he still rips the arm off the Transdoshan. Don’t worry, it’ll grow back. Maybe. For a second there, I thought I was watching Gunsmoke because Fwip was giving some serious Miss Kitty vibes.
Boba Fett offers Krssantan employment at the palace, needing his intimidating aura to loom in the throne room while he and Fennec try to sway the other families of Tatooine into assisting them with the Pykes. Despite their show of power, the Trandoshans, Aqualish, and the Klatooinian decline to get involved in the war, but they do agree to not side with the Pykes.
The final scene of “The Gathering Storm” is an intimate one between Boba and Fennec up on the balcony overlooking Tatooine. They reflect on the meeting and discuss the need for forming their own army. As the scene comes to a close, the main theme from The Mandalorian bleeds through, perhaps alluding to Din Djarin’s eventual arrival. If they need backup, it would make sense that they would call in the friends they made in The Mandalorian.
Kevin Tancharoen made his Star Wars directorial debut with Chapter 4, showing his skill at setting the scene for both fast-paced action and more isolated, character-driven moments. Hopefully, he will return in upcoming Star Wars projects to lend his keen eye to the franchise.
Rating: A-
The first four episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are available to stream at Disney+.