The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 review: From the Desert Comes a Stranger

The Book of Boba Fett has its best episode yet, however it comes at the expense of the titular character.

After a stellar fifth episode, The Book of Boba Fett looked set to get the story back on track after The Mandalorian’s adventure last week. Instead, episode six gives fans another adventure that barely features the Disney Plus show’s titular character.

However, the sixth episode, “From The Desert Comes A Stranger”, is easily the best installment thus far, featuring several world-building events that will affect the future of Star Wars as a whole. Several major cameos occur in this episode as well, as The Book of Boba Fett continues to bring other characters into the fold from The Mandalorian and set up character arcs further.

Grogu is back!

Grogu was last seen leaving Mando behind to go and train with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the ways of the force. However, as seen in the previous episode of The Book of Boba Fett, Mando has a gift for Grogu and wants to see how his friend is going.

R2D2 is back and makes Mando wait for Luke, until he is discovered by a surprising ally’s return. Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) returns to screens as she offers some advice about Grogu struggling with Mando’s absence and how seeing him could make it worse.

Mando eventually realizes that he needs to leave Grogu to do his training, which hurts both characters. While the audience knows that the pair will eventually reunite, it is sad for the character to realize he was so close to reuniting with his friend.

The conclusion of the episode sets Grogu up with a difficult situation, as Luke makes him choose between the present Mando gave to Ahsoka (beskar armour for the foundling) or Yoda’s old lightsaber. Whichever path Grogu chooses could help determine his destiny, which may be explored in the next episode or saved to The Mandalorian season 3.

It seems Luke is making the same mistakes the Jedi have made in the past, as attachments are something that Luke has, and taking them away from people has driven some powerful force users to the dark side.

Fan service reigns supreme in The Book of Boba Fett

It is very exciting for Star Wars fans to learn that Ahsoka knows Luke already and that they have a pre-existing relationship. Seeing the pair interact and Ahsoka offering him advice (and referencing Anakin!) is something that all fans of the franchise will appreciate and love.

Grogu’s training is a major throwback, as Luke carries him around much like he carried Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. The establishment of Luke’s Jedi school is also underway, and seeing Ahsoka there to guide Luke at the beginning of the school’s formation is also something most fans are bound to love.

Grogu struggles with his training at first, but he manages to develop some skills rather quickly. His training also comes with a glimpse into his past, as a flash into the youngling’s mind showcases that he witnessed Order 66 in some aspect. This will likely be expanded upon further in the future.

Another aspect of the training scenes that fans will love is the return of Luke. The special effects used to de-age Hamill look a lot smoother than they did during The Mandalorian‘s season 2 finale and, for those unfamiliar with Hamill’s history in Star Wars, it would actually be pretty hard to tell it was CGI de-aging.

This episode also features an unexpected return of a beloved character from the Clone Wars animated series. The character appears after Mando leaves the town of Mos Pelgo (now named Freetown) as he tries to recruit Marshal Cobb Vanth to Boba Fett’s battle.

The town is not interested in the struggle, however, they are met by a stranger in a familiar outfit, the titular stranger. As it turns out, this individual is none other than Cad Bane (voiced by Corey Burton), who makes his surprise live-action debut. Bane offers Vanth double the credits Fett offers to stay out of the fight, but Vanth wishes to have no part in the violence.

Vanth’s deputy ends up costing them a chance at a peaceful resolution, as he tries to shoot Bane. The skilled bounty hunter is too fast for the pair and takes them down. While the Marshal likely survived, Bane made his presence felt and we may be in for a showdown between the deadly bounty hunter and Boba Fett (which was actually supposed to happen during The Clone Wars series).

While this episode is a love letter to Star Wars fans, the past two episodes have done a disservice to the main character. After not appearing in the last episode, Temuera Morrison’s character appeared in one scene in the latest episode with no dialogue.

It is a bit of a letdown to see Boba Fett be shafted in the past episodes, but this has resulted in the two best episodes of the series thus far. It will be interesting to see how the season finale plays out.

The Book of Boba Fett is now streaming on Disney+. The season finale arrives next week.

What did you think of The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 6? Let us know in the comments below!