I assumed Boba Fett would return in Episode 6 based on how many episodes the season had left and the ongoing plot threads remaining. He was never a finale-level threat, at least not with Gideon and his Dark Troopers (!) hanging around. With Episode 6, I got what I wanted but not what I expected. I thought Boba would be an antagonist, but instead he’s just a gruff, brutal old man who takes his word seriously … and I’ll take that. Especially when his introduction calls back to Jango’s first meeting with Obi-Wan in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones. Especially when he’s this fucking great.

It’s clever of series creator / screenwriter Jon Favreau to cut to the chase with Tython. I had been nervous that Grogu sitting on the stone would be the last shot of the season, leaving us with a year to wonder who he called. We may not learn the identity of his mystery Force user (surely he communed with someone) until next season, I guess, what with the presumed jailbreak next week and showdown the week after. Still, this opens up a lot of possibilities for the last two episodes and maybe even a last-minute Force user hopping in to help save the day. My heart still pines for a Luke Skywalker “golden age” adventure, though I assume that would be somewhere that the budget wouldn’t require de-aging Mark Hamill. The most basic assumption is that Ahsoka hears his call and comes back to help. The scarier possibility is that his calls reach a Dark Jedi of some kind, opening up a season-three arc similar to that of the third Star Wars: Rebels season where Maul tempts Ezra under his wing.

My real dream? Introduce Jorus C’Boath, the seductive-yet-insane Dark Jedi from Timothy Zahn’s great Thrawn trilogy. Although C’Boath is by far the weakest link in that story — particularly the awful third novel — I think you could use that character really well in The Mandalorian. C’Boath is a dark Jedi (well, a clone of a Jedi) who lives on a planet all by himself guarding one of the Emperor’s private dark-side artifact collections. He controls the native people and bends them to his whim using the Force. The books take place about five years after Return of the Jedi, and Luke finds C’Boath in hopes that he will be his new teacher. One of the reasons those books suck is that Luke is a moron for the entirety of the story, taking C’Boath at his word about the Force. Another reason is that C’Boath just wants to be the Emperor at the end. Cut that part, too. Fuck it.

If C’Boath — or whatever dark force — answers Grogu, and Mando trusts his tutelage, well, why would he know any better? It’s an ideal arc for season three, pitting two potential father figures for Grogu against one another, and would further set up my dream revisiting and improvement of the Thrawn saga in the new canon

Hell, they just canonized Dark Troopers. Bring it all back.

Frankly: The Mandalorian and any spinoffs, including any animated series Disney+ may develop, should all build to the Thrawn saga as a crossover event similar to Avengers: Infinity War. Give me Mando, give me the Boba spinoff, give me a fucking Rebels sequel about Ahsoka, Sabine and Hera where most of the heavy lifting is done. That’s because animation is where it’s truly at: You can do so much more in that form than live-action Plus, as I said before: If you’re in animation, you can bring back characters who have aged past their prime. Hamill, Ford, a new voice for Leia. Why the fuck not? Give it to me.

Anyway, this episode ruled.

Let’s fucking gooooooooo.

What I’d Buy:

6” Punished Boba — $20

6” Reborn Boba — $20

6” Fennic Shand — $20

6” Dark Trooper — $20

6” Mortar Trooper — $20

FX Dark Saber — $200

$420

A++++++++++