NOTE: Full spoilers for this episode of, “The Book of Boba Fett”, including multiple major character deaths, are present in this review
After an extensive plot detour that felt designed to serve The Mandalorian more than this series, The Book of Boba Fett returns to the perspective of its eponymous character for its season finale, wherein it faces the daunting task of wrapping up the current conflict against the slew of threats challenging Boba’s claim to Jabba the Hutt’s territory. “Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor” is also the biggest case yet for fans’ concerns about the, “Marvelization” of Star Wars, as it unites characters from several of the franchise’s Disney+ projects, both current and likely future, in a large-scale showdown that, regardless, is pretty damn exciting in execution!
It’s a huge relief that The Book of Boba Fett, for all its many narrative struggles, at least manages to stick the landing for the end of its first, and hopefully not only season. This hour-long season finale is almost exclusively comprised of action as well, something that I doubt fans will be displeased about, considering the sheer amount of personalities in play for this climactic story conflict. Sure, a couple of The Book of Boba Fett’s key personalities are still out of commission here, with Garsa Fwip now being confirmed to be dead following the Pyke Syndicate bombing the Sanctuary cantina, and Cobb Vanth being critically wounded, thus rendering him unable to participate in the big fight. Mercifully though, Vanth does survive his injuries in the end, as revealed by a post-credits scene that confirms he’s healing thanks to Boba’s Bacta Tank, and that he’ll receive cybernetic implants to complete his recovery. Might Vanth be the subject of a new Star Wars spin-off on Disney+ then?
In any case, the Pyke Syndicate initially appears to have a small disadvantage against the combined likes of Freetown, Boba’s forces, and the neutral crime families of Tatooine. The tables quickly turn however once the crime families are revealed to have thrown in with the Pyke’s, ultimately ambushing Boba’s people, and killing a considerable chunk of them. This seemingly leaves Boba, Djarin and Fennec in a hopeless situation, along with Mayor Mok Shaiz’ cowardly Majordomo, who’s left to grovel for his life and usefulness to Boba at this point. Things definitely look bleak at first, but this initial despair wonderfully leads into an exciting climax, as Boba and his allies must constantly devise new strategies on the fly in order to stay one step ahead of the Pyke Syndicate’s seemingly unstoppable advantage.
Not only is this season finale’s extended and heavy action well-shot and lots of fun, on this note, but it also constantly keeps viewers guessing, thanks to surprise appearances and betrayals around several corners. The biggest of these betrayals, like I said, comes from the Tatooine crime families suddenly turning on Boba, but despite this, Freetown’s citizens ultimately do come to the aid of Boba and Djarin, after Cad Bane initially comes to Boba’s holdout at the Sanctuary ruins, to deliver a warning that Freetown has been decimated. Unfortunately, even this brief wave of hope quickly gives way to more problems however, when two giant-sized Scorpenek Droids (oh, hey, these prequel-era destroyers are still around in the post-Empire era, apparently!), suddenly appear and begin wreaking havoc on Mos Espa.
As much as Boba’s forces manage to fight the Pyke foot soldiers into a bit of an even match, the Scorpenek Droids represent a pretty huge issue. Even the combined likes of Boba and Djarin are unable to stop them, though once again, we get some pretty spectacular saves on this note. Peli Motto ends up inadvertently delivering Grogu to the battle, for starters, with Grogu apparently having forsaken the way of the Jedi in order to re-team with Djarin. Sure, this fateful decision by Grogu feels pretty inevitable, considering that Grogu is never referenced in Star Wars’ sequel movie trilogy, but regardless, it’s good that Djarin ends up with some Force power on his side in the end, even if Grogu’s return to Djarin almost completely negates the exciting cliffhanger ending from The Mandalorian’s previous second season.
The best save of this episode however definitely comes from Boba himself, who manages to wrangle his new Rancor into Mos Espa, and pit it against the Scorpenek Droids! This is not only a superb payoff to the series’ earlier Rancor moment with Boba, but also a damn cool sequence on its own merits. The Rancor proves to be so powerful that even the deadly droids are helpless to stop it, with Boba eventually destroying the droids, and forcing the remaining Pyke forces to flee. This victory isn’t quite flawless though, as the out-of-control Rancor eventually proves unstoppable and destructive, leading to Grogu using his Force abilities to put it to sleep. This is a surprisingly heartwarming (and adorable!) final flourish for this otherwise violent climactic battle, particularly once Grogu falls asleep next to the giant Rancor.
Like I said, The Book of Boba Fett, to its credit, really turned things around with this spectacular season finale! The only slight gripe one could likely level at this episode, at least beyond the fact that The Mandalorian is still intruding on this series’ narrative, if that bothers you, is that the Pyke’s and Mayor Mok Shaiz are taken out laughably easily by Fennec. She simply takes a speeder over to their location in Mos Eisley, and effortlessly kills them all at once, just like that. Really? That’s all it took to bring down these ruthless villains? Truth be told, even Cad Bane goes down disappointingly easily in the end, considering all of his buildup during The Book of Boba Fett’s previous episode. Despite inexplicably repelling Boba’s Rancor with just a bit of fire (are Rancors seriously that afraid of/susceptible to fire?), and initially disarming Boba, despite his armour, Bane is soon after swept off his feet by Boba’s Tusken Raider staff, and then killed on the spot. It’s not an undignified or necessarily disappointing end for this fan-favourite Star Wars bounty hunter, but surely Bane’s live-action incarnation could have stuck around a bit longer than he did, especially considering his now-lost potential as an archenemy to Boba on this very show.
Despite how easily The Book of Boba Fett’s arch-villains ultimately meet their demise however, Boba’s and Fennec’s storylines are certainly not done, and indeed, neither are Djarin’s and Grogu’s, as they jet off to parts unknown in preparation for The Mandalorian’s upcoming third season. The Twins are still out there, after all, plus Tatooine’s three major crime families will definitely have to answer for their treachery. For now though, regardless of whether or not The Book of Boba Fett ultimately gets a second season, “Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor” is a surprisingly fitting and incredibly exciting conclusion to the series’ current run. This action-packed season finale efficiently wraps up the series’ current conflicts (perhaps too efficiently, in fact), while ultimately allowing Boba and Fennec to achieve some growing respect among the population. This is a satisfying resolution that functions as a good ending if The Book of Boba Fett isn’t renewed, while still leaving the door open for lots of exciting possibilities in the event of a Season 2 renewal, or Boba’s and Fennec’s general next steps in a future Star Wars project.