I was reading the reviews of this episode, and I checked the episode score out of curiosity which I wish I had not done. The Streets of Mos Espa received the lowest score of the three episodes which I do not understand. I do not think chapter three was better than chapter two, but I did think that it was an entertaining episode. The introduction of the Cyborg gang he employs was a nice touch that I did not expect. The possibly final appearance of the twin in the season was also a shock for me, I expected the twins' presence to linger for the remainder of the season. This episode torpedoed some of my predictions, and I think it was for the best that the show made the adjustments that they did. Having the Pykes as the antagonists is something fresh and different, and the Hutts are still around as villains to use down the road. There is still no confirmation of whether this will be a limited series (one and done) or if this will be a show that might have more than one season. The Hutts being saved for a potential second season is something I am okay with, but I will be disappointed if they are never seen from again.
The introduction of the cyborgs (or as they are being called online scooter kids) is both something new and fresh, but also something that I am not yet sure fits with Star Wars. The look of their '"scooters" was something that aesthetically looks like it was from the Coruscant car chase scene in Star Wars Episode II. I like that Boba found some allies, it was starting to feel that it was just going to be him, Fennec and the Gamorrean guards. I will reserve judgement on the scooter kids until the season is over, I like the look of the bikes and their cyberpunk aesthetic. The scooter kids look like they would belong in the Blade Runner universe more than Star Wars, but I will Rodriguez, Favreau and Filoni time to change my mind. It was awesome to see Krrsantan unleashed, he was a terror, and he was only beaten by a trap door. I also enjoyed seeing the mayor's majordomo looked a lot less smug after he was caught by Boba Fett and his crew. The reveal that the mayor did actually have some power, and that he was using that power to promise the Pykes Jabba's old fiefdom. The stuff with the Rancor was the worst part of the episode, but I will expand on my thoughts later.
RECAPPING CHAPTER 3
The episode starts at Jabba's palace where 8D8 (voiced by Matt Berry) is giving Boba a briefing on the power structure of Mos Espa before Boba took over. Bib Fortuna relied on splitting the power with three other groups, and now that Boba has taken over things are uneasy as nobody knows how he will be as a leader. Boba receives a visit from a water merchant who seeks Boba's assistance in dealing a street gang of cyborgs (humans who have willingly replaced parts of their bodies with cybernetic upgrades). Boba goes to the cyborgs, and upon hearing their reason for stealing water he agrees that they need to pay the water merchant a fair price. Boba also offers them a job; he wants them to work for him as his army. The water merchant does not take Boba's idea of solution well, he wanted his full price for the water, and he wanted the cyborgs punished.
Boba is in the bacta tank, and he is having dreams of seeing his father (Jango Fett) leave Kamino aboard Slave 1. Boba is now back in the dune seas; he is going into Mos Eisley to see the Pyke Syndicate. Boba meets with the leader of the Pykes, who says that his bosses will not pay both the Tuskens and the Kintan Striders for protection. Boba tells the Pyke that they will not hear from the Kintan Striders again, and he departs. Boba returns to the Tusken village to find it raided and all of the Tusken Raiders killed; there is a symbol of the Kintan Striders marked on one of the tents. Boba burns the dead villagers and leaves the village. His session in the bacta tanks is disrupted by Black Krrsantan who pulls Boba from the tank and attacks him. Boba attempts to fight Krrsantan off, but he is unable to succeed. The cyborgs arrive just in time, and they begin to gang up on Krrsantan; even being vastly outnumbered Krrsantan fights them all off. Fennec though activates a booby trap door which drops Krrsantan into the Rancor pit.
Boba and Fennec are eating, but Boba is troubled by what he should do next; he knows he needs to send a message. Before they can decide on the course of action to take 8D8 arrives and says the twins are there with a gift. The twins apologize for sending Krrsantan to kill Boba, they have brough a gift as restitution, a young Rancor. They twins say they will leave, they learned that they were lied to, the property has already been promised to another syndicate by the mayor. The twins leave, and Boba releases Krrsantan telling him not to work for bad guys. Fennec will arrange a meeting with the mayor so they can question him on why the twins believe he lied. Boba goes to see the Rancor; the Rancor keeper reveals that the Rancor is a calf. The trainer will begin his training immediately, he tells Boba that a Rancor imprints on the first human it sees. This Rancor has had blinders on for his entire life, he is imprinted on Boba. Boba then instructs the trainer that he wants to ride the Rancor, 8D8 interrupts with news about the mayor which prompts Boba to leave the Rancor. They head to the mayor's office where they demand an audience with the mayor, the mayor's assistant then attempts to run away in a land speeder. The cyborgs give chase, the cyborgs catch him, and Boba arrives via his jetpack for questioning. The mayor's Majordomo reveals that the mayor is gone, and that he is working with the Pykes. We then cut to a star port where we see a bunch of Pykes getting off a starship, one of the cyborgs sees them, and he calls Boba to tell him about the Pykes arrival. Fennec says this is just the beginning of a war, and Boba says they will be ready as the episode comes to a close.
VERDICT ON 'THE STREETS OF MOS ESPA'
I really liked the episode, though I did have some issues with a few things that I will get to very shortly. The Pyke's reveal makes sense given that we needed some connection between the past and present storylines. The hope that I have is that the Pykes will be a worthy adversary, they need to be both deadly and interesting. It will be curious if we will be introduced to a Pyke leader that will be a figure that we can hate. If the Pykes were behind the attack on the Tusken village then that will up the ante and make the showdown between Boba and the Pykes more personal. I am not sure if that is where the show is going, we saw the symbol of the Kintan Striders on the village, but maybe they were framed (by the Pykes) or they were sent there by the Pykes. If that is where the story is headed, then I will be happy, but I do want to see Boba Fett go on a revenge killing spree. For a little bit I would like to see the not good guy Boba Fett reappear to enact revenge for the death of Tusken villagers. I love a good revenge film, so seeing a character go off on a revenge killing spree is something I don't mind. Revenge killing is already a part of Star Wars, in Star Wars Episode Two Anakin killed the Tusken Raiders who took his mother captive. I just want to see Boba get justice for the Tusken villagers who took him in and were killed because of his actions.
I have some grievances to air now, while I did enjoy the episode as a whole, there were some things that happened that took me out of the moment. The chase scene involving the scooter kids and the Majordomo was kind of slow, the scooters never looked to going really fast. The chase was filmed okay, but whenever the action was focused on the scooters, they looked to be going really slow, and took the energy out of the chase. I'm not sure why it bothered me so much, but seeing those scooters appear to be moving slow annoyed me. The worst part of the episode involved the Rancor, it was not the Rancor, but rather the Rancor trainer being Danny Trejo that irritated me. This episode featured two well-known actors in small roles, Stephen Root as the Water Monger and Danny Trejo as the Rancor trainer. I thought Root worked as the Water Monger, he fit the role of a sleazy and crooked businessman. I do not see Trejo as a Rancor trainer; I wish they would have cast a lesser-known actor for the role. By casting Trejo, fans were too familiar with the actor, and it just felt like he could have been cast in another role. Neither issue ruined the episode, but they did take me out of the moment which I consider to be a bad thing.
The Streets of Mos Espa was a good episode that finally moved the present timeline plot forward, but it also had some issues that pulled me out of the episode. I was sad to see the Hutts make a surprisingly quick exit from the season, but I get the feeling we will see the twins again. I really enjoyed Krrsantan's attack on Boba, it displayed the kind of threat that Krrsantan poses, while also showing his limitations. I really hope Krrsantan is going to make another appearance before the season ends, I was hoping Boba was going to hire him to be part of his crew. With Boba now preparing for a war with the Pykes for Jabba's territory, he will need more muscle than he has. I hope the war will lead to Krrsantan coming back or some familiar faces from The Mandalorian coming to Tattoine. Based on what the episode delivered, and what it has now set up I am going to rate the episode an 8/10. The scooter kids did not bother me much, and I think the cyberpunk style is a cool addition. The fight Krrsantan was awesome because we saw how deadly he is; Chebacca is so cuddly, but Krrsantan is scary. The Pyke Syndicate being set up as the main antagonist going forward is exciting, but it could also be boring if we don't get introduced to a Pyke who is charismatic. A hero (Boba) needs a charismatic villain to play off, and Boba still does not have that. Star Wars has had success when there was a villain to hate that drove our heroes to fight. Boba still needs that, I thought the Hutts were going to be that villain; the show has earned enough good will with me to give it more time to establish an adversary that I approve of.
Thank you for reading the review and please let me know your thoughts on the scooter kids.
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