It was a surprise that episode four decided to tell the story of how Fennec and Boba came together, I was curious about it, but not to the point that I wanted most of an episode to be devoted to it. I think if this was a 12-14-episode season I could understand the time spent on the flashback, but with only seven episodes in the season I felt one was unnecessarily wasted. It was shocking to me that most of an episode was spent on a flashback that seemed to be interesting, but of little importance to the overarching plot of the season. We knew from season two of The Mandalorian that Boba found and saved Fennec, so seeing the story play out over the course of the episode was not as interesting as I would have hoped. The saving grace of the episode for me was that my theory about Krrsantan (I suggested in my chapter 3 review). I was scared that Krrsantan would not appear again this season, and once we saw him in the cantina I knew where the story was going. I like that they are giving Krrsantan a personality that is different than Chewie. Krrsantan is a fighter, he was a proud gladiator who seems to enjoy fighting. I like that Boba is building an army, he knows he will need more muscle than what he currently has. The addition of Krrsantan is big, because if Boba did not secure Krrsantan's employment then the Pykes surely would have.
The season is building to a war for control of Tatooine, we have no idea what the Pykes are planning, but I need to assume they are fearsome. We have been told they are, but if you don't anything about the Pykes then you have no idea if we have reason to be scared of them. The train heist sequence from episode two did not really give the Pykes a lot of depth, they appear intelligent, brutal, but not very intimidating. I do not hate the Pykes, we have not been given a reason to hate them beyond them partnering with the crooked mayor. The current timeline of the plot is all that matters in this episode, I wish we got more time in the present, where we could see what the Pykes are up to. I felt that chapter four slowed the momentum of the season, the flashback was less interesting and less essential to the story. The reason I am so down on this episode is because I did not find myself enjoying the episode until we got to Krrsantan. I liked Boba when we were seeing his personal growth with the Tusken Raiders, now Boba's personal story feels stuck in the mud.
WHAT HAPPENED IN 'THE GATHERING STORM'
The episode opens with Boba attempting to steal back Slave 1, it is during his reconnaissance that he comes across a badly wounded Fennec. Boba takes Fennec to a healer who specializes in cybernetics, the healer saves Fennec by installing some cybernetics in her. Boba looks after her until she gains her strength back, Fennec is unhappy with the modifications she was given. Boba recognizes her as the master assassin she is, when he tells her that his is Boba Fett, she does not believe him. Boba tells Fennec his story, and he asks her for her help in getting his ship back from Jabba's palace. They make a deal, Fennec will help get the ship back, and Boba will consider her debt to him paid back in full. Fennec sends in a tiny flying spy droid to identify the number of guards inside the palace. Boba says that after he gets the ship he will find his armor, he wanted to leave hunting behind. There are too many guards so Fennec suggests they use stealth to break in and get the ship back. They sneak in, take out some droids, some guards and they get on the shop and escape.
With her debt to Boba now paid off Fennec is free to leave, but Boba tells her he has a few more scores to settle, and Fennec says she will stay for now. The first score to settle is the Kintan Striders, Boba takes out the Striders using Slave 1's weapons. Boba's second stop is the Sarlacc pit, Boba wants to find his armor, and he believes it is still inside the Sarlacc. Boba lowers Slave 1 over the mouth of the Sarlacc, but the Sarlacc is not dead, and it grabs hold of Slave 1. Fennec deploys one of the sonic bombs into the Sarlacc pit, Boba is able to fly away. Boba enters the Sarlacc to attempt to find his armor, he cannot locate it. Fennec tells Boba that he needs to find a bacta tank to help him heal his wounds caused by the acid inside the Sarlacc's stomach. Boba tells fennec of his plan to start his own house, he offers her a position, he tells her he can give her the one thing a client can never offer, loyalty.
We are back in the present time, and Boba is getting out of the bacta tank with a droid telling him that he is now fully healed. Boba decides to visit Garsa Fwip's cantina, he walks in and witnesses a drunk and angry Krrsantan attack a group of Trandoshan gamblers. The Trandoshans had done nothing wrong, Garsa Fwip attempts to talk Krrsantan down, she offers to erase his bar tab if he lets the Trandoshan go. Krrsantan replies with ripping the Trandoshan's arm off, paying his tab and walking out of the cantina. Boba follows Krrsantan outside, where he offers Krrsantan a job. Boba is meeting with the gang leaders of Mos Espa, he wants their help in fighting off the Pykes. When none of the other leaders offers assistance, Boba then asks for them to stay neutral until the conflict is resolved. After the other leaders have left the palace Boba tells Fennec he needs muscle, Fennec replies that with enough credits you can buy muscle if you know where to look as The Mandalorian plays as the episode ends.
LAST THOUGHTS ON CHAPTER FOUR
I wish I could be as optimistic about The Book of Boba Fett as I was after the second episode, but since the Tusken Raiders were killed the showed hasn't been as interesting. I did like seeing Boba get Slave 1 back, and I enjoyed seeing him take out the gang that killed the Tusken villagers. Though I did wish that Boba's revenge had more of a hand-to-hand approach, seeing him shoot the gang using the guns on Slave 1 was kind of disappointing. The best part of the episode for me was Krrsantan joining Boba's team, and the tease at the end of the episode that Mando might be making an appearance. I suggested in my episode two review that Mando might be an ally that Boba could call, I think I am right, but I got the villain wrong. I was sure that the twins were being set to be the main antagonists, but the Pykes have taken the lead villain role over. I am not sure if the show has handled the Pykes properly so far, our main bad guys have barely been seen since episode two. I wanted to spend time with the Pykes, without knowing our villain how are we supposed to root against them. It seems the show wants us to root for the hero, despite knowing nothing about the villain he is taking on. If I knew more about the Pykes history in Star Wars lore then I might be more amenable to this, but until chapter two I had no idea who the Pykes were. We have spent the first four chapters with our hero, we now have a better appreciation for Boba Fett, but we still do not understand why he wants to go to war with the Pykes for Jabba's territory. I am having an issue understanding the motives of our hero (Boba), and the motives of our villains (the Pykes). I like the show, and I don't hate chapter four, but I am struggling with the story choices so far. The most successful the show was has been when we saw the flashbacks of Boba with the Tusken Raiders. Since the Tuskens have been removed nothing has filled that vacuum their deaths created on the show.
The tease of The Mandalorian theme at the end of the episode suggests that Mando might be making an appearance as soon as episode five. It just made so much sense that Mando would come to the aid of Boba, a bond was formed when Mando realized Boba's father was also a foundling. Both Boba and Mando have proven to each other that they are honorable. Mando, I do believe still owes Boba for all the help he and Fennec gave to help save Grogu. With still no idea when season three of The Mandalorian will air, I am excited at the prospect of seeing Mando again. We have not seen Mando since Grogu was taken by Luke for training, I had wondered what the future of The Mandalorian post-Grogu would be like. Having Mando, Krrsantan and the scooter kids assist Boba gives me reason to believe that the Pykes will not win. There has been rumors that someone on Boba's side will betray him, I hope not, but if someone did, I hope it would be Krrsantan. There were a lot of polls where Fennec was the person fans thought would betray Boba. Krrsantan makes for such an intimidating figure that I hope he will stay as a villain; I don't want him to die, but I'd like to keep popping up as an antagonist. The scene in the cantina involving Krrsantan ripping off the arm was great; it shows just how deadly he can be. Krrsantan had no reason to attack the Trandoshans, it was as if he had some bad history with Trandoshans.
Chapter four was not a bad episode, but I also did not find myself enjoying it either; I think the flashback just felt out of place for me. The way Boba killed the Kintan Striders was not what I expected or wanted to see. When something does not deliver what I wanted I try not to hold the film/series responsible for me being annoyed. I might not be happy, but I can recognize that my wants are not a director's priority. I will hold the episode accountable for delivering a flashback that was not necessary, or at the very least taking too long to show it. If we saw Fennec being saved by Boba and them getting the ship back and then getting revenge on the Kintan Striders I would be happy. The excursion to the Sarlacc pit was not needed, especially since we knew the armor was not there. Boba might not know where the armor is now, but it is hard for me to believe that he thought it would still be inside the Sarlacc. I am going to give the episode a 6/10; I thought the flashback took too long and ruined the momentum of the present timeline plot. I still believe the show is worth a watch, especially with a potential Mando return teased at the end of this episode. I will be curious if the lack of development given to the Pykes in this episode caused other to feel the same as I did. The Pykes have not been portrayed as monsters, they have been shown to be business focused who are reasonable. I wonder if the development I am expecting will be delivered, it would be great to be proven a fool for my rushed judgement of the Pykes.
Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you thought of the episode, as well as what you have thought of the season so far.
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