Cobb Vanth confronts Pykes selling \u201cThere\u2019s a mighty wind a-blowin\u2019…\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n The opening shot of this week\u2019s episode is a steadily spinning anemometer on the top of a Tatooine moisture vaporator. As the camera pans down, we see some more vaporators in the distance… as well as the Pykes moving some spice and currency on top of a parked speeder. The vaporators embody the tone of this episode.<\/p>\n They are static\u2013immobile.<\/p>\n But their wind meters show there is something moving.<\/p>\n These Fett-less episodes carry the same mood. We aren\u2019t making much progress. We can\u2019t even see Fett for the most part (he\u2019s an invisible force, if you will). But we\u2019re seeing what he has set in motion by his choice to assume the mantle of daimyo.<\/p>\n From what I\u2019ve seen on social media and on the BFFC spoiler threads<\/a>, a lot of fans are upset that Boba Fett has been upstaged in his own show. A lot of this disappointment might be especially due to the fact that we haven\u2019t really gotten to see Boba Fett do anything as cool or as exciting as he did in his “Mandalorian” episodes.<\/p>\n But to play devil\u2019s advocate, there\u2019s actually some solid precedent for this kind of thing. Shakespeare\u2019s Julius Caesar is killed halfway through his play, and I\u2019ve always thought that Macbeth becomes conspicuously absent in the last leg of his tragedy, until coming back with a vengeance for his final showdown.<\/p>\n So Boba Fett is not center stage, which is a bummer, but this is a world Boba Fett has shaped… he\u2019s still writing the pages of this book even if we can\u2019t see his hands.<\/p>\n And we\u2019re also seeing a competing force of change — the Pykes, as they try to assert their own dominance over the planet.<\/p>\n Somehow, the Pykes have completely missed Cobb Vanth walking towards them. Was he hiding behind one of the vaporators, playing peek-a-boo? Are they just so greedy and\/or incompetent? Or is it just another one of these convenient entrances and exits this series has been doing?<\/p>\n The scene plays along traditional Wild West tropes, culminating in Vanth showing off his gunslinging skills; but perhaps the most important moment of this scene is Vanth\u2019s catch-phrase: \u201cThink it through.\u201d (Gee, these Star Wars characters love their catch-phrases… I can already see the Cobb Vanth memes and t-shirts and coffee mugs.)<\/p>\n Vanth says the line when he sees the lead Pyke reaching for his gun. It\u2019s a warning. But it\u2019s a motto for this episode of people thinking, if not overthinking, through choices they are about to make.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit different than a typical \u201cfiller\u201d episode. Rather than just delaying the main plot with a sidequest, it\u2019s forcing the characters to be a little more contemplative about their actions. That makes it a bit unusual in the world of Star Wars entertainment.<\/p>\n Seriously, there\u2019s a lot of thinking. We get about four seconds of Cobb looking at the Pykes\u2019 spice box before he kicks it open to look at what\u2019s inside\u2026and maybe another seven seconds of him looking at it before he decides to kick it over.<\/p>\n \u201cI could contemplate this box all day.\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n And then the wind starts to blow it away. There\u2019s that wind again. Blowing.<\/p>\n In particular, this episode revolves around five choices. Thematically, they all deal with whether to take action or to leave something be (thinking through whether to do something). Each choice also aligns the chooser with one group or another.<\/p>\n Choice One<\/strong><\/p>\n Pykes: Kill Marshall Cobb Vanth, or leave his territory in peace?<\/p>\n Three out of four Pykes make the wrong choice to kill the Marshall… or, at least, to try to, and end up dead. The fourth decides to leave things alone… for now at least.<\/p>\n By trying to kill Vanth, the Pykes are making a statement about power and control. They aren\u2019t interested in respecting the local authorities, they aren\u2019t interested in being intimidated, and they aren\u2019t interested in ruling Tatooine so much as exploiting it.<\/p>\n Vanth draws a line in the sand, and they cross it.<\/p>\n Vanth himself might make a mistake in demanding the Pyke leave behind the spice, which Vanth kicks over in disgust. Even though the Pyke tells him it is worth more than all of Freetown, Vanth isn\u2019t having any of that. But given how Pyke\u2019s react to rivals, it might have been better just to let the Pyke scurry off with the spice.<\/p>\n It\u2019s similar to the mistake Boba Fett makes during his Lawrence of Arabia phase. It was one thing for the Tuskens to defend themselves against random violence as the Pyke hover train rolled through. It\u2019s another thing for Boba Fett to take the Pykes\u2019 stuff and then demand they pay tribute.<\/p>\n Machiavelli argues that a tyrant can kill whomever he wants when he seizes power. It breeds fear in the subjects, and it\u2019s not like the dead can do anything about it. But Machiavelli does advise never to harm women or steal people\u2019s possessions. While dead men can\u2019t avenge themselves, living men will try to avenge their wives, daughters, and wealth.<\/p>\n Would the Pykes\u2019 have left Vanth alone if he just killed some of their own? Maybe. Maybe not. But they will definitely not take kindly to have a small fortune stolen from them. (We learned this from the last episodes of The Clone Wars<\/em>.)<\/p>\n The Pykes make a choice that they will not work with Vanth. It\u2019s a choice that makes Vanth strike back, and risks pushing Vanth towards TeamFett.<\/p>\n Choice Two<\/strong><\/p>\n Din Djarin\u2019s dilemma: Disrupt Grogu\u2019s training by staying in touch or help Grogu overcome attachments by steering clear?<\/p>\n I\u2019ll admit, I was moved seeing R2-D2 again… and being all R2-D2ey, that little rascal.<\/p>\n As Din arrives on the lush, bamboo-rich planet (a very Kurosawa-esque setting if there ever was one), R2 takes Din to what is to become Luke\u2019s new school for Jedi… at the moment, a half-built stone structure being assembled by an army of ant droids, which looked like they walked out of one of those Boston Dynamics videos.<\/p>\n \u201cProduct placement for Pier 1\u2019s line of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ bamboo-couch beds.\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n One of the droids builds Din a little bench or bed, while R2 shuts down. (At this point, I started to wonder if we\u2019re seeing the beginning of R2\u2019s long shutdown from the sequels… but maybe he just needs a nap.) It\u2019s going to be a long wait, evidently. But when Din awakes, he finds Ahsoka waiting for him, not Luke or Grogu. Why is she there? I don\u2019t know. I bet we\u2019ll see her version of this episode when she gets her own show.<\/p>\n Ahsoka doesn\u2019t try to stop Din from seeing Grogu. Or, if she does, it\u2019s in a passive-aggressive way. She doesn\u2019t make demands, but asks Din to contemplate the consequences of carrying out his wish for some Baby Yoda time.<\/p>\n In her own way, she echoes Cobb Vanth\u2019s \u201cThink it through.\u201d (I now need someone to write and record a parody of \u201cLet It Go\u201d with Vanth\u2019s catch-phrase. Get on that, Internet!)<\/p>\n But to help his thought process, she explains that the bond between the Mandalorian and foundling is strong. It creates an impediment for Grogu to embrace the philosophy of detachment that the Jedi path demands. As the recap reminds us, the Mandalorian Way is the inverse of this philosophy: invested deeply in loyalty and clans.<\/p>\n I guess we need to make a Dungeons & Dragons-style alignment grid for Star Wars to map out these different philosophies.<\/p>\n Din seems to use the Mandalorian Way to mask some of his feelings or desires. He excuses his arrival as being duty bound — he has to fulfill Grogu\u2019s rights as a foundling to have a piece of beskar. Is this some kind of machismo rising up on Din\u2019s part (me no have squishy feelings when me see babies), or is he just trying to find some loophole (surrendering weapons violates the free expression of my religion)?<\/p>\n Either way, this logic seems spurious — is Grogu even really a Mandalorian foundling now that he is back with \u201chis kind?\u201d<\/p>\n We see that the Jedi path has ramifications for more than just the Jedi. Detachment from others means putting others in the position where they have to detach from you as well.<\/p>\n Ahsoka frames the dilemma in terms of what is best for Grogu — a path of isolation and detachment that could lead him to be able to do great things in the galaxy or a path of family and loyalty that might lead him to a life in the shadows.<\/p>\n Din chooses to avoid the path of helicopter parent and let Grogu go… but not entirely. He still leaves the beskar chain mail behind. If you\u2019re familiar with the tao symbol, you know there is always a little dot with the opposing color on each side. Din might accept detachment for Grogu, but the armor is like the little dot.<\/p>\n Do Jedi accept that little spot inside them, or do they neurotically try to scrub it out?<\/p>\n A last thought on the scene of Din\u2019s choice. Ahsoka works well in this scene because she can connect to Din in ways that other characters can\u2019t.<\/p>\n They are both characters who have been separated from their tribes, but still feel attached to those tribes. Ahsoka forsook the Jedi Order similar to how Din forsook his sect. And, yet, in many ways Ahsoka adheres even more closely to the Jedi path than any Jedi — she was so removed from attachment that she detached herself from the rigid Order. And yet she still fights alongside Jedi, helps promote the Light Side, and is a guardian of justice.<\/p>\n Din removed his helmet twice, but still submits to “The Way”… and doesn\u2019t take his helmet off again even after being banished. And he is more loyal to the culvert than they are to him. He is more Mandalorian than the Mandalorians — with that little exception of removing his helmet, that one little dot on his record.<\/p>\n Choice Three<\/strong><\/p>\n Luke Skywalker\u2019s dilemma: What to do about Grogu?<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, when I was in your shoes it was student who carried the teacher in the backpack…\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n When Luke asks Ahsoka what he should do about Grogu, Ahsoka says to \u201ctrust your instincts,\u201d which is \u201cthinking it through\u201d only with less thinking.<\/p>\n She also says he reminds her of his father — which is clearly meant as a compliment, but it brings to mind the exchange between Beru and Owen:<\/p>\n He has too much of his father in him.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what I\u2019m afraid of.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Luke\u2019s choice is to leave it up to Grogu what to do.<\/p>\n What\u2019s probably nagging most fans is that Luke makes these mutually exclusive options: You can choose to be a Jedi and forsake family, or you can choose to have a family and forsake being a Jedi.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not quite sure whether this is intentionally bad philosophy or not.<\/p>\n The Jedi claim they have no attachments, but they are obviously attached to their code. Luke claims you can\u2019t be attached and follow the Jedi path… as if attachment is a terrible thing.<\/p>\n Obi-wan told Anakin that he loved him like a brother.<\/p>\n Obviously, Palpatine exploited Anakin\u2019s familial attachments to turn him into a Sith. His attachment to his mother led him to slaughter the Tuskens. His attachment to Padme led him to slaughter the Jedi.<\/p>\n But his attachment to Luke led him to kill Palpatine, earning him the right to dress in Jedi robes in Jedi Ghost World. Family bonds were the only thing strong enough to destroy the Sith.<\/p>\n We know Luke can\u2019t bring himself to strike down his nephew despite his Force visions — it\u2019s attachment that kept him from being a murderer. And what leads him to intervene in The Last Jedi is a vision of his sister.<\/p>\n Is Ahsoka\u2019s reference to Anakin a hint for Luke? What feelings does it stir in Luke to hear her say that? Does he feel family pride? She says it smilingly, it doesn\u2019t seem like a bad thing. (She\u2019s not a Jedi, so she doesn\u2019t have to fear attachment.) What does Luke think about his own feelings towards his own family? Is he weaker in the Force because of them, or stronger?<\/p>\n I said these choices determine character\u2019s allegiances. Is Luke\u2019s allegiance to the Jedi path, or is it to Grogu?<\/p>\n Is he willing to compromise the Jedi philosophy and waive Grogu\u2019s general education requirements, or should he start playing hardball with Grogu and whip him into shape for the sake of the Order\u2019s future? Or is he willing to ask whether or not becoming a Jedi is the right thing for Grogu?<\/p>\n Skipping ahead, Luke ultimately decides to transfer the dilemma onto Grogu and let him choose for himself.<\/p>\n Nitpick Alert: Luke wasn\u2019t always 100% convincing. Maybe I\u2019m imagining things, but the voice is maybe a little too monotone. The mouth sometimes seemed not entirely in sync. Maybe it\u2019s the technology needed to create young-Luke. Maybe it\u2019s part of the performance — Luke\u2019s trying too hard to be some kind of grand, serious teacher (even though every Jedi he\u2019s ever met was fine with levity).<\/p>\n Choice Four<\/strong><\/p>\n Cobb Vanth\u2019s dilemma: Side with Boba\u2019s group to repel the Pykes or take the Pykes\u2019 bribe to stay out of it?<\/p>\n \u201cWell, no one\u2019s going to question who shot first…\u201d<\/small><\/p>\n Cad Bane.<\/p>\n Cad Bane.<\/p>\n Cad Bane.<\/p>\n Okay, I had to make sure to acknowledge that.<\/p>\n Nitpick Alert: Actually, let me also get my biggest nitpick off of my Boba Fett t-shirt-wearing chest. Cad Bane\u2019s hat apparently suffered the same fate as Ahsoka Tano\u2019s crest (called montrals, according to the Internet). Reducing the brim on his hat makes him look just a little less Cad Baney and a little more like a jazz aficionado. But it\u2019s a minor point.<\/p>\n The opening scene is now repeated, but the script is flipped. It\u2019s Cad Bane essentially telling Cobb Vanth to \u201cthink it through.\u201d<\/p>\n Or, rather, it\u2019s now the townsfolk who have to think it through. At first, the Weequay barkeep wants nothing to do with the Fett\/Pyke \u201cwar.\u201d But the look he gives as Cad Bane… uhm… walks away… through the desert… how far is this place by foot?… what? Oh, the Weequay. Yeah, he looks like he\u2019s thinking through options.<\/p>\n Aaaand… nobody bothered to rush to Deputy Idiot to see if he was dead or alive.<\/small><\/p>\nexclusive Boba Fett collectibles<\/strike> spice in his territory and sends them packing. Din Djarin visits Grogu at college\/daycare, but R2-D2 sends him to Ahsoka instead. Ahsoka convinces Din not to interfere, so he leaves behind an infant-sized mithril t-shirt for Grogu. Luke trains Grogu. Montage! Din goes to Jabba\u2019s Palace, sees how unprepared Boba is, and then asks Cobb to forge an alliance with Fett\u2019s \u201ccrew.\u201d When Din leaves, soon-to-be-a-Walmart-Exclusive-Star-Wars 6\u201d Black Series Cad Bane offers to pay Freetown not <\/em>to aid Boba Fett, but Deputy Idiot starts a shootout. Bane takes down Vanth and Deputy Idiot. Back at Miyagi-do Dojo, Luke tells Grogu he can pick the mithril shirt and go live with daddy or inherit Yoda\u2019s lightsaber and stay with mommy<\/strike> Luke to become a great Jedi. The End.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bobafettfanclub.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-book-of-boba-fett-chapter-6-landscape.jpg\")
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