Summary
“Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian” fulfills some worldbuilding duties while reintroducing a familiar face.
This recap of The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 5, “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian”, contains spoilers.
At the very end of last week’s episode of The Book of Boba Fett, Fennec Shand implied that she and Boba needed muscle for their upcoming battle against the Pyke Syndicate, and a very familiar theme tune implied what she meant by “muscle” — Din Djarin, aka The Mandalorian. And lo and behold, “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian” opens with… well, the return of the Mandalorian. He’s still collecting bounties, though now with the help of the Darksaber, which you’ll recall he acquired from Moff Gideon in last year’s break-the-internet second season finale. It’s a pleasure to see him back, even without Grogu in tow.
The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 5 recap
During this opening scuffle, Mando gets wounded by the Darksaber. When he eventually makes his way to the Armorer and Paz Vizsla, he has to explain where he got it and why he’s wielding it. There’s a lot of important Star Wars history relating to the Darksaber, and the Armorer shares some of it for Mando’s — and the audience’s — benefit. The tl;dr version is that its wielder has a claim to leadership of Mandalore, but it must be earned in Creed, through battle, and not fall into the hands of the unworthy and undeserving, otherwise, it’ll become a blight. Since Mando defeated Moff Gideon for it, he’s good. But given the saber’s history, forged by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, and once wielded illegitimately by Bo-Katan Kryze, there’s a lot of dynastic baggage associated with it.
This is all being brought up for a reason, obviously, one that will presumably become more and more relevant when The Mandalorian returns for its third season and Disney make the rest of their plan for small-screen Star Wars content a bit clearer. For now, it’s enough to excuse Paz challenging Mando to a duel for the saber, which he loses, but which also results in Mando being stripped of his Mandalorian status since he has to swear by Creed that he has never removed his helmet, which of course he has. (Also of note, Mando earlier asked the Armorer to melt down his beskar spear and create a gift for a foundling, Grogu, even though he’s no longer taking care of him and the Jedi swerve all attachments as part of their training.) The only way for Mando to be redeemed is in the waters beneath the mines of Mandalore itself, which is a tough ask given the planet’s general decimation after The Great Purge.
Getting to Mandalore means acquiring a replacement for the destroyed Razor Crest, which means catching a commercial flight to Tatooine — there’s a funny bit where Mando has to surrender his many weapons to get on-board — and a visit to Peli Motto, who was glimpsed in a previous episode and supposedly has a replacement for the Razor Crest. As it turns out, it’s a junked N1 Naboo starfighter, pre-Empire, which takes a good chunk of the episode to rebuild. With Mando’s help, as well as assists from several droids and scavenging from the local — furry, apparently — Jawas, they’re able to get the thing into working order. During the test flight, Mando’s speeding earns him the attention of some New Republic lawmen in X-Wings, who inquire about some of Mando’s past activities around Nevarro, and his sudden sub-light speed boost is trial enough for the new ship. It works.
When Mando returns to Mos Eisley, he finds Fennec Shand waiting for him. She has a job offer — providing muscle for Boba Fett. Mando is willing to do it for free, but first, he has to pay a visit to a little friend.
