Summary
“In the Name of Honor” delivers a big, exciting, expensive-looking closer to a show that improved throughout its entire run, teasing interesting things for the future while providing heart and action aplenty.
This recap of The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 7, “In the Name of Honor”, contains spoilers, including for the Book of Fett’s ending.
We have a classic stand-off, folks. After weeks of development, the Pyke Syndicate finally declared all-out war on Boba Fett for control of Tatooine, blowing Garsa’s Sanctuary to smithereens as the opening salvo. It’s in the charred husk of that formerly fine establishment where the season finale, “In the Name of Honor”, picks up, with Boba, Fennec Shand, Mando, and the Mods debating how best to proceed. Without Cobb Vanth’s garrison, their superior skill will quickly be overwhelmed by superior numbers, so all they can really do is hold out until reinforcements arrive. Boba proposes doing so in the palace, but the Mods disagree — they think the last stand should be in the hollowed-out remains of the Sanctuary, in the midst of the people. Boba, despite the Mods offering absolutely no tactical justification for this whatsoever, agrees.
The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 7 recap
Of course, as we know, Cad Bane’s live-action debut left Cobb Vanth wounded and his deputy dead, meaning the Freetown garrison isn’t as likely to arrive as Mando thinks. We also learn that it was the Pyke Syndicate and Mok Shaiz who were responsible for the eradication of Boba’s Tusken Raider clan, so they’re confident he has no other surprise personnel to back him up. He is bunkered down in the Sanctuary, though, but Cad Bane has a plan to lure him out.
As it happens, the Pykes aren’t entirely right about Boba’s backup, since Grogu and R2-D2 promptly arrive in an X-Wing, with the former having evidently made his decision — he’s wearing the beskar chainmail that Mando gifted him and has come to be reunited with his father figure. It might be in the nick of time, too. Cad Bane’s efforts to lure Boba out involve turning up outside Garsa’s and telling him outright that the Freetown reinforcements aren’t coming and that the Pykes murdered the Tuskens, but even though Fennec manages to talk Boba into showing restraint, the Pykes launch a series of surprise attacks again the Mods, Black Krrsantan, and the Gamorreans, using the bought-off locals as muscle. The Gamorreans are pushed off a cliff, one assumes to their deaths, while Krrsantan is overwhelmed by Trandoshans. Fennec, though, is able to bail out the Mod Squad on her way to the Pyke’s base of operations in Mos Eisley.
It’s at this point in “In the Name of Honor” that the action starts, and a lot of it seems designed specifically to give nerds orgasms. Mando delivers the best instance of “this is the way” yet in assuring Boba that he’ll die by his side in the name of honor, there’s a very funny sequence in which the mayor’s majordomo — I still haven’t caught his name — is sent out to present Boba’s terms to the Pykes — you can guess what those are — and then there’s a whole extended sequence of Boba and Mando flying around and shooting everyone, standing back to back in their armor and just turning the cool factor up to about a million. Of course, they’re both quickly overwhelmed, but reinforcements from Freetown arrive in the nick of time, and both the Mod Squad and Krrsantan make it back, though the former in compromised numbers and the latter almost dead.
The Pykes quickly bring out the big guns in the form of stomping Scorpenek annihilator droids, basically a giant, steroidal version of the droidekas from The Phantom Menace. These two are virtually indestructible — even the Darksaber can’t penetrate their shields — so Boba goes off looking for more reinforcements while Mando creates a distraction. He runs right into Peli Motto and Grogu, and their emotional reunion occurs at high speed on a droid-drawn carriage, yet it still hits in the way it’s supposed to. Meanwhile, Boba’s reinforcement turns out to be the rancor, which he rides across the rooftops in an expensive-looking sequence and uses to pimp-slap the Scorpeneks all over the place. Mando is able to break through the shields and set about the thing with the Darksaber, and thanks to a timely intervention by Grogu, who is able to Force-pull one of its knee joints, Boba’s rancor is able to rip the giant droid to pieces.
The Book of Boba Fett ending
That only leaves one, which is harassing the Mod Squad, Krrsantan, and the Freetown garrison, but Boba’s rancor quickly sets about that one as well. In the wake of all this devastation, the Pykes begin to retreat in confusion, as Mando chases them down the street while still cradling Grogu. But there’s still one significant threat unaccounted for — Cad Bane. He’s able to scare off the rancor using his flamethrower so he and Boba can have their long-awaited showdown, which Cad Bane comes out of better off. But in cautioning Boba to always look out for himself, he didn’t consider all the things he learned from the Tuskens, or indeed the gaffi stick he carries with him. Boba’s able to sweep Bane off his feet and fatally stab him with the weapon, which I suppose is some measure of payback for the loss of his tribe.
Let loose, though, the rancor goes a bit haywire, and since nobody knows what else to do, they open fire on it, sending it frantically clambering up a tower in an obvious homage to King Kong. Mando tries to calm the beast down but almost gets his head bitten off for his efforts, but luckily Grogu is on hand once again to lull the rancor into a nap using the Force. Exhausted from the exertion, Grogo curls up next to the rancor, and they both fall soundly asleep.
Meanwhile, in Mos Eisley, Fennec Shand finally makes it to the Pyke’s base of operations and kills everyone there, including the Pyke leader, Mok Shaiz, and all of Tatooine’s other crime bosses. So, all’s well that ends well. Boba retains control of Tatooine and the people love him, while Mando heads into space in his starfighter, with Grogu fitting neatly into the pod behind him. In a post-credits scene, we see Cobb Vanth in Boba’s bacta tank, with the guy who modified Fennec Shand in a previous episode hovering over him, ready to make some changes.
You can stream The Book of Boba Fett season 1, episode 7, “In the Name of Honor”, exclusively on Disney+. Do you have any thought on The Book of Boba Fett’s ending? Let us know in the comments.
