S01.E05: Chapter Five - Return of the Mandalorian

[dwmarch]

Well, that was a great episode of The Mandalorian!

13 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I hope the chain mail was for Mando’s thighs to protect him from the dark saber, and maybe he has a matching pair made for Grogu.

Yeah, first thing I would do is get a beskar jock made, Mando almost cut his own nuts off there.

As for Grogu, could be a beskar diaper which would be a great idea if Mando is going to be hauling him around in a tiny starfighter.

Having said that, I have a feeling Mando will eventually capture himself a larger ship which the starfighter will then become an auxiliary craft of. He really needs a floating base of operations.

After the Fundie Mandos (both of them!) kicked Mando out for his justifiable breaking of the helmet rule, I was surprised to see him still wearing it later. I know that was to set up and pay off the scene with the little green kid but still... if he's been stuck in that helmet for all of his life you'd think he'd take it off the minute the fundies gave him the boot.

I appreciate that Mando doesn't judge people but where exactly did he think the Jawas were getting all those exotic parts from? And good think Shand showed up when she did, considering the Jawas have no hesitation about jacking parts from the cartel.

Speaking of which, that was a subtle nod to the situation with the Pikes escalating. When we saw them last week they were flying commercial. Now their own ships have arrived. I hope Shand isn't sitting around all day in garages, seems like she's got some more recruiting to do.

[absnow54]

I'm curious what they're storytelling plan is from here. I doubt they'll show Mando's reunion with Grogu in this series. So what, is Mando not coming back? Or is he going to come back all "I'll tell you about it later." I trust the showrunners, but to me, it would make more sense to postpone his trip to see Grogu until after he's finished his Boba Fett side quest, so those beats can all be done during Mandalorian Season 3.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, dwmarch said:

I hope Shand isn't sitting around all day in garages, seems like she's got some more recruiting to do.

The Magnificent Seven is complete... Bring it on Pykes!

• Wookiee
• Mando
• Guards
• Cyberpunks

Edited January 27, 2022 by paigow

[johntfs]

10 minutes ago, paigow said:

The Magnificent Seven is complete... Bring it on Pykes!

• Wookiee
• Mando
• Guards
• Cyberpunks

Maybe they could add Cobb  Vanth AKA Space Raylan Givens to the group to help with the Pykes.  And don't forget the Baby Rancor and Space Danny Trejo either.

[FnkyChkn34]

9 minutes ago, johntfs said:

Maybe they could add Cobb  Vanth ...

Now that you mention it, this show has never addressed why Boba Fett didn't try to get his armor back from Cobb Vanth directly, way before Mando did.  I guess we're supposed to just forget that they lived so close to each other for all those years...

Edited January 27, 2022 by FnkyChkn34
fixed typo

[Rushmoras]

Well, so, now we know the more or less main plot of Mandalorian Season 3. Mando seaking the living waters in Mandalore in order to purge his sin for removing his helmet. Ok, more interesting perhaps than evil Empire is back. Oh, right, this was supposed to be a show about Boba? 😆

Also, just found this gem on youtube:

 

[Msample]

2 hours ago, johntfs said:

Maybe they could add Cobb  Vanth AKA Space Raylan Givens to the group to help with the Pykes.  And don't forget the Baby Rancor and Space Danny Trejo either.

I would not be shocked to find that some of the Tuskens weren’t around when their tribe got slaughtered and thus survived and turn up for some payback on the Pykes. 

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, dwmarch said:

After the Fundie Mandos (both of them!) kicked Mando out for his justifiable breaking of the helmet rule, I was surprised to see him still wearing it later. I know that was to set up and pay off the scene with the little green kid but still... if he's been stuck in that helmet for all of his life you'd think he'd take it off the minute the fundies gave him the boot.

Maybe he didn't want to take it off. Even though the Fundies say he is no longer Mandalorian, he still wants to be part of that culture and that is still how he identifies. It's similar to Catholics who use birth control or Jews who eat pork. Yes they are doing something that thier religion forbids, but they still practice and keep other elements of thier religion. 

[arc]

22 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

A ringworld based on Earth's orbit would have a circumference of 940 MILLION km. We didn't get any reference to see the size of this one but I still think it's safe to say it dwarfs the death stars and anything else.

It looks about eight to ten city blocks wide, so ballpark maybe 260-350 city blocks long in circumference? So very roughly 11 km in radius. The center has to be an artificial sun, not a real star. It's much smaller than the Death Star too (60 km radius).

The day-night cycles of the ring are ridiculous though. It looks like they alternate day and night every ten to twenty minutes, tops.

[Cthulhudrew]

20 hours ago, paigow said:

A train ride for a bunch of steers from Kansas / Nebraska to Chicago is more affordable than chartering the Millennium Falcon for hauling live Tauntauns or Banthas

"I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid."

[Captain Stable]

5 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Also, just found this gem on youtube:

 

 

I would totally watch "Whose the Bossk?"

[paigow]

18 hours ago, Dani said:

And? That’s doesn’t mean their paths can’t cross. Somehow Mando keep finding Captain Appa. It’s a pretty small galaxy after all.

Why wait until Ashoka to introduce her when bringing her on this show or The Mandalorian would help build more hype for the spin-off?

The only reason Mando met Ahsoka was because the bad guys hired him to kill her. Sabine is off the grid, living on Lothal. I got a feeling that meeting the X-Wing cops again is Favreau & Filoni not wanting to waste some early scenes shot for the Gina Carano spin-off.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

The only reason Mando met Ahsoka was because the bad guys hired him to kill her. Sabine is off the grid, living on Lothal. I got a feeling that meeting the X-Wing cops again is Favreau & Filoni not wanting to waste some early scenes shot for the Gina Carano spin-off.

I far as I know they never filmed anything for the Gina Carano spin-off. The problems with her popped when it was very early in development.

Mando met Ahsoka because he was looking for a Jedi and Bo Katan told him where to find one. He was hired to kill her (which he was never going to do) after he showed on the planet looking for her.

I would be very surprised if we don’t see at least part of the Ahsoka cast before that show premieres. It was made clear that they would interconnect. In my opinion it would be a massively wasted opportunity to not have Sabine and Mando meet since they parallels between them training with the Dark Saber are apparent and her role in what happened to Mandalore. If the writers don’t take that opportunity it will be a bad decision as far as I am concerned. There is nothing in what we know that says it can’t happen. We saw Sabine for a few seconds post Return of the Jedi and I really doubt that she never leaves Lothal. Or that Mando can’t seek her out if he finds out about the Mandalorian who mastered the Dark Saber. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Guest

[jcin617]

On 1/26/2022 at 6:25 PM, madhacker said:

In case you guys are interested the new little droid we saw in the episode seems to be BD-1 from the game Star Wars:Fallen Order. I was half expecting to see Cameron Monaghan show up seeing he plays Kel Kestis (they're getting ready to shoot the new game any time now).

 

I squeed a bit when BD-1 appeared.  I would love live-action Cal - Cameron Monaghan is a little younger than Cal would be in the show’s time, but close enough!

Edited January 28, 2022 by jcin617

[Athena5217]

I was glued to the TV during this episode. After it was over, I was sad because I realized it was really an episode of The Mandalorian, not Boba Fett, and that’s why it was so good.

I hope Grogu is sending Mando postcards saying how much fun he’s having at Skywalker Ranch. Mando needs a boost after he was kicked out of the covert.

Mando meeting that X-wing pilot again is a lot more likely than Leia being Luke’s sister. It’s a very small galaxy that is far away and long ago.

[tennisgurl]

I swear, I do like this show, but I cant help but notice that the best episode of The Book of Boba Fett...featured absolutely no Boba Fett. The show at its best is actually an episode of The Mandalorian, which just reminds me of how awesome Mando is and how he much better of a protagonist he is. Poor Din is dealing with having an empty nest, missing his adorable son, having gone back to bounty hunting but really just going through the motions. The episode was a great character study, exploring Din's life after giving up Grogu while giving us a lot of those great Mando moments where his stoicism is used as a hilarious contrast with the colorful situations he finds himself in. This episode really just makes me appreciate The Mandalorian so much more. I wish the regular show could make its main character as engaging and its world as fun.

Look at the present with the little Grogu ears! Time to head off for Parents Weekend at the Jedi Training School!

Edited January 28, 2022 by tennisgurl

[benteen]

Great episode.  Like everyone else, it's hard not to notice that the best episode of The Book of Boba Fett doesn't involve the title character at all.  This isn't to hate on the character but it's frustrating that the show can't deliver like this when it's focusing on it's main character and the story they have built around him.

Some great action and the visuals on the ring were amazing.  That is definitely one of favorite locations in all of Star Wars.  More mythology for the Mandalorians, particularly for the Darksaber.  Night of the Thousand Tears had a very Terminator vibe to it. Never trust a Vizla either.  Interesting that even given his recent experiences, Din is still caught up in the cult mentality of Death Watch.  Great look.at how not Javon Grogu around is affecting him.  I honestly don't think Luke is keeping to the whole no attachment thing when it comes to him and his students. 

Nice to see Amy Sedaris and I liked the process of seeing Mando's new ship even if the story went on a little too long.  Nice to finally see Beggar's Canyon onscreen.  That was the place Luke honed his piloting skills, which Luke brings up to Biggs during the attack on the Death Star.  There's a great issue of the original Star Wars comic back in the 70s that involves Beggar's Canyon and the Tuskens.

So are we going to see Mando again this season?  I have to imagine any meeting with Grogu won't be until Season 3.  As for The Book of Boba Fett, I really hope they can deliver on its last two episodes.  I feel like they are really behind the 8 ball now.

[FnkyChkn34]

59 minutes ago, benteen said:

So are we going to see Mando again this season?  I have to imagine any meeting with Grogu won't be until Season 3.  As for The Book of Boba Fett, I really hope they can deliver on its last two episodes.  I feel like they are really behind the 8 ball now.

There's a rumor over on The Mandalorian thread that says:

Spoiler

Grogu was seen on The Book of Boba Fett set.  No idea if it's true, but putting in spoiler tags just in case.

 

[Rushmoras]

1 hour ago, benteen said:

So are we going to see Mando again this season?  I have to imagine any meeting with Grogu won't be until Season 3.  As for The Book of Boba Fett, I really hope they can deliver on its last two episodes.  I feel like they are really behind the 8 ball now.

Well, since he said he's going to help, I assume he'll be back at least for the seventh episode.

[roctavia]

16 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Maybe he didn't want to take it off. Even though the Fundies say he is no longer Mandalorian, he still wants to be part of that culture and that is still how he identifies. It's similar to Catholics who use birth control or Jews who eat pork. Yes they are doing something that thier religion forbids, but they still practice and keep other elements of thier religion. 

Yes, I assume he wants to atone and be re-accepted into the Covert. He took his helmet off for very specific reasons, not just to take it off willy nilly like Bo Katan and her crew.  I don't think he plans to remove it again unless it's a very specific situation.

[Tachi Rocinante]

Shades of Alien Nation, Halo, and Terminator,

I think he had her make Grogu a biker's chain link belt and matching choker.

[paigow]

6 hours ago, roctavia said:

I don't think he plans to remove it again unless it's a very specific situation.

I thought he had freedom to take it off UNTIL he gets to Mandalore for his redemption bath...

[johntfs]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

I thought he had freedom to take it off UNTIL he gets to Mandalore for his redemption bath...

A would-be priest or nun has the freedom to do non-stop orgies until they take their vows but most don't because they follow the tenets of their faith.  Mando follows the tenets of his faith and only broke them in specific, unusual situations.

[arc]

It's very useful for producing The Mandalorian show that Din is deeply invested in never taking his helmet off, so that Pedro Pascal can mostly do voice work. But on a narrative level I don't like that Din is siding with fundamentalist cultists who (as I vaguely understand it, not having seen the animated shows) valorize violence over more peaceful Mandalorians.

That said, I contain multitudes, because one criticism I have of this show is that the violence onscreen is generally of low quality as Hollywood action goes and also that Boba Fett specifically is just bad at it. Not (only) in the sense that the fight scenes are clumsy and make no sense narratively, but also that he is simply incompetent at employing personal violence, esp in the present timeline. (He was considerably more competent in the flashbacks). His only present day wins came when he got his gunship back. (Krrsantan was a team effort and the MVP was a trap door.) This is a franchise where, generally speaking, the heroes win by being good at fighting and the antiheroes win by being good at fighting and sometimes fighting dirty. Then again, last episode, he tried diplomacy with the rest of the underworld leaders and came out with a big fat bag of nothing too.

[Sakura12]

The fundamentalist cultists are the ones that saved him when he was little so I understand his commitment to them. It's all he's known. He is slowly learning there are other ways. Which is why I wanted Ahsoka to say she wasn't a Jedi. She left the only world she's ever known because she stopped believing in them. She could help him see that you can follow some of their teachings but you don't have to follow everything. 

Meeting Sabine would also be helpful since she was also kicked out of her clan and she knows how to fight with the dark Saber.

I mean Bo Katan was part of that cult and left it because they were too extreme. Din needs to hear more about his cult to really understand what they are about. And don't get me started on the the Vizsla's. This one wasn't as extreme as the others we've met in the animated shows.  

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

The fundamentalist cultists are the ones that saved him when he was little so I understand his commitment to them. It's all he's known. He is slowly learning there are other ways. Which is why I wanted Ahsoka to say she wasn't a Jedi. She left the only world she's ever known because she stopped believing in them. She could help him see that you can follow some of their teachings but you don't have to follow everything. 

This. I really love how they are slowly exposing him to other Mandalorian and Mandalorian adjacent individuals who have a different perspectives. To me that is more believable and powerful than to have in just turn on beliefs suddenly. It stood out to me that season 2 introduced him to three different people/groups who wear the armor in very different ways than he was raised.

8 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

Meeting Sabine would also be helpful since she was also kicked out of her clan and she knows how to fight with the dark Saber. 

Yes. To me she is the perfect one to help him bridge where he is to a more healthy relationship with being a Mandalorian.

 

23 minutes ago, arc said:

 

It's very useful for producing The Mandalorian show that Din is deeply invested in never taking his helmet off, so that Pedro Pascal can mostly do voice work. But on a narrative level I don't like that Din is siding with fundamentalist cultists who (as I vaguely understand it, not having seen the animated shows) valorize violence over more peaceful Mandalorians.

 

It’s not just the fundamentalist cultist that raised Din that valorize violence. Mandalorians and violence pretty much go hand in hand. There were pacifists but there not any of the ones that wear the armor. 

[Zuleikha]

I have loved Temuera Morrison as an actor since Once Were Warriors, and I love the character of Boba as we got insight into him in Clone Wars. I've thought the issue with the show was the bizarrely bad writing/storytelling structuring from day 1. This episode confirmed it for me. I love Pedro Pascal as much as the next sf/f fangirl, but I do not believe Pascal's voice acting is so much more charismatic that it explains the quality difference. 

My only guess for what's gone on with the show is that the writers hit writer's block early on when breaking scripts and ended up making running out of time and making some bad, desperation choices. They could write this episode because they knew where Mando is in his character journey. For whatever reason, they don't have a handle on that for Boba and Fennec. It stinks because I think what we've seen of present-day Boba suggests that there was a viable concept in the idea of two fighters functionally trying to retire by going into management and struggling with it. I wish we'd gotten that show.

But I'm super excited for Mando, s3 now so that's good. I was actually meh on it before this ep because I wasn't sure there was more story. I share the concerns about the spacecraft. The starfighter is nice and fast, but where do you sleep or go to the bathroom or store a bounty?

[Morrigan2575]

I caught the horns on her helmet during the episode but, holy crap I never put it together until this tweet. 😯

 

 

[estellasmum]

Came here to agree with all those saying this is hands down the best episode of the season, question the logistics of such a small ship, but I also need to have a . . . lament(?) about my husband watching this episode, that I don't feel I can share with people IRL, because it will make them look at him differently.

As Mando was limping down the non-OSHA approved catwalk to meet the Armorer, my husband turned to me and asked why doesn't Boba Fett just use his pack and fly down there? He's the one that we got D+ for to watch The Mandalorian, and I subscribed again so he could watch this, and after the title, music cues, different armor, different voice, and the Darksaber, he thought he was watching Boba Fett  until I paused it and said "PLEASE do not tell me you think that is Boba Fett." I just really don't know how to deal with that, still.

 

[paigow]

6 minutes ago, estellasmum said:

 until I paused it and said "PLEASE do not tell me you think that is Boba Fett." I just really don't know how to deal with that, still.

 

Has he watched the original trilogy lately? Ever?? Promise to get his favourite movie snack and rewatch at least the entire Jabba Sail Barge sequence from Episode 6.

[estellasmum]

Just now, paigow said:

Has he watched the original trilogy lately? Ever?? Promise to get his favourite movie snack and rewatch at least the entire Jabba Sail Barge sequence from Episode 6.

Yes!! I only watched (and loved) the first 3, and then we watched Episode 1 together, as it came out right after we got married, and refused to watch the next 2, and then watched Episode 7 and declared myself out. He watched all of them (and was 16 to my 10 when Return of the Jedi came out) in the theaters, and re-watched them on D+. I've only halfway been watching TBOBF, whereas he turns it into an event where he makes everyone be quiet, turns the lights out, and grabs a cup of tea and a snack and then, and only then will he watch.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, estellasmum said:

He watched all of them (and was 16 to my 10 when Return of the Jedi came out) in the theaters, and re-watched them on D+.

Your neighbours must be Jedi / Sith controlling his mind if he has trouble distinguishing Mando from Boba. Keep him away from Comic-Con

[Rushmoras]

On 1/29/2022 at 4:31 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

I caught the horns on her helmet during the episode but, holy crap I never put it together until this tweet. 😯

 

 

Even though I've watched Clone Wars, I'm confused. Does the horns mean that she belongs to the Kryze family?

[Morrigan2575]

25 minutes ago, Rushmoras said:

Even though I've watched Clone Wars, I'm confused. Does the horns mean that she belongs to the Kryze family?

Its the #Mauldalorian (Sam Witwer voices Darth Maul). If you look at her Helmet it kind of looks like Maul's horns.

We know that this particular group of Mandalorian's were part of the Death Watch, some of them ended up serving under Maul. It's possible the Armorer was one of Maul's Mandalorian's

[Rushmoras]

8 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Its the #Mauldalorian (Sam Witwer voices Darth Maul). If you look at her Helmet it kind of looks like Maul's horns.

We know that this particular group of Mandalorian's were part of the Death Watch, some of them ended up serving under Maul. It's possible the Armorer was one of Maul's Mandalorian's

Oh, I remember that Maul had Mandalorian warriors at his service! I just never put two and two together, because in this case horns are kind of miniscule compared to animated version as I remember :)

Edited January 31, 2022 by Rushmoras

[Morrigan2575]

3 minutes ago, Rushmoras said:

Oh, I remember that Maul had Mandalorian warriors at his service! I just never put two and two together, because in this case horns are kind of miniscule compared to animated version as I remember :)

Yes, they are such smaller this is the first time I've noticed them. I think, if there is a connection, it's symbolic.  This group does love their symbols and rituals 😁

[paigow]

9 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Its the #Mauldalorian (Sam Witwer voices Darth Maul). If you look at her Helmet it kind of looks like Maul's horns.

We know that this particular group of Mandalorian's were part of the Death Watch, some of them ended up serving under Maul. It's possible the Armorer was one of Maul's Mandalorian's

She is obviously the Mandalorian version of Red Reddington... always holding back info / lying by omission

Also, the Vizla clan supported Maul

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Also, the Vizla clan supported Maul

Yep and we already have a Vizla in this group. Makes me wonder what her name is. Also, makes me wonder if she'll be the Villain of S3 or S4? 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Morrigan2575

[DesiJF]

16 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Yep and we already have a Vizla in this group. Makes me wonder what her name is. Also, makes me wonder if she'll be the Villain of S3 or S4? 

I hope not.  I love the Armorer.  This is the Way.

Edited January 31, 2022 by DesiJF

[FierceCritter]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:30 PM, arc said:

She was calling out moves as she was doing them, then calling them out for Mando to perform. It totally looked like martial arts training in forms to me.

She was counting. One. Two. Three. Four. One. Two. Three. Four.

(I watch a LOT of Star Wars YouTubers... a LOT)

Edited January 31, 2022 by FierceCritter

[arc]

1 minute ago, FierceCritter said:

She was counting.

(I watch a LOT of Star Wars YouTubers... a LOT)

 Fair enough, but as a child when I learned a wushu form, we did count the moves out loud.

[FierceCritter]

On 1/26/2022 at 12:41 PM, paigow said:

Once again, some genius built long catwalks without any railings!!! Instead of handing out speeding tickets, the X-Wing cops should be enforcing OHSA rules!

 

[FierceCritter]

I haven't been following along the forums much lately. So this is the first thread I've lurked in the BoBF page.

Just one observation. Some of the YouTubers I subscribe to chalk the neutering of BF up to Disney's preference for their fare to be PG-13 at worst. They were all shocked when Mando hacked that guy in half because that's the kind of thing they expected from BF, but figured Disney wasn't approving.

I've been SW junkie since I was 9 and saw ANH on movie screens in 1977. I have never, ever understood the BF fanbase. Don't read that as I don't respect them. I just have never grasped the fascination & fawning. But I enjoyed him in S2 of the Mandalorian, and while not geeked, was looking forward to watching BoBF. Since I'm not invested in him being this super badass that everyone else I know expects, I've been enjoying the quieter backstory, and kind of understanding how his time with the Tuskens led him to the path of "respect over fear" he is trying to follow.

That said, I fully expect episode 7 to feature a moment where he finally says eff this and explodes in a fury of violence a-la Bill Munny in "Unforgiven."

That is, if Disney allows it.

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, FierceCritter said:

That said, I fully expect episode 7 to feature a moment where he finally says eff this and explodes in a fury of violence a-la Bill Munny in "Unforgiven."

Well, this is a Robert Rodriguez gig...I'd be shocked if it didn't get super violent. 😊

[Ottis]

The fact that Mandalorian and (cough) Grogu felt like such an improvement over Boba Fett is testament to how bad this show has been. Why didn’t that predator eat Grogu before? Missed opportunity. Also, keeping machine parts on a sand floor seems unwise.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Ottis

[Sarah 103]

34 minutes ago, Ottis said:

The fact that Mandalorian and (cough) Grogu felt like such an improvement over Boba Fett is testament to how bad this show has been. 

I stayed with the series hoping it would improve, and it did by becoming a totally different series. My theory is that gangster stories are different from westerns and being able to write something in the style of one does not mean you can write something in the style of the other.  

[Peace 47]

I rewatched this episode (as well as episodes 6 and 7) this weekend.  One aspect of this episode that stood out for me is how poignantly sad Din’s situation is through the first 2/3-ish of this episode.  You think he’s already lost everything in the season 2 Mandalorian finale, but this episode kicks off by bringing him even lower.  The Armorer forces him to sacrifice his beskar spear in favor of a weapon that up to this point, he never wanted, that severely injures him in battle, and that he cannot wield properly because he is so distracted by missing Grogu.  And in his desperate search for some allies, he is cast out by the last remaining people who raised him/ grew up with him.

But I think the gift for Grogu gives him a remaining bit of motivation to keep going:  get a ship so that he can visit Grogu.  And his time with Peli appears very restorative for him.  (The time in the shop also demonstrates this character’s impressive mechanical prowess, given that he can nearly match Peli’s skills.)  His mood improves, he gets very interested in the project and it’s kind of touching as he gives the ship once-over when they’re done, and Peli looks on slyly pleased because she can tell that Din is intrigued.  

I wonder if there will be something in S3 to Peli saying that she had never been off-world.  That is the only conversation of a personal nature that we see them have the whole time that they are working on the ship.

ETA:  Oh!  And I forgot to write the one thing that made me want to post in this thread again:  the very first words of the episode are Kaba Baiz saying to Din, “You look lost.”  Such a clever statement of Din’s predicament at the start of the episode:  he is lost.  No home, no family, no purpose.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Peace 47

[Kel Varnsen]

On 1/26/2022 at 10:38 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

 This show has been dragging for me, but this was the best episode by far.  I guess that says something about the character of Boba Fett?

I think it also says something about how Pascal is a way better lead and a better actor (even under the helmet) than Morrison.

I would go as far as saying this was not only better than any other Boba Fett episode, it was Mandalorian Season 1 good. Because it was him just doing his thing, on weird new worlds and only crossing paths with new characters created for his show. No meeting people from the movies or worse from cartoons that I will probably never watch and don't really care about. And like the season 1 episodes it wasn't a backdoor pilot for some other show (although I guess it was kind of the reverse).

[Sarah 103]

4 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

And like the season 1 episodes it wasn't a backdoor pilot for some other show (although I guess it was kind of the reverse).

I think the reverse of a back-door pilot would probably be a crossover. You have series X, which has an episode that introduces new characters in a familiar enviornment or the existing character in a totally new enviornment meeting different people. If the new characters get a show of thier own, that would be a spin-off (Series y). If the characters from series X appear again on series Y after getting thier own show, or (vice versa), it's a crossover. After Laverne and Shirley was on, if Fonzie visited Laverne and Shirley in an episode of thier show, or Laverne and Shirley made another appearance on Happy Days, either scenario would be a crossover. 

[Orbert]

That's all true, but a crossover can also occur between two series that were originally "independent" of each other.  That is, neither was a spinoff of the other, and we had no reason to believe that the shows existed in the same universe.  Then one or more characters from Show A appear on Show B, establishing that they do exist in the same universe.

Din Djarin showing up on The Book of Boba Fett is like a reverse backdoor pilot because Boba Fett was a spinoff from The Mandalorian, so in this episode The Mandalorian was "spinning in".  The roles were reversed.