After seeing how his position as Daimyo is being threatened, Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) realises he needs to make more definitive moves in Tatooine. The opportunity presents itself when a water-monger named Lortha Peel approaches Boba and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) to take action against a biker gang he claims have stolen from his inventory.
Boba’s increasing benevolence may well be signposting his downfall. On the plus side, he manages to acquire a group of angst-ridden youths to beef up his muscle power against the incoming Pyke Syndicate. Adding to the long list of brunette women in the Star Wars universe, Sophie Thatcher (of Yellowjackets fame) plays the leader of an Alita: Battle Angel-meets-Akira-like bike gang who’ve upgraded their bodies with droid parts and are wreaking havoc on the locals with their thieving. These juvenile delinquents give off the whole “we’re just misunderstood, man!” vibe and could give The Outsiders a run for their money. A few scenes show just what they are capable of; a chase sequence through Mos Espa on their Teletubbies moped-esque speeders adds a punch of flare to the burnt landscape – with a cyberpunk theme tune to boot – but it looks a bit budget compared to the high-octane exhilaration of the train stunt in the previous episode.
Earlier, the youths help Boba survive a sneak attack by Black Krrsantan while he's indisposed in his Bacta tank, but it’s a far less satisfying fight than the cantina takedown he administered against the swoop-gang. One has to wonder how a massive Wookie managed to get past their defences, but Fennec Shand’s late stage arrival hints she might not be as loyal to her saviour as once thought. It would certainly explain her frustrating lack of screen time, save for that opening fight scene and a few snarky comments here and there. But in an episode that spends so much time signalling future alliances – Boba befriending a rancor and setting Krrsantan free – and potential treachery, the action and storyline feels pretty disjointed. And with all these new characters thrown into the mix, it never takes the time to let the viewer get to know the motivations of anyone but our eponymous antihero.
THE BOYS SEASON 3 RELEASE DATE RELEASED
Boba and Fennec approach the gang to find a group of young unemployed kids fending for themselves. He offers them a job with him instead. Reminiscing in his bacta tank, we see Boba approaching the Pykes to persuade them to pay the Tuskens for protection across the Dune Sea. However, when he returns to the Tusken camp, he finds it completely destroyed. Boba pays his tributes as he cremates the deceased.
