Here's All The Concept Art From The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 7
Maybe "The Book of Boba Fett" was really all about the friends we made along the way. The first season of the latest "Star Wars" series came to a decisive close last night with its seventh episode, titled "In the Name of Honor." Like with any movie or show from this particular franchise these days, we all spent the last several weeks stepping onto our soapboxes and slinging hot takes around. Was all that discourse surrounding the Boba Fett show that rapidly turned into "The Mandalorian" 2.5 worth it, in the end? That'll likely depend on whether you fall into the "Why did Boba Fett become marginalized in his own show?" camp or the "Wow, I never thought I'd get to see Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka and Cad Bane in live action!" camp ... or both! There are no right or wrong answers here, folks.
The truly sad thing about the conclusion to "The Book of Boba Fett," in my eyes, has to be the end of the consistently stellar concept art that closed out each and every episode. Here's hoping that this grand tradition, which started with the very first chapter of "The Mandalorian" and continued here, will remain a delightful staple of all the future "Star Wars" Disney+ shows to come in the months ahead. But before we eulogize "The Book of Boba Fett" for good (there'll be plenty more coverage on /Film today and the rest of this week, don't you worry), let's take one last trip through the end-credits concept art for the season finale. I've learned something invaluable while guiding you through these posts over the last couple months, and I hope you have, too — namely, that the artists who get to work on "Star Wars" are some seriously talented individuals. For the final time, let's get to it!
Well, So Much For Negotiations
The impending "war" that's been brewing on Tatooine for several weeks finally arrived during this final episode, and it was more like ... a battle? A skirmish? I guess that's just what happens when a show decides to hit pause on its main storyline for a "The Mandalorian" side-quest for a couple of episodes, instead of bothering to really convey the stakes of the main conflict. Quibbles about the scope and scale of the action aside, however, at least this week gave both Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) something to do. Interestingly enough, the above art actually resembles a moment from the flashback in an earlier episode, where Boba and the recently rescued Fennec scope out Jabba the Hutt's palace in an attempt to get Boba's gunship back.
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Boba Fett, Fennec, and their scant allies have far bigger problems on their hands this time, however. The fearsome Pyke Syndicate not only has the numbers to their advantage, but (please read the following in your best Boromir impression from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" when he announces the arrival of a cave troll, thank you very much) they have a pair of Scorpenek annihilator droids. Our motley crew is completely outmanned and outgunned despite Mando's best attempts to find some last-minute friends who might be willing to help out. In the actual episode, Boba, Fennec, and the rest hide out in the ruined remains of Garsa Fwip's (Jennifer Beals) Sanctuary, but here it appears that one initial idea may have been a more traditional last stand in a better fortification.
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The bikers are back and ready to fight, at least! A few fans may have missed the inspiration behind their introduction into the series, but their presence proves helpful during the battle ... especially when the uneasy truce Boba reached with various crime families in a previous episode come crashing down here, as they deceptively threw in their lot with the Pykes behind Boba's back. If you can't count on a bunch of lesser crime factions to keep their word, you can you trust these days? Well, there's always Sophie Thatcher coming through in the clutch, at least.
'It's Not Wise to Upset a Wookiee'
While Boba's list of allies has grown alarmingly thin (sorry, I've apparently decided to throw in multiple, extremely random "Lord of the Rings" references in this post for some reason), the former bounty hunter still has a few cards left up his sleeve. There's Mando, of course, but it's also a good thing that Boba recruited Black Krrsantan to his side a few episodes ago. His restraint from simply killing the rogue Wookiee off is rewarded, paying off in this episode as the one-time gladiator fights off an unbelievable amount of enemies and suffers a grisly amount of wounds during the battle with the Pykes ... and simply keeps on going. Han Solo was right to warn C-3PO not to upset a Wookiee in the original "Star Wars," after all.
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Well, look who's back! After last week's episode ended with Luke Skywalker giving Grogu a choice between the Jedi Order and his old pal Mando, this week reveals that the infant apparently chose emotional attachment over the monk-like ways of the Jedi. Good on him, honestly! R2-D2 flies the baby all the way back to Tatooine on (I assume?) Luke's trusty old X-Wing, leaving Grogu and his fresh new chainmail shirt — which, strangely, never actually saves Grogu from any stray blasters or anything, like I would've thought — in the hands of everyone's favorite mechanic, Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris). They eventually make their way back to Mando in the heat of battle, where a little knowledge of the Force soon comes in handy.
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One of the most delightful images captured in the episode and rendered wonderfully here involves Peli Motto, her pit droids, Baby Yoda, Mando, and a flimsy rickshaw careening down the town streets while chased by one of those Clone War-era battle droids. The shielded droids prove to contain far too much firepower for our ragtag heroes to deal with, at least when scattered throughout the area and forced to fend off various factions of local turncoats in addition to the villainous Pyke. And, let's not forget, the sinister Cad Bane still lurks in the shadows.
Chekov's Rancor
You know what? I should've saved my Boromir reference for the rancor, because boy does Boba Fett have a rancor. Gifted by the Hutt cousins several weeks back (hey, speaking of which: I would've thought we'd see them again, but apparently not?), the monstrous beast turns out to be the perfect weapon to use against those unstoppable Scorpenek annihilator droids. As promised all those weeks ago, Boba Fett rides the rancor through the city and into battle, fulfilling every kid's dream who ever watched "Return of the Jedi," forced their parents to buy them rancor and Boba Fett toys, and promptly created their own unique "Star Wars" sequences in the comfort of their own home.
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I absolutely adore this piece of concept art — not just because of the gloriously silly image of Boba Fett riding a rancor, but also because of how chill and unbothered everyone else on the street seems to be. "Yeah, that's our Daimyo and his pet rancor. He does that sometimes while making the rounds through the streets. We don't really even notice it anymore," I can imagine one longtime local explaining to his out-of-town friend. I can't imagine most fans ever imagined this sort of scene brought to life in a live action Boba Fett show, but that's exactly what we ended up with. Reader, this is not a complaint.
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Rancor, smash! Though the battle droids still prove to be a worthy foe, making up for their lack of agility with guns and those sharp talon-like "feet," the rancor ultimately dispatches with both walking tanks in spectacular fashion. If you can't shoot through a droid's shields, simply send in a rancor to body slam them into buildings, rip off their turrets, poke out their "eyeballs," and all sorts of other creature-on-droid violence.
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Before the rancor can chase down and deal with the second droid, however, Mando almost ends up meeting his match. He's faced all sorts of enemies over the course of his adventures and come out on top, but even Mandalorians in shiny beskar armor remain at a slight disadvantage to giant battle droids. After his brief and exciting team-up with Boba while fending off waves and waves of Pyke soldiers, Mando finds himself cornered and battered by the droid. All seems lost ... until a wild Grogu appears, at least.
Unfinished Business
Well, this was probably inevitable. After Boba loses control of the rancor that he bonded with (entirely off-screen, apparently), the poor guy goes on a brief rampage, as one does. Inexplicably, Boba's allies — bolstered by the arrival of Cobb Vanth's recruits from the newly-christened Freetown — immediately open fire on the big brute, even though he hadn't even turned on anyone just yet. This predictably enrages the creature even more, causing him to take direct aim at anyone and everyone in his path and giving the good guys yet another headache to deal with. At this point, I have to assume Boba somewhat regretted his stubborn decision in the first place to try and take over Jabba's criminal enterprise for himself, eh? Let this be a lesson to everyone: Rancors aren't pets!
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This guy again? The fighting just about appears to be over and victory seems within Boba's grasp ... until Cad Bane shows up once more. His earlier attempt to goad Boba into a one-on-one shootout in the streets didn't quite work, despite using his knowledge of the Pyke's brutal massacre of Boba's Tusken Raider community against him. Though Cad Bane probably should've used his itchy trigger finger to, you know, actually fight Boba and his foot soldiers during the battle itself, I guess dramatically showing up right at the end to get his revenge on Boba works, too.
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...then again, maybe it doesn't. After casually referencing a shared history between the two that most audiences who never watched the animated shows probably have no idea about, Cad Bane gets caught monologuing and loses the upper hand on Boba, thanks (fittingly) to his Tusken Raider staff. "I knew you were a killer," the villain growls out before Boba Fett, uh, proves him completely right about that. Questionable morals and apparent contradiction of his more honorable code aside, it's a neatly executed moment. Personally, I'm mostly just surprised that the character was killed off so soon, rather than getting an entire spin-off of his own or something.
'A Jedi Uses the Force for Knowledge and Defense, Never for Attack'
Who needs Luke Skywalker, anyway? Despite cutting his training short and apparently turning his back on the Jedi completely in favor of renewing his companionship with Mando, Grogu seems to have all the most important lessons about the Force down pat. Faced with the marauding rancor, Grogu steps up and saves Mando's life (again!) by using his abilities to send the monster off to a fitful sleep. Luke probably would've handled it by lightsabering the poor creature to death, but then again the fan-favorite hero has always been a little silly sometimes. I think it's safe to say that Grogu made the right choice, putting himself in a position to help save the day with a nonlethal display of the all-powerful Force.
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In our final image of Boba and Fennec, the pair share a post-victory celebration on the much more peaceful and lively streets. The very last scene of "The Book of Boba Fett," however, involves none other than Mando and Grogu sharing one last adorable interaction. I guess since Mando's presence thoroughly hijacked the show out from under Boba, it's only fitting to end both the show and this concept art with another depiction of their close dynamic. This is another example of artwork that doesn't appear within the episode itself, but it sure feels like the kind of image used to help pitch "The Mandalorian" in the first place. The iconography of a bounty hunter with a wholesome little Baby Yoda sidekick on his shoulder is as evocative as it gets in "Star Wars," so perhaps it's a little easier to understand why the creative team would be so eager to turn the Boba Fett series into an extension of "The Mandalorian." And with that, we've come to the end of "The Book of Boba Fett."
Stay tuned to /Film for ongoing coverage of the finale and various post-mortems of the overall season.