Boba learns more about the forces aligned against him.
Tropes:
- Always a Bigger Fish: During an establishing shot of Boba's palace, a lizard creature on a dune is suddenly picked off by a bird creature. Both are immediately swallowed by the same frog creature seen in Return of the Jedi.
- Armed Legs: One of the Mods gang members, Skad, has a Pile Bunker in his leg, with the foreleg as the piston and a deployable spike on the heel for the impactor. He uses it to smash up the majordomo's speeder engines during the chase scene.
- Benevolent Boss: Boba continues to be one of these:
- After 8D8 expresses reluctance to say Jabba's name over the fear that Boba would be insulted, Boba tells him that he didn't feel such.
- After confronting the gang of water thieves and learning the truth of why they're stealing water (the water was simply too expensive), he hires them on the spot to work as his personal enforcers after they complain that there's no work to be had.
- After Black Krrsantan's assassination attempt leaves one of the Gamorreans badly wounded, Boba orders the wounded guard to be taken to his personal bacta tank for healing despite being injured himself.
- Big Eater: Averted. Boba's servants prepare a lavish feast for him and Fennec alone, due to presumably being used to feeding Jabba and the similarly gluttonous Bib Fortuna. Boba gripes at a servant for bringing more food when the table is already full of food that won't be eaten anyway. For her part, Fennec enjoys having a good meal.
- Call-Back: After letting Black Krrsantan go, Boba advises the Wookie that it's not worth working for "slugholes" like the Twins, citing his experience as a bounty hunter working for Jabba. Considering that his last service to a Hutt saw him fall into the Sarlacc pit and kickstart this journey of hardship and suffering, he's not wrong.
- Call-Forward: When riding into Mos Eisley in his flashback, Boba sees the staked Stormtrooper helmets that Din will see in Episode 5 of The Mandalorian being set up. Peli Motto can be seen walking by with her pit droids as Boba moves on.
- The Cameo: Robert Rodriguez regular Danny Trejo makes an extended cameo as the Rancor Trainer.
- Car Fu: The majordomo sideswipes two of the scooter mod gangers to shake them off after they started smashing up his speeder's engines. Drash later then takes the high ground and brings her scooter down on top of their quarry's speeder to send him into an uncontrolled spin, bringing the chase to an end.
- Chekhov's Boomerang: After the previous episode established that the rancor pit's trapdoor is still functional, it comes into play twice in this episode. Firstly, the trapdoor is used to trap the otherwise-unstoppable Black Krrsantan, and then when the Twins arrive to set the record straight, they provide Boba with a juvenile rancor for the pit as a parting gift before returning to Nal Hutta.
- Combat Pragmatist: Black Krrsantan waits until Boba is asleep in his bacta tank before trying to kill him, leaving Boba ill-prepared to deal with a cybernetically-enhanced Wookiee.
- Continuity Nod:
- Boba orders that his new rancor be fed the whole carcass of a Ronto. Rontos are the large sauropod creatures added in the Special Edition of A New Hope.
- The fruit the Majordomo crashes into are Meiloorun fruits, Hera's favorite food as seen in Star Wars Rebels.
- Cuteness Proximity: While a rancor calf may not be most people's definition of "cute" by any measure, Boba still treats it like a puppy, giving it scritchies.
- Cyborg: The Mods, a swoop gang, have all enhanced their bodies with cybernetic additions made from droid parts.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Subverted. The water supplier speaks of the Mods as monstrous figures who are only half-human and half-machine, but they're a friendly group of cyborgs and the supplier is speaking out of greed and prejudice.
- Death of a Child: It's strongly implied that the Tusken Kid was among the dead that Boba found. When he is ceremonially tossing the gaffi sticks of the fallen onto the funeral pyre, the last stick he puts on the pyre is the pretend gaffi stick that the Kid was always playing with.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The trainer explains that rancors are powerful yet peaceful animals, but that their strength leads criminals and other unsavory types to use them as fighters, which results in their reputation as vicious monsters. This is similar to the plight of some dog breeds like pitbulls and rottweilers, whose use in illegal dog fights and as guard animals results in the belief that they're naturally aggressive despite being as gentle as most other dog breeds. It also doubles as a bit of an Actor Allusion, as Danny Trejo, the actor portraying the Rancor trainer, is a strong advocate for such dog breeds in real life.
- Doomed Hometown: In a sense. When Boba goes to get the protection money from the Pykes, he's informed that the Nikto sand riders are already being paid for the same territory and they won't pay the same bill twice. When Boba returns to the village, he finds it burned to the ground and the people slaughtered by the sand raiders.
- Electronic Eyes: One of the speeder mods that Boba recruits has a big conspicuous cybernetic eye. Fittingly, he is tapped for recon, to keep a lookout for the arrival of the Pyke Syndicate operatives at the spaceport and forewarn Boba.
- Empathy Doll Shot: As Boba lights the funeral pyre for the Tuskens, he also lays down the Gaffi-shaped stick the Kid carried with him.
- Evil Power Vacuum: The power vaccuum after Jabba's death was never properly filled. Bib Fortuna was allowed to rule because the other factions were still maneuvering before trying to seize control. Boba seizing Jabba's palace simply prompted them to put their plans into action, now which is why Boba is facing so much organized opposition so soon.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Not only are the cyborg bikers equivalent to Scooter Riding Mods, the fact that they have clean clothes and shiny, colorful equipment while living in the dirt and poverty of Tatooine also makes them the Star Wars counterpart of the sapeurs
and swenkas of modern-day Africa. Their name, the Mods, reflect not only the former but the fact they've "modified" themselves. - Fascinating Eyebrow: Black Krrsantan's surprise is piqued when Boba announces he's to be released as a prisoner, and he expresses this with a raised eyebrow when turning to look at Boba.
- Fruit Cart: During this chase scene the majordomo knocks over at least two fruit stalls before finally crashing into an entire fruit market, burying his speeder in Meiloorun fruit. He also manages to tip over an astromech's cargo of crates, smash through a painting of concept art for Return of the Jedi, and break the supports of a water tank—the contents of which probably cost more than everything else he damaged put together.
- Groin Attack: Boba does this to Black Krrsantan, which stuns him, but not for long.
- Hanging by the Fingers: The fight with Krrsantan tumbles down from Boba's bedchamber to the throne room when he tackles the Gammoreans down the stairs. Fennec literally gets the drop on him by opening the rancor pit trap door under him, but he catches the ledge at the last moment. Fennec solves this problem by pulling a throwing knife out of her rifle's stock and pegging Krrsantan in the hand.
- Happy Ending Override: In the previous episode, Boba Fett was accepted into the Tusken tribe and gave the Tuskens a political advantage in dealing with the off-worlders intruding their lands. In this episode, the Pykes backstab Fett by paying the protection money to Nikto sand raiders, who in turn slaughter the Tusken tribe to eliminate the competition. Fett is left all alone again with a bitter grimace of how crime syndicates ruled with fear and dishonor.
- Horse of a Different Color: Boba is told how the Witches of Dathomir ride rancors. This inspires him to do the same with the rancor he's been gifted.
- Imprinting: Boba stands in front of the rancor when its blinders are removed so that it will imprint on him, the first step in eventually riding it.
- Innocently Insensitive: Two times Boba catches himself doing this; first, to the water monger when Boba doesn't quite understand the commodity that water is on Tattooine (due to having grown up on the oceanic, perpetually rainy Kamino), and second time to Skad, who has a conspicuous cybernetic eye, when Boba says "Keep an eye on them" during Skad's recon report the Pykes' arrival. Skad takes no offense, though, as the scooter mod gangs take pride in their mottled-yet-stylish cybernetics.
- Insistent Terminology: The watermonger who complains to Boba that a street gang is robbing him repeatedly insists that he's "insulted on your behalf".
- The Juggernaut: Krrsantan proves nearly unstoppable in combat, taking on Boba, Fennec, the Gamorreans, and the speeder gang at once. They only win by dropping him into the rancor pit.
- Just Hit Him: Black Krrsantan favors throwing Boba around the room, which gives him a chance to grab a weapon, rather than going for a more pragmatic killing blow. When he does finally decide to snap Boba's spine, it's been long enough for backup to arrive.
- Karmic Jackpot: Boba hiring the street gang rather than simply killing or arresting them for being thieves pays off no less than three times throughout the episode, one time having them directly save his life.
- Kick the Dog:
- The Pykes refuse to pay Boba Fett protection money for the Tuskens despite their previous agreement, saying they won't pay the bill twice despite never informing Fett about it. It's also heavily implied that they paid the Nikto to slaughter the Tuskens for "protection" and to spite Boba.
- The Twins refuse to take Krrsantan back and even encourage Fett to sell him back to the gladiator pits, as doing so would mean conceding to Boba's demand that they relinquish their claims to Jabba's holdings.
- Killer Bear Hug: Black Krrsantan puts Boba in one, and judging from the Sickening Crunches we hear coming from Boba, it really would have killed him had the speeder gang not intervened.
- Left Stuck After Attack: Boba's gaffi stick gets stuck by the club spike in Black Krrsantan's back in the early part of the fight when it was just Boba against him.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: After setting himself as a benevolent crime lord for the last two episodes, Boba is rewarded with an assassination attempt from Black Krrsantan and news that the mayor double-crossed the Hutts by promising Jabba's territory to another party. Boba decides he's through playing nice with the mayor and intends to feed the two-faced Ithorian to his newly acquired rancor. Once he learns that the mayor made a deal with the Pykes, one of the most feared syndicates in the galaxy and one he has personal history with, Boba responds that his organization will be ready for a war.
- Let's You and Him Fight: The Twins say that the mayor lied to them and had already promised Mos Eisley to the Pykes, the implication being he wanted the Twins and Boba to weaken each other before the Pykes' arrival. Boba believes the Twins are simply doing the same thing by leaving Tatooine before the Pykes since they refused take back Black Krrsantan, as that would require them giving up claim to Jabba's territory.
- Made of Iron: Boba seems to shrug off some pretty serious injuries fighting Black Krrsantan before his minions all intervene. He gets thrown around like a ragdoll into hard surfaces with no cladding to pad the impact, took a nasty whiplash-inducing punch across the face by Krrsantan's electro-knuckle dusters, and probably had some cracked ribs from Krrsantan's Killer Bear Hug. Once the crew have Krrsantan contained in the rancor pit, Boba rushes down to the throne room while putting on a robe, seemingly little worse for wear. It may have helped that he was marinating in bacta for hours to treat his Dented Iron condition before being rudely awakened.
- Man Bites Man: Black Krrsantan bites Boba on the hand during their initial tussle, then later bites one of the Gamorreans.
- Mood Whiplash: Boba's peaceful bacta bath is interrupted by Krrsantan's surprise attack.
- Mythology Gag:
- The Rancor Tamer mentions that the Witches of Dathomir originally learned to ride rancors, which is a reference to The Courtship of Princess Leia.
- This isn't the first Rancor Tamer we've seen who was fond of the creature he was responsible for.
- Boba mentions he has ridden beasts ten times a rancor's size, quite possibly referencing the huge sauropod-like ichthyodont he rode for his debut appearance in The Story of the Faithful Wookiee from The Star Wars Holiday Special.
- While chasing after the majordomo, one of the bikers runs into a painting of Jabba the Hutt being carried by two workers. The painting is actually a piece of concept art by Ralph McQuarrie for Return of the Jedi, though the version in this episode is slightly cropped and has had Luke Skywalker removed from the image (amusingly, Boba is still in the picture albeit slightly blurred).
- There's still a frog creature hanging out in front of Jabba's palace, probably the same one seen in Return of the Jedi.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In the last episode, Boba and the Tuskens spared the Pykes in spite of their drive-by massacres with the spice train in exchange for protection money. However, the Pykes immediately turn to the closest criminal gangs who'd be more than happy to wipe out a tribe of "savages" for a quick buck. This is the only note of this in the entire episode, as most of Boba's mercy is otherwise rewarded.
- Non-Malicious Monster: The rancor trainer explains that while rancors are normally used in pit fights, they're naturally much gentler and tamer if left alone, and can even be trained to carry riders.
- Nothing Personal: Boba doesn't hold Krrsantan's attack against the Wookiee since he was just doing what he was hired to do and as a professional courtesy, due to being a former bounty hunter himself, Boba advises Krrsantan to stop working for "slugholes".
- Not Me This Time: The Twins reveal that Jabba's territory has been promised to another party by the mayor, and the Hutt Clan has no interest in disputing it. After fessing up for sending Black Krrsantan after him and admitting it was an error in judgment, they gift Boba a rancor before leaving for the time being.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: When Boba discovers that all of the Tuskens he befriended have been massacred and then burns their bodies, this scene is scored with a choir singing a lament based on the Mandalorian proverb aliit ori'shya tal'din — "family is more than blood".
- Pet the Dog:
- Hearing how one of his vassals has been overcharging his water supplies to the residents, which in turn led to an increase of water thievery, Boba orders the water supplier to cut his price in half and hires the water thieves as his street enforcers for work.
- Boba allows one of the Gamorreans to use his personal bacta tank to heal after he gets injured while fighting Black Krrsantan. Bear in mind that Boba himself was also pretty beaten up after the fight.
- When the Twins refuse to take back Black Krrsantan after his failure, Boba has him released and suggests he find better employers in the future. It beats having to kill him, and Black Krrsantan isn't likely to come back seeking revenge.
- Boba takes an immediate liking to the young rancor and actually does pet it. He also tells the trainer to feed it before he leaves, a notable contrast to Jabba intentionally starving his rancor to make it more aggressive towards the hapless victims he'd drop in its cage.
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- Boba initially wants to punish the water-thieving speeder gang for breaking the law, but then decides to hire them after seeing their cybernetic toughness and legit reasons for stealing water. Boba's magnanimity earns him four steadfast allies, as they are instrumental in defeating Black Krrsantan in his assassination attempt, in chasing down the Mayor's majordomo in the streets of Mos Espa, and in doing reconnaissance on the Pyke syndicate's arrival at the spaceport.
- The Twins call off their claim on Tatooine and feud with Boba after learning that the mayor made a deal with another crime party to give Jabba's territories to them. Boba doesn't buy they would give up so easily and believes that they are instead waiting for the outcome of a coming war with the crime party in question.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Boba orders a water monger to cut his prices when he learns that the uptick in water theft is simply due to the water monger overcharging.
- The Reveal:
- Boba wandering the deserts of Tatooine alone is the result of the Tusken tribe being slaughtered by the Nikto speeder gang under the command of the Pykes.
- The mayor has promised Jabba's territory to the Pykes.
- Scooter-Riding Mod: The cyborg biker gang that Boba recruits is a sci-fi version of this, particularly the huge profusion of rearview mirrors mounted on their hoverbikes, and the gang member who wears a gray Badass Longcoat and a shirt with a vertical stripe that looks like a tie. Their colorful, shiny and clean bikes really stand out on the sand-covered gray-tan streets of Mos Espa. The next episode reveals that cyborgs are literally called Mods, but it's short for "modified" instead of "modern".
- Sheet of Glass: One of the bikers crashes through a large painting of Jabba during the speeder chase.
- Sickbed Slaying: Krrsantan targets Boba while he's recuperating in his bacta tank.
- Speak of the Devil: During dinner, Boba feels he needs to respond to Krrsantan trying to kill him. Fennec counters that foiling the attempt and capturing Krrsantan alive is a statement on its own, and they're better off seeing how the Twins respond to the failure. Boba still feels he should do something, and in that moment, 8D8 comes in to inform him that the Twins have arrived to talk.
- Stating the Simple Solution: The gang complains that there's no work in Mos Espa. Boba hires them on the spot to prove them wrong.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- The Tusken tribe's triumph over the spice train in the last episode isn't rewarded with protection money from the Pykes, but rather a massacre from criminal gangs the Pykes hired for "protection". This serves as a reminder that criminal off-worlders like the Pykes don't respect the indigenous tribes' wishes and treaties if they have enough resources to kill them all.
- The Twins are a pair of pragmatic Hutts. Of course they're not going to take a failed assassin back, but they're not about to engage in a multi-way gang war between Boba and whoever else the Mayor throws in the mix. They back off for now, but everyone can tell that they plan to come back to mop up.
- Swiss-Army Appendage: Once the Mod gang catches up with the majordomo in the chase through Mos Espa, the two flanking his speeder start sabotaging the engines with their cybernetic apparati. One produces a cutting torch out of his forearm and cuts a deep gash into one of the engine nacelles.
- You Have Failed Me: The Twins refuse to accept Boba Fett's offer of Black Krrsantan since he failed to kill the Daimyo and accepting him would mean relinquishing all claims to Tatooine.
