Spoilers for The Mandalorian seasons 1-3 and The Book of Boba Fett below.
Somehow, Grogu returned. At least, that’s what many people think when they tune into the first episode of The Mandalorian third season. When we last left our lone bounty hunter and cub, Grogu was on his way to Jedi training with a creepy de-aged Luke Skywalker. Mando took off his helmet and prepared to be alone. We all cried. (How did a show manage to make us care so much about a monosyllabic man in armor and a green puppy? Bless you, executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.)
But at the start of this season, Mando (AKA Din Djarin) and Grogu are paired up once again, saving people from giant monsters, fighting space pirates and generally being adorable. To a casual viewer, it’s like the dramatic season two finale of the mind-tricked Jedi. It comes out if you want to get the whole story – which also explains why Din a is flying Phantom Menace-era ship, or why Grogu became such a skilled force user – you should watch the last few episodes of The Book of Boba Fett.
Lucasfilm
If I wasn’t a hopeless Star Wars fan, I’d be a little confused and annoyed. How do normal people know that The Book of Boba Fett basically serves as a stop-gap between Mandalorians times? Disney doesn’t really emphasize the connection between the movies, so if you’re not reading geeky news sites, or talking to nerdy friends, it’s easy to miss.
The first few episodes of Boba Fett it makes it seem like a less ambitious series – do we really need to know the details of how he survived the Sarlacc hole? And who cares about his future as Jabba the Hutt’s replacement? I talked a lot Star Wars The fans who tapped in early, only caught up when they heard that Mando and Grogu were coming out. (Actually, it looks like Favreau and crew are tired of the Boba Fett story — so are we.)
It’s not like I’m against the idea of shifting narratives between different shows and films. Everything Marvel has ever done Iron Man almost trained us to use pop culture in this way, with the rise of the Avengers initiative to the final smackdown of Thanos in End game. The geeky part of me was overjoyed when I discovered the connections between the films I love. (You should have seen me in the theater at the end of M. Night Shyamalan’s Divided.) But the idea is that viewers should beware all starts to feel like homework, and it’s especially frustrating when a piece of media isn’t explained as important to something that comes later.
That doesn’t help The Mandalorian almost reference The Book of Boba Fett during its initial stage. Even a little bowing during the “before” opening section helps. However, the premiere episode just wants us back to normal, with Mando on a video game-like quest and Grogu having fun along the way. It’s a shame, since the end of season 2 made it so The Mandalorian will actually change things going forward.