The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6 Proves Star Wars Should Have One Anthology Series on Disney+

The Book of Boba Fett — Chapter 6 “From the Desert Comes a Stranger” Review

Last week, The Book of Boba Fett took an unexpected detour to focus on the Mandalorian’s return as Din Djarin headed for Tatooine to reclaim his footing. While the episode presented a fantastic narrative and visual direction, its placement in Boba Fett’s standalone series felt offputting–and this week takes that sentiment to another level. The Book of Boba Fett’s penultimate episode proves one thing to audiences: Disney’s efforts to get live-action Star Wars on their streaming service should have been one massive project, an anthology series in line with The Clone Wars. “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger” is yet another triumph from the incredible mind of Dave Filoni, however, Boba Fett once again goes missing in action on his own show.

Spoilers ahead for this week of The Book of Boba Fett! If you have not seen “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger”, this is your only warning!

“Chapter 6” focuses on a universe of fascinating characters and plot points while almost disregarding the crime lord entirely from its narrative. From Grogu’s training with Luke Skywalker to Cobb Vanth’s standoff against the infamous Cad Bane, The Book of Boba Fett’s latest episode is a Star Wars fan’s ultimate fever dream–it just does not feel real, and it is mesmerizing. It is impossible not to love everything onscreen, but the question as to what any of the show’s events have to do with Boba Fett constantly lingers. At this point, The Book of Boba Fett literally has almost nothing to do with Boba Fett–in fact, the titular crime lord gets to appear for one scene in “Chapter 6” that is less than a minute long (and he does not even speak a single line).

Ignoring the fact that this show is supposed to be about Temura Morrison’s former legendary bounty hunter, “From the Desert Comes a Stranger” is one of the best pieces of Star Wars content fans could ask for. From its opening to its credit, “Chapter 6” is constantly doing its key players justice by bringing fan-favorites into the spotlight without acting as pure fan-service moments. Luke Skywalker’s appearance is exactly what long-time fans of the Jedi Knight would have expected the character to act like in a sequel to Return of the Jedi. Luke has the patience and master demeanor that shows a clear step in evolution. The way the character is written comes off as a true step forward from where audiences last saw him in 1983 after achieving his mission of peace across the galaxy.

As if Luke Skywalker’s shocking appearance alongside Grogu wasn’t enough, Rosario Dawson, Cory Burton, and Timothy Olyphant all get to crash in on the party with their iconic Star Wars characters–and of course, each actor kills it in their respective role. Dawson’s interpretation of the Jedi Ashoka Tano, in particular, is a perfect contrast to Luke Skywalker’s benevolent indecisiveness. The writers perfectly utilize her character to flesh out a moral barrier for Din and Luke as she helps guide them in making less-burdensome decisions that will ultimately resonate with them for years to come.

“From the Desert Comes a Stranger” upholds the wit and style of Star Wars at its finest. The cinematic direction of every shot resonates with the high-quality dreams of the franchise’s most ambitious creators. Dave Filoni never needs action to make his characters feel tremendously engaging as he delves into the philosophies behind the teachings of Jedi and the complications of keeping relationships. The only word to sum up the connections between Din, Ashoka, Luke, and Grogu is ‘powerful’. Every conversation, landscape, and piece of training advice holds weight as Luke seemingly takes his first Jedi student under his wing all while the Mandalorian lets go of his feelings.

The scenes featuring the Mandalorian and the Jedi perfectly capture a battle between ethics and morals. While the Tatooine western standoffs and conversations of holding ground and avoiding conflict are great, there is nothing that compares to the magic of hearing two Jedi discuss their ancient religion to a deeper extent. However, once again, it is impossible to ignore the fact that all of this just does not belong in a Boba Fett series. None of these scenes have to do with the crime lord’s endeavors into Tatooine’s underworld, yet here they are in the spotlight. That does not discount their utmost impressive style and craft, but it does further push the discussion as to why Boba Fett has a show to begin with if he is not the main focus.

Of course, it would be impossible to talk about “Chapter 6” without going over the epic confrontation back on Tatooine between the Marshal’s territories and the Pyke Syndicate–the scenes that fans arguably expected to see in The Book of Boba Fett since its second chapter. On the subject of Cobb Vanth, while Olyphant’s character does not have too much screentime throughout “From the Desert Comes a Stranger”, he at least holds a greater purpose in the grand scheme of the narrative. Olyphant still gives it his all as he makes a stand for his rebranded Mos Pelgo, but there is definitely more to be desired from Vanth. “The Marshal” was undoubtedly one of The Mandalorian’s strongest episodes and it would be a shame to see its title character depart from the universe this early on.

Then we have Cad Bane who makes a surreal return after Star Wars: The Bad Batch to facedown the barrel of Timothy Olyphant’s marshal character Cobb Vanth. As per usual with the incredible talent of Cory Burton, the actor absolutely nails the character’s voice as he brings his swavy space cowboy to life for the first time in live-action while Dorian Kingi takes on the physical appearance. The entire sequence featuring Bane’s debut in The Book of Boba Fett brings the immense intensity that the best of the western genre offers. Like the Pyke Syndicate, bringing Bane to live-action was going to be no easy task. He genuinely looks terrifying and brings the chills. The overall prosthetic face sculpt of the character could be a bit thinner and taller to match his animated look, but overall what the studio has created looks incredible.

With “From the Desert Comes a Stranger”, The Book of Boba Fett excellently continues to build upon Star Wars itself, however, the chapter has so little to do with Boba Fett. The finale will no doubt pack a massive punch as the crime lord takes the spotlight, but how audiences will feel about the series as a whole will be interesting when judging it as being a series about Boba Fett. Had The Book of Boba Fett’s latest two chapters been part of an anthology series like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, there would be no problems in sight as Dave Filoni and his crew flaunt another knockout story. As it stands, “Chapter 6” is one of the best pieces of Star Wars content fans could ask for–just one that belongs in a different series.