The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 sets up a major Mandalorian crossover

The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 spoilers follow.

Continuing a tradition established by its first three chapters, The Book of Boba Fett is once again torn between the past and the present this week. Around two thirds of episode four is rooted in flashbacks again, which took us by surprise after last week's shift away from the Bacta Tank. But thankfully, the end of this episode is very much rooted in what's coming next, including the arrival of a key figure from The Mandalorian.

Saying that though, this week's flashbacks were noticeably more interesting than most of the others, and that's largely down to the arrival of a younger Fennec Shand. One of the reasons why we wanted more present-day scenes in the first place was because Ming-Na Wen deserved more screen time, and now here she is, in the flesh, so to speak.

That flesh was pretty damaged though, because this latest flashback kicks off right where Fennec seemingly died in The Mandalorian season one. Of course, we know our fave bounty hunter is alive now in the present day, but it's still interesting to see exactly how – and why – Boba decided to rescue Fennec from certain death.

In one of this show's best and weirdest montages to date, Boba arranges new life-saving modifications through a cyborg surgeon/Berghain reject on the outskirts of Mos Eisley. Afterwards, the pair discuss Fennec's debt to Boba, which she's happy to repay by aiding him in the rescue of his ship, which currently resides in Jabba the Hutt's palace.

Despite the lack of warmth these characters emanate in general, it was touching to realise that Boba actually sees something of himself in Fennec, as he too was "left for dead on the sands of Tatooine".

There's not much time for the mushy stuff though, because Boba and Fennec's mission quickly takes them into battle with Jabba's forces, including a robocidal LEP droid ("quick little bugger") and a robot chef who gave us major General Grievous vibes.

The plan works, and now that the ship is back in Boba's hands, the pair celebrate with a Nikto Biker massacre. As you do. But that's not the last we'll see of Boba Fett's incessant love of nostalgia this week. In a bid to rescue his Beskar armour, he then takes the ship down into the depths of the Sarlacc corpse that Boba crawled out of back in episode one.

But it's not a corpse, after all! Because that cheeky Sarlacc is made of even tougher stuff than we thought. Eventually, our faves blow the beast up again – to no avail, as the armour is still nowhere to be found. Despite that blow, Boba still comes out winning after he convinces Fennec to join his "tribe" and help build the criminal empire we're now starting to see develop in the present day.

And with that, the flashbacks are finally over. No, for real this time. Boba is fully healed, so he no longer has use for the Bacta Tank – until the next injury at least. He might need it sooner rather than later though, because, as Fennec points out, the power vacuum will soon bring an even bigger fight to their doorstep.

At least Boba now has Black Krrsantan on side, not to mention the uneasy alliance he's formed with the other crime bosses who all want a slice of the pie, financially speaking, of course. "Why speak of conflict when cooperation can make us all rich?" suggests Boba. Through some scare tactics and an appeal to their lazy natures, Fett eventually convinces everyone to remain neutral if the Pykes rock up and ask them to betray him.

Still, war is approaching, and there might be an even bigger threat lurking behind the Pykes too. To prepare, Fennec starts to enquire about Boba's finances. "I have plenty of credits," he says. "What I'm short of is muscle."

Proving herself to be the smarter one yet again, Fennec reminds Boba that money can be used to buy services like oh, I don't know, bounty hunting? Of course, Fennec phrases this more kindly though, explaining that, "Credits can buy muscle if you know where to look."

And with that, an extremely familiar theme begins to play in the background... Yes, you're not just pining more than usual for Pedro Pascal. That is absolutely The Mandalorian's signature theme music you just heard (which acts as a nice bookend to this episode's first flashback).

Following a brief glimpse of Peli Motto in the background last week, it looks almost certain that The Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin, is going to swing by and help Boba – for a price, of course. Not only is this just very exciting news all round, but Mando's appearance here in The Book of Boba Fett could also help set up Din's next adventure in season three of his own show.

At the end of The Mandalorian season two, Baby Yoda was handed over to Luke Skywalker so that he could train more in the ways of the Force. And probably eat a bunch of macaroons while he's at it. But just before that, Mando became the rightful ruler of Mandalore, which suggested that he would probably head back to his home world at some point and try to free it from Imperial oppression.

However, we don't actually know for certain what Din planned to do next. He could very well be lying low right now or just taking on some easy – and decidedly less cute – bounty hunting jobs. If so, Mando would be free to help out Fennec and Boba in The Book of Boba Fett. But if this is all a bluff, if it turns out he's too busy for this war after all, then we're just about ready for a Sarlacc to swallow us whole.

The Book of Boba Fett season 1 airs new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

Disney+ Sign up for Disney+

Shop at Disney+

Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

£3 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Complete Box Set [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]

Now 25% Off

£60 at Amazon

Century Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Expanded Edition) by Rae Carson

£20 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars - The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray] [1977] [Region Free]

£64 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) [Blu-ray] [1977] [Region Free]

£25 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars: The Force Awakens [Blu-ray] [2015] [Region Free]

£6 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars: The Last Jedi [4K UHD] [Blu-ray] [2017]

£9 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [Blu-ray] [2017] [Region Free]

£13 at Amazon

Disney/Lucasfilm Solo: A Star Wars Story [4K] [Blu-ray] [2018] [Region Free]

£17 at Amazon

David Opie

After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival. 

In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.

David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.

Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends. 

As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound. 

LinkedIn