Disney Plus’s original series ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ season one episode five entitled “Return of the Mandalorian” kicks off with Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin as he is in the middle of getting his bounty. The interesting part about this is when he fights, he uses the fabled dark saber to fight his bounty’s henchmen which leads to him getting hurt by the dark saber. This could be due to his inexperience with using the weapons of force sensitives. As the episode progresses the viewer sees that the reason for the bounty is due to the issuer having information about the location of the remaining Mandalorians. In his mind his need to see if any of his kind are still alive as they are all he has ever known.
Additionally, as Din finds the last two Mandalorians he is told the story of the dark saber in which it can only be won in combat. The interesting part about this is how the viewer finally sees the night their planet was ransacked by the empire through a small flash back. Also, as a bonus it is believed that the cause of this event was due to a Mandalorian being gifted the dark saber. Unfortunately, the belief is that if one gets the saber without winning it by combat then it brings calamity. It can be argued by the viewer that the belief is true, or it is just superstition when it comes to the saber. Nevertheless, this proves to be a terrific addition to an already expanding lore within Star Wars.
Later into the episode, the viewer sees Din train with the saber only to realize that as a result of his mind not focusing, he cannot effectively use the dark saber to its full potential. Surprisingly, this leads to a fight between him and another Mandalorian who claims the saber belongs to his house. In the other Mandalorian’s mind, he believes the saber should be in his possession as he is a decedent of the Mandalorian jedi that made the dark saber. And he sees that Din is not fit to wield such an important part of the culture as he does not even know the proper story behind it. However, the saber shows that the other Mandalorian is not fit to wield it as well as he too cannot focus. Ultimately, Din wins the fight and gets to keep the saber as he once again has won it in combat. Regrettably, he is forced to reveal that he took off his helmet making him a Mandalorian no longer.
At the end of the episode, Din gets a new ship that hints at his reunion with David Acord’s Grogu due to the droid port being repurposed as a seat. In his mind, he knows that it is best that he is with Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker as he can properly train him. However, due to his adventures with Grogu he cannot resist wanting to see him as he is his adoptive father. This is further supported when he tells Ming Wen’s Fennec Shand that he will help her and Temuera Morrison’s Boba Fett with their war after he visits a friend implying Grogu.
Rating: 8.5/10