Teased by a stinger at the end of the previous episode, The Book of Boba Fett follows Boba Fett and Fennec Shand as they try to establish themselves as the bosses of Jabba the Hutt's territory on Tatooine, which soons brings them into conflict when the Pyke Syndicate attempts to establish themselves. The series also features flashbacks of how Boba Fett escaped from the sarlacc after Return of the Jedi, lived with the Tuskens, and then found Fennec Shand. By episode five, they decided to say "and now for someone completely different".
When we last left Din Djarin, he saw Grogu being taken away by Luke Skywalker to learn the ways of the Jedi. This episode opens with him claiming a bounty at a meat packing plant on a ring world, and reveals that he still carries the Darksaber. It later turns out he took the job in exchange for information about the whereabouts of what remains of his old covert, now reduced to two: The Armourer, and Paz Vizsla (whom Din butted heads with over taking the job to find Grogu). Paz, who is descended from the original creator of the Darksaber, challenges Din for it. Din prevails, but is cast out of the enclave when he reveals that he removed his helmet. The Armourer tells him that he can only redeem himself if he visits the Mines of Mandalore and bathes in the waters (despite claims that their ancestral homeworld is no longer habitable). Seeking a ship, Din travels to Mos Eisley, where Pelli Motto supplies him with an old N-1 Starfighter (as used in The Phantom Menace).
While it's nice to see Din again, this episode has a lot of exposition. We learn about the origins and legend surrounding the Darksaber, and that the Armourer believes Mandalore fell because Bo-Katan didn't originally win the blade in combat (as depicted in Rebels), although it doesn't state what happened to her. We also learn that Moff Gideon was taken back to the New Republic to stand trial.
That said, Din gets put through the wringer here. He injures himself during a job while getting used to the Darksaber, gets chastised for not killing Gideon, gets shunned by the people he's being trying so hard to re-unite with...and has to check in this sword in the stone during a commercial flight. On top of all that, it's clear he misses Grogu. To the point of having his beskar spear melted down to make chainmail for him. During that sequence, the armourer forges another flashback which depicts the Empire's campaign against Mandalore; the "Night of a Thousand Tears". It feels like a future scene from Terminator.
The second half has a few laughs though, as he re-unites with Pelli, who produces a ton of funny lines. I thought it was interesting to see one of those sleek prequel-era craft get the "second hand" treatment, and it seemed refreshing to see Din actually get enthusiastic when taking it for a spin. There's even a funny moment as he gets "pulled over" by two X-Wings, one of which is piloted by Carson Teva (whom he encountered while conveying Frog Lady).
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