The Mandalorian Marathon - The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger

That title's a mouthful. Anyway, we're still carrying on The Mandalorian's story in "The Book of Everyone but Boba Fett".

Last episode showed us what Din was up to. This one shows us what happened to Grogu. While he's learning the Force under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker, Din attempts to deliver his gift. However, he's met by Ahsoka Tano, who warns him that it's going against the Jedi's code of forsaking attachments (a contrast to the Mandalorian code which values loyalty). Meanwhile, Din returns to Tatooine as Fett prepares to go to war with the Pyke Syndicate.

A large portion of this episode is taken up by Grogu's lessons with Luke, as the latter tells him about Yoda and shows him what the force can do. There's also some funny moments as Luke uses the training remote from A New Hope to test Grogu's reflexes and Grogu ends up using the Force to crush it. It's also quite touching to see the interaction between Luke and Ahsoka, who jokingly tells Din that she's "an old friend of the family". Considering how she's one of the few people around who knew Luke's father, that actually speaks volumes. The final scene shows Luke presenting Grogu with the beskar chainmail Din had made for him, alongside Yoda's lightsabre, presenting him with a choice. Honestly, I think the Mandalorians had more of a community than the Jedi.

Anyway, back at the plot. Fett is on the lookout for more muscle, and Din pays a visit to Cobb Vanth, who has been chasing the Pykes out of his territory around Freetown (formerly Mos Pelgo). The trouble is, the Pykes are mounting up their operations against Fett; two of them bomb a popular gambling den and nightclub in Mos Espa. Even Cobb Vanth is targeted immediately after his return by another character making a return: Cad Bane, the gunslinging Duros bounty hunter from The Clone Wars. They even got Corey Burton to reprise his voice role. The return is a welcome one, but still won't make much sense if you haven't seen The Clone Wars.

On the subject of that, I need to do some number crunching.

• The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett both take place five years after Return of the Jedi, and nine years after A New Hope. After her first appearance in The Mandalorian, Fennec Shand later appeared in The Bad Batch, which begins concurrently with Revenge of the Sith, taking place 19 years before A New Hope. That's a gap of 28 years. Ming-Na Wen was 56 around the time she first appeared in The Mandalorian. If we use that age for Fennec, she would have been around 28 at the time of The Bad Batch. Probably already made a reputation for herself, which goes to show why the Bounty Hunters' Guild didn't want to go after her. 
• Boba Fett's earliest canonical appearance would be as a ten-year-old in Attack of the Clones, which is set three years before Revenge of the Sith. That would make him 41 when The Book of Boba Fett takes place. He's played by Temuera Morrison, who was 61 when it aired. But the series establishes his time in the Sarlacc pit took a physical toll on him. 
• Cad Bane first appeared in The Clone Wars, which takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. According to Wookiepedia, he was born 62 years before A New Hope, which would have made him 40 around the time of Attack of the Clones. That means he's 71 in the Book of Boba Fett. 

Then again, Grogu is an infant despite being 50. And Chewbacca is established to be 190 when Solo takes place (Ten years before A New Hope). According to the core rulebook for the Saga Edition roleplaying game, Duros are considered venerable if they're over 70. However, this material is pre-Disney and no longer regarded as canon. Nevertheless, someone who has been doing the bounty hunting game for that long is someone to run away from really fast. The Book of Boba Fett is certainly reinforcing the message of "beware of old folks in a profession where they usually die young". Bounty hunting doesn't strike me as the kind of work that has a pension plan, which seems be why Boba Fett is setting himself up as a crime lord.

Anyway, I'll wrap up this lengthy diversion tomorrow when I finish The Book of Boba Fett and make a start on the third season of The Mandalorian on Thursday.