In The Book of Boba Fett’s finale, a similar situation to one seen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace presented itself, and Qui-Gon Jinn was finally proved right in the process. The final episode included an epic fight between Cad Bane and Boba Fett, and fans embraced the moment when Grogu was reunited with the Mandalorian. Although the series received a mixed bag of reviews throughout its tenure, the show did make some fun connections to other parts of the Star Wars canon and even drew upon some inspiration from Legends.
Boba Fett and the Mandalorian team up to take on the Pyke Syndicate and Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett episode 7, “In the Name of Honor.” Fortunately, they’re not alone, as Fennec Shand moves through the shadows effortlessly, and even the Mods make an appearance, the cyborgs who had been a part of the notoriously bad bike chase in episode 3. Even with so many people on their side, Boba Fett and the Mandalorian are overwhelmed when the scorpion droids come out. Their efforts to defeat the beastly machines are in vain as the droids quickly advance on the ragtag group of fighters. Boba Fett even fires off his rocket missile, but it doesn’t penetrate the droids’ shields. Eventually, Boba Fett has the idea to bring out his rancor to attempt to combat the assailants, and with his hulking companion, which makes even the droids look small, it appears that this might just be the way to stop them.
By bringing out the rancor, Boba Fett proved that Qui-Gon Jinn was right when he said in The Phantom Menace, “There’s always a bigger fish.” With The Book of Boba Fett’s scorpion droids now the little fish in this scenario, the rancor went on to help make quick work of them. It also seemed like a missed opportunity to use the memorable line from the prequel trilogy, and Amy Sedaris’ Peli Motto would have been the perfect one to utter it given her quick wit and often-needed sense of humor to break up the otherwise tense show.
It seemed that nothing would thwart the scorpion droids at first and that Boba Fett and his allies would need to come up with a more creative solution. The group of fighters was able to handle a few Pyke Syndicate members no problem, but in true Star Wars fashion, something bigger and more intimidating was thrown into the mix. So of course the answer is to fight fire with fire. Boba Fett’s rancor, which the Hutts gave to him in The Book of Boba Fett episode 3, towers over the now puny-looking scorpion droids. It brings back memories of Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jar Jar Binks’ descent to Otoh Gunga when their vehicle is caught by a fish. Then that fish gets scooped up by another, bigger one. Finally, another water-dweller does exactly the same thing. Not exactly the most creative idea, but it did give Qui-Gon a moment to inject a little smirk-worthy humor into the mix.
With actor and comedian Amy Sedaris reprising her role as Peli Motto, a character that has become adept at injecting her own much-needed comic relief into The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian, could have delivered this line brilliantly when the rancor shows up. Instead, it feels a little bit like a missed opportunity. Most of The Book of Boba Fett’s finale action was pretty bad, but perhaps at least Qui-Gon was quietly getting the last laugh.
