The performances by Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen continue to impress in The Gathering Storm. However, the story in the present is struggling to find momentum.
Through the 4 chapters, it’s more clear what Boba Fett doesn’t want to be than what he’s actively trying to achieve as the daimyo. The lack of determination from Boba makes it difficult to care what Boba’s trying to do and furthermore why it’s important at all.
The flashback sequences are The Book of Boba Fett‘s biggest strength and that continues in The Gathering Storm. Fennec Shand has spent that last couple of episodes in the background. The Gathering Storm takes a deep dive into the partnership between Boba and Fennec. Through flashbacks we learn how Fennec healed from her injuries, see Boba reclaim his ship and find out the nature of their partnership. Most of the flashback sequences were outstanding. The only issue was some style choices with the character who modifies Fennec. In a similar vein to the biker gang in chapter 2, he just seems out of place on Tatooine.
The present mostly involves a meeting with several heads of organized crime. Boba makes it clear war with the Pykes is coming. He doesn’t try hard to convince them to support his cause. He simply asks for them to maintain neutrality. When the war is over, the plunder will be fairly distributed. This no carrot, no stick approach to negotiation suits the group just find. There’s nothing terrible about this, but the lack of aggression from Boba has a “why does this matter” feel to it that robs the series of momentum.
Related Post
With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in The Gathering Storm There may be some minor spoilers. The Book of Boba Fett is available to stream on Disney Plus.
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Fennec meets Boba in The Gathering Storm
Chapter 4 finally delivers the backstory on the Fennec and Boba partnership. There’s nothing revelatory about the adventure Boba and Fennec go on.
Boba finds Fennec near death at the end of Chapter 5 of The Mandalorian. He takes Fennec to someone on Tatooine who can fix her use droid parts. The modifier looks great and the dialogue is outstanding, but the sterilized look of the interior and flashy clothing feels out of place for Tatooine.
When Fennec wakes up, Boba offers her a deal. Help him reclaim his ship from Bib Fortuna and she is free to go. No life debt or anything resembling an ironclad partnership. Wen and Morrison are fantastic in these scenes and elevate what’s serviceable writing.
Assault on Precinct Bib Fortuna
The duo plans their assault on Bib’s castle. Whenever Boba stumbles during the assault, Fennec has the solution. For some reason, this series continues to make Boba seem less capable with each pressing episode. The choice seems to be a conscious one.
Before the assault on Bib’s compound, Fennec is skeptical over the biker gang’s ability to kill a village of Tusken Raiders. However, that doesn’t stop Boba from mercilessly mowing down the biker gang. No questioning, nothing about showing respect to a foe, just cold-blooded killing. In short, this is the Boba shown off in the 2nd season of The Mandalorian.
After taking out the biker gang, Fennec offers to stay around and work with Boba. His fireside chat about no longer working at the beck and call of idiots with money intrigues her. While Fennec may still turn on Boba in the present, I think it’s just as likely she won’t turn on him. She can leave whenever she wants, so there’s nothing holding her here.
Brink of War with Pykes
In the present, Boba and Fennec meet with other criminal leaders. Boba has two simple proposals. The first is to stand with him in a war against the Pykes. The deal is refused. He threatens them with the Rancor. He then offers another proposal.
They don’t have to aid in the war effort. Simply stay out of the conflict and don’t side with the Pykes. When Boba wins, the resources will be distributed among the organizations represented at the table. I’m not sure why Boba didn’t use a firmer hand. He needs allies in this war. All he needed to do was say if you choose not to join in the war effort, then when I win the war, all of the credits, weapons and resources will stay in my possession and you will have to deal with repercussions. However, if you join me, then the plunder will go to everyone.
After the meeting, Boba heads to Garsa Fwip’s Sanctuary. Black Krrsantan is in a bad mood. Garsa tries to remedy the situation by picking up his bar tab. Black Krrsantan kills the guy anyway and Garsa amusingly just shrugs her shoulders as if to say it was worth a shot. Then Boba fixes his mistake from last week. He offers Black Krrsantan a job to work with him against the Pykes. Black Krrsantan accepts.
Chapter 4 ends with Boba telling Fennec he needs more allies in order to defeat the Pykes. I think the major issue is the lack of escalation when it comes to the war effort. There’s just no urgency in it. Part of the problem with the Pykes is we haven’t seen them do anything in the present other than landing on Tatooine.
The Gathering Storm Final Thoughts
It seems like The Gathering Storm is a bridge to the next major chapter of this story. The Gathering Storm succeeds in filling in some much-needed backstory and not much else. However, the flashbacks should be done now, so hopefully, the present-day storyline will pick up.
The Review
The Gathering Storm
PROS
- The assault on Bib Fortuna's compound is pretty fun and another showcase for Fennec Shand.
- The nuanced performances by Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen continues to elevate the writing of the series.
- Garsa Fwip and Black Krrsantan in Garsa's Sanctuary was a blast as is Boba Fett's deal with Black Krrsantan.
- Merciless Boba.
CONS
- Present-day story lacks momentum.
- The no carrot or stick approach by Boba is an interesting strategy for a daimyo.
- New characters continues to feel out of place on Tatooine.
