Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 from the very beginning
The Book of Boba Fett just dropped its most ambitious episode to date. Following on from last week’s backdoor episode of The Mandalorian, which put Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin front and center, his adventures continued this week as he went to visit Grogu, resulting in a plethora of familiar faces showing up. There are almost too many to keep in check, so here’s a guide to every returning character new to Book of Boba Fett who just turned up in episode six.
Cobb Vanth
The episode opens as it means to go on by kicking off with the return of Timothy Olyphant, reprising his role as Cobb Vanth for the first time since his debut in The Mandalorian‘s season two opener. As based on the Legends character, Vanth originally wore Boba Fett’s armor before he handed it over to Din Djarin, who in turn later gave it back to Fett.
The Marshal of Mos Pelgo — which is now called Freetown, apparently — got the better of some Pyke spice runners in the opening sequence, before being visited by Mando, who proposed that Vanth and his men back Boba’s attack on the Pyke Syndicate. Vanth ultimately agreed to think about it as a favor to his old ally, before he ran afoul of a sharp-shooting stranger (more on them in a moment)…
R2-D2
The most beloved droid in all of Star Wars (sorry, C-3PO) returned yet again in a minor role this episode. R2 was there to greet Din Djarin when he appeared on the unnamed, lush forested world that Luke Skywalker now calls home. He then leads the bounty hunter to where a stony temple is being constructed and, frustratingly for Djarin, shuts down, leaving him to wait for an old friend to explain the situation to him.
Grogu
In the words of Werner Herzog, we all wanted to see the baby after that tease at the end of episode five and, sure enough, Grogu is back in a big way this week. Following his leaving with Luke in the Mando season two finale, the little guy is now training in the ways of the Force with the legendary Jedi Master, though he’s not above being distracted by some appetizing amphibians.
Grogu’s already come a long way and is shown to be more in control of his powers than before, although Luke suggests he’s accessing his repressed memories from his time at the Jedi Academy rather than learning new things. It’s clear he could become a great Jedi if he continues training with Luke, but the question is, is Grogu’s true place by Djarin’s side instead?
Luke Skywalker
Fans lost their collective… shirts when Luke returned at the end of Mando season two, and it seems almost the same level of excitement has been achieved by his return in this new episode. Mark Hamill is once again on board to voice the character, with the truly breathtaking visual effects used to de-age him having much improved from his last appearance.
Luke and Grogu’s scenes plainly homage The Empire Strikes Back, but with Luke in the Yoda position and Grogu as the apprentice. Their student/teacher bond is entertaining, although Luke is uncharacteristically cold when he presents Grogu with an ultimatum: either go with Djarin and never be a Jedi or become a Jedi and never see your space-dad again.
Ahsoka Tano
While we might’ve guessed Luke and Grogu would show after last week’s tease, Rosario Dawson dropping by as Ahsoka Tano was a big surprise. Since her live-action introduction in Mando season two, the former Jedi Knight has paused her one-woman mission in order to visit Luke Skywalker, the son of her former master, Anakin. The first on-screen meeting of these two greats is a huge deal for fans.
With Luke busy training Grogu, it’s Ahsoka who has to explain the rules of Jedi not being allowed emotional attachments to Djarin. We last see her deciding to leave the planet, which neatly sets up Dawson’s incoming Ahsoka spinoff series, which will see her continuing her hunt for Grand Admiral Thrawn.
501st Legion
Luke helps Grogu access one of his repressed memories at one point, which brings about yet another flashback to Order 66 (showrunner Dave Filoni has an addiction to making fans relive this pain). While we don’t get to see the faces of the Jedi that are attempting to protect the baby, the attacking clone troopers are the 501st Legion, Anakin’s forces during the Clone Wars who became his loyal stormtroopers once he turned into Darth Vader.
Cad Bane
Each and every week, fans have been wondering if this episode of Book of Boba Fett would be the one where Cad Bane finally shows up. The breakout bounty hunter from The Clone Wars seemed like the perfect addition to the series, so it was a no-brainer that he’d turn up somewhere. And that day was finally today, as Bane got a spine-tingling western-influenced intro as he slowly approached from out of the desert.
Appearing to work for the Pykes, Bane ordered Vanth to ignore Djarin’s offer to aid Fett, arguing that Boba is a “cold-blooded killer who worked for the Empire.” A tense Mexican (Tatooine) standoff ensues before Vanth’s twitchy deputy shoots first, resulting in his own death and Cobb getting badly injured. We’re hoping he’ll survive and appear in the finale, but it definitely seems like Cad Bane will be present.
The Book of Boba Fett continues next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
