‘The Book of Boba Fett’ shows a moment fans have waited decades to see

This article contains spoilers for the first episode of The Book of Boba Fett

As C-3PO said, if you’re swallowed by the Sarlacc Pit, “you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you’re slowly digested over a thousand years.” Well, that might be the case for any normal person Jabba tosses into the Great Pit of Carkoon, but The Book of Boba Fett shows that one badass bounty hunter doesn’t go down so easily.

Fett’s fate in Return of the Jedi has long been considered embarrassing and anticlimactic – his story ends with his jetpack being accidentally activated by a blind Han Solo, sending him bouncing down into the Sarlacc’s sandy maw. In the subsequent years the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now the Legends continuity) revealed that he’d escaped, with The Mandalorian confirming his survival in the current Disney canon.

Now, in the debut episode of The Book of Boba Fett, we’ve finally seen his escape in live-action. One of the coolest moments is that we actually get to see him inside the Sarlacc, whose gooey, fleshy, and pulsating interior is much as I imagined it from Threepio’s description.

One notable factor is that his armor doesn’t offer much protection from the digestive acids. Fett is soon screaming in agony as it begins to consume him, though is still determined enough to wriggle through its cramped guts. In a stroke of luck there’s a partially dissolved Stormtrooper with an intact air supply, allowing Fett an opportunity to use his flamethrower to escape.

He manages to claw his way up through the beast and collapses in exhaustion near the wreckage of Jabba’s skiff. While he’s semi-conscious, Jawas steal his armor and weaponry and he’s soon enslaved by Tusken Raiders. Stripped down to his underwear we see the disfiguring effects of the Sarlacc’s acid, which has covered his body in excruciating-looking burns.

This ordeal has obviously had lasting consequences for Fett. Even years later he still sleeps inside a Bacta tank, his dreams are traumatic, and his physical condition isn’t what it once was. I suspect we’ll revisit the Great Pit of Carkoon in future episodes, as after so long it’s got to be hungry for some of the worst scum in the universe.

The Book of Boba Fett airs Wednesdays on Disney Plus.