Why The Book Of Boba Fett Chapter 6's Big Cameo Has Some Fans Fuming
Warning: spoilers for "The Book of Boba Fett" below
"The Book of Boba Fett" might not have the strongest ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, but the Disney+ series is still popular. When it premiered on December 29, 2021 on Disney+, the series about the post-"Return of the Jedi" life of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunter brought in 10 million viewers for its premiere (via The Hollywood Reporter).
It's also a show that gets fans talking. "Star Wars" fans are passionate, and they aren't shy about sharing their opinions. Every new episode usually has at least one moment that just doesn't sit right with fans. Chapter 6, "From the Desert Comes a Stranger," is no different.
"The Book of Boba Fett" spent most of the first four chapters telling parallel stories about Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison). In flashbacks, Boba Fett barely escapes the Sarlacc Pit with his life, then spends months recuperating with Tatooine's Tuscan Raiders. In the present day, Fett takes over Jabba the Hutt's remaining criminal empire, teams up with his fellow bounty hunter Fennec Shand (Ming Na-Wen) to battle rival crime syndicates.
Then, in Chapter 5, the story shifted to a different protagonist, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), the main character of "The Mandalorian." After parting ways with Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, Djarin tracks down the remaining Mandalorians and battles them for the right to wield the Darksaber. Then, he returns to Tatooine and buys a refurbished starfighter from the planet Naboo.
In Chapter 6, the story turns over to Grogu and his new Jedi mentor Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill). Fans were glad to see Luke again, but there were several moments they didn't appreciate.
One surefire way to get fans angry: be mean to Grogu
During the episode, Luke begins Grogu's Jedi training. Grogu is Luke's first student at the Jedi Temple. Given that most of the Jedi in the galaxy have been wiped out, there's a lot riding on Grogu's performance.
Luke proves to be a harsh teacher. He zaps Grogu repeatedly with a training drone laser. Then, he uses the Force to make Grogu remember Order 66, the command given by Senator Palpatine to execute all Jedi in the galaxy, including the children. Finally, he makes Grogu choose between having a lightsaber and using the Beskar armor he got from Din.
In the weekly discussion thread on Reddit, fans weren't into Luke's methods. "Luke needs to go back to school for early childhood education, because he freaking sucks at it so far," wrote Redditor u/bookdrops.
Redditor u/jrevv agreed, writing, "seems like Luke has a lot to learn in being a teacher lol."
Meanwhile, u/W1SC0 wrote, "Mando is the cool dad with the sports car, and Luke is the mean step-dad."
Other Redditors pointed out that Luke's methods were very similar to the ones he learned from Yoda during "The Empire Strikes Back."
"While this is probably how a lot of Jedi were trained, I did say out loud 'Luke, why are you being such a d— right now?' wrote u/Woffeh.
The reaction to the Grogu training scene also echoes the reaction to a moment from the end of "The Mandalorian" Season 2, when a Stromtrooper (played by Jason Sudeikis) punched Grogu. Fans did not like seeing Grogu get smacked around that time, either (via Time).
Hurting or otherwise harming Grogu/Baby Yoda is guaranteed to upset some of the fanbase, and there's no way creator Jon Favreau and director Dave Filoni aren't aware.