Mandalorian S2E6 - Let's Talk About Boba Fett's Armor
Today we're taking a look at the most important bits of the latest episode of The Mandalorian. The Disney+ show released Season 2, Episode 6 on December 4, 2020, with the potential to deliver some massively important plot points. As it turned out, nothing that happened in the show mattered NEARLY as much as what we learned about Boba Fett's armor. NOTE: This first image in this article is from an earlier episode – below that, it's full of spoilers. This article should be read ONLY after you've seen The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 6.
The man, the armor
In this episode we not only see Boba Fett again, we hear him speak. Speaking with Din Djarin (The Mandalorian), Boba Fett explains who he is and why he believes he's entitled to the armor. The armor, he says, was passed down from his father. This episode reveals that Jango Fett was a Foundling – and suggests that he fought alongside other Mandalorians many years ago.
The rocket pack rocket
Boba Fett's armor's rocket can destroy a troop carrier starship. We saw in an earlier episode that his rocket pack is capable of firing a rocket-propelled explosive that can destroy a land vehicle – now we know it's capable of firing an explosive that's much more massive than that. AND much longer-range.
ABOVE: At the head of this post you'll see Cobb Vanth, the first person to appear wearing Boba Fett's armor in The Mandalorian. Notice the shape and size of the rocket in the rocket pack. That's a different explosive than what we see in the armor in this newest episode – to each task its own tool.
ALSO note: Boba Fett mentions that he was aiming for the other ship, despite having hit the other. As his scope shows, he was, indeed, aiming for the ship on the left, but hit the one on the right.
Knee-based explosives
If we only look to the live action depictions of Boba Fett, we've never seen these knee rockets before. Now, thanks in part to the rockets, we understand that Boba Fett's armor is more than just aesthetically bonkers beautiful. We now know that Boba Fett's armor is PACKED with projectiles.
Beskar alloy
Hold on here – Beskar? The first we hear about the metal alloy Beskar (in modern canon, anyway) and its use in Mandalorian armor is in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode The Mandalore Plot. It was only in this episode of The Mandalorian that we learn* that Boba Fett's armor is made (at least partially) with Beskar.
*This episode's inclusion of Beskar in Boba Fett's armor qualifies as a retcon. We've only ever heard that the armor was made of "durasteel" before – in a 2018 version of Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition.
In The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5, we see that pure Beskar pike deflect a lightsaber. Boba Fett's armor has SOME damage – even beyond the paint scratches – so we know there's still a possibility that it won't be total and complete protection against its eventual meeting with The Darksaber in a later episode of this series.
Where's the rest?
We're also looking forward to figuring out whether Boba Fett will seek out additional bits of armor to cover the rest of his body – because this isn't the full set. The Mandalorian also has a different design/set of armor, likely due in part to the less-than-perfect mobility provided by the original Boba Fett armor. We shall see!