The Book of Boba Fett episode 7 saw the Mos Espa crime families betray their deal with Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and side with the Pyke Syndicate – here’s why. Throughout the Disney+ series’ first season, Boba and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) have fought to rally troops in order to secure their throne on Tatooine and eliminate the Pyke threat. In The Book of Boba Fett episode 4, Boba strikes a deal with the Trandoshans, Aqualish, and Klatooinians to stay neutral in Boba’s conflict with the Pykes. However, by episode 7, this deal took a turn for the worse.
Jabba’s power vacuum in Mos Espa was ostensibly filled by Bib Fortuna, but he didn’t have the knowledge or power to control things, so under his rule, Mos Espa was split into three sections. The Trandoshan crime family took the center of the city, the Aqualish controlled the worker’s district, and the Klatooinians claimed the starport and upper sprawl. When Boba claimed the Daimyo position, none of the three families contested it, but Fennec did warn Boba that he should keep an eye on the families. In The Book of Boba Fett episode 4 “The Gathering Storm,” Boba invites these crime families to a banquet and urges them to side with him against the ever-growing Pyke threat. The three clans are reluctant to fight someone else’s fight, and only by means of an intimidating rancor does Boba convince them to at least stay neutral. For the moment, they “find this acceptable.”
The Pykes went to war with Boba Fett because Tatooine sits near the Triellus Trade Route, one of three hyperspace routes that form the “Spice Triangle” trade network used by smugglers to transport spice to Outer Rim planets (the same reason the Hutt clan wanted control of Tatooine as well). The Pyke Syndicate could also prove its worth in the galaxy’s criminal underworld by filling the power void left by Jabba. So when they realized Boba was indeed going to be a worthy adversary to the throne, they intimidated the Trandoshans, Aqualish, and Klatooinians into siding with them. The Pykes were a more powerful (and much more notorious clan) than Boba’s small team. It would come as no surprise if the three crime families thought they were backing the winning horse by siding with the Pykes. Indeed, up to the second half of The Book of Boba Fett‘s finale, it seemed like Boba Fett was on the losing side.
The Pyke Syndicate almost completely controlled the production of raw spice in the galaxy. They once joined Darth Maul’s Shadow Collective, but after the fall of the Galactic Republic, Maul became the leader of Crimson Dawn (another of the five most powerful criminal organizations). The Pykes “maintained a fragile alliance” with Crimson Dawn, but Mos Espa’s crime families didn’t know this. The Pykes were a much bigger and more intimidating name than Boba Fett in the context of the criminal underworld. And considering these were the three families that once agreed to Boba’s deal because they were intimidated by his rancor, it’s not difficult to see how they would betray Boba and side with the Pykes after their display of power and ruthlessness.
Furthermore, by The Book of Boba Fett episode 6, Cad Bane was working with the Pykes as well. This was a legendary bounty hunter who had once lost a duel with Boba Fett. In fact, Bane had a history with both Boba and Fennec, each having damaged his reputation at different points. Bane working for the Pykes was not just him responding to the highest bidder: it was an opportunity for revenge, and the Trandoshans, Aqualish, and Klatooinians must have been aware of this by the time they betrayed Boba’s deal. They were certain the battle was already won by the Pykes, and it made sense to side with the victorious. However, Boba, Fennec, and Mando (Pedro Pascal) proved them wrong in The Book of Boba Fett episode 7.
Key Release Dates
Rogue Squadron
Release Date:2023-12-22
