Why Cad Bane’s Ending Was So Disappointing

Watch out! This article contains spoilers for The Book Of Boba Fett.

Cad Bane, the stranger who comes from the desert in the penultimate episode of The Book Of Boba Fett, ended his story in a surprisingly anticlimactic way. To casual viewers, he appeared to be a fairly typical TV show villain-of-the-week, but the character has a long and dangerous history in other Star Wars stories, having managed to fight off Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the past. As a result, while it was exciting to finally see Cad Bane portrayed in live-action, it also seems like a waste for him to meet his demise just one episode after his introduction.

The animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, was Cad Bane’s first introduction, and he was a persistent antagonist throughout all seven seasons. Out of 133 episodes of Clone Wars, Bane appears in 15 — only two fewer episodes than fan-favorite Sith acolyte Asajj Ventress. Considering the show’s extensive cast of characters, from famous villains like General Grievous to little-known Jedi like Aayla Secura, this is a lot of focus for Cad Bane. As well as his appearances in Clone Wars, the bounty hunter has also shown up in several of the Darth Maul comics, a few times in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and was referenced in Star Wars: Rebels in some graffiti seen during season 1 episode 4.

With all of this background, it feels like an odd creative decision to introduce Cad Bane at the very ending of Book Of Boba Fett, only to kill him shortly afterward. The brief appearance feels disappointing because, canonically, Cad Bane shares a history with Boba Fett. Unfortunately, the Clone Wars storyline which would have shown this backstory never aired, so oblique references are all Star Wars has ever shown. While Cad Bane’s death does come with some emotional catharsis, as Boba uses a Tusken gaderffii stick to defeat him, Bane’s appearance feels jarringly brief. In the end, any other lesser villain could have taken his place, and it would barely have made any difference.

Considering how Book Of Boba Fett began by showing multiple timelines, some in the present and some through extended flashbacks, it’s puzzling that Bane didn’t make his presence known earlier in some form. His appearance, as a mysterious stranger with a big black hat and violent tendencies, perfectly fits with the space western aesthetic which was part of the original vision of Star Wars. Introducing him sooner would have given time to build more tension, perhaps without revealing his actual face until a later point, creating a mystery of who this black-hatted stranger is and what his connection to Boba Fett could be. This could also have easily tied in with the repeated flashbacks to young Boba Fett on the stormy ocean world of Kamino, which feature prominently in early episodes but are swiftly dropped halfway through the show. Even a fleeting flashback appearance alongside Boba’s father Jango Fett would have added much more dramatic weight to Bane’s eventual appearance on Tatooine.

The Book Of Boba Fett is an enjoyable show to watch, but small things like this leave a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction. Cad Bane is seemingly introduced only for audience recognition, before being disposed of very shortly afterward, and this feels like a shame when so much is left unexplored between Boba Fett and the mercenary figure from his past. Sadly, Cad Bane carries on Boba Fett’s tradition from the Star Wars original trilogy — being introduced as a serious threat only to be defeated with remarkable speed.

All episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are now streaming on Disney+

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