The cast of characters in the Star Wars franchise is, at this point, absurd. Some characters simply never get their day in the sun, no matter how close they get, or how badly fans want them to take the stage.The Book of Boba Fettis a whole show built around a characterwith minimal importance to the original series' plot, who has stuck around exclusively due to the love of his many fans. Fett’s first solo outing came with a second treat for fans, the new deuteragonist role for breakoutMandalorianside-character Fennec Shand.
Fennec Shand was introduced in season 1, episode 5 ofThe Mandalorian, entitled “The Gunslinger.” In the episode, Shand is a high-price bounty that Din Djarin accepts as a target. Mando takes the job alongside a new upstart, eager to make a name for himself by bringing in an extremely dangerous bounty. Some expository dialogue gave fans their first dropsof information about Shand, Mando describes her as an assassin who has been employed by every major crime family and as a major threat.
RELATED:The Book Of Boba Fett: Danny Trejo And A Rancor Are All Smiles In BTS Photo
Fans first saw her in action as she fires upon the titular bounty hunter with a modified sniper rifle from an enormous distance. Mando comes up with a clever plan to outmaneuver her, rushing her encampment on landspeeder bikes while firing flash charges into the air to temporarily blind her. The rookie misfires a single charge, and in only a moment of clarity, she’s able to blast Mando’s landspeeder while it’s in motion. The rookie reaches her, and after a brief fistfight, which she wins handily, Mando holds her at gunpoint and cuffs her for transport. Shand convinces the rookie to turn against Djarin, but, rather than release her, the newcomer shoots her in the stomach and leaves her for dead.
She reappears the following season, complete with cybernetically replaced internal organs and a new job asmuscle for Boba Fett. The famed bounty hunter who saved her from her grisly fate and gave her the tech to ensure her survival leads her in joining Din Djarin’s quest to rescue The Child from Moff Gideon. As such, Shand is present for most of the endgame battles throughout season 2 ofThe Mandalorian. This lets her show off her skills, but it was the animated seriesThe Bad Batchthat explored a bit of her backstory.
Shand appears at the peak of her bounty-hunting career in the animated series, appearing first as a villain against the titular crew. Shand duels with iconic bounty hunter Cad Bane and wins. She pulls off some truly staggering feats of skill throughout her first few appearances. She doesn’t win every fight, but she is established and reestablished as a powerful and interesting character. So when it became clear she would get a bit more spotlight as the deuteragonistinBook of Boba Fett, fans were justifiably thrilled. Unfortunately, she hasn’t quite enjoyed the level of focus she could warrant.
Fennec Shand is a fun character, but she’s really buoyed by an excellent performance.Ming-Na Wen is oneof those performers that should really be a bigger deal than she is. Her biggest claim to fame is probably still her 1998 title role inMulan, but she’s excellent in a huge variety of roles. From her entertaining turn as Chun-Li in the 90sStreet Fighterfilm to her seven-year run onAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.to dozens of fun parts on sitcoms over the years. Her performance as Shand isn’t wholly new for her, but she suits the part extremely well. Intimidating, funny, confident, she’s the perfect foil to Fett while also being fun to watch on her own. Her performance alone conveys a ton of what fans love about the character.
For the first three episodes of the series, Shand really doesn’t get a lot to do. She’s obviously not in the flashback sequences that take up half the show, and when she is on-screen, she’s mostly just chastising Fett for looking weak. Her role in the narrative was primarily to point out all the ways in which Fett’s leadership differs from previous crime lords. She participates in a couple of fight scenes, even finishing the first fight with Krrsantan, but she doesn’t do much to move the plot along.Episode four is theclosest the series has come to being about her since it focuses heavily on the beginnings of her relationship with Fett. Despite her near-constant presence, she mostly provides commentary or does what she’s told. Shand’s role could be filled by almost any character, and that’s a shame.
Of course, the series with Boba Fett’s name in the title would focus almost entirely on his actions, but it feels wasteful to slot in an interesting character like Fennec Shand and give her so little to do. It points back to a larger problem with Star Wars as a franchise, filling every role in a narrative with recognizable characters just to score points with longtime fans. Hopefully,Book of Boba Fettwill give Fennec Shand the spotlight she deservesin its final episodes.
