In “The Gathering Storm,” all the pieces fall into place. We now know how exactly Boba saved Fennec’s life and retrieved his ship. With his armor back after the events of The Mandalorian, he’s ready for the next step. That step? Getting Mos Espa’s crime families on board for an all-out war with the Pyke Syndicate. Because a lot of the episode rehashes familiar territory, we didn’t find as many new easter eggs and references in this episode of The Book of Boba Fett as usual. Here are the Star Wars deep cuts we did spot…

Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner as the Modifier

The Modifier who patches up Fennec is played by bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter Thundercat, whose real name is Stephen Bruner. He won a Grammy in 2016 for Best Rap/Sung Performance and in 2021 for Best Progressive R&B Album. The Modifier seems to be the go-to guy if you want to become a cyborg teen like the biker gang from “The Streets of Mos Espa.” – The bomb Fennec drops into the sarlacc is a sonic charge. In Attack of the Clones, Jango Fett uses these in space against the pursuing Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Droids

– One of the kitchen workers is an EV-series droid. The most famous of this line is the torturer EV-9D9 from Return of the Jedi. – The COO-series cook droid first appeared in Attack of the Clones. We half expected its spinning blade hands to turn into a face-off like when Obi-Wan fought General Grievous. – The little guy who interrupts the bounty hunters is a LEP-series service droid, previously seen in The Clone Wars. Technically, these are present in The Force Awakens, but only because the same sound effect can be heard in Maz Kanata’s stronghold.

Death of the Sarlacc

You can clearly see the wreckage of the sarlacc pit and sail barge from Return of the Jedi in this episode. It also concretes the diverging explanations for what happened to the actual sarlacc in canon and in the old Legends continuity. Disney canon takes a much more straightforward approach: Fennec and Fett finish off the sarlacc themselves with the help of the Firespray.

Tatooine Life

– Fennec makes reference to “singing like a Yuzzum.” The big-mouthed singer Joh Yowza in the Max Rebo Band from Return of the Jedi was a Yuzzum. – She also uses the in-universe slang “gotra” for a gang or organization. It’s been used in Star Wars before to refer to the “Droid Gotra,” a violent droids rights group. – Her mention of good mechanics in Mos Eisley sounds like a reference to Peli Motto, the trusty mechanic played by Amy Sedaris on The Mandalorian. – Boba seems to be living on roasted scurrier, the little rodents that first popped up in the Special Edition of A New Hope.

The Mandalorian Music Cue

The reappearance of The Mandalorian‘s pan flute theme at the end of the episode links the two shows together, but what exactly it indicates is coming next is still a mystery. Will it be a recurring character? Or do the Pykes have more to do with Din Djarin and Baby Grogu than we yet know?