Season 1, Episode 1-7
Created by Jon Favreau
Starring Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, David Pasquesi
Writing this I’m acutely aware of 3 ¾” Biggs Darklighter’s judgmental plastic stare from the shelf behind me, but The Book of Boba Fett highlights the issues of approaching something from a professional perspective while being a fan. From any critical viewpoint this is a poorly constructed season that wasted a lot of the potential the series could have had, but from a fanpeep’s perspective….by Grapthar’s Hammer it has its moments.
Through the series we see Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) attempting to come to terms with Fett’s new position as Daimyo of Tatooine. As Fett reflects on the events that have led him out of the Sarlacc pit and into his current lofty position, he struggles both in controlling the local gangs, and fending off incursions by both the Hutt cartel and the Pyke syndicate.
Structurally The Book of Boba Fett is a mess, and a lot of this comes from the decision to recap his past history (specifically the down time from his apparent demise in Return of the Jedi to his reappearance in season 2 of The Mandalorian). Although these flashbacks do fill in a lot of the blanks, give reason for Fett’s change of attitude, and allow for an interesting look at an indigenous community on the Tatooine Dune Sea, it consistently robs any forward momentum from the present day rise of a crime lord. Despite being the whole crux of the series, that arc is only given the most perfunctory treatment, barely setting up the building blocks required for the final climax, and some of those feel very forced. When it does finally deal with all the flashbacks allowing the present day plot to take its place, we are instead treated to two episodes focusing on Din Djarin and Grogu, before launching into an action packed season finale.
Perhaps we can see this odd structure as a nod to The Godfather Part 2, but if so, it’s a failure. The actual establishment of Fett as a crime lord, doesn’t seem to be a focus of the Disney+ show, as it doesn’t really want to show Fett dealing in crime or being a criminal. After shows such as The Wire and Breaking Bad this really does feel like a wasted opportunity to open up a new genre in the Star Wars universe, instead go back to the well of Westerns and Samurai films. Fett never demonstrates that he is “more capable “ than the people he used to work for, instead blundering at almost every turn and getting through only by being clad head to toe in beskar. In many ways he’s been defanged, a far cry from the mysterious bad arse who’s live action introduction was having a Sith Lord tell him to calm the fuck down. Now Fett feels like a player 2 skin of The Mandalorian.
So why isn’t it completely terrible? Why did those last three episodes leave me with a stupid grin on my face? Well there’s a meme going around of two kids gleefully playing with Star Wars toys , with the phrase “Favreau and Filoni scripting the latest episode of The Mandalorian ” and there’s something of a ring of truth about that. There’s a certain childish nostalgia of slamming a big plastic monster through Jabba’s palace, kicking over a landspeeder as you go, that is triggered by this show. It’s the way it knits together the fragments of the Star Wars universe into a greater whole, incorporating legends, comics, The Clone Wars, and Rebels lore and bringing them into the present canon. Fans get to see those elements brought to life with a production value in line with the big screen offerings. There’s a love and understanding of the Star Wars universe as a greater tapestry, and although it may be playing it overly safe, and slavishly true to the spirit of ‘77, it’s still undeniably appealing.
At the end of the day The Book of Boba Fett is clumsy broad strokes storytelling that doesn’t bring anything new to the franchise, but still manages to have its appealing moment to the fans. It feels like this is a wasted opportunity to open up a different genre in Star Wars, and to explore the life of an antihero, but instead plays it incredibly safe. As such it’s lacklustre, but hopefully has been able to set the groundwork (even if just in a few minutes of exposition from The Armourer) for a galaxy of adventure to follow.
