The Book of Boba Fett – Season 1 Review

 

Image Credit: Disney+

 

Season 1 of the latest Star Wars offering from Disney+ wrapped up last night and being the Star Wars geek that I am, you know I watched every minute of it. If you haven’t seen it yet but plan to, I do share some mild spoilers below but I tried to avoid spilling the best stuff. If you’re on the fence about seeing it, I’ll say up front that it isn’t as good a show as The Mandalorian, but it’s still a fun ride. Boba Fett always struck me as a galactic High Plains Drifter. I assumed this series would depict that same quiet, cruel bounty hunter who just happens to now be more interested/invested in punishing bad guys instead of good ones. That isn't what we get. Instead, Fett is an aging, softening man who just wants to settle down and get the locals to like and respect him.  For me at least, this makes for an uncompelling lead. There’s no doubt that the show is an entertaining piece of nostalgia, it's just not everything I hoped it would be.

That said, here are brief summaries and my thoughts on each episode written immediately after I watched them.

 

Stranger in a Strange Land

Fett’s appeal in the original Star Wars trilogy was his quiet menace. We didn’t hear much from him. We just knew he looked and moved like a bad ass. This new version of the infamous galactic bounty hunter does a good bit of talking and frankly, most of it isn’t very bad ass. I would have enjoyed seeing his sidekick Fennec Shand do more of the talking on his behalf. Like Netflix’s The Witcher, allowing the warrior to rely on grunts and growls would let him keep more of his air of mystery. I also think a set of hand signals between the pair similar to the House Atreides battle language in Dune would underline the importance of their relationship and Fett’s ability to act swiftly and mercilessly with a minimum of words. Robert Rodriguez’s direction of the Mos Espa fight sequence left something to be desired as well. It felt more Spy Kids than Desperado. Improved stunt choreography and editing would have dramatically improved the scene and our belief that Fett and Shand are forces to be reckoned with. This first episode is fun in that it takes us back to a planet and characters that we love, but I think it does less to set up a strong series than what we saw in The Mandalorian.

The Tribes of Tatooine

This second episode has some weak spots, but it’s a definite improvement over its predecessor. The arrival of the Hutt twins and their Wookie enforcer, Krrsantan who want to lay claim to Jabba’s former domain and run off Fett in the process is a highlight as is the appearance of the Ithorian mayor of Mos Espa, Mok Shaiz. However a large portion of this episode is backstory and while interesting, it further damages our image of Fett as a bad ass as we see him repeatedly get beat up by Tusken Raiders. Eventually he earns their respect by saving one of their youths from a desert monster whose odd appearance and movement wouldn’t be out of place in Clash of the Titans. Fett follows that victory with another against a gang of ruffians in a bar brawl, cementing his place in the Tusken tribe. Our protagonist then goes on to lead the sand people in a high-speed spice train robbery that could have been great, but like the Mos Espa fight in Episode 1, feels short-changed by the stunt performers and special effects. It ends up coming off a bit like Fury Road-lite. All-in-all still underwhelming, but the series is at least moving in the right direction.

The Streets of Mos Espa

Fett reflects on the tragic fate of his former Tusken tribe then wakes from his bacta tank dream to an assassination attempt by Krrsantan. He survives thanks to a new gang of young bikers he’s recently taken under his wing and he soon accepts an apology from the Wookie’s Hutt twin employers. The Hutts have decided to leave while they still can and they offer both the Wookie and a rancor as payment for the trouble they’ve caused. I didn’t dislike the teens and their colorful speeder bikes nearly as much as many critics on Twitter did, but I did take exception to director Robert Rodriguez again choosing cheap-looking Spy Kids-type special effects in a chase scene through the busy streets of Mos Espa that could have been a series highlight if done well. Cheers to the casting of Danny Trejo as the rancor keeper though!

The Gathering Storm

The quality of the special effects continues to disappoint, the most glaring example in this episode being Fennec’s cybernetic surgery scene, but watching Fett rescue and befriend Fennec was fun as was the mission to retrieve Fett’s ship from Bib Fortuna, and Krrsantan’s dismemberment of an unfortunate gambler in the Sanctuary club. The highlight of this episode is Fett and Fennec’s exploration of and subsequent battle with the Sarlacc while inside Slave 1. I thought it was a great way to tie the show to Fett’s last scene in Return of the Jedi and yes, for this old-school fan, the name of his ship will never change.

Return of the Mandalorian

Chapter 5 isn’t so much an episode of The Book of Boba Fett as it is a lost episode of The Mandalorian. We follow Din Djarin as he stops in to show off the Darksaber to The Armorer, dukes it out with Paz Vizsla over which of them is the rightful wielder of the legendary blade then promptly gets booted from the Mandalorian ranks when he admits he broke their code to remove his mask for Grogu. This leads Djarin back to Tatooine where he commissions a small, Phantom Menace-era ship to replace his destroyed Razor Crest. The new ship is ridiculously fast but also completely impractical for a bounty hunter who needs to be able to live on, sleep in, and transport prisoners in a cargo hold. The episode ends with Fennec showing up at the shipyard to ask Djarin for his help, finally tying the story back to Boba Fett. While out-of-place in regard to telling Fett’s story, this episode is a blast. I don’t know if it is the superior direction of Bryce Dallas Howard, the superior acting of Pedro Pascal, or if writers Jon Favreau and Noah Kloor are just more in tune with Djarin than Fett, but chapter 5 is far more satisfying than the four episodes before it.

From the Desert Comes a Stranger

The penultimate episode of Season 1 is again mostly about characters other than Fett and it’s even better than episode 5. Not only do we get more Djarin, we get the return of Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, R2-D2, Cobb Vanth, and maybe coolest of all, the first live action appearance of Star Wars: The Clone Wars baddie, Cad Bane. All of this fan service and world building seems to be leading to a big battle for control of Tatooine between Fett and his allies against the spice-smuggling Pyke Syndicate and their hired guns. Meanwhile Grogu faces the choice between his friendship with Djarin and his Jedi training with Skywalker, a decision which should clear up which direction the next season of The Mandalorian will take.

In The Name of Honor

The final episode of the season is all action and while some of it doesn’t hit as hard as it should, quite a bit does. We get the Star Wars version of Godzilla vs. King Kong, we get Fett and Djarin fighting side by side against overwhelming odds, we get a great showdown between Fett and Bane that’s practically lifted straight out of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, and we finally get to see Fennec Shand act like the deadly assassin she was built up to be. This finale isn’t as strong as the two episodes that preceded it, but it’s a fun wrap up of Boba Fett’s rise to power on Tatooine and a nice segue into the upcoming third season of The Mandalorian.

Where Does The Mandalorian Go From Here?

Photo Credit: Disney

There are a handful of television shows I would love to write for, perhaps none more than the Disney+ show, The Mandalorian. If you haven’t watched all 16 episodes released so far but plan to, you might not want to read further. Spoilers await!

 

Now that Grogu has gone off to train with Luke Skywalker, where does Season 3 take the story next? Boba Fett and Fennec Shand are leaving for their own show as is Ahsoka Tano so it’s doubtful any of those characters will play a large role. Greef Karga and Cara Dune have been major parts of the tale so far and both are still alive and hunting down bounties but Disney announced the firing of Gina Carano, the actress who plays Cara Dune, last night based on her "abhorrent" political posts on social media. Showrunners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni could always recast the role, but a clean break might be best. Perhaps they’ll kill her off but continue Karga’s friendship and business arrangement with Din Djarin.

Moff Gideon seems set for a return as one of the primary antagonists, but who else is likely to play a large part and what is their objective?

Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves

It’s pretty clear that the Darksaber and the battle for control of the Mandalorian home planet will be one of if not the major storyline next season. Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves formed a mutually beneficial alliance with Din Djarin in Season 2, but now that our hero has possession of the weapon Katan needs in order to claim the throne and the only way to legitimately wield it is to win it via combat, it seems a fight between these allies is on the horizon. Katan and Reeves didn’t interest me as much as some of the other characters the show offered up in its first two seasons, but a visit to the heretofore unseen planet of Mandalore could prove interesting.

 

Migs Mayfeld

Of all the new characters introduced beyond Djarin and Grogu, none of them are more fun than Migs Mayfeld. Played by funnyman Bill Burr, this mercenary and sharpshooter is always good for comic relief. Marshall Cara Dune freed him from a long prison sentence after he helped with an assault on the Imperial refinery on Morak where he proved to be a valuable partner to Djarin. It isn’t out of the question that their paths might cross again someday soon.

 

Maz Kanata

One of the best characters to come from the final trilogy of the Skywalker saga holds a mystery that Season 3 could solve for us. How did the Pirate Queen of Takodana, Maz Kanata wind up with Anakin’s old lightsaber? She gifts it to Finn, but we never learn how she came to possess it. Adding Maz to the cast for Season 3 via a visit to her castle and showing us these events would tie a welcome knot in one of the series most frustrating loose ends.

 

Fan Service

The first two seasons brought us an ugnaught, the AT-ST, jawas, Tusken Raiders, banthas, the Krayt dragon, Twi’leks, the Mon Calamari, Bib Fortuna, a Gamorrean, and a host of other callbacks to the original film trilogy. Which additional old friends and enemies might make an appearance in Season 3?

I think one of the most likely things we’ll see is a return of one or more of the remaining six bounty hunters introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. Boba Fett of course played a major role in Season 2. The bandaged but human Dengar probably isn’t a good candidate since the role would need to be recast based on how long it’s been since his first appearance. Bossk was alien, but mouth articulation might prove difficult if the character were to have more than a few lines of dialogue based on the mask the actor would need to wear. IG-88 is the same type of assassin droid as seen in Season 1 with the IG-11 character so its return is unlikely as well. The two remaining hunters, the insect-like 4-Lom and Zuckuss however would be great callbacks. Din Djarin watched his ship get destroyed near the end of Season 2 so he’ll be in the market for a new one. Ships aren’t cheap. What better way to earn the credits to buy a replacement for the Razor Crest than to sign up for another big job with a crew of similar hard cases.

Speaking of shopping for a new spaceship, how about a visit to the Corellian shipyards? Han Solo’s home planet made its first film appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story. A return visit might prove eventful, especially if Djarin runs across the nefarious bounty hunter Mercurial Swift, a character introduced in The Aftermath novels by author Chuck Wendig.

You don’t get much cooler than riding tauntauns across the snowy tundra or fighting giant AT-ATs in a snowspeeder. Episode 10 of The Mandalorian mostly took place on an icy planet named Maldo Kreis so another snow-filled adventure might be deemed repetitive, but if Djarin visits any more of the planets from the original trilogy, I’d love to see Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back as one of them.

And finally, what about the rancor? We saw Luke do battle with one of these giant monsters in the small confines of a pit below Jabba’s palace toward the beginning of Return of the Jedi. How about dropping Djarin into the middle of a pack of these things roaming free on their home planet of Dathomir? Even better, while stuck on the planet, The Mandalorian could give us our first live action peek at the Nightsisters, an order of female Dark side wielders who were introduced in Dave Wolverton’s novel The Courtship of Princess Leia and later appeared in an episode of the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.

There is no shortage of places, characters, and creatures to visit in the Star Wars universe. We have at least another year to speculate just what Season 3 will bring!