Boba Fett has always been an enigmatic character since his introduction in the original Star Wars trilogy. The fact that fans knew so little about him lent a cool mystique to his character. This fog of mystique was partially dispersed by the tragic origin story he received in the prequel trilogy, and now, with The Book of Boba Fett, it’s done away with almost completely. The new Boba, however, is distinctly different from the ruthless bounty hunter fans often imagined him to be, and as he was portrayed in the extended universe before Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm.
We see Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) adjusting to his new responsibilities as daimyo of Tatooine, with Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). As he deals with challenges to his power, we see flashbacks of his escape from the sarlacc pit and his struggles to escape from a tribe of Tusken raiders, before he earns his place among them and comes to identify as a member of their tribe. In the present, Fett has to rally his followers and allies to deal with the threat of an interstellar crime syndicate trying to muscle into his territory, which leads to the reappearance of the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) as we pick up where we left off in the second season of his show.
The Book of Boba Fett isn’t outright bad, but it’s a fragmented show with some good elements that don’t ultimately come together.
The rehabilitation of Boba Fett into a honorable man feels at odds with his portrayal in the original trilogy. One of the antagonists, a delightfully evil bounty hunter (and Clone Wars fan favorite) Cad Bane (Cory Burton) points out that Boba Fett is a murderer who worked with the Empire, but the idea isn’t explored at all in the story. Then there’s the sudden takeover of the show by The Mandalorian that seeds in important elements for that show’s future instead of furthering this show’s plot. Even though these two episodes are some of the best Mandalorian content we have gotten so far, it has no business being in a Boba Fett show.
Another aspect of the show that’s drawn a lot of scorn is the inclusion of the Mods: a group of cyberpunk teenagers riding brightly-coloured vespa-like space bikes. They look hilariously out of place from the rest of dry and sand-blasted Tatooine. They don’t really contribute to the plot and feel like additional burdens for Fett to worry about during the finale. Speaking of which, the finale does the typical ‘epic Disney finale fight scene’ as well as it could have, but for me it was too similar to the recent spate of finales from Disney-produced TV shows.
Ultimately, the Book of Boba Fett is a middling affair that skirted through by the sheer fame and recognizability of its cast of characters.
It somehow gained 30% more viewers than The Mandalorian season two finale, which suggests that, as long as the content is not terrible, fans will lap up Star Wars fare. Well, except for Solo, I suppose. But there’s an exception in every case.
Will there be a second season? I hope not. With further Star Wars content coming up such as the Ahsoka and Cassian Andor shows- not to mention the third season of The Mandalorian- there’s no need for a show that doesn’t have a strong purpose behind its existence.
