The Book Of Boba Fett (Disney+)

It was all right. Maybe not quite living up to the hype. It's okay. It's the first episode. I wasn't bowled over by the Pilot to The Mandalorian either. And that show wound up great.

Like the first episode of The Mandalorian, this was a little too violent for my tastes. Unlike that first episode, it didn't have a great end reveal like Baby Yoda.

It was smart to start the series off on a flashback revealing how Fett survived the Sarlac pit in Jedi. That being said, the flashbacks are the part of the show I enjoy least. I'm more interested in his stuff in "the present" where he's a crime boss.

It's interesting and VERY risky to center a series around Boba Fett, if you ask me. The character may be a fan favorite, but to be brutally honest, unlike Pedro Pascal, Temuero Morrison is no Matinee Idol. Not by a long-shot. I'm thinking Jon Favreau and Robert Rodriguez must really have faith in his acting and ability to carry a show. I suspect Fett not being recast with a better looking actor probably made some of the suits at Disney nervous. We'll see how it plays out. Either way, he did a pretty good job in the first episode, but again it's too early to say for sure if he can carry this show for the long run.

It was interesting. It could get better, it could get worse. We'll see. ***.

I liked the flashbacks this week. I like that while the Tusken were sort of treated as a goofball joke in the first film, this project takes them and their culture seriously, and treats them with a modicum of respect.

Some of it WAS goofy. The comedy of them trying to learn to ride the air bikes was great.

The train robbery was exciting too.

The thing that gets me about the hilarious live LSD lizard Boba snorts before he starts tripping balls is that it doesn't die, and exits his nose when the vision is over (and goes right back into its container). This suggests it's been in many different people's noses which is both funny and super gross to think about.

Speaking of which, this show made the Hutts particularly revolting. I don't recall Jabba looking quite this nauseating but I could be wrong.

Of course the Rancor's dead. Luke killed it. What a dumbass.

I love the evil Gladiator Wookiee. This kind of thing is what's good about Star Wars expanding as a TV Universe. New unseen Wookiees just DON'T mean the same thing or have the same impact in cartoons. Not even CGI ones.

I liked it better than the first episode which is a good sign. ***1/2.

Also seems like Hasbro will get another chance as HasLabbing that Black Series Rancor...

Danny Trejo with a Rancor!

Vintage Cadillac landspeeder!

Vespa speeder bikes!

I'm starting to see why all of the other characters were afraid of Chewbacca in the Original Trilogy.

I keep thinking Boba is dumb for letting the people go that he does, but when he ask Fennec if she didn't think that was a little heavy-handed with flashing her gun to the Mayor's guy, I was like, "Oh. I get it. He's the carrot and she's the stick." He's not just a crime boss, he's a politician, and does that role for diplomacy's sake. What I like about Fennec (and this show) is that on a lesser show this would be a source of great conflict between her and Fett leading to a grand betrayal on her end. I like that so far, she plays her part well and is content in the role.

Those cyborg street kids turned Fett's gang are kind of lame. On the other hand, their designs and the designs of their colorful bikes are totally toyetic, which should be the more important thing to Disney, I would think. Mommy, Mommy, I want that!

And of course the tamer of the new Rancor is Danny Trejo. It would be weird if it wasn't. That being said, after learning more about the species, and seeing Boba bond with this one, I now deeply regret Luke killing the first one. Which was probably the selling point of adding this nuance. Pretty slick trick there, producers.

I don't feel like this show has a solid purpose yet. But the same was true for The Mandalorian, and that worked fine. I think serialized television has gotten viewers to look for purpose and patterns in all current stuff, and I'm thinking even if these Star Wars shows continue their stories from episode to episode, that's not necessarily what they are about. And I'm also thinking they don't even NEED to be about that when all is said and done. It's indeed a relatively recent development to have shows with plotted and true beginning and endings. We may be overthinking things here.

Solid week. Again. ****.

I think when this season is all said and done, this will be the most important episode, at least to me. Arguably not much of the arc was pushed forward, and most of the episode was a flashback. But this specific episode brought SO much into sharp relief for me. The subtexts of what Boba and Fennec are doing and why they are doing it are made crystal clear for the first time ever. What's great is that I didn't exactly understand what they were doing before this. I thought perhaps Boba Fett had gone soft as a way for the writers to not have to center the show around an actual bad guy. Him wiping out those bikers says that was never the producers' concern. He's a bad dude, even if they had it coming. But this did explain Fett's light touch elsewhere, and also why Fennec doesn't push back against it more than she does.

Basically Boba's idea for a crime syndicate is simply to care about the Bounty Hunters, and not get them killed for no reason simply by employing smarter politics. Frankly, the deal he cooked up at the end was far better than every scoundrel at that table deserved. Which is why they'll abide it. They'd be crazy not to. That deal is basically Blu-Ray box sets for the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and they are me screaming at Disney to take my money. And throw in Blu-Rays of Hamilton and Loki while we are on the subject.

It's an audacious idea, and it is very clear why Fennec trusts Fett so completely even if the schmoozing goes against her every instinct. Because Boba explained all of this beforehand, and basically had her in on the ground-floor for this new experiment. She doesn't like how many enemies he frees and spares. But she goes along with it because that's always been a part of the plan. And I think that idea is absolutely brilliant, and a great way to get the audience on the side of a character who is, frankly, a dirtbag. Also maybe the fact that he loves animals and animals love him is the secondary thing that redeems Fett.

My favorite moment was something Fett only witnesses. I liked the casino owner soothing the Wookiee that he had nothing to prove, and he HAD developed quite a drink tab over the course of the night, and if he was willing to simply drop the dude and squash the fight, she'd forgive the debt. This is the same kind of carrot Boba likes offering, so you see him pleased with how she's handling it. Instead, the Wookiee rips the guy's arm off and places a bag of coins on the bar to pay his debt. I love that. That is a beautifully, wonderfully written moment that is also completely subversive. I seem to recall Quentin Tarantino turning up his nose at Star Wars turning into "that Disney s-word.". The truth is Lucasfilm never did scenes like that before Disney bought them. And the one scene like it in the old canon (Han shooting first) is something Lucas foolishly disowned. The sequel trilogy was polarizing (although I personally loved it) but I don't think anyone can ever argue Disney has softened the canon. Even the adorable Baby Yoda has this horrible abortion theme built into his arc of him eating eggs of a sentient species. Played for dark laughs. The darkest Lucas ever gotten was the Ewok cradling the dead Ewok at the end of Jedi, and he was going for sadness rather than horror there. There is a definite darkness imbalance in the arcs of Lucas's Ewoks and Disney's Grogu. Grogu is allowed to get away with a LOT more. Disney is far more permissive than George Lucas ever was. So Quentin Tarantino can suck it.

I like that Boba correctly notices the significance of Fennec saying that next time they are going stick to the plan. The words "next time" say everything. And I like that Boba is cunning enough that they don't pass his notice. That's when her loyalty is his for good.

I like Fett throwing a bag of money on the operating table and the dude telling him to lead with that next time. I will never stop being amused by the fact that Star Wars characters all use modern-day English expressions and always have. The problem is that I can never actually rationalize it. It's funny, but it actually makes no sense.

Another funny scene was with the Droid with the multiple arms and knives. It is SO funny to me how easy Droids are to kill. He's spinning these knives crazily at Fett, and Fennec just steps behind him, presses the Staples Easy Button, and cuts his freaking head off. It's both awesome and funny at the same time. It's also a good reminder of why nobody ever took C-3PO seriously.

I don't know how many fans of this show will truly get how significant this seeming filler episode was. Not much happened storywise. Other than the entire subtext of the series being beautifully and perfectly laid down for the viewer for the first time ever. Maybe that won't excite people who watch the show for shoot-'em-ups with Boba Fett. But it impressed the hell out of me. *****.

I was not expecting a crossover and was pleasantly surprised. It was great. Also interesting that Pedro Pascal is billed as a full cast member.

Peli Motto is SUCH a great character. Amy Sedaris is hilarious as her. I love her asking Mando to build the ship with her. I can see why he gave it a chance. I also love that she dated a Jawa. "They're furry." Hysterical.

Learning all the rules about Mandalorian blades, armor, and lore was interesting but stung even more when Mando was kicked out of the club. I don't know if the prophecy is referring to Mando or not but I think he's got a better claim on it than most.

I would love it if we saw Grogu next week but I doubt we will (because we'd need to see Luke). That specific reunion for us will probably have to wait for Mando's own show.

Mando's new starfighter is cool. Isn't it cool? It is very cool.

The Mandalorian chick correctly notes that Jedi have rules against forming attachments to people. The fact that Grogu's trainer is literally Luke Skywalker makes me feel a LOT better about that. Luke's the one guy in the original series who got the balance of the Force thing better than anybody else, Yoda and Obi-Wan included. The kid'll be all right.

I'll tell you what I love about the Disney+ shows. Look at those Republic beat cops and their aversion to paperwork. These shows give us insights into the Star Wars world and society at large that the movies never afforded us. Frankly, the cartoon TV shows were lacking in stuff like that too. Jon Favreau seems equally interested in how civilians like Peli work as he is in the space battles which is why these shows are so cool.

Pretty great. *****.

This show is extremely polarizing and I bet this is the most polarizing episode of all. Before, I was pretty comfortable defending the show. And while I won't go so far as to bash the episode, I will admit I am at a loss as to what to make of it. That is probably the most narratively confusing Star Wars episode or movie I have ever seen. Not because I didn't understand what was happening. But I didn't understand the purpose of why we saw the things we did, especially in the penultimate episode.

I have said before that Temuera Morrison is a very unlikely actor to center a show around. By the beginning of last episode, it is clear the producers agree, and sort of lost interest in his portrayal of Boba Fett. I would argue that's the reason the episode doesn't work, or at least it doesn't work right. This is no longer Boba Fett's show, which is wrong.

But while I can't defend the episode, I can't dismiss it either. Because even if I think centering an entire episode around Luke Skywalker and Grogu is an utter distraction and waste of valuable screentime (and it is) there is something nervy about it occurring in this episode. Is the show better off for it? No. Do the appearances of R2-D2, Ahsoka Tano, and Cad Bane add anything to Boba's story? No. So why do it? And I think the answer is not good enough, and at the same time it's all the answer they need: Because they can. Because Mark Hamill said yes. Because longtime Star Wars fans will probably not begrudge this specific detour and update, even if it weakens this specific show. If this show had a more rabid following, I could see them getting pissed. But the entire tone and mindset of the show has been meandering from the get-go, so these side trips really aren't new. The problem is they shouldn't be occurring in the penultimate episode. But they do. Simply because they can.

I hope Grogu chose the armor. I suspect he did because The Mandalorian TV show would be worse off without The Child / Baby Yoda. It felt like a fine ending to season two to put him with Luke, but it also didn't feel like the right ending for the character. Now the big question for me is why they didn't save all this stuff for Mando's own show, and are totally stepping on Boba's toes. I don't know about what behind-the-scenes drama goes on in the filming of this show, but if I were Morrison, I would actually be offended. And yeah, this episode was bad for this show. Was it actually bad? I can't quite go that far.

I thought the opening scene with Vanth was epic. I mean, he kicks over the spice in the sand. The tension at the end with Bane is real, but I don't think it's actually in too much doubt after he did that.

Good for the show for getting Corey Burton back for Bane. He is irreplaceable for that character, just like the guy who voiced Thrawn on Rebels. The cool thing about getting Burton and giving him a main guest star credit is that although Burton is familiar to cartoon fans, he's not actually a name get. The show recast Ahsoka with Rosario Dawson because Dawson has star power, and Ashley Eckstein does not. It's nice they won't be doing that for all the cartoon characters. Some of their voices simply can't stand to be recast. I include Sam Witwer as Darth Maul in this by the way. Ray Park can screw himself, but we'll always need Witwer for Maul.

Was that great? No. Is it sure to cause a fuss / uproar and blow up the internet? Yeah. Definitely. Which is probably all the reason they needed to do it. But I'm wary. Next week could be great or it could suck. What I don't predict is that it will be satisfying. I don't think that after this week this show is capable of that specific thing. ***.

Quick question: Robert Rodriguez has been getting the lion's share of the blame for this show supposedly sucking, not living up to expectations, and meandering from what it's supposed to be about. Now that the show delivered an amazing, near-perfect finale, that tied everything together, including the last two questionable weeks, are those same people gonna give Jon Favreau all the credit? I ask because Fanboy Narrative about this sort of thing always seems set, and nothing will dissuade it. People didn't like the first few weeks. So it couldn't be Favreau, Rodriguez was obviously the bad guy. Because he's been getting crap all season, I don't expect that to change for an amazing finale.

For the record, this does not describe me. And I'll tell you why. I had misgivings about the last two weeks, but I was never disappointed in the rest of the series. At all. I thought people ragging on it were being quite unfair, especially not knowing how it all shook down.

And I expect people will not take responsibility for being unfair. Instead it will be Disney's fault for releasing it week by week, when this is the type of show that is supposedly better to binge. Let me tell you, that excuse does not hold water with me. When I was growing up and loved (or liked) a show, I had to take it a week at a time, good and bad. Binging has made people spoiled, and reviewers lose any sense of fairness or common sense. And I would love to be proven wrong and to hear all of these complainers do a mea culpa. But I expect Disney to receive a huge deal of criticism for not dropping the episodes all at once. Which I think is bogus.

A lot of people will be disappointed in Cad Bane's death. We JUST got him in live-action and he's awesome! Not me. What Cad Bane feels like to me in this timeframe (and with the sequel trilogy in hindsight) is a big freaking loose end. Frankly, I'm not happy with Ahsoka still out there and unaccounted for in the First Order era either, but at least she's getting her own show, and perhaps a chance to answer those questions. As far as not knowing what happened to Cad Bane, that struck me as a failing of The Clone Wars, and this show putting an end to a bit of canon that needed one. Would I have liked to have seen Bane return in Season 3 of The Mandalorian? A little. But even then I wouldn't be happy unless I knew how he ended.

The Rancor was both genius and stupid. Genius for winning the day, stupid for Fett not being present at the end to control it. In the end, it's The Child who calms it. I am much happier with this idea than I was with the idea of the Child being the one to destroy the killer robots, which seemed to be what we were headed for when Peli Motto shows up with him out of the blue. I'm glad they didn't make the Child the actual Deus Ex Machina in the episode, and sort of made the victory a team effort.

Motto doesn't like the name Grogu. You know what? It WAS anticlimactic to learn it. It's this decade's version of Cosmo Kramer. I liked the character better when I didn't know it.

A lot of fans have criticized Boba Fett's softer touch as a crime boss. They wanted to see Boba Fett as his baddest self. Personally, I thought the new tack was the precise reason the show was interesting, which again shows how far outside of fandom I always operate. That being said, based on the betrayal of the families here, I believe there needs to be serious repercussions for that in Season 2. Boba and Mando agree that them breaking the deal was the smart play. I don't agree with that. And while I find Boba the consensus-builder interesting, Fennec going into the Pike's headquarters and basically finishing off the family heads, the mayor, and the head Pike is how I think things need to be dealt with for everyone else too. Why? Because that deal he made with them was beyond fair, and far fairer than they deserved. There needs to be serious consequences for breaking it. I admire Fett's restraint, especially when he took Fennec's advice to hold up dueling Bane. But that kind of crap cannot be allowed to slide for any reason. Those who reject carrots must get sticks. It's the only way this can work.

I cheered when Fett risked his life to save Krrsanton's. It was rewarding to me for the fact that they first met when the Wookiee tried to assassinate Fett naked in his sleep. That's how far they've come. And I love that. And it's why I love Fett's light touch. Without it we couldn't get scenes like that.

The Pikes killed the Tuskans? Okay, now I feel bad about the bikers Fett killed earlier in the season. I felt their deaths were partly-righteous as they were happening. I did not like learning they were innocent in hindsight.

By the way, remind me never to hire Cad Bane to take out a hit. Bastard simply can't keep his damn-fool mouth shut. If you want a reason for why Fett prevailed, my biggest theory is Bane giving Fett a reason to deliver payback. Fett HAD been getting soft. If Bane had kept his mouth shut about the Pikes killing the Tuskans, not only might the Pikes have won, but Bane probably would have survived too.

Was I the only one half-expecting to see Luke himself deliver Grogu in the Tie Fighter? Probably would have been fandom overkill, if I'm being honest with myself.

They always say "Don't shoot the messenger." But if the Pikes had shot the obnoxious Twi'lek Majordomo I would have laughed. He didn't deserved to ultimately be saved by Fett, but it's funny he was, especially after what he was forced to read out-loud.

So yeah, I loved that. It justified every good thing I've been saying about this show, and eased any worries about the last two weeks I had. Star Wars fans are due to eat some serious crow over this. If they're honest, that is. I would not put it past them to blame Disney for the release schedule instead. Internet criticism cannot fail, it can only be failed. *****.

Was that Omega in the bacta tank?...