I am going to warn you my fair readers, today’s post is going to contain spoilery discussion about the latest Disney Plus series The Book of Boba Fett. At this point two episodes have been released, and I have to admit I have some serious doubts about this show. I find myself vacillating wildly between “I am just not feeling this” and thoughts of “Does this actually sucks?”. This morning I am going to talk through my feelings and thoughts, and since I often times use this blog as therapy… will maybe come to some grand conclusion or at least acceptance after writing all of it.
Firstly I feel like we need to talk about how important of a character Boba Fett has been to me throughout the years. My first action figure of Boba Fett was obtained through collecting Kenner purchase seals and mailing away… then waiting what felt like an insane amount of time before finally getting it into my hands. So my fear going into Book of Fett is that I might be a little too close to the source material. While I realize we are in this weird place of Disney officially exiling all of the content that came from before as “Legends”, Dave Filoni is two years older than I am so very much a child of this era and has been cherry picking the best bits. I rabidly consumed everything that I could get my hands on that was Boba Fett related from the Dark Horse comics to Tales of the Bounty Hunters collection of short stories.
I loved seeing Boba Fett return through the Mandalorian series, but also felt no shock in seeing him. In fact from the onset of that series and the moment that we arrived on Tatooine I assumed sooner or later we would see him. Boba Fett escaping from the Sarlacc Pitt is a well trodden story at this point for me, and while I was uncertain exactly HOW they would portray it… I knew that effectively Boba was still active somewhere. I have this very hard time cloistering everything I “know” from the Legends universe and not just expecting the “Saga” universe to play out in the same manner. So far the parts of the extended universe that worked… are starting to make their way into what is ultimately becoming this new Disney Star Wars Canon.
Seeing Boba Fett with the Tusken Raiders really was not a shocking revelation either. Again because of the vast archives of expanded universe… I know a shocking amount about the civilization of the Tusken Raiders through comics, games, and books and there is a big part of me that has just sorta had this “well duh” moment play out as I am watching Fett so far. It made perfect sense that Fett who always seemed like an honor bound bounty hunter… would fit in perfectly with a society of nomadic people who are also extremely honor bound. In the movies I guess up to this point we have had the Tusken’s portrayed as this roaming band of monsters, but they were always more to me personally. The Tusken’s are just the native race of Tatooine and survived the ecological fallout of the world by adapting to living under extreme conditions.
I think the core problem I am having right now with Book of Fett, is it feels like one of those catch up reels that plays at the beginning of a new season of a Netflix series. Everything that is being shown to me is either well trodden legends content or something that completely makes sense and is a logical sequence of events knowing the characters that are so far involved. What I don’t understand however… is why in the hell Boba Fett has decided that suddenly he wants to be a Crime Lord and thinks that he alone can take on the Hutts. We are spending so much time with flashbacks and covering content that I was more than happy to have hand waved away because it “just made sense” and spending little time so far dealing with what is happening in the here and now. I had hoped that we had dealt with most of the flashbacks in the first episode… but the second episode also largely was comprised with Boba Fett and the Tuskens.
The other core issue I have with Book of Fett is it is missing something that The Mandalorian had. There is this emotional fabric that the Mandalorian had that is just completely gone with Fett. Sure there is a buddy cop sort of relationship going on between he and Fennec Shand, and that is delightful when it is actually allowed to play out. What we instead get is Boba Fett being super confused why no one seems to fear him or respect his authority when he has done nothing really to earn that place of respect. Maybe that is the tale that we are setting up… Fett being overwhelmed and then having to earn his place as the Daimyo. I get the distinct feeling that Fett wants to effectively Unionize the crime syndicate and create this mutually beneficial relationship between him and his vassals. So I can see a redemption arc working if in the next episode he is knocked down hard by the Hutt Twins who arrived at the end of episode two.
I would be lying if I said I was not going to at least finish out this season. Having the appearance of Black Krrsantan was some serious fan service that I did not expect, and I think on some level a lot of this show is just supposed to be Boba Fett looking badass while we drift along on the fumes of “member berries“. I think the problem for me at least is I know Disney is capable of producing great short run series that help flesh out these worlds. Loki and Hawkeye for example were freaking pure brilliance. Similarly I have loved The Mandalorian because it was telling a fresh story in this universe that I love. The problem is so far Boba Fett is not really telling a fresh story but instead reliving bits and pieces of past stories that I already knew. I think Fett should be a lesson to Disney going forward, since they plan on resurrecting pretty much any character that is even vaguely capable of supporting a limited run show. The show has to stand on its own in order to actually be good, and can’t just be the television equivalent of a really cool looking action figure.
I will say Book of Boba Fett gives me serious concerns about how it is going to feel to experience some of these other shows that are coming soon. The Cassian Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi solo shows are slotted to release at some point during this year for example. I think the core problem with Star Wars has been that unlike Marvel… they don’t have nearly as much source material to mine. For example if you point at any character in the Marvel Universe… and you can find literally thousands of unique story lines from the comics that expand upon that character. For Star Wars you have a few movies and then a string of books… a good number of which were read by old farts like me who were desperate for ANY Star Wars anything during the dark times. With Marvel they could mix and match and lean heavily on the multiverse theory to craft something that while assembled out of bits and pieces of existing story material… felt fresh and new. With Star Wars… my fear is that these solo projects are all going to feel like this one… with a certain measure of rehash required to catch everyone else up before actually crafting new additional stories.
If you have made it to this point in my post… what are your thoughts about Book of Boba Fett so far? Are you also having issues with it, or is this just a “you are too close to the source material” issue. Drop me a line below.
I googled “does Book of Boba Fett suck” last week – nothing. I was stoked that you made this post and after I watched the second episode and once again googled “does it suck” – this popped up!
I am not worried about the canon or the sloppy storytelling. My issue is that it is boring and derivative. The Star Wars Universe has a lot going on when it comes to intriguing original stories and concepts. This feels like it is phoned in. Disney has incredible resources and maybe they are just aiming it at young kids to try and create highly-visual memories to drive future nostalgia. But it is just boring. While it is not an adequate comparison, I think young people would prefer to find original content on TikTok these days.
I think the problem is the writing. There is next to no dialogue so it super hard to build a character that we can connect to emotionally. As the OP pointed out, it feels like empty unoriginal content wrapped up in derivative visuals and storytelling devices. There are so many shows out now with really good writing – that are engaging and give the audience something to think about. I spent most of episode 2 on my phone waiting for someone to say something – and then it was generally some platitude.
Another issue that goes beyond canon is that fetishising the Bedouin (the people that the Tuskans are based on) is so well trodden and hackneyed. The problem is that the writers add nothing new whatsoever to very well established tropes for a romanticised and outdated pre-1960’s vision on Bedouin life and culture. Why couldn’t they just introduce original elements to the Tusken culture portrayed in the first 2 episodes? Something cool related to Star Wars Universe technology – or anything. Maybe the Tuskens could have a little more depth than being really impressed by running water. In fairness, the spirit quest is likely an appropriation from native American cultures – so I guess that is new to the Tuskens if still totally unoriginal. I did enjoy the freaky lizard – but why not make it a symbiotic like thing where the space lizard gives Boba some kind of understanding of the desert or sixth sense – maybe it would have required actual dialogue to explain. WTF happened to the lizard – did it just asphyxiate in Bobas stomach? I really don’t know how they get away with this level of cultural appropriation today – in the 1970’s it was not an issue. But it really feels like a middle aged dude that is not well travelled (but has been to Wadi Rum and has so many Bedouin friends who are just so kind and amazing) has seen Lawrence of Arabia and read all the canon and decided it is cool to go full orientalist. Like, full low-key racist infantilization of a ‘backward but honourable people’ that are still noble enough to be taught how to live in the modern world. I mean they could not even come up with an original heist concept. A core element of western mythology around the Bedouin is that the rair caravans and trains. I mean, maybe not a train?
What is sad is that I know how deliberate Disney is when it comes to focus grouping ideas and concepts. So this means that 100% a number of people at Disney had a conversation about whether a one for one appropriation of an simplistic and offensive portrayal of a real group of people that live in the world today was OK. And some dude said “yeah it tests well with our core US demographics – so I think that we just lean into perpetuating racist stereotypes.”
I don’t have a major issue with cultural appropriation and low-key racist stereotypes in the Star Wars Universe – but why the f@*% couldn’t they just add something original or some fun dialogue? It is just lazy writing.
And why the shout out to Dune? Is it an unsubtle wink to the Dune guys they bummed into who were also filming in Wadi Rum? Does it add anything?
I enjoyed the original tril. of SW and watched some episodes of Droids on Sat. morning television as a kid. Though not deeply invested in the “franchise” The Mandalorian was thoroughly enjoyable in an episodic “adventure of the week” way.
A tight script with a clever, likeable, mysterious character. The episodes were simplistically childish – but enjoyable.
Compare to Book of Boba Fett: cheesy script: “I will rule with compassion”. Unlikeable premise: who wants to root for a self-professed crime lord? Dumb protagonist: an elite bounty hunter – supposedly in a hive of villainy – that strolls through the city without a helmet on. Idiotic characters: master assassin – ready to die at the hands of a blade – spills the beans when a gate opens (no Rankor).
I haven’t read nearly enough of the legends material to be bored by a repackaging of any of those stories. I fact I only read Star Wars fiction set before the Phantom Menace. I really prefer the Old Republic era, it’s a more interesting setting to me.
I know zilch of the wider non-cinematic SW lore essentially. Well, actually- that’s not true. I’ve also played some of the SW games, but I imagine they’re non canon and even if they were, to be set in different time periods than this one anyways.
Already though I was irked by this shift in focus and direction from The Mandalorian. So I’m sure that predisposed me, at least a little, to have a dimmer view of this one. Still- I’ve had a year or so to get over that and refocus on the excitement of, hopefully, more good SW-set content. I think therefore that initial disappointment impact has been minimised.
And aye, after the first two episodes — I’m not a huge fan. Like yourself and others have noted, it isn’t enough to turn me away from finishing the season, yet. Perhaps things will pick up. But I’m not especially enjoying it just yet.
I was excited for the series from its trailers, but after these 2 episodes it’s abated somewhat. I’m still enjoying it and plan to continue watching it, but … something feels just off somehow to me. could be what you said, that the escape from the sarlacc and his time with the Tuskens is known to me, so I kinda just want the “present day” stuff that’s concurrent with the Mandalorian and not so much flashback time, but…. I don’t think that’s quite it either, as I’m also enjoying the flashback scenes well enough.
it’s just not “gelling” for me, I guess.
We watched the first two episodes together last night and, I must admit, it did make me question whether or not I cared all that much about Boba Fett. I know they have to lay some groundwork and catch some people up on who Boba Fett is, but it was still not very interesting. Good production values and a clear attempt by Favreau and crew to capture that Mado lightning in a bottle again with story and pacing. It just lacked any real spark for me.
But there are five more episodes to go and maybe it will pick up once we get past the obligatory flashback origin story part of the series.
I found your perspective very interesting because I am not well versed in the wider and now, non-canonical Star Wars Universe, so many of the beats and themes that are currently being trodden are not known to me.
I simply come as this as a film fan. The original Star Wars movie heavily drew upon classic films, especially the work of Akira Kurosawa. What I like about The Mandalorian was that this trend was maintained. There were sequences straight out of John Wood Hard Boiled and again lots of nods to Kurosawa, especially Yojimbo.
The Book of Boba Fett is currently channelling a hell of a lot from A Man Called Horse and in episode 2, even went so far as to recreate an entire set pieces from Lawrence of Arabia.
I really like this approach because it shows a degree of cinematic literacy and because I know this will all be discussed by Star Wars fans and if it encourages them to watch films and content that they usually wouldn’t, then so much the better.
Wow, yeah it’s interesting how this perspective can influence your enjoyment.
I had almost the opposite approach. I reverted everything I knew about the character to just what we’ve seen in the movies and shows.
And to me, it’s been amazing so far. 10/10 first episode and 9/10 second episode. Only lowering the score for that for having a bit too many western tropes that we’ve seen a dozen times already.
My one criticism is one that you mentioned as well. We have no hook, no goal to root towards. Boba is trying to become a crime lord, but why? We don’t know. This is definitely not Breaking Bad levels of writing.
But I’m totally into it so far.