The Book of Boba Fett is a Disney+ show set within the galaxy of Star Wars, and a spin-off of the hit show The Mandalorian. It starts Temuera Morrison as the titular ex-bounty hunter, and he is joined by Ming-Na Wen as master assassin, Fennec Shand. The story follows his recovery after falling into the Sarlacc pit, and return to Jabba the Hut's palace to assume the role of the leader of Tatooine's underworld.
It's been covered in nearly all reviews but The Book of Boba Fett is a... strange show. It felt like the creators started developing the plot, realised Boba worked better as a mysterious supporting antagonist and that The Mandalorian had already excelled at the masked bounty hunter story, and then decided- fuck it we're going to make a follow up to The Mandalorian but just not call it Season 3.
And as a cameo-packed, emotional follow up to that show, it has been incredibly exciting to see. As an actual self-contained, cohesive story... maybe not so good. (This is a weakness that touches the Marvel Disney+ shows as well).
Since this is a structural mess of a show, I am going to follow in its footsteps and make a mess of a review, splitting it into the segments of the show that are essentially B-M (Before-Mando) and A-M (After-Mando).
[This review will contain spoilers]
Skip to:
Episode 1-4 (Before-Mando) A.K.A The Boba in a Bacta Tank Episodes
In my opinion, Star Wars doesn’t work when it’s self-serious or too deadpan for long periods of time - as seen in the humourless Jedi chamber and political scenes in the prequels. This galaxy is full of lovable rogues, swashbuckling heroes and cute droids, contrasted by the more serious characters, like its iconic villains. That’s why Din Djarin's gravitas and Baby Yoda’s adorableness work so well together. It’s all about balance as Master Yoda would say.
TBoBF is a show about a lot of grim-faced people having conversations about... things? Tatooine? Water merchants? Jabba? Honour? Power? Sand? The core of it is that Boba wants to be the boss but also be an honourable person. There's some attempt to expand on this arc and to be fair they were halfway there when he started to bond with the indigenous Sand-people, but it never really felt fleshed out or emotional. It lacks any kind of specificity or pay off nor does it move the story forward. Really, it feels like The Mandalorian covered the 'redemption' of the Sand people so much better and so much more efficiently.
The conversations themselves are largely dull and expository. Dialogue was never the strongest point of The Mandalorian (or indeed Star Wars in general?) but much of the humour, character building and emotion was done wordlessly and so the charm was always there.
By making Boba more human it makes his character more generic. Perhaps highlighting his humanity and contrasting it with his more brutal, cold side as seen in The Empire Strikes Back might have made him stand out from other Mandolorians. In all honesty, I never felt like Boba was any cooler than he was in The Mandalorian Season 2's 'The Tragedy'. Again, there is an attempt to make him vaguely stoic and morally murky but to be honest Star Wars: Visions explored the idea of moral ambiguity far more powerfully in some of its episodes.
The structure of each episode is quite poor too; lots of shows use flashbacks really effectively but TBoBF could have done with utilising them more sparingly. I grew to dread the bacta tank because the story we got there was easily filled in with our imaginations and took away time from moving the plot forward in the present. The lacklustre script was not enhanced by the directing which often comes across as quite plodding and lifeless. Action, humour and character work lacked a spark and therefore feel like they exist to get things from A to B rather than enjoying the (bantha) ride. Staying on one planet really undermines the scope of the story as well.
Overall, the idea of power dynamics within a criminal enterprise is a good one but one that would work better as a secondary presence perhaps. For example, if characters from other shows encounter Boba’s palace and he’s an antagonistic presence in their show. Both Fennec and Boba seem better suited as strong supporting players, and indeed that's what they're relegated to for the rest of the show...
Episode 5 (After-Mando) - A.K.A The Surprise Mandalorian Season 3 Episode
And then we come to episode 5 onwards.
In some ways, it would be more appropriate to write an entirely separate review for the next two episodes because they function as an entirely separate show called Star Wars Saga or The Mandalorian 2.5. From a structural point of view, this is a baffling decision that really only highlights the weaknesses of the original concept. It means that when we return to the original plot, it feels even more mediocre... BUT it also gives us some of the most badass, emotional and charming Star Wars in a long time. Bearing in mind the more anthology approach of Filoni's animated shows makes it make a bit more sense but it's still an odd melding of stories.
Having said that, as someone who counts The Mandalorian as her favourite Star Wars property, returning to Din Djarin’s story just served to remind me how much I loved it. Of course that comes down to two whole seasons of prior growth and development but there’s something about the character and his bond with Grogu that, despite any external Star Wars gimmicks, has always been so pure and incredibly captivating.
This episode begins with a fantastic (dare I say iconic) opening sequence showing Din on a bounty mission, then being challenged by a Vizsla for the right to wield the darksaber before swinging by a visit to Peli Motto for a light-hearted, ship-building montage. What more do you want, people? I do think the ship-building montage was a little longer than necessary but once Mando gets flying, it’s so thrillingly crafted that it ends up being exactly what the show needed. A light-hearted delight that breaks free of the dour conversations of the previous four episodes.
The references to the prequels were cool to see, though I don't really have much nostalgia for those stories. What was a really unexpected surprise- and one that I doubt was on anyone's bingo card- was the appearance of BD-1. As someone currently playing Jedi: Fallen Order for the first time, I was over the moon to see one of the best droid companions ever (and could completely see him being an addition to the Mando/Grogu crew- just imagine the merchandising opportunities alone!).
Director Bryce Dallas Howard proves that she's one of the best creatives working behind the scenes at Lucasfilm, along with Rick Fumuyiwa, Rian Johnson and Jon Favreau. The direction for Episode 5 is instantly a step up and not just because of the beautiful locations or camera-work or the return of Ludwig Goransson's brilliant, familiar musical themes. It's the specificity of the character moments. Silent sequences like Din limping to deliver his bounty (enhanced by a long take), unloading all of his weapons before boarding a commercial flight, sadly gazing at a gift for Baby Yoda or giving the side eye to someone on an elevator are brimming with character. It's a feat of performance for sure (Pascal is amazing as ever!) but it's rooted more in how confident the script and directors are in who Mando is.
The same specificity is sorely lacking for Boba Fett, both as his own character and his interactions and relationship with Fennec Shand (who was ironically more interesting in her animated turn in The Bad Batch). That could have been a layered, dark bond between two cold blooded killers but never really amounts to anything really.
There's simply more personality in a Mando head tilt than a whole Boba Fett conversation.
Episode 6 - A.K.A The Deepfake Luke Episode
This episode continues the core of Din and Grogu’s journey and the decision not to reunite them straightaway was beautifully bittersweet. It’s so heart-wrenching seeing the two missing each other, and is such a genuinely compelling, warm, beautiful relationship that any story outside of that just seems… unnecessary.
We also get an obligatory check in on Tatooine, where things finally begin to get moving. I do feel like Timothy Olyphant's cameo as Cobb Vanth would have been better served earlier in the series, perhaps having him play off Boba Fett himself to contrast their approaches to justice and law on Tatooine. The same goes for Cad Bane whose entrance was super exciting to see (though I do low-key prefer the music sting that accompanies him in The Bad Batch, even if the slow walk up in TBoBF was so atmospheric). Both of them felt like cameos that would have integrated better within Boba Fett’s half of… his own show. It would provide some interesting interactions with Boba outside of mayor character or speeder youths or... random water merchant? Just to be clear I did really love Cobb/Cad, but I think we would have got more out of it if integrated earlier in the story.
It’s really hard to judge these two episodes because you have to choose how you judge it by. If it’s by Boba Fett, then they’re bizarre interludes and interruptions within his own story though they do revitalise a dead first half.
If it’s by Din Djarin, then his emotional journey has continued in an incredibly satisfying emotional, beautifully-directed and compelling way. It’s incredible to see such a new character so immediately embraced by everyone, and its a credit to Pedro Pascal's performance and the writing that he's such an instantly iconic character. In this article by Den of Geek, they explain why Mando's combination of traits - a rogue with a heart of gold, mystery and even slight mysticism- makes him the quintessential Star Wars character and these past couple of episodes makes it hard to disagree.
I still maintain that for all the faults of the Favreau/Filoni era, it is an incredible achievement that they have created a story where the beating heart of it is the bond between two completely new characters, even when they're sharing screen-time with fan favourites like Ashoka Tano, Boba Fett and CGI Luke Skywalker.
Episode 7 - A.K.A The Boba On a Rancor Episode
Episode 7, the finale, was nearly exactly what I expected it to be - an extended shoot-out action sequence that shows Boba and his allies square off against the Pykes. It's all done reasonably well- seeing Din and Boba work together is definitely the highlight of the episode. However, a mixture of Robert Rodriguez' directing and a lack of emotional investment in why Boba should win (other than PYKES BAD) means that it's hard to really care about who wins Tatooine. In fact, it's Din Djarin whose motivations for staying on Tatootine- because of his Creed- that rings the truest. Fennec meanwhile has never been much more than a vessel for exposition and occasional badass-ery which is a shame because I love Ming-Na Wen's previous turn as a silent, deadly warrior in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD where she got a lot more depth as a character.
And adding to that, it's Din who has the emotional highlight of the episode with his reunion with Grogu (love that Luke just sent this precious child off alone to Tatooine by the way) and charming ending sequence in his new ship. Looking at the series as a whole, it's hard to deny that Din and Grogu's story would have worked better in their own show but what we got was so great that it feels rather negative to complain about this. Suffice to say, I am beyond excited for season 3 of the Mandalorian.
As for the rest, let's just say I hope that the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show doesn't dwell too much on the sands of Tatooine.
Overall, I think you can acknowledge the flaws of the Disney+ era of Star Wars story-telling while still being able to be excited about the genuinely great stuff. Sure, this show may be an experiment that didn't quite structurally work but we still got a continuation of Mando and Grogu's story, and that's done so well I'm happy to let go of the odd decisions in structure, slightly overstuffed cameos or worrying obsession with nostalgia (even if the CGI for it was astounding!). Because it also gave us incredible moments like Mando emerging as a silhouette from behind curtains, a continuation of the darksaber storyline, Din's heart-breaking choice to leave Grogu with Luke even though he missed him, Cad Bane's live-action debut and Grogu's adorable attempts at force jumping.
So maybe this was all a way ("this is the way!") for Favreau and Filoni to make The Mandalorian season 3 despite Pedro Pascal being tied up filming The Last of Us or maybe this was actually just the (bizarre) plan all along. At least it's exciting Star Wars- and made me excited to wake up early each morning to experience it.
Thank you for reading this article, it's been an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan, even if the fan discourse is still as frustrating as ever. I think, for me, it's okay to acknowledge the fact that Disney are building an intense IP machine while also being excited to see the stories of your favourite characters continuing and intersecting.
I do not own any of the images used in this post.