In Retrospect: The Book Of Boba Fett

I was debating on watching Boba or Visions, but I feel Boba has much more to discuss and this is penance for no May 4th stuff.

It's always important to rewatch stuff some time after, especially if you've had some notes on certain things. Thankfully the problems I had were very minimal, and more touched on the overarching television series "universe" if you will but all in all it's still pretty good. I still say the best parts for me was getting more Tusken culture in this, I found that section of the show some of the most interesting and engaging storytelling in Star Wars. I'll bring another point up near the end about this period but let's move on. Seeing Boba lay the foundations for his status as Daimyo of Mos Espa was interesting, again kinda what I gathered from the trailers that this was almost a crime drama set in Star Wars and I did notice some Godfather elements for sure. I think that's the part people kinda missed about this show is it's called The Book Of Boba Fett, and this is just chapter one I feel people look at this as only a one season show and there isn't any continuation. I feel there is plenty more ground this show can cover and will gladly settle in for a 2 to 3 year long wait for it to return. I mean Dave and Jon have so many plates spinning and I know I went on a tangent about the live action shows intersecting, but I also understood the reasoning behind it. The Mandalorian spearheaded this era, it's a flagship for all future series to travel in it's wake. I don't have a serious issue with Din having essentially an episode and a half just to catch us up on what's been going on. After all, Boba had many moments to himself in season 2 of Mando and it wouldn't surprise me if they balanced it out and gave us a whole episode of just Boba and Fennec in season 3, before going to Mandalore with daddy Mando and little Grogu. I took some grievance with Master Luke also being in this show, but let that not fool you I still loved it and while some may say it isn't entirely pivotal for this show I also couldn't agree to leaving it out because it does do some groundwork for what we'll see next. Hell it sets up a teeny bit of the Ahsoka series, and while we're on that subject just the tiniest little interaction with Ahsoka and Luke was nothing short of mindblowing, and that line man...it cut me deep. Regardless of whether or not something is succesful in terms of Star Wars it's never a waste or superflous, they give new material to expand on and tell more stories. There's always something new. For example, I knew from years of being too nerdy for my own good that Tatooine was once a water planet and you see that in this show during the Tusken portions and that is something I guarantee not everyone who has watched Star Wars knows. So adding things like Ahsoka, Cad Bane, friggin' jedi swordmaster Cin Drallig, among others is great for us old fans who have read the books, played the games, went the distance, it rewards us for knowing so much. Yet it works for new fans as well, because it introduces these new things and garners intrigue. So even if someone was like "Oh the Book Of Boba Fett was a giant pile of nothing, it just seemed like an unnecessary spinoff of Mandalorian" it still does something for this universe and these characters we've seen for some time. It progresses elements and shows something we haven't truly seen before. So I can truthfully let go of the small complaints, it's just entertainment at the end of the day and if we keep getting awesome moments and interesting stories, I just can't ask for more. They did such a good job, even with similar directors this felt like a different show doing it's own thing. Outstanding applause worthy usage of practical effects along with CG which dat look gud! The cast slips effortlessly into the parts, Temuera feels like he just got done filming Attack Of The Clones he just embodies that character, Ming-Na Wen good lord do not get me started I have a century to shout praises of this woman she is a queen, some people would say the Mods are not important characters and are there to make the plot progress but that's not to say the performances are at all forced. It just works in all aspects, nothing feels slapdash or forced, I don't have bewildering questions, I just can enjoy the ride. Not all things in this wonderful galaxy have to be the next groundbreaking peak level of Star Wars goodness. It's very good, the score I'd say remains an 8/10 but it sure is a stalwart strong 8/10. For sure worth a rewatch and discussion. And here we go for the end, what did I think of Kenobi? Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

The Book Of Boba Fett: Season 1

Here at last.

I actually have a fair bit to unpack here and not all of it is friendly but I do bring tidings of good news along with it. The Book Of Boba Fett is a solid series, when I saw the first bits of footage of it I immediately thought, crime drama in space, it had a sort of Godfather-esque tinge to it's Star Wars goodness so it had my attention. I really like how the story unfolds picking up not long after the stinger from season 2 of The Mandalorian with Boba and Fennec Shand slowly setting up their criminal empire from Jabba's stronghold, mixed with a compelling and awesome story of how Boba escaped the Sarlaac and gained the trust of a Tusken tribe. That is really damn good stuff, just seeing him learn their traditions and aiding them to where he's kind of a merit adoptive to their people could be a series all of it's own. And when we get to seeing him build his operations, recruit muscle and followers, even though it's more talky than actiony it never got boring because I was interested where the story was going and how it would end. And all the additions both new and recurring to give us fans that wow factor certainly don't hurt the score by any stretch and it was a marvel to behold at times. It's a show made with the same level of love and appreciation as The Mandalorian, and one I will patiently wait for a continuation. Now here's where I start burning bridges. I knew, for a fact beyond any unreasonable doubt, that people were going to shit on this show. I saw it in my mind's eye so clearly that even Master Yoda would commend my vision. Because it's not as amazing or jaw dropping as The Mandalorian even though they are two seperate shows with two seperate agendas, I knew reviewers were going to flood the YouTubes with titles such as, "Was The Book Of Boba Fett A FAILURE??" and I'm already seeing it saying the show is broken, bland, and boring. Get f***ed and f*** off my lawn. Because if it's not great, amazing, spectacular, showstopping, that means it's garbage right? That's how it goes these days and I am officially tired of it. And I will go one step even further beyond and say I have a bone to pick with The Mandalorian, now don't get me wrong my reviews and ratings still stand as the truth. I love that show, however I do not like how it kinda went back on it's sort of main story point. When The Mandalorian was gearing up the creators stated that it would be a Star Wars story from the street level, no galactic politics, no Jedi, no giant space battles, just a story about a simple man making his way through the galaxy. Which is what it did....at first. When we see Moff Gideon with the Darksaber that was the beginning of the end, and now it's gotten too big. Now do I have faith in Jon and Dave as to why they are introducing these big names for hardcore Star Wars fans? Yes I do. Do I understand The Mandalorian is the flagship show that opens the doors to all other shows in it's wake? Absolutely. But people are getting the wrong impression and standard with Boba Fett, they expect it to be a larger scale show with just as much Star Wars fan highlights as Mando's show, when in actuality it gets back to street level Star Wars but still dips it's toes into the large scale stuff. But I feel it's more reserved here and is more or less for the purposes of setting up season 3 of Mando, and I even understand why they wrote it the way they did. I do not have a problem with it. I do still however have problems with the fan community, and I will fully voice my thoughts on that at another point in time. Bottom line, it's a fine show. The story works and is interesting to watch, the effects are still on top form, the cast is excellent with love abound for the king Temuera and Ming-Na Wen the stunning queen, the fanservice is appreciated and gets me excited for future projects, and I do strongly recommend this show. I give it 3 stars, 8/10, and May needs to hurry the hell up.