Boba Fett has always been a curiosity in Star Wars fandom. Even before his origin story was canonized in the Prequel Trilogy, he was a staple of the Expanded Universe of novels and comic books, which helped elevate his status from one-off C-tier villain to one of the more popular characters in the franchise. Simply in terms of the primary Star Wars canon (film and TV), Boba Fett was almost a non-entity. He was a rando Bounty Hunter that serviced the plot of Empire Strikes Back. Someone had to capture Han, so this off-brand-looking Stormtrooper guy was chosen. He was quickly and unceremoniously dispatched in the opening of Return of the Jedi, as his life seemingly ended inside the Sarlacc Pit (complete with cartoonish “burp”). That should have been the end of things, but then came the many many books. By the time of the Prequels, the character was so iconic Lucas built the entire Clone Army around him (via his father, Jango). Still, though, Boba himself did not seem to have a future in the “future” movies or shows.
Then came Mando.
Mandalorian, being a show about a character who looks very much like Boba, revived the interest and desire from Star Wars fans to see the OG character return. When he finally did, in Mando’s second season, the reaction was positive. Good thing too, as Disney had already put in motion plans for a mini-series starring the character. Now that series has finished its first (only?) season. Was it worth it?
That’s a funny question, isn’t it? Was Boba Fett worth it? Worth what? Was it worth the money Disney spent to develop it? Probably. Star Wars fans are so desperate for content (despite having been given more in the past seven years than in the previous twenty), and Boba Fett remains such a beloved character that it would have been hard to screw up the show enough to turn fans away. Was it worth the five hours or so that those fans devoted to the show? Setting aside the segment of Star Wars fans that will literally watch anything set in the universe, regardless of quality, was the show worth the time it took to digest it?
I don’t think so, but that’s not to say I hated the experience.
I think there were strong moments to be found throughout, though most of those featured characters more associated with the Mandalorian show than here. There was also an awful lot of padding for a show that only had seven episodes to get through. I wonder if a 2.5-hour film, or even a pair of two-hour movies, wouldn’t have been a better use of the character. As it was, there was not a lot of story stretched over what ended up being too much runtime.
One major issue I have with the series is that it never felt like it wanted to be a Boba Fett story. On the one hand, there’s the story idea that the show seemed to want viewers to appreciate without that story ever being told: Fett was a ruthless bounty hunter who got a second chance at life and decided to inherit Jabba’s control over Tatooine in order to rule the land with more of a benevolent hand. I get that, and I think there’s the potential for a good redemption story there, one that features a formerly-evil character going straight and being forced to deal with the more crooked ghosts of his past. The trouble is, the show never tells that story. It keeps that in the background while telling a different, far more boring, story about spice running and feuding crime lords. The most we got from “what could have been” was the late usage of Cad Bane, which was the second most excitable the show ever got. The first most, of course, occurred during the two-episode detour to the world of Mandalorian season 2.5. Speaking of…
The ultimate problem I have with the series is how utterly inconsequential it felt, both during its run and immediately after it ended. For the first four episodes, the story was so dry and lifeless, I nearly gave up on it. Remember the first act of A New Hope, which was mostly set on Tatooine? Remember how slow and plot-heavy it all is and how it suddenly picks up in energy and excitement as soon as they hit the Death Star? Imagine a whole show that’s just the first act of A New Hope. That’s how things felt until, suddenly boom, we’re leaving Boba Fett behind and following Mando around, catching up with Ahsoka, seeing Luke and Grogu, and sowing the seeds for the next Mandalorian season. That stuff was great, but it only served to remind the viewer how un-great the actual A-plot of the series was. There’s also the fact that the premise of the show doesn’t match the story: Boba Fett isn’t a crime boss. He keeps calling himself one, but he doesn’t act like one. He’s basically a glorified sheriff, akin to the Cobb Vanth who, based on the end-credits scene, is still alive and mending. Very likely he will take over as the new “not crime” boss of the area and free up Boba to join Mando in Mandalorian season three. If that happens it will make this show something like the TV series equivalent of a meeting that could have been an email.
I sound extremely negative toward The Book of Boba Fett, but I’m not. I wasn’t consistently entertained by it apart from the two episodes that had little to nothing to do with the show itself. Everything in episodes five and six was wonderful. I would love an entire show built around Luke and his burgeoning Jedi Academy. I already love the show built around the Mandalorian. I might have loved an entire show built around a Boba Fett redemption story.
I was only sort of lukewarm on the show built around Boba Fett toiling away as a crime boss who is averse to crime.
7/10 – Book of Boba Fett was…fine. At its best, it gave me two episodes that teased the next Mandalorian season. At its worst, it was an unoffensive bore.
