'The Book of Boba Fett' Is Pretty Good And I Don't Get The Hate

I really wish I could end this at "The Book of Boba Fett is pretty good" but, it's Star Wars, and as we all know, nothing with Star Wars can ever be simple.

So anyhow, the series finale of 'Boba Fett' just aired and, all in all, I think the series was a ton of fun. It wasn't perfect, it certainly had its flaws, not everything worked, but it was great for fleshing out the character of Boba Fett in the new canon and it's always fun to see the Star Wars Universe in different ways. Let's get right into what worked and what didn't so y'all can get to enjoying some solid Star Wars content.

Minor spoilers in effect; we have to talk about the characters that show up.

Things I Really Enjoyed:

Boba Fett: Obviously, the titular character was going to make or break this show, and Temuera Morrison brings a great threatening, but human, presence to Fett. A lot of people have been crying online about how this "isn't their Boba Fett" but...let's discuss that. Boba, in his original, extended universe incarnation, was a ruthless bounty hunter who showed up for ~5 minutes of screen time between two movies to harass our heroes, got knocked into the Sarlaac pit, and spent the rest of his time in canon doing pretty much the same thing (quite literally at one point, he actually gets knocked into the pit again). Jon Favreau, who at this point should just officially be put in charge of Disney's extended Star Wars universe, elects instead to have Boba go through a personal transformation that turns him into, get this, a CHARACTER. His arc about finding family and fighting for the oppressed plays perfectly well, and allows us to explore so much of Tatooine that we haven't seen before, especially the culture of the previously vilified Tuskens. Morrison brings great physicality to the role, and doesn't allow Fett's newfound heart to stop him from being an immensely intimidating presence when it's required, and this more well-rounded version of Fett is a breath of fresh air from the man who simply wanted to kill Han Solo.

The Supporting Cast: Everyone around Morrison is doing an excellent job as well. Ming-Na Wen is consistently badass as master assassin Fennec Shand, our new Wookie, Krrsantan, is a lot of fun (and a great reminder of the fact that Wookie's can be terrifying), and Matt Berry is hilarious as Fett's droid assistant. I'm also going to go ahead and say it: The Mods, the vibrant speed bike gang who wear obnoxious clothing and replace bits of themselves with droid parts, didn't bother me one bit. Yes, their bikes looked kinda silly, and yes their outfits were horrendously over the top, but the idea that there is a counter culture youth movement on Tatooine that deviates from Star Wars' social norms actually makes sense to me, and it was a fun look at what "alternative" lifestyles are like in a universe that we're so used to seeing portrayed in only one way.

As for the spoiler characters: Din Djarin, aka The Mandalorian, is...himself. He's great, he's always great, and the episodes where he takes center stage are, unfortunately for Fett, some of the best in the season. Likewise, Grogu makes a welcome, adorable return and shows actual growth, something I was worried we wouldn't get to see. Cobb Vanth, played by Timothy Olyphant, continues to be Marshall Raylan Givens, but in space, which is not something I'm ever going to dislike. We also get a surprise, live action appearance of popular Clone Wars character Cad Bane, brought to life via some excellent prosthetic work, who is portrayed with appropriate menace and makes a great final opponent for Fett, given their history. Who really stole the show for me, however, was Luke Skywalker. Brought back through a physical actor and some surprisingly excellent CGI, this Luke is the Luke I didn't realize I needed to see so badly until I was watching it. Seeing a solid twenty minutes of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker instructing a youngling was just...

It is unfortunate that we spend two episodes of Boba Fett's show following character's who aren't Boba Fett, but at the end of the day I can't really stay mad at it because it was such high quality Star Wars content.

The Plot/Setting: While it can be somewhat confusing to follow the plot of the first few episodes as it shifts back and forth between the modern story of Fett setting himself up as a powerful figure on Tatooine, and the backstory of how he got here after Return of the Jedi, I found both to be incredibly engaging. The story of Fett's escape from the pit and subsequent rise to power is a lot of fun to see, and the aftermath of his war with the syndicate leaves a lot of room for new conflicts. The exploration of local tribes on Tatooine, social life in the cities, and the crime syndicates exploiting the planet make for a lot of great world-building, and help to flesh out a planet that, for all of its major happenings, we really didn't know that much about up until now. While it does feel strange that the plot comes to a halt after episode 5 so that we can have two episodes of what is essentially The Mandalorian: Season 2.5, like I said above I'm not really mad about it. There's plenty of time to see more Boba Fett, don't worry everyone.

The Action: Man, we got so much good Star Wars action in this show. Aside from one pretty mediocre speeder bike chase in the third episode, we have roof jumping assassins, Mandalorians taking on small armies, a thrilling train heist, a couple badass Wookie fights, and a few scenes that I wouldn't dare spoil.

Now to round this list out, I'd like to discuss a few of the shows flaws, while also addressing complaints from audience members that I don't really understand. Let's start with...

The Flaws:

- Some of the action beats in the show play a little slow/clunky (mostly in the third episode).

- The exploration of Boba Fett's character does get lost a bit with the aforementioned two-episode deviation. As much as I look forward to seeing more of him, I wish he had more consistently been the star of this first season, especially with how commanding Morrison makes his presence feel.

- Some of the fan servicey stuff does start to feel like a bit much, even if I was enjoying myself. I think new Star Wars has a tendency to feel more like the creators trying to give us what they think we want to see instead of focusing on making everything their own, if that makes sense. That said, I was very pleased when they made an insanely obscure old battle droid canon, that was a lot of fun for me.

And moving right along...

The "Star Wars Fan" Stuff That we Always Have to Talk About Because This Fandom is Downright F%$@ing Insane:

- The Mods were fine, I'm not really sure what everyone dislikes so much about this group. Literally the only difference between them and any other minor characters in Star Wars is the fact that their clothes and bikes are vibrant colors as opposed to desaturated tones, and they clearly think they're super cool. I found their goofiness endearing and their presence harmless. This shows haters really need to move past this, they're barely even in it.

- "This isn't my Boba Fett" Your Boba Fett got hit with a stick and supposedly died in Return of the Jedi so how about you take a seat.

- "Boba Fett is too soft in this show" I mean, a) literally the first thing he does when he gets his ship back is ruthlessly murder the biker gang that he thinks killed the Tuskens and b) the whole point of this show is Fett moving away from his old life of just being a killer. Only a fandom as narrow minded as this one could confuse character growth for character assassination...again.

- "Cad Bane doesn't look like he did in The Clone Wars" Well I would hope not considering a) that was a stylized animation and b) The Clone Wars took place roughly 30 years before this show.

- "The dialogue wasn't very good" Ok first of all I'm not sure where this is coming from, but also I dare you to go back and watch every other piece of Star Wars media and tell me the dialogue in this show is any worse than any other Star Wars movie. The way Star Wars fans put all of the new media under a microscope and critique it in a vacuum in which the other media (ESPECIALLY the prequels) doesn't exist is truly baffling to me.

So yeah, I think that'll about do it. Overall, a good time. We get to explore some cool characters, get to see more of life on Tatooine, we get a nice setup for Mandalorian season 3, and it's all good fun.

3.5/5, a perfectly good Star War.