Summary: Flashbacks show Boba Fett escape the Sarlacc and have his armour taken by Jawas. The Tusken Raiders find and capture him, making him a prisoner. Boba tries to escape but fails. He's sent to get water with another prisoner, a Rodian. The Rodian digs up a creature that kills him, but Boba kills the creature. As a reward, Boba is given water from the Tusken Raiders. In the present, Boba holds court in Tatooine. After holding court, Boba goes to Mos Espa to meet with Garsa, a key business associate. Boba collects money from her, but he is attacked in the streets and the money is taken. Boba is hurt but Fennec captures a prisoner.
The Good: I was surprised by the opening sequence of this show. When I think of "Star Wars", I never think of stylistic, slow paced sequences without dialogue, yet that's what this episode starts with. I applaud the ambition shown by the creators of the show, and I think it worked spectacularly well. Going into this show, I wasn't very interested at all, but this patient and interesting sequence filled with heart immediately hooked me in. The directing, cinematography, visual effects, and editing is all great, and it elevates these opening scenes especially. This show has a big obstacle to overcome going into it: I don't think of Boba as a particularly compelling character going into this series, so this show has to make Boba likeable to me. Luckily for the show, I can't think of a better way to do that than to show us his experiences visually through flashbacks while we see him make decisions as a leader in the present. It's a format similar to "Lost" that is really effective at connecting us to characters. I'm not fully invested yet, but the potential is definitely there. The court scenes were really interesting. As a fan of "Game of Thrones", especially the books, I'm a big fan of well written political storylines that make a statement on what it means to be a leader in a complex world. So far, this has been shown in a very competent way as we see Boba holding court and making a lot of micro-decisions on his ruling style, ranging from something big like choosing when to kill someone to something small like deciding whether or not he should accept the offer to have his helmet cleaned. I appreciate that every decision is shown to be important in this show, and it illuminates a lot about Boba as a leader. I also like that Boba is immediately tested by the people he is ruling over and immediately faces a problem. It isn't realistic to expect that Boba will be a perfect leader right away, so I'm happy to see that he's immediately attacked, robbed, and humiliated in the streets. With Boba having failed already, we get a good understanding of his struggle, and it's easier to root for him to succeed since we know that he has to learn and overcome his own shortcomings as a crime lord. Lastly, I enjoyed the action in this episode. It's shot well and is very neatly choreographed. The Bad: I'm still not sold on Fennec as a character. She is dreadfully boring. I also feel like the cheesy Disney tone of this show is misplaced. It's strange to hear corny one-liners in what should be a pretty serious political thriller. There were only a couple in this episode, but they bothered me and took me out of the experience when I heard them. As a "Lost" fan, the title of this episode did not please me. The Unknown: Why does Boba need to heal in the bacta pod? What is it for? Who sent the assassins to attack Boba? Was it the mayor? What will the mayor want from Boba? How will Boba change his ruling style in response to this attack? How will he respond to the assassins? Will he attempt to get his money back? How do the weird shells filled with water get buried in the sand? That seems extremely unrealistic and poorly thought out, but perhaps we will be offered an explanation. Best Moment: Not much really stood out, but I'll go with Boba's interactions with the mayor's messenger. Every response was an interesting decision that illuminated more about the character. Character of the Episode: Boba. Conclusion: This was a solid pilot episode that started "The Book of Boba Fett" in all the right ways. I still don't have particularly high expectations for this show, but so far I am enjoying it. Score: 64
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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