The Book of Boba Fett

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Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 30th 2021 at 10:18:15 AM

If not for his newly-gained guards, Boba and Fennec would have probably been knocked out by their assailants - it's the Gamorreans' breaking up of the barrier that gave them some space to breathe.

Yep. They would have likely done pretty well for themselves if it weren't for the shields; Fennec nearly made it over but the shields were too tall. And Boba did get knocked around pretty well, which I chalk down to him still not really being at 100 percent.

It's nice to see the Gammoreans get ANY respect in this. I'm still upset I can't play a Gammorean (Or Jawa. Or Tusken Raider.) in SWTOR.

Oh yeah I appreciated that too!

My thoughts:

It was pretty solid. Having said that, it didn't quite hook me in the way The Mandalorian did. This could be for any number of reasons, but I think it goes down to "no twist or compelling plot hook" like there was with Din and Grogu. Din may have also spoiled me somewhat, he managed to outshine Boba for me.

Having said that, I'm pretty satisfied with the show so far anyways. We get to see Boba do Boba things. And the idea of him trying to be a somewhat more benevolent ruler than Jabba is fun to see.

If I were to make a minor gripe, I'd probably argue they might want to explain why he's trying to be kinder figure. Like, did he always think Jabba was a bit too cruel, or did something happen which convinced him to be nicer? I suppose it's likely the former, and is probably some kind of Pragmatic Villainy. For example, those bodyguards he spared, they were a big help.

From the looks of it maybe his newfound kindness was the result of staying with the Raiders which would be pretty ironic since they first enslaved.

For now my question is: what’s his motive? Why does he want to take over Jabba’s old gang? Is he going to improve his territory in some manner? Did he always want to take over Jabba’s turf? Previously he seemed happy just taking contract jobs and going from mission to mission. Won’t having to rule on a throne mean less time for fun travels?

Okay that’s actually a lot of questions, but they all come down to the same central one: Why does it matter that he’s in charge now? The Mandalorian had a very immediate hook of a bounty hunter having to keep a child safe. Here I don’t get why we should root for or against Boba’s takeover. In The Clone Wars he was sympathetic when he had a very clear motive of wanting to avenge his father, but here what he wants and needs is very vague thus far.

Edited by Tuckerscreator on Dec 31st 2021 at 1:07:30 AM

I also wonder what the remaining Hutts feel about this.

I agree that it's still very vague as to why he's even doing any of this. Din was bounty hunting because that was his job, then he took over as Grogu's guardian for both personal and cultural reasons.

Fett just seems to have decided that he wants to be a crime lord now,because... Erm... Actually, why?!

There was an opening and thought it looked promising after a rather rough ending to the bounty hunting thing and recovery?

Possible. But we don't actually know. Which is why this didn't hook me straight away. There are so many different possible reasons and motives that I have no idea why I'm supposed to be invested.

Yeah, right now the show assumes a pre-existing investment in Fett. It's not trying to sell the audience on who he is or why he's doing this, because it assumes anyone watching this show is already a diehard Boba Fett fan that just wants to see Boba Fett do Boba Fett things.

So it kicks off like the setting, goals, and characterization have already been established in previous "seasons", so to speak.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 31st 2021 at 1:46:13 AM

There is a moment where where he sees a street gang mugging poor farmers for water while he's forced to dig for the Tusken Raiders.

I think it's a combination of things, namely that Boba Fett was there when Jabba flaunts his intimidation against Luke... and promptly got himself and much of his organization killed during the battle of the Pit of Carkoon. And it's a certainty that he got wind of the Empire also collapsing by those same Rebels. And consider that Fett himself was nearly digested painfully alive by a monster when he attempted to stop those Rebels, he would rethink about his employment to these masters.

Combine with the fact that Tatooine descended into lawlessness after the death of Jabba, I wouldn't be surprised if Fett concluded that the whole "Doctrine of Fear" was BS since it didn't stop those Rebels from destroying Jabba's regime and offered no securing legacy in the event of the ruler's death. He still might have been pissed at Jabba for not accepting Luke's deal since otherwise he wouldn't go through that hell that is the Sarlacc pit.

Edited by Shadao on Dec 31st 2021 at 1:55:53 AM

I mean, I like the show enough to stick around and watching Boba Fett doing Boba Fett things IS actually pretty cool. But The Mandalorian (both the character and the show) made me care about Din as a person but I watched this thinking it had cool scenes and that's about it.

Edited by jakobitis on Dec 31st 2021 at 1:58:34 AM

Yeah, my only complaint about this is that it's... jarring to see Boba with this particular personality right away without much delving into why he suddenly has this personality. I'd have preferred the first episode's flashback arc be about actions during Clone and Civil Wars that shaped him and kept the flashback of how specifically he survived the Sarlacc to a later episode.

Boba as an honorable warrior who wants to rule with honor is frankly a new take for him. He had a phase in which he wanted to be a man of honor as a kid in TCW, but in the interim - including the media that the audience is most likely to know him from, the OT - he instead lost that ideal and beacme a vicious bounty hunter with no qualms about working for space fascists and murderous insane mob lords.

He's different now, jarringly so. Which isn't in itself a problem, but it feels like something the show should've established first. It does feel like the show expects you to have come solely and directly from The Mandalorian and thought "he's Din Djarin's ally, he's a good guy mercenary" without having seen him in much else.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Dec 31st 2021 at 2:18:44 AM

Well, he wants to rule a crime syndicate, so he's not really completely changed from OT. And I always got the impression even back in The Mandalorian that Boba's near death experience with the Sarlacc made him rethink about his life, especially since based on the timeline, he had years to find his armor and get off of this wretched planet yet chooses not to until Mando shows up.

Edited by Shadao on Dec 31st 2021 at 2:26:02 AM

I figure the show is doing the Arrow thing, where the flashbacks will show why he is the way he is in the present day scenes.

I doubt they care that much given Jabba had been dead for years and they did nothing to stop Bib Fortuna when he took over.

Probably. The hook is what he's doing, and there will be flashbacks across the season showing why he's doing it. It's just that what he's doing is a little confusing without understanding the why in advance, so it feels very much like coming in halfway through the season. End result is confusion rather than intrigue.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 31st 2021 at 2:46:55 AM

Even if you JUST take his latest appearance in the Mandalorian, it's still not a particularly smooth transition. He got his armour back and his own personal honour code then lead him to helping out Din... And then he's suddenly jetting off to take over as a crime lord, when he's never shown that kind of ambition before.

He's gone from "a simple man making his way in the galaxy" to deciding to be a player in a much bigger game with little reason given and its pretty jarring.

It's possible that we'll find out more and it will make more sense as time goes by but as it stands it's somewhat confusing to me.

Or basically, this. .

Edited by jakobitis on Dec 31st 2021 at 2:52:35 AM

Yeah, Boba still wants to rule a crime syndicate that is willing to kill people if it gets the message across and do a ton of other illicit things, but he's also making sure to do it in a way that won't make them the way Jabba was, a pack of scheming backstabbers. He's essentially making his own version of the Zann Consortium.

One of the trailers showed him observing Jabba's Palace while still wearing his Tusken clothes - I assume we're gona find out what motivated him to take over.

It's kinda weird that after one episode which made heavy use of flashbacks people immediately assume we're not gonna get any explanation for Boba's motivation etc. ^note  Though it's still less odd than the people who immediately declared this episode filler for some reason.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Dec 31st 2021 at 1:05:06 PM

I just think it’s better storytelling if that motive is clear from the start, rather than teased all throughout and not answering “why” until the end.

On another note it was amusing recognizing Boston Dynamics robots in Mos Espa. We’ve reached the point where we can have actual droid actors in Star Wars.

Edited by Tuckerscreator on Dec 31st 2021 at 4:21:37 AM