Disney+’s The E-book of Boba Fett has been a disappointment to this point. Boba’s journey has proved painfully lengthy and moderately uninteresting with an obscene quantity of display screen time given to Sand Individuals, toothless standoffs, and slow-moving chase sequences that really feel like they have been ripped straight out of Spy Youngsters. Nonetheless, this week’s episode of Boba Fett had the reverse impact and was truly actually good from nearly each notable standpoint.
For the primary time because the present started, we truly had a plot price caring about, some genuinely nice motion price watching, and strong manufacturing values price gawking at. Severely, the visuals on this episode, notably that ring metropolis, have been wondrous to behold and served as a strong reminder as to why we watch Star Wars within the first place: to discover unusual new worlds with cool characters.
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One of many greatest the explanation why the episode was a marked enchancment? Effectively, as a result of it didn’t function Boba Fett. Temuera Morrison’s bounty hunter with a coronary heart of gold surrendered the stage to everybody’s favourite Mandalorian with a coronary heart of gold, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). It’s a weird change of tempo, for certain, however one The E-book of Boba Fett sorely wanted. Remarkably, I discovered myself immediately concerned within the episode from the second Din stepped into that alien meat locker, which isn’t one thing I’ve been in a position to say about Boba Fett or meat lockers on the whole.
Wizard. #TheBookofBobbaFett https://t.co/KiTNOtq7Ya
— Pedro Pascal he/him (@PedroPascal1) January 27, 2022
So, why did this episode work so effectively? Let’s break it down.
The Mandalorian Nonetheless Rocks
For all of the flack the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian acquired for eschewing creativity in favor of pointless fan wanking (through a foolish cameo by Luke Skywalker that each one however overshadowed the primary characters), creator Jon Favreau did a stellar job all through the primary two seasons establishing an attention-grabbing narrative populated with likable heroes and villains.
As such, when Din reemerges in Boba Fett along with his trusty Darksaber in tow, silently weeping over shapes that seem like a sure child somebody, all of the whereas battling the surviving members of his Creed, we eagerly strap in like a Rodian baby getting ready for his subsequent Star Excursions.
At this level, Din is virtually household, which simply goes to point out how efficient the primary two seasons of The Mandalorian really have been — so efficient that I’m prepared to provide Boba Fett time to get his act collectively as a result of, man, when Star Wars is sweet, it’s actually good.
Lightspeed
Episode 5 of Boba Fett had loads of story to inform. A lot in order that director Bryce Dallas Howard — who, once more, demonstrates a exceptional contact behind the digital camera — virtually zips by the 50-minute runtime like a drunken Ewok on a stolen speeder bike. No actually, the tempo of this episode was ridiculous, however in a great way.
At one level, we comply with Din right into a room the place he seeks to gather a bounty (and retrieve information) from a shady group of aliens seated round a large desk. Howard makes use of an prolonged shot (throughout which her digital camera pans across the characters throughout their temporary dialog) that retains the motion transferring at a riveting tempo. There’s no time to linger as a result of there’s an excessive amount of to do.
Distinction that sequence with Boba, which has largely meandered about with out a lot sense of goal. I’m nonetheless not totally certain what the famed bounty hunter’s finish recreation is — although I think it includes using into battle on a Rancor — or whether or not I ought to truly care.
Admittedly, I felt the early episodes of The Mandalorian have been somewhat sluggish, however I used to be all the time within the overarching narrative. There have been clunkier moments, however the presence of the mysterious “Child Yoda,” and the intrigue surrounding Din’s private creed, have been sufficient to get us previous the bumpier terrain.
At this level, I simply don’t care about Boba’s mob household. I imply, I’m glad he obtained his Firespray Gunship again, and that he was in a position to homicide the biker gang that worn out his Sand Buddies (off-screen, with out a lot fanfare), however in any other case I’m simply not invested in his storyline.
Spectacle
As acknowledged, the motion on this episode was phenomenal. We obtained a number of fast flashbacks to the Emperor’s Purge of Mandalore, some nifty and well-choreographed combat sequences that made good use of the fabled Darksaber, and a few enjoyable callbacks to the podrace sequence in The Phantom Menace.
What’s extra, every motion beat felt like one other step in Din’s character arc. His battle with Paz carries loads of heft in and of itself, but additionally demonstrates how way more he should study to grasp the Darksaber. Even the Naboo N-1 Starfighter bit carries emotional heft because the ship takes the place of Din’s destroyed Razor Crest.
To this point, Boba Fett lacks a very signature second. The practice heist was cool however sort of wonky in its execution; the aforementioned bike chase by Mos Espa lacked something resembling pleasure, whereas the scattered combat sequences haven’t taken full benefit of Boba’s arsenal of weapons — I really like how he selected to cower when these spandex-clad defend guys attacked moderately than, , blasting all of them to shreds along with his knee rockets.
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A Sense of Thriller
The extra we find out about Boba Fett, the much less attention-grabbing he turns into. It is a downside that goes again to Assault of the Clones, the place George Lucas foolishly inserted the character (and his father) into the bigger narrative — they have been chargeable for the Clone Military?! — a call that lessens his impression and in the end shrinks the Star Wars universe.
A part of Boba’s enchantment in The Empire Strikes Again was his foreboding sense of thriller — he’s a bounty hunter who works/labored for the Empire. That’s all we actually must know. No quantity of backstory or character growth may match the narratives we conjured in our heads over time. As such, maybe Boba is greatest served as a aspect character in another person’s present, a silent villain with allegiance to whoever presents essentially the most cash.
Think about the character as a kind of Joe Pesci to Din’s Robert De Niro — assume On line casino greater than Goodfellas. The pair journey the galaxy performing odd jobs that sometimes require extra warmth than Din is ready to conjure, wherein case he turns the mission over to his extra unpredictable companion.
Sort of like this:
With out the thriller, Boba is simply one other easy man attempting to make his approach by the universe. Comparatively, whereas Din has actually developed over the previous few years, he nonetheless carries an aura of thriller about his particular person. We’re by no means fairly certain what he’s considering or planning subsequent, and that sense of unpredictability makes him price hanging round, even when he’s only a warm-hearted softie beneath that thick armor.
Legacy
Perhaps it’s unfair to check Boba with Din. The previous should cope with a long time price of built-up anticipation, whereas the latter appeared on display screen with out a lot expectation past, “I hope this doesn’t utterly suck.”
Nonetheless, it’s telling that I used to be extra excited watching Din spend half an episode refurbishing a Naboo N-1 Starfighter with Mos Eisley mechanic Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) than I used to be watching Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) drop a seismic cost on the Sarlacc Pit. A lot in order that when Fennec pops up and asks for Din’s muscle, I used to be somewhat disillusioned that the additional adventures of The Mandalorian have been subsequently placed on carbonite for future exploration in Season 3.
With a number of extra episodes of Boba Fett remaining, there’s an opportunity Favreau and Co. proper the ship and ship a spectacular finale that makes up for the sluggish first half.
