By Jordan Singh
Guest Writer
Continuing with their serial format, the “Book of Boba Fett” is Disney’s latest entry to the Star Wars franchise. The show, directed by fan-beloved Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, picks up with the supposed death of Boba Fett, a rebound bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe. The show brings back beloved characters, such as Bo Katan Kreyze, Ashoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, Grogu. At the end of The Mandalorian Season 2, we see Boba Fett and former assassin Fennec Shand take over Jabba the Hutt’s throne by killing Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s former majordomo. This then sets up the “Book of Boba Fett,” where we see Boba Fett’s rule of his new criminal empire and explore his journey to become the daimyo of Tatooine.
The show begins at the end of “Star Wars: Episode 6.” Boba Fett, who had seemingly been eaten by a sand creature, survived due to the strength of his armor. The first few episodes explain Boba Fett’s capture by a group of local raiders and his personal growth. We get to see Boba Fett slowly transform from a slave to a warrior, he starts to train and practice the beliefs of his captors. However, Boba Fett’s growth with the group of raiders is cut short, as they are mercilessly slaughtered by a local crime syndicate.
After the death of the raiders, Boba Fett forges a friendship with bounty hunter Fennec Shand, and begins to regain control over a local city: Mos Espa. However, his rule is challenged by the Pyke Syndicate as they want to take control of Tatooine as a whole and run spice (drugs) through the city. In response to this threat, Boba Fett gains allies in the form of a cyborg street gang and the Wookie mercenary Black Krrsantan.
To aid in his battle against the Pyke Syndicate, Boba Fett seeks the support of the Mandalorian. The Mandalorian helps recruit allies in the form of Cobb Vanth, the marshal of a small city on Tatooine. During the final fight, Boba Fett’s forces are pinned down, until the people of Freetown support Boba Fett and his allies, as they gain the upper hand on the Pyke Syndicate. The battle comes to a climax in which we see Boba Fett face off against his old mentor, the legendary bounty hunter Cad Bane, which results in Boba Fett defeating his former mentor.
In addition to telling the story of Boba Fett, Favreau and Filoni share other aspects of the Star Wars universe, specifically the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano after their appearances in Season 2 of “The Mandalorian”; we see them on an unknown planet, using droids to assemble Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Temple for the next generation of Jedi.
Overall, I found “The Book of Boba Fett” quite satisfying because the creators wanted to humanize the character of Boba Fett, and we saw him grow as a person; we see a more honorable side of Boba Fett as opposed to being a ruthless killer, however, he still possesses the skills he learned from Jango Fett and Cad Bane. In addition, Temuera Morrison had an excellent performance as Boba Fett. The return of Cad Bane, The Mandalorian, Ahsoka Tano, and Luke Skywalker was also impactful. All these characters are fan-favorites, as Favreau was able to incorporate them into the story without taking away the spotlight from Boba Fett.
The final battle in the series was its pinnacle. We get to see how much members of Boba Fett’s empire care about their planet, and that they were willing to die for its success. The battles portrayed during the episode were also intriguing; I enjoyed seeing the Mandalorian and Boba Fett fight side by side, and share an action sequence.
The return of Luke’s Skywalker after “Return of the Jedi” was also executed well, as Favreau successfully establishes how Luke is going to start the next generation of Jedi. With an aging Mark Hamill (original Luke actor), Favreau and his crew used ultra-realistic CGI to bring back a much younger Luke Skywalker: the recreation was incredible. It was heart-warming to see Luke Skywalker looking up to Ahsoka Tano as somewhat of a mentor as he asks for advice on how to start his new Jedi Order. Being the former Apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka also mentions how Luke is similar to his father Anakin. This gave me goosebumps as I have always wanted to see Ahsoka and Luke discuss Anakin Skywalker due to their relationships with him and how much these two characters meant to the story of Anakin Skywalker.
One thing I disliked about the show was the reunion of the Mandalorian and Grogu. This moment should have been saved for “The Mandalorian” season 3 because that show specifically focuses on The Mandalorian. The return felt too soon, as there was a lot of emotion between the parting of The Mandalorian and Grogu at the end of “The Mandalorian” season 2; their quick reunion diminishes that suspense and emotion.
Another disappointment I had with the show was Cad Bane’s death, as he is a fan-favorite character and only got around 5 minutes of screen time. It was fitting for him to be taken down by Boba Fett, his former apprentice, but there could have been a larger role for him if he was introduced sooner in the series. However, the show excites me for future projects related to Boba Fett and how he will continue to rule his new Empire, as there are more stories that Lucasfilm can tell for this character in the future.
[FEATURED IMAGE (at the top of this post): Boba Fett defends the city of Mos Espa from the Pyke Syndicate in “The Book of Boba Fett” (PHOTO CREDIT: Disney)]
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