I’m not quite sure how I feel about the first (and last?) season of The Book of Boba Fett.
On one hand, it was quite exciting to see what happened to one of the galaxy’s most renowned bounty hunters had been up to since falling into the Sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi. On the other hand, the delivery and pace somewhat killed that vibe. Fans for years yearned for answers regarding Boba Fett, since in the expanded universe (which is not canon) it was revealed he indeed escaped the Sarlacc pit and continued his adventures. While the show opened right up with his escape, the dragged out storyline and storytelling across two timelines gave the show such a slow pace.
The past timeline shows Fett as he crosses paths with the Tusken Raiders and how they come to respect him as he adapts to their way of life. The show frames these flashbacks while Boba is healing in his bacta tank in the present. For nearly two whole episodes, Fett and the Tusken Raiders face the Pike Syndicate and their spice trade just for the Tusken Raiders to…be entirely wiped out. After all that investment time, the Tusken Raiders are “fridged” to propel Fett’s story forward. After a whole episode of Fett meeting Shand and getting his ship back, the pacing is stagnant and only really picks up when the show shifts into a quasi-third season of The Mandalorian. As for the present timeline (and some of the flashbacks), Fett himself is…kind of just there. He walks around and deals with claiming his empire from Jabba the Hutt and proclaims he won’t rule like Jabba and not use violence and that’s about it.
That leads me to what I think the ultimate problem is with The Book of Boba Fett: bowing to fan service. The show itself is a product of fan service. Fans wanted to know what happened to Fett. Boba Fett is popular. Disney introduced him in season 2 of The Mandalorian and fans were estatic. It should have been a homerun. But it relied on too much fan service. It really does make me think: did we really need to know what happened to Boba Fett? Or was the mystery a good part of his character beforehand?
Think of the Mandalorian’s appearance in the show. While it was great to see him and what he had been up to since season 2’s epic finale, his episodes really served no purpose to the overall arc of Boba Fett’s show. Across those two episodes, Boba Fett did not appear in one and for less than two minutes in the next. In my opinion, they were really just episodes of The Mandalorian stuck in another show. It serves Mando’s character arc and how he is dealing with his separation from Grogu. I was not expecting to see Luke Skywalker, nor Ashoka Tano in this series. While I think these were the two strongest episodes in the season, they have nothing to do with Boba Fett. I call them great episodes of The Mandalorian rather than The Book of Boba Fett. It also adds more questions within the Star Wars universe, such as: how did Luke end up with Yoda's lightsaber? And what planet are they training Grogu on? Suffice to say, hopefully we get answers to some of these questions in season 3 of The Mandalorian.
When we get to the finale, Mando finally settles into his supporting role in the series like he should have been all along, similar to Fett’s when he appeared in The Mandalorian. Having all these legacy characters crossover is fan service at its finest, however when the show is only built on that fan service, the show itself suffers in my opinion.
But all the fan service wasn't bad though. It was nice to see Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano so soon and was certainly unexpected. Grogu is always going to please the fans when he appears as well. Cad Bane's first live action appearance was also quite a surprise, bringing the ruthless bounty hunter back into the fray given his long history with Boba Fett. There was even some fan service I was expecting that did not come to fruition. My predictions turned out to be false, as I actually thought Darth Maul was going to make an appearance as the real head of the Pike Syndicate. Cobb Vanth's appearance fit well into the arc of the show, given that Freetown is also on Tatooine. The post credits stinger revealed Vanth in Boba's bacta tank shows that his story isn't done yet, we just don't know if this is a setup for a future season of The Book of Boba Fett or The Mandalorian.
No word yet on whether The Book of Boba Fett is getting a second season, but I hope it does. I just hope it keeps Fett as the central character across the whole season. If it doesn't, Fett may be regulated to guest appearances across The Mandalorian and other Star Wars shows as a supporting character, handling his other business off screen. What did you think of The Book of Boba Fett? Am I being too harsh in my criticism? Comment below!
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