The Book of Boba Fett is over.

 Boba needed a ghost writer

Okay so video games exist and so does Star Wars an- actually, you know what I can make a convincing argument as to why this show belongs on this blog. Here we go: okay, so Star Wars 1313 was the last big Star Wars game to be made before the licence was swallowed up by Disney. Although 'made' is relative because the game was cancelled shortly after the deal despite being into some form of production. Over the years we've heard snippets about it, seen concept art and recently saw a whole gameplay demo reel; all of this building up to the fact that the game was secretly built to be a early-adventures tale following young Boba Fett. Now we have the Book of Boba Fett which is an entire show that seems concerned with reconciling the image of Boba Fett as he existed in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Dave Filoni's 'young Boba' vision from the Clone Wars. Thus, in a way, we're talking about ground that the video game would have helped cover, making this a relevant topic for this gaming blog. What do ya think? Do you buy my excuse? (Spoilers for the whole show coming.)

 

So we're on the tail end of the latest series out of the new Star Wars TV renaissance and I don't think it's any great controversy to say that this series has been the weakest yet. And I found myself somewhat fascinated about exactly why that is, which is the only reason I took to blog on this topic; I tend to come to my most fully formed conclusions when putting myself to task like this. I also want to throw some ideas around about why this series was bad and what could be improved to ensure the next Boba Fett series, which I think is inevitable at this point, really does the heavy-lifting to make up for this narrative dud. Because I would very much love a sequel to this show to bring a new angle to the Star Wars universe that I actually want to pay attention too. New vectors of fandom are nice.

The problem is so obvious that most simply dismiss it straight away, assuming there must be some greater flaw hiding behind the surface and dragging everyone else down. But there's no point hiding it: the problem is Boba Fett. Defenders will prattle on-and-on about how little screen-time Boba had in the movies, and how he had absolutely no characterisation here and so everything from this show is building upon a blank slate, as though characterisation can only be achieved through concentrated character scenes heavy in obvious dialogue and hand-holding explorations. Yeah, that's not the case. Characterisation is informed by action, attitude, presence and even visual design. The original Boba Fett stood just behind the main bad guy, he was designed to look menacing and emotionless, and when one of the heroes was about to be frozen his only concern was if that hero would die because then bounty on him wouldn't be as valuable for a corpse. You don't need anymore than that to know you're looking at a cold, ruthless hunter with low morals and selfish drives. Plus he looks cool. That's important characterisation too.

It's important to identify the character that was, because that image bears absolutely no resemblance to the dull plank of wood which was wheeled out before us in The Book of Boba Fett. I'm not saying this because Boba Fett was presented as a good guy protagonist character, although that felt like a toothless compromise from Disney. ("If he's the guy on the front  of the box, he needs to be nice!") I say this because having a character established to be a ruthless bounty hunter minion for the fascist imperial machine just suddenly become good because he got half-digested by a Sarlacc, feels like we, and by extension the show creators, have missed several galaxy sized opportunities for character development. (And before you 'Star Wars heads' jump on me, I use 'half digested' as a common phrase and not a measurement. I am well aware that the Sarlacc digestion process takes a thousand years and Boba was nowhere near the half way mark when he burnt his way to freedom.) I know now that the problem with this show is the character they actively chose to make Boba and not the writing quality itself because of the two episodes in which Boba did not say a word.

Yes, halfway through this series ostensibly about Boba Fett, the show veers wildly off course to show us what's happening with the Mandalorian. And this isn't a case of 'Catch up with this other character's journey so that we can explain how he naturally fits into the main show's plot'. No. He literally hijacks the show with his own goals and stories that don't interact with the main narrative at all, and you know what? His storyline is better! Boba Fett stretches out the journey of how he became an adopted Tusken Raider alongside a criminally lethargic gang-war plot line over 7 (more like 5) episodes, but Mando gets to explore the aftermath of leaving Grogu, how that weighs on him and interferes with his destiny, and is even given a compass for what he needs to pursue in The Mandalorian season 3. That was just in the first episode he stole. The second one had him pretty much doing the prepwork so that his next series can start off running. All at the cost of Boba's own screentime in a show with his name plastered on the front.

But there was actual character work done during Boba's absence, we had The Mandalorian express his goals and how he is invested in the world around him, as well as why he cares, allowing the audience to care along with him. Picture this alternative reality; instead of the several episodes dedicated to flashbacks of Boba's time with the Tusken's, we have some of those flashbacks interrupted with further flashbacks of his time working for the empire. The brutal, cruel person that Boba used to be would be juxtaposed against the loyal tribe member that his time with the Tusken Raiders was making him and we'll get to connect with that journey. It wouldn't a cure-all to the series' issues, but it would allow us some small window into the drives and motivations of not only what it is Boba wants but why he wants it. We'd see that he wants to put his past behind him, so that the standoff scene with Cad Bane, wherein he fails to win using the vestiges of his old life and resorts to the Tusken tools to save himself (and one really garish jump cut) would really hit home instead of just making us all collectively sad that they wasted such an incredible looking villain.

It looks like in the future we're heading towards a stand-off between new Boba and the Jabba's twin cousins, and we really need some exploration as to what it is that Boba wants going forward in order to make all of this work. Now the fanboy in me, who wants this series to be truly incredible, would want this series to depict Boba getting involved in a brutal turf war against the Hutts that forces him to slowly and gradually surrender more parts of his new-found moral compass until, in order to defeat them fully, he has to descend into the heartless monster he once was. I'm talking going full blown psycho mode, fire bombing huge swathes of Nal Hutta just to get at the twins. Such a shift would have to be spurred on by something tragic, like the loss of a close companion, (Which I don't want to be Fennec, but I literally have no idea who else Boba would be close to because this series showed up none of the person under the armour.) and the result would be turning Boba into the warlord potential antagonist for the Mandalorian franchise shows. But that would absolutely never happen because Disney are abject cowards. Still, I can dream.

I could go into breaking down every single episode and which ways it misstepped alongside parts that did work, but instead I'll just summarise the show like this: It was mediocre. Not awful, absolutely not good, but largely dull. Some of the set pieces were cool on their own, such as Boba Fett blowing up those bikers in the Slave 1, or most of the last episode, but when married back to context they end up feeling like they deserved to be in a better show. I want there to be a season 2, but if it was suddenly cancelled I wouldn't be heartbroken. The Mandalorian, Ashoka, heck even 'Andor', has more promise going forward simply because they have characters with noticeable drives and goals. I wonder about Kenobi though. Seven more episodes set in wild and expansive Star Wars universe but stuck on the barren Tunisian dunes of freakin' Tatooine again? Please no...