The Book of Boba Fett | December 29, 2021 | Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen star

[4815162342]

 

[Ozymandias]

wow this was not good, it was way too short and nothing happened

 

Also, lol @ Boba Fett having to be sanitized and nice because hes a lead in a Disney show

 

 

[CoolioD1]

yeah a rocky start for sure. it all just feels a bit stale right now. I hope the sand people stuff has a great payoff because i think i would rather just see the crime boss politicking. 

[Eric Duncan]

11 hours ago, Ozymandias said:

wow this was not good, it was way too short and nothing happened

 

Also, lol @ Boba Fett having to be sanitized and nice because hes a lead in a Disney show

 

 

So you're the guy who tweeted this out lmao

 

[Ozymandias]

4 hours ago, Eric Smith said:

So you're the guy who tweeted this out lmao

 

 

What?  I'm not sure what that twitter shitpost has to do with what I said.   But now that you mention it, yes, if you're gonna have a second Star Wars show with a character thats almost identical to the one you already got going with the Mandalorian, then perhaps take it in a dramatically different direction?  If Pedro Pascal's character is the noble heroic space knight, then make Boba Fett the antihero?  Or is that way too smart for Star Wars or off brand for Disney?

 

But right now the Fett has bigger problems, this episode was great for people who don't need any plot, narrative drive, or sufficient character motivation in their shows.

[Eric Duncan]

18 minutes ago, Ozymandias said:

What?  I'm not sure what that twitter shitpost has to do with what I said. 

I just thought that tweet was funny and it connected to your "Why is Boba sanitized" remark. Meant no ill will at all here.

[Menor the Destroyer]

Boba and Mando are far from the same character. Mando wouldn't care about starting a criminal empire and convincing people to pay him tribute. 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Menor Reborn

[filmlover]

I found the first episode to be quite underwhelming, not gonna lie. May decide to wait and see if the reactions show improvement before taking the plunge any further.

[George Parr]

20 hours ago, Eric Smith said:

So you're the guy who tweeted this out lmao

 

Meh, the tweet didn't seem all that useful to me. I mean, where do some of the things on the list even come from?

 

He hates everyone? He is disrespectful? betrays everyone? holds grudges? kills everyone he doesn't like? has no morals?

Did I watch different movies? Because literally none of that makes any kind of sense. Even if you include the EU, none of that really fits all that much. The movies show him a a calculating professional, who respects others who act tough (see his reaction to the bounty hunter / Leia pulling a thermal detonator on Jabba). That's it. The rest is just made up, and ridiculously presented in a way to act as if "we" all saw him that way.

 

I mean, yeah, so far he isn't really all that much how he was portrayed in the movies, so one can make such a case. But not when the list is complete bogus (which isn't on you, it's not your list).

 

One also shouldn't forget that this is the start of the show. He barely survived the sarlacc, and then was a prisoner of the Tuskens for who knows how long. That's definately something that can change your perspective on things. I don't really have a problem with him being like that, provided they show his path towards that new personality.

 

Now, if they don't offer a good explanation in the story, or if his character doesn't show different traits as well, one could make a case that he is too much like The Mandalorian or "too soft" compared to his movie-role. But that is something one should judge after the season, not with just one episode in.

[Porthos]

Only 12 min in, but MUCH MUCH ***MUCH*** BETTER than Chap 1.

 

Spoiler

Also Black Krrsantan!!!!!! 

 

[Inceptionzq]

Ok this episode has turned me around on the flashbacks...

Spoiler

Black Krrsantan and the Pyke Syndicate! They still could've done a bit better by making this episode purely flashback imo. The beginning of this episode should've been how the first ended.

This episode was so so good and hooked me.

[Porthos]

38 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Only 12 min in, but MUCH MUCH ***MUCH*** BETTER than Chap 1.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Also Black Krrsantan!!!!!! 

 

 

Of course as soon as I post that, it does go down a peg or two...  Typical.

 

====

 

Overall still better than the premiere, but it still suffers from some of the same flaws of the first episode.  

 

On the plus side, the tension is far higher and there are real stakes. On the minus side...

Spoiler

I really get the sense that Robert Rodriguez is far more interested in the Tusken storyline than the "present" one.

 

And the flaw of "not telling a complete story in the B-arc" (ie present day) is still very much apparent. 

 

As I said, on the plus side there was real dramatic tension in the "present day", which was utterly missing from the first chapter.  Also some real political intrigue going on that makes me wonder just who is playing who, and why.  As well as the narrative stakes I mentioned above.

 

Unfortunately, it is starting to look like the "present day" is turning into a framing device for the "real" story, which presents all sorts of narrative complications, which I want to stew over a bit before going too deeply on it.

 

All in all, still a major step up from the premiere, but not nearly as much as the opening 14/15 min suggested.

 

If there is a real narrative flaw in the series, that is outside of my previous critiques, 

Spoiler

it's that the series really hasn't answered the question as to WHY Boba Fett is hanging around with the Tusken Raiders.  I can come up with a few explanations, but the trouble here is, Boba doesn't talk much and the people who he could talk to don't speak English  Basic, so we're left to guessing instead of telling.

 

 

I get "show not tell", except the show hasn't done all the much on the "show why he stuck around after a few days".

 

Anyway, narrative framing still needs a lot of work to give each storyline heft, weight, and closure, but a step in the right direction.  

 

[Porthos]

8 minutes ago, Inceptionzq said:

Ok this episode has turned me around on the flashbacks...

  Hide contents

Black Krrsantan and the Pyke Syndicate! They still could've done a bit better by making this episode purely flashback imo. The beginning of this episode should've been how the first ended.

This episode was so so good and hooked me.

 

Yes, I think I agree with a lot of this.  Some judicious editing between these two episodes would have solved some of my critiques 

Spoiler

as the end of the standoff with the Hutts would have been a good closure point for an episode instead of dropping it off 15 min into one. 

 

Makes me think this is being written to be watched as one whole story, which has its plusses and minuses (getting dangerously close to the "binge" word again).

 

Do think this episode was tremendously helped by being about 14 min longer than the previous one, as it allowed the story to breathe more.

 

Am worried about the narrative weight being given here to the parallel stories, but we'll just have to see how it unfolds.

 

Also...

 

Spoiler

If the Pyke Syndicate is in the show...   

 

[Inceptionzq]

5 minutes ago, Porthos said:

If there is a real narrative flaw in the series, that is outside of my previous critiques, 

  Hide contents

it's that the series really hasn't answered the question as to WHY Boba Fett is hanging around with the Tusken Raiders.  I can come up with a few explanations, but the trouble here is, Boba doesn't talk much and the people who he could talk to don't speak English  Basic, so we're left to guessing instead of telling.

 

 

I get "show not tell", except the show hasn't done all the much on the "show why he stuck around after a few days".

 

Spoiler

 

But for real, you are right about this. It has crossed my mind, but honestly it doesn't bother me. He could've ran and survived after learning about the black melons, but that monster complicated things. I guess they don't feel the need to explain more than him being accepted by the tribe leader at the end of the episode. Which works for me

 

[Porthos]

One last thought.

 

More from Steph Green, please.  Her direction was outstanding. 👍

 

[Cap]

The duality of fangirling:

me: we really need to get Star Wars off tatooine. 
Also me: WHERE IS KENOBI?!
 

The first 10 minutes of this should’ve been the cliffhanger for episode one.  Sleep light bounty hunter would’ve been such a good last line. 
 

My issue with that is everything else after it plays out like a standard western that I’ve seen 100 times.

 

idek. but at least I have hot Twileks

[Inceptionzq]

I think what really made the flashback work this episode was that it didn't feel like a hindrance to the present story, but a buildup to what Boba has become post bounty hunting. I guess part of the problem with the first episode's flashbacks was that it had to set up most of what happened in this episode.

[4815162342]

Agreeing with the consensus that the first 10-15 minutes of this should have capped off the first episode.

 

@Porthos I don't think the flashbacks are the "main" story and my gut feeling is we'll be done with them by episode 5. Star Wars loves tropes and with the Western parallels there's a big trope just waiting to be unleashed.

[CoolioD1]

second episode pretty good. i've said it before but there's no such thing as a bad action setpiece on a train.

[Darth Lehnsherr]

Yeah much better episode we have a proper idea of the central conflict of the present storyline while the flashbacks were more interesting. 

 

Agreed with those that unlike Mando this is way more of a connected show than the episodic nature of Mando.