The Book Of Boba Fett (December 2021)

[Khev]

I just watched "The Marshal" episode of Mando last night and wow, the contrast is utterly mind-blowing. One thing that really hit me is just how much Din Djarin and Cobb Vanth are the true fulfilments of Fett's original "Man with No Name" inspiration out of anything we've seen in SW post-ESB. Cobb and Din squaring off in the saloon until the Krayt Dragon plows through the city was very similar to Blondie and Tuco about to draw and then being interrupted by a barrage of cannon fire.

Hell Cobb looked almost exactly like Blondie trudging across the sand before he collapsed. Olyphant has given us the lighter (but still badass) side of Eastwood's character while Din has more of an edge and all the fun Star Warsey gadgets. Din's beatdown outside the Gammy fighting ring gave us more Mandalorian badassery than Fett has displayed in four entire episodes of his own show.

Hell Cobb has proven to be more proficient with *Fett's own equipment* than Fett himself! Notice that Cobb doesn't actually miss with the rocket pack! And him clearing the mining goons out of the saloon was way cooler than Fett taking on the bikers. In fact when Cobb tries to do the exact same thing as the supposedly infamous Boba Fett (clean up the town, make the streets safe, rule with respect) he does so in such shockingly badass fashion that crime lords across the galaxy become aware of him! "You're looking for a Mandalorian? Yeah I've heard of one, on Tatooine."

Olyphant's performance and demeanor is just so infinitely more natural, likable, and cool. And he actually stands up to Tuskens (and even threatens to "put a hole through" one of them if it dares refuse to sit down (!) lol) seems to flirt with the detonator girl--I think I've come to the realization that in the Disney era of SW all of my lifelong fandom of Fett just needs to be moved over to Cobb (and to a lesser extent Din.) Should it have been that way? Who knows but it is what it is. But it was Lucas himself who started us down this path by retconning Fett into being a clone of TM in 2002 and now here we are. I would have accepted Fett as being a thicker TM badass if they'd continued the character that we saw on Tython so this latest departure is definitely on Favreau and Rodriguez.

But whatever. I've got true Fett in the original OT timeline and badass Cobb and Din in this one so I guess there's nothing that can be done but accept it and enjoy the cool new characters in SW who exist side by side with this wacky Looney Tunes alternate universe Boba Fett.

 

[Khev]

And let's face it, any cool things that Boba could do with his jetpack & weapons we've already seen done by Din Djarin, so barring something extremely creative (which at this point seems beyond their collective imaginations) it would just be more of the same.

And Cobb Vanth!

So I just watched this.
As some space western yarn it's decent entertainment, but as frigging Boba Fett it's unconscionable.
I get the story they are trying to tell, and the arc they are plotting for Boba Fett, which (IMHO) in and of itself is not bad -despite it having been done quite a few times before- but as discussed some hundreds of pages back, it's not a good fit for the character that most of the SW fandom had always envisioned as a coldly efficient killer.
I mean... they could even keep the arc they are trying to build, but the fact that they have neutered the character is what is baffling. He can be on this voyage to build his own family and not resort unnecessarily to violence and think of the big picture, and still be efficient, clever, resourceful and cold when the need arises. Not this bumbling apprentice type of character who seems to be one step behind his sidekick all the time.

Can you imagine Din just hovering the Razor Crest halfway in the Krayt's cave to see if it's awake!?? Or grabbing one of Mechanic Lady's Pit Droids and shouting "I'm Din Djarin!"

 

[punisher1974]

The greeks would’ve not needed a Trojan Horse with this Fett lol

Fett wouldn't even be able to use trojans on Fennic.

 

[Mondragon]

He hasn't even taken his blaster out of his holster!!

There were robo-bunnies to catch, and show who's boss!

And not surprisingly also "recruit" into his growing menagerie he keeps around the palace.

 

[Ramatuelle]

... Boba doesn't seem very passionate about anything other than petting animals and occasionally recruiting people. He's clearly not interested in women, not even for physical pleasure, which makes no sense for ANY normal man, let alone a "crime lord" seeking power. Jabba, a big slug thing, had women around and parties. Even Batman gets laid, and he's the ultimate single minded individual. I'm not buying Boba as a crime lord so far. I don't think I buy him as a man.

Every word is true, so true. And this is a damn shame.

Really, eventually he should end up with a harem. Altho really harems were always places of intrigue, plotting and treachery of every kind, so maybe he would avoid that for that reason - at least, the Fett we used to know might - but this complete bloodlessness is really offputting. Men just do not behave like this. Even men who are not actual crime-lords.

I get that this is Disney we're talking about, but sheesh.

 

[Khev]

Every word is true, so true. And this is a damn shame.

Really, eventually he should end up with a harem. Altho really harems were always places of intrigue, plotting and treachery of every kind, so maybe he would avoid that for that reason - at least, the Fett we used to know might - but this complete bloodlessness is really offputting. Men just do not behave like this. Even men who are not actual crime-lords.

I get that this is Disney we're talking about, but sheesh.

I'm not a big fan of what Lucas did with the Special Editions but at least that little bit between Fett and Jabba's Dancers showed that he was a red blooded male with a pulse. This new Fett when approached by an attractive and available female:

 

[davejames]

I know we all joke about it however there's a good chance that he won't do anything cool. With Mando potentially returning and Bad Wookie now on side, those guys will most likely do all the cool stuff along side Fennec.

Oh I'm sure he'll go all out in the finale with every gadget and weapon in his arsenal, and suddenly be the badass brutal warrior again like we saw in Mando... which will do nothing but annoy the hell out of us and make us wonder why we couldn't have gotten THAT Boba Fett 6 episodes ago.

 

[greygoose]

Men just do not behave like this. Even men who are not actual crime-lords.

 

[greygoose]

Oh I'm sure he'll go all out in the finale with every gadget and weapon in his arsenal, and suddenly be the badass brutal warrior again like we saw in Mando... which will just annoy the crap out of us and make us wonder why we couldn't have gotten THAT Boba Fett 6 episodes ago.

Ha! Let's hope so.

 

[Khev]

Oh I'm sure he'll go all out in the finale with every gadget and weapon in his arsenal, and suddenly be the badass brutal warrior again like we saw in Mando... which will just annoy the crap out of us and make us wonder why we couldn't have gotten THAT Boba Fett 6 episodes ago.

You know I've been assuming that these past few weeks (and greatly looking forward to whatever craziness the finale brings) but with the way Favreau continues to write him even I'm beginning to wonder. I have a feeling it might be a repeat of this last episode where he does one cool thing in the finale (like when he took out the speeder bikes) and then the rest of the heavy lifting will be done by Fennec, the Wookiee, Mando, Vespas, and whatever other guest stars show up.

 

[Ramatuelle]

You may know it, it may seem obvious to me as well. Seems like Lucasfilm does not know the facts of life, though which is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Khev]

You may know it, it may seem obvious to me as well. Seems like Lucasfilm does not know the facts of life, though which is beyond ridiculous.

Too bad this kid isn't a member of the LFL Story Group.

 

[Bravomite]

Oh I'm sure he'll go all out in the finale with every gadget and weapon in his arsenal, and suddenly be the badass brutal warrior again like we saw in Mando... which will just annoy the crap out of us and make us wonder why we couldn't have gotten THAT Boba Fett 6 episodes ago.

I agree with this. For some really annoying reason they seem to be building up to each thing really slowly:
Episode 1: Boba uses flamethrower and then loses everything in flashbacks, Boba fires his rocket (unsuccessfully) in current timeline
Episode 2: Boba is trained with gaffy stick and then hits Bikers with it. He is accepted as Tuscan and has a tribe.
Episode 3: Boba used his jetpack to catch up with slowest chase ever in current time.
Episode 4: Boba retrieves his firespray gunship mate and then blasts some Bikers with it
Episode 5: get's to use his blaster probably once
Episode 6: Boba keeps his helmet on for a fight maybe
Episode 7: Boba uses all his gadgets, weapons, gaffy stick and firespray in final battle.

It's super frustrating because we've already seen him use everything in Mando but they are in this course of slowly unveiling each thing again. Much like a video game being played by an awful player we watch Boba acquire new items and skills over the course of this series / levels (unlock new 'skills') - but it's super lame because he should be able to do all of this from the start.

 

[Khev]

Much like a video game being played by an awful player we watch Boba acquire new items and skills over the course of this series / levels (unlock new 'skills') - but it's super lame because he should be able to do all of this from the start.

Holy crap!

 

[punisher1974]

In this episode Fett learns that water is

In this episode Fett learns that water is wet.

Well since it won't be Fennic at least it is something.

 

[davejames]

Every word is true, so true. And this is a damn shame.

Really, eventually he should end up with a harem. Altho really harems were always places of intrigue, plotting and treachery of every kind, so maybe he would avoid that for that reason - at least, the Fett we used to know might - but this complete bloodlessness is really offputting. Men just do not behave like this. Even men who are not actual crime-lords.

I get that this is Disney we're talking about, but sheesh.

Eh, I've got a ton of complaints about this show, but it's not hard to understand why he might be a bit preoccupied at the moment to bother with mistresses and harems. Plus the fact he's spent most of his free time so far healing inside a bacta tank.

 

[greygoose]

It's super frustrating because we've already seen him use everything in Mando but they are in this course of slowly unveiling each thing again. Much like a video game being played by an awful player we watch Boba acquire new items and skills over the course of this series / levels (unlock new 'skills') - but it's super lame because he should be able to do all of this from the start.

You're right - it is playing out like a videogame. All the stupid decisions make sense now.

Level 3 was my favourite. Navigating the Bantha through the desert to find a mate was peak game play.

 

[hen88]

Okay - I think I’ve wrapped my head around this. It seems like there are now two versions of the character, and it makes sense why many people are upset at the portrayal in the show. For people like me, whose fandom stems from on-screen Star Wars, Boba Fett is basically a minor character who has daddy issues and a goofy “death” scene. He only started to become cool for me when he appeared in the Mandalorian. So the stakes are pretty low in my mind. On the other hand, for people who are steeped in the EU and comics, they have a much more fleshed out idea of the character as an infinitely badass, ruthless bounty hunter who takes no prisoners and has few weaknesses (let’s call him Bro-ba Fett). For these fans, the stakes are quite high, and it’s pretty evident that Bro-ba Fett isn’t being portrayed in the show. It seems like Favreau is instead giving us goofy Boba who accidentally got knocked into the Sarlacc pit.

The problem for me is that after the first 4 episodes, I’m not sure whether Boba is worthy to be the focus of a show. I’m not even sure if Bro-ba Fett would make a good protagonist. The storytelling is messy, and the pacing is all over the place. I think it’s because they don’t really know what they want out of this character. But like I said, the stakes are low for me. So I still manage to enjoy it. If anything, we’re getting introduced to some cool new characters, and the added world building of Tatooine is fun. My condolences to the Bro-ba Fett fans.

 

[davejames]

You know I've been assuming that these past few weeks (and greatly looking forward to whatever craziness the finale brings) but with the way Favreau continues to write him even I'm beginning to wonder. I have a feeling it might be a repeat of this last episode where he does one cool thing in the finale (like when he took out the speeder bikes) and then the rest of the heavy lifting will be done by Fennec, the Wookiee, Mando, Vespas, and whatever other guest stars show up.

Yeah, sadly I can see that happening too. Because there's certainly no reason we needed to see him bumbling around in this episode as much as we did, and yet we still got that anyway.

 

[Khev]

Yeah, sadly I can see that happening too. Because there's certainly no reason we needed to see him bumbling around in this episode as much as we did, and yet we still got that anyway.

Yep. He fires up the Slave I before giving any thought to how to open the doors. He explores the Sarlacc mouth before deciding that it might actually be a good idea to kill it first. Why? Pure idiocy.