The overnight success of the 2019 series “Star Wars: The Mandalorian” garnered a new era of live-action "Star Wars" programs on Disney +, most of which could stand on their own. However, the 2021 series "Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett" was a curious crossover season with the previous "Mandalorian" series, lasting for only one season and with only seven episodes total.
While this series is commonly sighted as its own stand-alone show, I can’t for the life of me separate it from “The Mandalorian” series. The ending of Season 2 highlighted that “The Book of Boba Fett” would be coming next, and it has the exact same music and credits. The show was also spearheaded by the same team of Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson and Robert Rodriguez.
Mando himself was still a main character with several stand-alone episodes, and there are several game changing events in the narrative that can’t be glanced over in order to continue watching Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” … as such, it’s absolutely part of the same series, just not clarified very well. Had the show been branded as “The Mandalorian Presents: The Book of Boba Fett”, maybe that would have worked. It was certainly a curious choice, but how’s the season overall? Well, it’s a mixed bag, with some of my favorite “Star Wars” material I’ve ever seen, and a very confusing method of presenting it.
Initially, the masked Bounty Hunter Boba Fett was going to have a stand-alone movie, but it was canceled, and what remained of the script was merged with early episode scripts for the upcoming season of "The Mandalorian" ... resulting in this "Frankenstein" of a spin-off series. Following after Boba Fett's apparent death in the movie "Return of the Jedi", we see him escape the monster pit that consumed him, now he sets off with a new purpose.
The season’s narrative goes back and forth between three stories. One of them being a “Last Samurai” inspired story of Fett being captured by the sand people of Tatooine and gradually becoming a welcomed member of their tribe. The second story revolves around Boba running his own territory, and igniting a turf-war with rival gangsters called The Pyke’s, and their lethal hired gun ... the bounty hunter Cad Bane. Meanwhile, we also follow Mando on his personal journey, after being separated from the Child Grogu. The presentation of jumping between these three different narratives made for an awkwardly paced and structurally messy season, but not without some highlights.
Boba Fett (played by Temuera Morrison)
Prior to this show, the masked bounty hunter Boba Fett survived the events of the original movies through various comics, novels and video games ... thus, it only made sense to bring him back in live action. I personally would have preferred he be left as a reoccurring character on "The Mandalorian" series, as his character is far sharpper as that extra bit of coolness, as opposed to a main lead.
After nearly dying in a monster pit, the fierce hunter emerged a new man … one eager to make changes for the good of those stomped under foot by either gangsters or the Empire. I suppose it's an okay change-up for the character, and he’s still just as deadly as ever … just with a new moral code. While I’ll always take some enjoyment from this iconic hunter, it’s Temuera Morrison’s ever committed performance in the role that elevates the quality of his screen presence.
Fennec Shand (played by Ming-Na Wen)
Yet another cool hunter character elevated by a talented actress, and another fan favorite to make a life of her own outside of the previously established "Mandalorian" series. She’s quiet, calculating, dangerous and shady, but is fiercely loyal to those she respects. After being left for dead in the desert, Boba Fett saved her life, and she’s stuck with him as her trusted partner ever since. Actress Ming-Na Wen, famous for her voice acting and martial arts roles, gives the character a sly and mischievous demeaner. She too transitioned from reoccurring character to leading role in this season, and I don’t think she would have come so far had it not been for the charisma of the actress.
Cade Bane (voiced by Cory Burton)
To get right to the point, the most exciting moment of this show was the live action debut of my other favorite bounty hunter Cade Bane … who was originally introduced back in the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and has remained my personal favorite “Star Wars” villain to be introduced in the animated program. In this season, Bane is out for blood against his long standing rivel Boba Fett, which is great ... but unfortunately is arrival is far too late into the show, and this series doesn't do enough to highlight his character for newcomers. Worse, his defeat at the hands of Fett is unsatisfying, and comes off as waist of a great character. Had Bane been present from the start and developed a rivalry with Fett over the course of the season, then maybe it could have worked.
Other characters and groups appear throughout the show, but their hardly worth mentioning.
Boba Fett's young crew of bikers look cool, but there's little else to them outside of esthetics. The sand people are noticeably given more focused and admirably fleshed out as a culture as opposed to mindless beasts ... it's honestly the best piece of universe building the show achieves. With all the characters addressed, let's get to the highlights. It's almost silly to count down my Top five favorite episodes from a show with seven chapters, but what the heck ...
I suppose the honorable mentions would be ...
"Stanger in a Strange Land"
"The Streets of Mos Espa"
Thus, my personal Top 5 favorite episodes of "The Book of Boba Fett" are ...
#5 “The Gathering Storm” (S1 – Ep. 4)
In this fourth episode, we see Fett in his post “Return of the Jedi” days aiming to chart a new direction after nearly dying in a monster pit. First up is recruiting his new partner Fennec Shand, and we see the origins of their loyal friendship. Next, they set off on a mission to retrieve Fett’s stolen ship, which results with an exciting heist sequence.
The meat of this episode comes from the on-screen chemistry of leading actors Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen in their respected Bounty Hunter roles. While the two remained the leads throughout the series, this is the episode that highlighted them as a dynamite pair, and a worthwhile outing in this lopsided spin-off series.
#4 “The Tribes of Tatooine” (S1 – Ep. 2)
Continuing with Fett’s "flashback" section, his second chapter gave him a most unusual … yet very well-made outing. After surviving his captivity with the sand people, and battle with a monster, our “Last Samuri” inspired story finally takes shape. Boba Fett gradually transitions into a welcomed member of their tribe, and is no-longer a prisoner, but a brother in arms. After gaining their respect, he leads the tribes in a revolt against an armored train terrorizing their village.
Afterword's, we see Boba Fett go on a spirit quest to find his new identity and sense of belonging. This culminates into an awesome montage vision sequence through the years, where he's been and the new man he’s emerged as. For all the shortcomings of this series, this chapter at least marks one of Boba Fett’s shining moments. This was the only episode to be directed by Steph Green, who gave this outing a visual flare all his own.
#3 “Return of the Mandalorian” (S1 – Ep 5)
Following after the events of Mando’s Season 2 finale, Din Djarin finds himself alone for the first time, no longer in the company of the Child Grogu, no longer with a ship, and since he removed his helmet, Mando has been dismissed by his creed, and branded an apostate. Thus, he travels across the stars and aims to slowly rebuild himself. Aside from a white knuckled brawl in the opening, and a duel with another Mandalorian, this episode doesn’t have much action at all, and yet … it’s one of the most engaging episodes. It goes to show how great this character is when an episode with little narrative stakes can be so compelling.
Just seeing him assemble a new ship and taking it for a test drive makes for an enthralling moment. This episode also features one of the coolest space stations I’ve ever seen … as it looks like a city built into the world’s largest ramp. Lastly, this was the third
"Star Wars" related episode directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, who previously directed two episodes of "The Mandalorian", and I feel it’s her best work by far. There’s an especially cool sequence with Mando ascending to a second level, dropping off a package to a client, and returning back to where he started … all done in one continues take, with no visible edits.
#2 “In the Name of Honor” (S1 – Ep 7)
We now segue from a quiet and reflective episode to an all-out action spectacle. At the end of Boba Fett’s series, he and Mando join forces to fight back against an onslaught of enemy forces … leading up to a confrontation with Fett’s long-time hunting rivel Cade Bane. While this episode has its faults in the script and threatens to get redundant with its non-stop laser shooting, director Robert Rodriguez injects the experience with high energy, and a number of novel highlights.
We have our heroes flying about on jetpacks, war wagging in a close quarter city setting, giant spider-robots fighting giant monsters, a “King Kong” inspired climax, and the novelty of seeing my two favorite bounty hunters Boba Fett and Cade Bane in combat. While this season needed to do more to set up their rivalry, it’s unmistakably riveting in the moment. All around, this is perhaps my biggest guilty pleasure episode, as I know it’s flawed … but very fun to watch.
#1 “From the Desert Comes a Stranger” (S1 – Ep 6)
As the title suggests, this episode marks the surprising arrival of a new character who emerges from the desert … and surprise, surprise … it’s my favorite Bounty Hunter of all, Cade Bane. Despite being discarded in the following episode, this debut was as perfect as they get, and highlighted Bane as the deadliest character to draw a gun. However, the real reason this episode ranks so high is simply for a subplot in which the alien Child Grogu is undergoing Jedi training under the guidance of Luke Skywalker and overseen by Ashoka Tano and R2-D2.
This episode was directed by Dave Filoni, and he breathes exquisite life and beauty into the presentation of this chapter. The de-aged look on Mark Hammel's Luke Skywalker is outstanding, and the character is utilized masterfully, as a quiet and loving teacher. It’s another episode that’s limited on action but is immensely absorbing in presentation and character interaction.
When all is said and done, Boba Fett's personal stand-alone series noticeably struggled to ... well ... "stand alone", as most of its biggest highlights revolve around the stories and appearances of other established characters.
Temera Morrison certainly shines as our favorite masked Bounty Hunter, and there's a promising set-up for his own layered, yet smaller scaled story, but the narrative either repeats itself or gets sidetracked. The result is a very mixed program that failed to deliver a complete story ... yet undeniably features some top-tier highlights that stand out among any "Star Wars" series. I'd say only determined fans of "The Mandalorian" need watch it, and even to that extent, I'm mainly referring to his specific episodes. Everything else is a big bag of "take it or leave it", which is unfortunate for such an iconic character ... but that's the way it is.
Thanks for reading my review of the 2021 series "Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett" ... and continue to enjoy the shows you Love!
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