(L-R): Temuera Morrison is Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen is Fennec Shand in Lucasfilm's THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
“The Book Of Boba Fett is an excellent show, and I could not be more engaged if I tried, even though it follows formula!”
The Book of Boba Fett is one of the few mediums in the new Star Wars media that does well with flashbacks. I particularly dislike flashbacks in novels, but it works just fine on the screen. This episode picks off where Boba is at when he discovers his adopted Tusken tribe has been slaughtered. We get to see how he saved Fennec Shand’s life in between that of the parent show The Mandalorian.
SLAVE 1 RETURNS
I really dug the Mos Eisley lab where a human male operated on Fennec and restored her to life. With the help of a little advanced cybernetic technology. After saving her, she pledges to help Boba recover his ship from Jabba’s Palace. It’s interesting that Boba just refers to his ship as a Firespray gunship instead of the title Slave 1; which it has been named since 1980. Woke culture has deemed that Slave 1 is too offensive to remain its name. So now it is very ambiguous as to what this ship will be called. Perhaps we will see a new name in upcoming episodes – or not. It isn’t important, I just wanted to note it is a little unnecessary.
FENNEC SHAND
This episode shines with the visuals and special effects. Fennec Shand has some pretty cool high-tech tools to perform scouting and breaking and entering missions. Boba is a very soft type character, and Fennec (in-universe) addresses what’s been bothering me from day 1. Boba Fett has grown soft. He disagrees and says he has become stronger, attributing it to his time with the Tuskens. But maybe being part of a family that he hasn’t had since he was 10 years old may have helped make him a more compassionate and merciful person. Yet he also wants to run a criminal empire. So there is a bit of cognitive dissonance going on here.
DROIDS
The droid designs in the episode were impressive, and I am pleased that they took the time (well money) to make them look awesome. It was really fun seeing how Fennec became Boba’s partner in (literal) crime. And when we flashback to the present, I almost was upset, as I wanted more! Boba is preparing to fight the Pyke Syndicate as they are taking over Tatooine and will impede Boba’s mission as daimyo. Boba has a meeting with the crime families of Tatooine and convinces them not to side with the Pykes. Yeah okay. We’ll see how that goes.
CRIMSON DAWN?
Some whispers on the Internet have speculated that the real threat pulling the Pyke’s strings is the infamous Crimson Dawn. Crimson Dawn is the criminal empire from Solo: A Star Wars Story and at this point in the timeline, Qi’ra is in charge. It would be awesome to see Emilia Clarke show up in this series, but perhaps we are jumping the blaster a bit. Perhaps the real threat is just the Pykes. However, Boba knows he is going to need help, regardless, and the (arguably) iconic music starts playing at the end. It’s so invigorating and gave me goosebumps as we will soon see a familiar face.
VERDICT
I really enjoy this series because Boba and Fennec are great characters and an interesting foil between each other. My only complaint remains to be Boba’s compassion, patience, sense of justice, and even humor. I feel that he was always a cold-blooded killer in my book, and I don’t necessarily think people can change so drastically. Yet this IS Star Wars. And one of the key components in Star Wars is redemption, so perhaps it’s just following the formula. Regardless, this is an excellent show, and I could not be more engaged if I tried. Hey!
The Book of Boba Fett is streaming on Disney Plus NOW.
Author
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
