“I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold.”
After four weeks following Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and his newfound status as daimyo of Mos Espa, The Book of Boba Fett took a detour in its storytelling, reuniting audiences with the character that brought us into this new era of live-action Star Wars television: The Mandalorian.
This episode solely follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) following the events of The Mandalorian Season 2. We begin to understand what life is like for the bounty hunter without his companion Grogu and are reminded exactly why the two should be together. The episode does a great job of not only telling a contained story, but also setting up the third season of the series.
In my eyes this episode was incredible, far and away the best episode of the series to date and one of the best episodes of Star Wars live-action television. It worked on every level from direction to story to performance to design and even humor. Not only that, but this episode was able to incorporate so many elements of all eras of Star Wars in a way that didn’t feel forced or pandering to audiences.
Let’s talk about Bryce Dallas Howard. She made her directorial debut in Season One of The Mandalorian with a follow up in Season Two and I believe those are two of the strongest episodes of the series so far. Once again she knocks it out of the park. Her eye for composition is eerily similar to her father’s and her ability to craft masterful performances from her actors is really where she shines.
Unfortunately, even with the greatness of this episode, there is one underlying issue with this episode. There is no Boba Fett. While I loved every second of what I’ve watched, this episode felt like the kickstarter to a new season of The Mandalorian, not a chapter in a story about Boba. When you give a character his own mini-series, you should stick with the titular character, especially when the first four episodes have still not wowed audiences and gotten them to connect with the focal point of your series. On top of this, with the way that this episode ended, I fear that we will not be getting back to Boba immediately in Chapter 6.
While I love Din Djarin and I am always excited to see his story continue, I cannot help but walk away from this episode wondering why he was put on the back burner in place of this series. Every level of production value felt heightened during this episode and I kept having this disappointing feeling that Boba Fett is getting the short end of the stick. This episode reminds us of just how good Star Wars television can be, and yet none of the actual Book of Boba Fett has felt this good. I have not yet found myself caring for the modern-day story of Boba Fett, and now I’m dying for more content surrounding a different character. I hope that the final two episodes can give Fett his due, and finish out the series strong for a character long-beloved by the fans. If Din Djarin can be treated this well, so can Boba Fett.
What did you think of this episode of The Book of Boba Fett? Where do you think the show goes from here? Let us know in the comments below and on our social media pages!
