The (Underwhelming) Book of Boba Fett

Let’s talk about Boba Fett.

For the end of December through mid February, we witnessed The Book of Boba Fett, a seven-episode miniseries on Disney Plus.

As the first spinoff series of The Mandalorian, and the first canonical series centered on the legendary bounty hunter, expectations were high for The Book of Boba Fett. The quality of The Mandalorian and the mythos of Boba Fett, not to mention the consistency of casting Temuera Morrison in the role, brought the hype to an all time high.

Which is really the reason why the show was so disappointing.

Looking back, The Book of Boba Fett isn’t terrible. In spite of all my frustrations and criticisms, I’d still give it 3/5 stars. However, for me, the common thread throughout the entire show I noticed was this: missed opportunities.

Woulda / Shoulda / Coulda

Of course, it’s easy for me to say “they should’ve done this, they should’ve done that.” I just want to start this section with a little disclaimer—I have the utmost respect for Dave Filoni and the entire Star Wars crew. Doing a Boba Fett story that fits within The Mandalorian’s shared universe is not an easy task. And I’m sure if they would’ve done everything I’m about to suggest, the pessimistic side of the Star Wars fandom would likely be just as dissatisfied.

[Also, Spoiler Warning. There will be plenty of spoilers from here on out. You’ve been warned!]

But qualifiers and niceties aside…

The Problem with BOBF

The show’s biggest problem for me is pacing.

After the first episode, even though the provided backstory was interesting and I was entertained, I didn’t feel like I had any feel at all for what the plot was supposed to be. I had no predictions because there were no good indicators on where the show was going.

I didn’t feel like the show found its footing and truly got me excited until the end of episode four where it was revealed that the true villains Boba’s fighting against is the Pike Syndicate.

After episode four, I thought, “Yes! Finally! The show’s gaining momentum. The last three episodes will probably up the pacing and make the slow first-half worth it.”

Cue episode five, which didn’t feature Boba Fett at all.

The title character of a short, seven-episode season was completely absent from episode five and barely makes an appearance in episode six.

WHY?

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE The Mandalorian. I was hyped to see characters from The Mandalorian. However, when two out of the seven episodes of the Boba Fett show barely feature Boba Fett, how is that not a waste of time for his character?

I like the finale, but why did we have to waste so much time leading up to it? Seven episodes aren’t a lot…why do we need filler? Why would we distract the little momentum we have with a barely-connecting side story?

As it is, The Book of Boba Fett should’ve been advertised as a Boba Fett / Mandalorian crossover event. Even though we got some interesting back story and development to Fett’s character, it didn’t go deep enough and develop it enough as I expected for a show named after him.

I admit, we did see some interesting character development moments for Fett, but still, aside from his duel with Cad Bane, Boba Fett isn’t a very active character in his own story. He does a lot of going with the flow. Even though she gets basically no character development, Fennec Shand is more active and decisive than Fett.

Like at the end of the season, when the crime bosses are hiding out with the mayor, and each of them is killed. This would’ve been a perfect moment for Boba Fett to shine, but when it was revealed that Shand is the assassin, I groaned.

Two words: missed opportunities.

Also, Boba’s backstory was concentrated to his time between the Sarlac Pit and The Mandalorian Season Two. Why couldn’t we get some other times in his life that lead Boba to this moment?

I would’ve like to see his original duel with Cad Bane from the written-and-unproduced-and-never-released Clone Wars episode. And this leads to…

How I would’ve done The Book of Boba Fett

Cad Bane should’ve been teased as the main antagonist in episode one or two, not six.

I would’ve positioned Cad Bane as a link to Boba’s pre-Sarlac life, which would highlight his character growth that he experienced with the sand people. I would’ve included flashbacks from throughout Boba’s life, also to highlight how his code and character have morphed through time.

Also, I would’ve done more to develop Shand’s character, so her current motivations and loyalty to Boba could be deeper and more nuanced than just simply “He saved my life so now I’m your sidekick.”

There are so many things that could’ve been done differently.

The plot could’ve extended beyond Tatooine and actually featured more of Boba’s ship. We could’ve seen more of the backstory of why Fett was willing to work with the empire during the days of The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi.

Though it was my favorite part of the series, the Cad Bane subplot could’ve been better executed.

There are so many things that could be different, but the fact remains: we got what we got, and unlike other Star Wars fans, I’m not actually interested in pressuring the studio into changing what we got.

But now I’m wondering…what’s next? Will this series stay a miniseries, or will there be room for an eventual season two?

In the unlikely event that Dave Filoni or anyone else with influence at Disney reads this, here’s what I would do to make season two better than season one.

Season Two Wishlist

One—I want the plot to expand beyond Tatooine. I get that making it a bounty hunter show could be too similar to the Mandalorian, and the setting for season one makes sense for the character’s journey, in a new season we can take him elsewhere.

Two—Fennec Shand is the real villain, and she’s been manipulating Boba the whole time.

Three—A plot involving a scarred-but-alive Mace Windu and an all-grown-up Omega (with possible other cameos from The Bad Batch).

Imagine…

Fennec tells Boba she received new information about a mysterious man far away in the outer rim who’s experimenting with clone DNA. A man with a purple lightsaber. When they receive a distress signal from Omega, the last clone and Boba Fett’s “sister,” they embark on a journey, for both rescue and revenge.

Along the way, it’s revealed Fennec has clashed with Omega before in instances not seen on The Bad Batch, and she wants revenge of her own. In fact, after Boba rescued her and she figured out who he is, she stayed with him and started her plan in secret and played the long game to gain his trust. She uses Boba Fett to get Mace Windu out of the way so she can get to Omega.

In the second to last episode, Fett kills Windu but finds no peace in revenge, and he realizes Fennec Shand’s betrayal too late. Because she’s resourceful, Omega escapes from Shand’s clutches but is on the run. for the last episode, it’s a race to determine Omega’s fate. Boba Fett reluctantly teams up with the remaining living members of The Bad Batch to stop Shand, and in the process he learns how he’s been manipulated his whole life, and even in his independent life as a bounty hunter, he was simply used by the empire, used by the hutts, and now used by Fennec Shand.

They rescue Omega, and Boba resolves to live in freedom with his new family, away from both criminals and politicians. He decides to live with the clones, and lets the now-fully-alive Cobb Vanth rule Tatooine in his stead.

So…

What do you think of my idea? Good? Bad? Horrible?

And what do you think will happen next with Boba Fett?

No matter what happens, I’m excited to see what Star Wars does next.