The second episode of The Book of Boba Fett is officially here and it picks up right where the first episode left off. It appears that this particular Star Wars story is doing something that really hasn't been seen in any of the other shows or movies. The Book of Boba Fett is trying to tell two entirely different tales at the same time. There's the "present" where Boba and Fennec Shand are trying to figure out exactly who is trying to kill him. Then there's the bigger, longer plot of the show that continues to show how the former bounty hunter came back from near death with the help of the Tuskens. One of the things that has become rather clear is that the showrunners seem to be more interested in telling the story of how he got back and to where he is, rather than to show how he's really going to rule in Jabba's stead.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. Filling in the gaps of Boba Fett's story is also telling a story that really hasn't been broached at all in the Star Wars universe. The problem is that at the moment, the show isn't really delivering what it was billed as. That may not be a problem for those who are enjoying the show, but it seems like an interesting approach for a program that needs to win over its viewers since it's the first standalone Disney Plus series that's aired in 2022. The biggest question is just how long the dual-storyline is going to go on. And whether or not the mystery of who is coming after Boba will take a bigger role in the coming weeks?
The Book Of Boba Fett And The Tusken Raiders
The Tusken Raiders have been seen in Star Wars movies and TV shows before. The Book of Boba Fett is diving into who these people are and what their motivations are far more than any other story has before. In doing so, it's pretty obvious, in fact, it's almost explicitly spelled out that these people are the indigenous people of Tatooine. And while this group of people is often shown as the aggressors and blood-thirsty marauders, it turns out, at least as far as this show is concerned, they're very much misunderstood. In fact, as it turns out they're just trying to live their lives while people intrude on their land and even take potshots at them as they speed by their tribe.
There are some things that The Book of Boba Fett doesn't do very well. There was some concern that the former bounty hunter's interactions with the youngling Tusken was going to take center stage for far too much of the series. There was also the scene where he went to Tatooine's version of a biker bar and beat up all of its inhabitants. The part where the human man who is there with his girlfriend for reasons passing understanding said "this isn't right" was some of the most heavy-handed, after-school special level writing of any Star Wars script.
However, there is at least one thing that The Book of Boba Fett does quite well. The show does a very good job of making the viewers actually care about the Tusken Raiders. They do this by making the people that are attacking them about as cold-hearted as someone can be. They speed by in a train, taking potshots as they go and it seems as if they're doing it for no reason. While the leader of the group eventually says they were just trying to protect their cargo, the Raiders make it very clear they had no way of stopping the train or even really attacking it before Boba comes along. When he does come along, he gives them a way to fight for themselves that, quite frankly, could be changing the balance of power in the Dune Sea.
While this particular story was carried out fairly well, there is a question as to how long it will continue to be interesting. In the two episodes of the new series, viewers have seen how Boba Fett went from a prisoner to one of them. It's also been shown how he went from a member of the tribe to one of the leaders. Is there anything left that can really be compelling about this story? It would be nice to see another chapter of his comeback story that wasn't already covered in The Mandalorian. The question is whether the show is going to move on or keep going with this story.
More Story In The Present, Please
One of the things that has held back The Book of Boba Fett in the first two episodes is the lack of any real attention paid to the "present." The show was billed as the former bounty hunter becoming a kingpin of crime on Tatooine. There is now a mystery as to who is trying to kill him. Here's hoping that some attention is actually paid to him now in Episode 3.
The rush to show "the past" and how he helped the Tusken Raiders is harming the draw of this other storyline. It's not entirely clear why the identity of The Mayor, who seemed to be set up as a worthy adversary was such a letdown. It's also not entirely clear why they set him up as a bad buy at all, if this was going to be the payoff. It's possible this is going to come around and be more engrossing at some point. However, it feels like Boba and Fennec bursting into the mayor's office was set up to be a much more momentous moment. It really, really wasn't.
There's a chance that the show could be hitting its stride. The action scenes were top notch. However, there are times when the dialog is cringeworthy and so far, the focus of the story seems to not be spending enough time on one of its aspects. That could all change next week, of course.
New episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are now streaming every Wednesday