The Book of Boba Fett - Chapter 7 - In the name of honour

ctg

weaver of the unseen
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Boba Fett and Fennec Shand face an escalating conflict

Runtime 61 minutes (it was listed in the database as 38 minutes). IMDB score is around 9.4
 
This last episode wasn't bad at all and you can color me pleasantly surprised. I would say Rodriguez redeemed himself somewhat after the bland episode 1 and the abysmal episode 3. A lot of action, Fett finally got to do something other than being lectured and being disrespected, although he also was lectured and disrespected of course. And helmetless. Far too helmetless.

The biggest surprise by far was that I started appreciating David Pasquesi's grovelling, scenery-chewing Twi'lek. In the first few episodes I could not wait for him to die and thought the overacting on Pasquesi's part made Rodriguez's amateur direction even less palatable but for some reason, maybe because I grew used to it or because it reached that sweet so-bad-it's-good spot I found him quite amusing in this episode.

I liked the Rancor action minus the tired King Kong scaling the Empire State Building reference. And I'll easily forgive the nonsensical tactics employed by all during the many shootouts, because I am far too pleased with there being any shootout at all. What I don't understand is why Fennec Shand again gets the last word by assassinating all those who have plotted against Boba. For a minute I thought that was him picking them out one by one, and hanging the mayor from the ceiling. But much to my dismay it was her again, the real badass of the show, the one and only character who has proved to be the most competent at her job, reliable and loyal to a fault to her savior when she is obviously her better in every way. Had the show been called The Book of Fennec Shand, it needn't have changed one scene or line of dialogue, and I would have managed my expectations far more efficiently.

What more is there to say? The best part of the show were the last three episodes, two of which had little to nothing to do with the protagonist or his arc, but that has already been repeated ad nauseam elsewhere.

I pity the fans of The Mandalorian who sat this one out and who will one day tune in to The Mandalorian S03E01 to find Grogu clinging to Din Djarin's trousers and go "Err, wait a second. Did he not leave with Luke the last time I saw him?" But I envy them for not having to sit through the horrors of the first four episodes.

Was I supposed to care that Cobb Vanth was lying in Boba's bacta tank in a post-credit scene? I mean, of course he survived: He got shot in the shoulder. So why was this edited in as a post-credit scene, undoubtedly supposed to make us go "Wow! Awesome!" when it is as pedestrian a revelation as they come? I'd much rather have seen a scene opening up future possibilities, character cameos, etc.

If there's any takeaway here, it is that Din Djarin has now become a far better Boba Fett than Boba Fett himself. I'm always rooting for him and he is the only character whose future I am invested in, and not only because we might finally see a live-action Mandalore in a not too distant future... So bring on season 3 of The Mandalorian and let the sands of Tatooine bury Boba and the rest of his gang.
 
I had a fun time reading IMDB reviews. They go from side to side, BoBF even scoring 1's with no real explanation of what they effed. We know that it has not been the strongest presentation against the audience wishes. They hyped it as a crime-series with Boba taking the bossman place, but at the end they failed to ignite the flame.

I like gangster theme and I have no problem on diving into the dark side to cheer on things, but it makes me vary when the progress of said themes are put down to a few things that are not explained very well. John Jarrold said that SF needs clarity and sometimes SF writers really need to work on those clarifications to make the package full and polished.

The thing that I've noticed in this series is that it does not feel polished. It is not thought through and shaped to be one mean package. So if we get second season, we need more thought in the arcs than a fan service.

Let's see how well they fared in this episode. It should be final, but is it?

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"Spice is killing our people." No sh*t Boba. "We are at war." Damn right, sir. I get Fennec's argument on the drug trade, as it brought immense riches to Jabba and it still powers a lot of trade in the galaxy. Even Han Solo is famous for running it, but we never really think him as a drug trafficker. Maybe it's because he opted to be a general and a freedom fighter at the end. But...

... every boss has their own terms. They can say no to business and the product, or they can go with it. Both are equally good options, the drug business brings in a lot of cash ... which Boba doesn't really need. And the other is more traditional way of doing business through rackets.

I liked that Boba was sceptical about Freetown assistance and he even told the warcouncil that "if they don't arrive, they are doomed," because "the skill doesn't match the numbers."

Yes, finally, realism. They're effed but at least they're going to put up a good fight. The scooter gang was right when they claimed that Boba was going to hide in the castle, and they needed to stay in the city, waiting for the reinforcements.

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The other side of the coin. Mayor never left the city. He was always hiding there, doing business and protecting his city and its trade from the invader. Their conversation felt more real than the one they had in the bar. Cad even feels like a proper enforcer. A man that does not take sh*t.

He was not phased by Boba action on the Sanctuary ruins. "I will draw him out."

What I really hated was Fennec doing telling in the dialogue, even thought the situation in the city is clear to audience. There was absolutely no need for it. What I don't get is that if they needed to do tell people, where they're heading, they should have done in the brief and then moved on to Cad fight instead giving us a glimpse of the troop placements.

"Let the Spice move through Mos Espa and all of this can be avoided," was Cad's suggestion. And like I said, it's bossman's decision to allow or deny. Cad couldn't took the Nay vote and say, "Okay."

He pushed the issue by telling Boba that the Syndicate was behind the Tusken massacre, and the bikers had nothing to do with it. Oh Boba, how much intellect Sarlacc did sap out of you?

"Tell your clients, the negotiations are terminated."

Cad Bane smiled, "You're going soft in your old age." Damn right, Mr Bane. Boba feels as if he's been castrated. But the smart thing is to not the take the fight when Cad had set it. it's just when there is a war, you cannot play the assassin playbook. You need to trade blows.

All families turned on Boba, because he didn't show enough of power. They weren't scared of him to abandon the spice profits. So in his shoes, I'd have gone full guerilla or left the business to them and gone to conquer some other place. I'm glad he and Din chose the second, "To die in the name of honour," while fighting the Syndicate.

The Freetown arrival was surprise, as was the fact that Boba and Din took the hits on their armour plates and none of the of vulnerable spots got scorched. Black Krrstan took several hits and he still walked to the Sanctuary.

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This really bugged me. What the hell people, find some cover! Don't cluster together! Dear Lord, where are your brains? Did Sarlacc sap you all? Those walkers are slow. They shell a lot of firepower, but their real weakness is that they are so freaking slow.

I could not but shake my head. "Protect the others." Pfffft.

What the hell people, that walker is so big that it could get stuck in narrow corridors. It's shield could get overwhelmed in energy junction points. But no, we got a meaningless run across the city in all directions with a big group clustered together. Thank god that walker couldn't shoot to save its life.

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The moment my disbelief was broken. Black Krrstan firing at the walker, alone, while others try to come up with a plan. Krrstan took seven hits, one in the back. He was kicked in the chest. His foot was badly mangled and yet, in this shot, he's perfectly okay. WTF?

So I let it roll, disappointed. Wishing for all of them to die.

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The warface. As much as I loved seeing Boba riding the rancor, I knew that the bot was going to hit him. It was just a matter of time. But I was surprised to see that they actually did it instead of allowing rancor to tear the bot apart. More importantly we saw Mando starting to use the darksabre as it's meant to be. He wasn't heaving it around as if it was made from lead, instead he swung and he stabbed as if the blade listened to him. Then the bot did its thing and Baby Yoda had to show Force powers to get a joint bolt.

The rancor tearing the siege bot apart was a really cool looking. Sending the second in the ruins of building, even better. Letting him roar and rage, the best.

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Why does Disney show corpses, and cuts, but then fades away the damage and never ever shows the blood? Does the space aliens have no blood or does Boba's rancor regenerate all the damage as soon as he gets it?

Cad Bane said, "I've known you for a long time, but one thing I don't get. What's your angle?"

"It's my city," was Boba's answer. "These are my people."

What I don't get is why Cad played with him and didn't finish him?

"This is the final lesson. Look out for your shelf. Anything else is weakness," he said, raising the gun on Boba's face. Man, you had a chance, you tossed it away by playing with the game. Rest in peace Cad Bane.

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"Don't worry kid. Your old man's crafty." :ROFLMAO: To be honest, I hated the King Kong moment. It felt so incorrect for the scooter gang to shoot him. Why? Also where were all the civilians in this shootout and why there weren't more casualties?

What was interesting what Groku facing the beast and doing exactly the same thing as Ezra did when he found out about his powers. He connected with the beast just like Baby Yoda did and calmed them. It also means that he doesn't need training, just opportunities for him to be him.

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The best scene. Fennec doing Leon. I was surprised that it wasn't Boba, because killing the family heads should have been his business, not Fennec's. But I'm glad that Fennec did it and thus cleared the city from the opposition. Tatooine is now Fett's. And hers.

Frankly she should have done that episodes ago and they would have had easier time.

As a final, it really wasn't the best and breaking the disbelief, cardinal sin. TWD suffered the same thing at the final episode of All out War. It too went into the unbelievable territory rather than trying to show the audience a believable fight. And to be honest, I feel bad that the series flopped, even if it got high scores. Mostly it didn't look or feel like a deep dive into Boba's life, as there was not enough of depth and now that series is over, I can only wish they would have extended it and allowed Boba to be Boba.

Maybe we'll need a second season that dives more in depth into the murky world of galactic underworld, and show the audience, why Boba chose to conquer the planet, and declare himself as daimyo.
 
I mean, of course he survived: He got shot in the shoulder. So why was this edited in as a post-credit scene, undoubtedly supposed to make us go "Wow! Awesome!" when it is as pedestrian a revelation as they come? I'd much rather have seen a scene opening up future possibilities, character cameos, etc.
Andalorian series that already got green light for the second season. That's why.

I'm also surprised that we were both disappointed at the King Kong sequence.
 
I'm also surprised that we were both disappointed at the King Kong sequence.

Ah, why? After reading your review I can see we agree on everything as far as this episode goes. I mean, I'm making a conscious effort to let all the imbecile tactics employed by all parties during those firefights slide because they pale in comparison to the bigger problems this series has, but I agree with you that they are there and that they should bug me.

I liked that Boba was sceptical about Freetown assistance and he even told the warcouncil that "if they don't arrive, they are doomed," because "the skill doesn't match the numbers."

When I heard that I thought this was a wonderful display of humility on the part of a handful of heroes wearing several layers of Beskar-grade plot armor, but then the guys from Freetown did show up and they were, what, a dozen guys at best? Against what felt like a hundred plus two spider tanks... And they still won! I guess their skills did match their numbers after all. Well, their skills and a Rancor.

Andalorian series that already got green light for the second season. That's why.

Do you mean Andor? What's the connection? Andor is supposed to be a prequel to Rogue One, while TBOBF was set 10 years later. And if there ever was a connection, I'd much rather have seen Andor himself show up in the post-credit scene (even though Sidious knows that I don't care about him in the slightest and will endeavour to skip this show unless my new favourite Mando somehow shows up in it) than Cobb Vanth, whose participation in that other spin off is anything but confirmed.
 
Do you mean Andor? What's the connection? Andor is supposed to be a prequel to Rogue One, while TBOBF was set 10 years later.
Marshal in the dunes is old. He has history. That's what I'm saying. That history might come to play in Mando Season 3. He might appear in the Andor season, with the deaging algo in the play. Why? He strikes me as one of the original resistance fighters and the Freetown was his vacation spot, where to keep law and order.

Remember, in the Westerns, Marshals, or Sheriff's often have a murky past and they choose to do law and order after they're finished with the dark phase. Although sometime the darkness is not finished with you. It keeps coming back like a bad penny.
 
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This was much better than I was expecting. I think it's because I've decided that I can accept almost anything now - Greedo shoots first, Boba Fett survives the Sarlacc in the Great Pit - so why not Vespa gangs and King Kong homages too?

I did think that Luke would train Grogu. I thought Grogu would choose the lightsabre over the Beskar chainmail. It does fit the Star Wars canon though. Grogu leaving him would be a strong reason why Luke refused to train Rey.
 
I did think that Luke would train Grogu. I thought Grogu would choose the lightsabre over the Beskar chainmail. It does fit the Star Wars canon though. Grogu leaving him would be a strong reason why Luke refused to train Rey.
There is nothing Luke can teach to kid. Kid already knows, but he's scared to use the force. It's going to be better for him to learn on his own, and not go through forced Jedi or Sith practices. They are one way of looking at things.

I get what I'm suggesting is liberal, but thing is, slotting into two school of thinking feels like US binary party system and it's a very narrow way of looking at things. All force sensitive people can be trained as force users, but not all will be equally powerful. Groku putting the big beastie to sleep proved a) size matters not and b) he doesn't need training when he's natural.

You look Yoda and there's a lot of speculation on his part. Some of it claims and it kind of make sense that he too was natural and the dark side is the easy way. So he chose to learn the light side and master it fully. It however doesn't say that he never ever didn't dabble with the dark arts.

Yoda after all was a trickster and it fit him too. Groku is a trickster and taking that walker knee bolt was kind of evil act, if you look at it on very narrow perspective. When Ezra did tame his beasts, he went into that dark side, to animal side, where the anarchy for example is allowed.

Then again he has shown also to be able to do force healing which is one of the ultimate light side force powers. And Groku didn't needed any instructions to do it. He just did it. Probably because it felt like the right thing to do. At that moment.
 
Call me easily entertained, but I thought the King Kong bit, with Mando flying around like the biplanes, was laugh-out-loud funny. I always welcome a few scenes telling me that showrunners don't take their work too seriously.
I've never seen a battle in which so many different branches of the cavalry rode to the rescue. I kept expecting Grogu to finally save the day with a few strafing X-Wing runs, until Peli Motto pulled up in her robo-rickshaw with her surprise visitor aboard. How could she have been so totally oblivious to the firefight that was taking place down the block?
So Grogu chose the chain mail. Who needs a lightsaber when you can hijack a fighter and a droid navigator?
 
I did think that Luke would train Grogu. I thought Grogu would choose the lightsabre over the Beskar chainmail.
There was no way Disney was going to deprive its flagship series of its little moneymaker. Grogu is what turned what could have been a niche hit aimed at Bucketheads into a mainstream success. And let's not forget the thorny problem that all of Luke's students are destined to be slaughtered years later. The further Grogu is from Luke, the safer he is.

Grogu leaving him would be a strong reason why Luke refused to train Rey.
I don't think there's any connection there to be honest. Luke will still go on to rebuild a Jedi Order and train many students, including Ben Solo, before Rey shows up at his door.

ctg said:
b) he doesn't need training when he's natural.

Well, he may not be a natural. Human Jedi padawans are usually detected and start training at 4 or 5 years old. If Grogu was detected at the same age, he could have spent a good 15 years training at the Jedi Temple before the Purge. Anakin's entire training from padawan to Jedi Master took 13 years. So we have here a toddler who has possibly been training even longer and must have attuned his senses to a considerable degree, even if he is no 'Chosen One'.

If I remember correctly it is the second time Grogu has used the Force to tame a big beast. I wonder if this will be his signature power, like Leia contacting the dead, Anakin choking people...

It however doesn't say that he never ever didn't dabble with the dark arts.
I remember the old EU mentioned he did or even depicted Yoda studying the Dark Side a couple of times. But Yoda is a paragon of virtue, a monolithic Jedi. He's the kind of Jedi who could study the Dark Side for years for academic purposes without ever succumbing to its power.

In fact I wonder if the Jedi Order taught Dark Side theory to its students, just like Theology will teach you the history and inner working of all religions regardless of your own beliefs and practices, or if they tried to pull a blanket over it and pretended it didn't exist in a misguided attempt to shelter the students from it - at the high risk of increasing its power of attraction among young and adventurous minds.
 
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Marshal in the dunes is old. He has history. That's what I'm saying. That history might come to play in Mando Season 3. He might appear in the Andor season, with the deaging algo in the play. Why? He strikes me as one of the original resistance fighters and the Freetown was his vacation spot, where to keep law and order.

Remember, in the Westerns, Marshals, or Sheriff's often have a murky past and they choose to do law and order after they're finished with the dark phase. Although sometime the darkness is not finished with you. It keeps coming back like a bad penny.
The end credit scene can't have anything to do with Andor. He could be in that series even if he had died, being that it is a prequel.
 
Tatooine is now Fett's. And hers.

Yeah, about that... It won't be for long if the final conversation between Fett and Shand is the Chekov's gun that I think it is:

Fett: Why must everyone bow at me?
Shand: Better than shooting.
Fett: Are those my only two options?
Shand: When you rule the city, it is.
Fett (accepting a gift from a local): We're not suited for this.
Shand: If not us, then who?
[Conversation ends as they join the rest of the gang]

Something tells me that seeing Cobb Vanth recovering in Boba's bacta tank, in Boba's chambers, a privilege of the master of the house until then, points to Vanth taking up the mantle. He's such a stereotypical western sheriff anyway that I don't see anyone else to take Boba's place. I'm all for it.

What disappoints me so much is that Boba's masterplan makes even less sense now:

Boba wants to quit his job to become his own boss > He was a bounty hunter working for the highest bidder, with enough money to pick his contracts. As an independent contractor's job, he was already "his own boss".
Boba intends to become a benevolent figure and protect the city > He decides "crime lord" is the way to go.
Boba decides to rule over a criminal empire > He murders and replaces the crime lord who seems to have the flimsiest influence over local criminal activities. He also has no idea how criminal networks actually work and must be explained everything.
Boba spends an entire season struggling to establish himself as a crime lord > As soon as all opposition has been routed, he realizes he doesn't want the job after all and will end up giving it to someone else.

He is the most clueless protagonist I've ever seen, possibly with the exception of Mr. Bean.

If Boba's adventures must continue, just cut to the chase and turn him into the Batman of the Star Wars universe, travelling the galaxy to get rid of its criminal element wherever it is found. Boba's Intergalactic Space Police is a concept I can get behind. But let's just forget this season ever existed.
 
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Can we say that Boba is an amateur trying to run a professional business and he's failing the business? As an analogue think a mafia standoff, where both parties are killed off and the nerdy offspring takes over the family business. It wouldn't be good for anybody. So he really needs to expand on the roster if he wants to stay as don. He has an underboss on Fennec, but he doesn't have a consigliere, and he doesn't have captains and those captains doesn't really have soldiers.
 
I think if you take out all the Mando scenes, you're left with a series that meandered along, leaving the audience with a hollow story masked with great action and fan service moments. The stakes weren't high enough, the emotional involvement was low, the characters werne't likeable or didn't have layers of intrigue, and the flow was interrupted constantly. Hell, we can't even sympathise with Boba because we don't find out about the Tusken slaughter when he does, so that scene falls flat, and the ending then falls flat after.

Summary: Would not watch again, and am not interested in Season 2. Would gladly watch Episodes 5 and 6 again though as a Mando 2.5
 
So is the general consensus that the series flopped? I cannot add the vote system, because I cannot edit the top post. And the voting isn't allowed in the general posts.
 
I guess you could always create a 'yay' or 'nay' thread for a second Book of Boba Fett series, but I don't think there are enough people watching the show here to give us a good idea of what the general populace wants.

Personally I'd rather not see the SW universe spread too thin across dozens of shows (pipe dream, I know) so I'm against a second season. All I want is Mando Season 3. Bu that doesn't mean I'm against Boba making other appearances as a secondary character in that show.
 
Personally I'd rather not see the SW universe spread too thin across dozens of shows (pipe dream, I know) so I'm against a second season. All I want is Mando Season 3. Bu that doesn't mean I'm against Boba making other appearances as a secondary character in that show.

Dozens of shows, all one planet. Disney should have just renamed it Sand Wars
 
Well, I agree I didn't think that this was a great episode at all. I was particularly irked by the battle scenes. It reminded me of something out of Loony Tunes. Almost all the bad guys die and all the good guys are untouched or have a "flesh wound." The numbers were too small to be anything like a "war." It was more like a Mafia family fight. The best part of the episode was when Fennec Shand takes down the Pyke headquarters.

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In the end I would call this a failed series. I'd be much more interested in following Fennec Shand than Boba Fett. Here's my bet. I'd bet there will be a season 2 of Boba Fett but that in some way or the other he's going to another planet to clean it up. A kind of wild west US Marshall with Fennec as his deputy and enforcer.
 
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Who is that geezer behind Fennec? It's not Boba. That I'm sure of.

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This scene is much better in static form than what they filmed.

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This scene is also better at static, than what was filmed.

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Awww, lub, lub. I wanted to use this at first post, but chose the other with Boba innit instead. It would also have spoiled the episode.

 

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