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

[ctg]

A question, now that Groku and Boba's Rancor has bonded. Will it come around, asking, begging for scractches like a dog next time they'll see each other? After all dogs and rancors are emotional beasties.

 

[Parson]

A question, now that Groku and Boba's Rancor has bonded. Will it come around, asking, begging for scractches like a dog next time they'll see each other? After all dogs and rancors are emotional beasties.

A sight to see for sure. ---

Just thinking about Groku's name.

Proposed conversation:
"Hey what do we call the little green guy?"
"I don't know, but he sure needs some grow goo."
"You're a genius!"
"Of course I am. But what do you mean?"
"The name, of course, let's call him Growgoo."
"Too obviously an inside joke. You don't want people laughing at it like Unobtanium."
"Okay then let's spell it "Groku."

 

[Toby Frost]

Well, that was an entertaining episode, as almost everyone who had originally appeared pitched in for a massive (if slightly silly) fight. I enjoyed it, but it didn't (and couldn't) sort out the mess that this series was. Overall, I've found it unsatisfying, and I don't remember a similar programme that's ever sidelined its hero so much.

I can understand that the chap playing Fett isn't a young man, and can't be jumping around too much (unless a stunt double puts on his helmet) but there are too many moments in dialogue where people explain things to Fett, or his assistants give orders to people and he just stands there. Even when the rancor showed up, it felt as if Fett was just sitting on top of it. If your hero isn't going to be very active (which is fine) then they need to be driving the story somehow, and I didn't think Fett got much opportunity to do that. I was very pleased when Fett killed the blue cowboy, because at last he was doing something.

 

[BT Jones]

Well, that was an entertaining episode, as almost everyone who had originally appeared pitched in for a massive (if slightly silly) fight. I enjoyed it, but it didn't (and couldn't) sort out the mess that this series was. Overall, I've found it unsatisfying, and I don't remember a similar programme that's ever sidelined its hero so much.

I can understand that the chap playing Fett isn't a young man, and can't be jumping around too much (unless a stunt double puts on his helmet) but there are too many moments in dialogue where people explain things to Fett, or his assistants give orders to people and he just stands there. Even when the rancor showed up, it felt as if Fett was just sitting on top of it. If your hero isn't going to be very active (which is fine) then they need to be driving the story somehow, and I didn't think Fett got much opportunity to do that. I was very pleased when Fett killed the blue cowboy, because at last he was doing something.

Agreed, @Toby Frost. I found it a bit flat. I would personally have recast Boba Fett and perhaps used Cliff Curtis, who is 9 years younger, a better actor (IMO) and a more physical presence, as well as still being a Kiwi. I think Temura Morrison is probably a better actor than he showed. But it was quite a strange story. I would not have told it in flashback. I would have followed him and his training / recuperation with the sand people in more detail. It might have been nice for him to adopt some sense of spirituality with the land and the sand and the sun, hence his attachment to Tatooine. It's also strange to think the two best episodes of the show basically didn't feature him at all.

Overall, an interesting attempt to try something different. But, for me, this is to the Mandalorian as Solo is to Rogue One: proof that people aren't going to fall over themselves for Star Wars product without a solid story, likable characters, and good casting.

Hopefully Kenobi is better.

 

[Dave]

I would not have told it in flashback.

I much prefer linear told stories than flashbacks, but if they had done that, then the first few episodes would have been fantastic, followed by a very boring middle, followed by an end where he hardly appeared at all.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

I would personally have recast Boba Fett and perhaps used Cliff Curtis, who is 9 years younger, a better actor (IMO) and a more physical presence, as well as still being a Kiwi.

I love Cliff Curtis but let's be real, Tem would destroy him. And has, in fact.

That's a joke of course, and I agree that Temuera's physicality didn't help the character at all in the show. But rather than recasting him, because I still love Morrison immensely and because his face and voice will forever be the face and voice of Jango, Boba and all the clones to me, I simply would have used a bloody stunt double and have Fett keep his helmet on most of the time. Morrison would have been able to voice the character in the action scene, and he would still be able to appear in the few scenes where Boba would remove the helmet.

 

[BT Jones]

I love Cliff Curtis but let's be real, Tem would destroy him. And has, in fact.

That's a joke of course, and I agree that Temuera's physicality didn't help the character at all in the show. But rather than recasting him, because I still love Morrison immensely and because his face and voice will forever be the face and voice of Jango, Boba and all the clones to me, I simply would have used a bloody stunt double and have Fett keep his helmet on most of the time. Morrison would have been able to voice the character in the action scene, and he would still be able to appear in the few scenes where Boba would remove the helmet.

Fair point, @The Crawling Chaos. And I've never seen Once Were Warriors (shame on me), so I've really not seen what TM is capable of. But I agree about a body double. Let's remember, you only ever saw Pedro Pascal's in 3 scenes throughout the entire 2 seasons, so it would definitely have been possible.

 

[Toby Frost]

Agreed, @Toby Frost. I found it a bit flat. I would personally have recast Boba Fett and perhaps used Cliff Curtis, who is 9 years younger, a better actor (IMO) and a more physical presence, as well as still being a Kiwi. I think Temura Morrison is probably a better actor than he showed. But it was quite a strange story. I would not have told it in flashback. I would have followed him and his training / recuperation with the sand people in more detail. It might have been nice for him to adopt some sense of spirituality with the land and the sand and the sun, hence his attachment to Tatooine. It's also strange to think the two best episodes of the show basically didn't feature him at all

Looking back, I feel as if the writers just lost confidence in the show, about three episodes in. It's as if they thought "This concept/character/set of actors/etc can't carry the programme, so let's just give the audience more Mandalorian". I suppose that, 10 years ago, we'd be expecting Boba Fett to do the kind of thing that the Mandalorian does.

If it was me writing this show, I'd do this: Boba Fett becomes crime lord and is a more active version of Don Corleone. For the first few episodes, people bring problems to him and he sorts them out, which could involve fighting and a bit of detective work. Each episode and problem reveals something new about the setting and the difficulties of Boba's position. Eventually, Boba is forced to do something intolerable (sell drugs, use slaves, etc) and he resolves to bring the whole thing down. He partners with some young rebels and they defeat the crime lords. At the end, Boba decides either to remain and help guard the city, or flies off to have adventures like the Mandalorian.

 

[Dave]

a more active version of Don Corleone.

I'd have gone full Peaky Blinders but for Disney that wouldn't be The Way.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

Looking back, I feel as if the writers just lost confidence in the show, about three episodes in.

Not to take anything else away from your post, which I otherwise agree with, but this is impossible. A show is fully written before a single scene is shot (for planning and logistical reasons) so if the writers had a problem with the first three episodes, they wouldn't change the focus of the series for the following episodes, they could just rewrite them to make them good.

Even with The Mandalorian now embodying the Boba Fett of yore, there was a lot of potential in Boba Fett having his own show and becoming a benevolent protector of Mos Eisley (or is it Mos Espa? I could never tell the difference).

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

If it was me writing this show, I'd do this:

That's fun... I'll bite. It feels like the writers didn't quite know what to do with the character or as if someone had just handed out assignments to the writing room team with multiple boxes to tick (Boba no longer wants to answer to anyone, Boba takes over Jabba's palace, Boba mounts a Rancor...) and the story never grew organically starting from the character itself.

But if you start with the character, there's a lot of potential there to put him out of his comfort zone and make him grow: Boba is a clone, a carbon copy. Worse still, he has done nothing with his life but continuing his donor's legacy by also becoming a bounty hunter who wears the same armor and drives the same ship. So Boba never emancipated himself of the hand life has dealt him. He never became the "simple man trying to make his way in the universe." his father claimed he was. He shares the face and voice of millions of others... With this in mind, I don't see why Boba would ever show his face. He'd want his helmet to be his face, as the only real trait that makes him who he is and not anyone else. So while he doesn't wear his helmet, he should cover up, wrap his face in bandages, adopt the Tusken facemask... Anything but show his face! And the entire bacta subplot was therefore incredibly misguided. If anything, Boba should welcome and embrace the scars as they'd help set him apart from the rest of his "dad"'s offsprings or hide his bioengineered nature.

But deep down, Boba is also an orphan, a child who witnessed the brutal death of his father at the hands of a Jedi. And we never really saw him come to terms with that. The fact he has become who he is would tend to show he hasn't at all, and instead sought to prolong his dad's life by becoming his dad. Psychologically, there's so much you could do with the character, so many places you could take him, if you just spent two hours brainstorming with other writers. How does he feel about Force users now? Did he take part in their extermination alongside Vader and the Empire? Does he empathize with the plight of other orphans? Those are questions would have been worthy of exploration in a show dedicated to the character.

For instance, to explain Boba's sudden change of heart when it comes to crime, why not show him take the life of a father in front of his son/daughter, and having to own the fact that he just created another little Boba? That could have been done with the Tuskens for instance, when that creature attacks him and the other slave as they try to find water. There was a Tusken boy with them, and his father could have been there too, with Fett using he distraction of the attack to escape, then seeing the monster rip the father's head off in front of the boy, triggering a change of heart forcing him to come back, kill the monster and save the boy. And while Boba is armorless and wandering the cities of Tatooine looking for his belongings, why not confront him to veterans of the Clone Wars who 'recognize' him as a clone trooper and give him hell for that?

It really boggles the mind why they just wrote him into an ineffective and rudderless crime lord when they could have done so much more with him.

 

[Toby Frost]

Psychologically, there's so much you could do with the character, so many places you could take him, if you just spent two hours brainstorming with other writers.

I totally agree. Reading your post, it suddenly occurred to me that I know nothing about Boba Fett as a person. I know about his background, but not about him. He's just this guy who gets moved around and put into situations. I always feel that, in writing, it's good for characters to have trivial pastimes and interests, because they make characters feel more 3D and sometimes throw light on their personalities. Boba Fett doesn't have a personality. He has a throne. Sometimes he sits down.

There's so much that's weird about the life of a Mandalorian (and Fett in particular) that just throws up opportunities for good stories. The bit in the second series of The Mandalorian, where he meets the other Mandalorians and they remove their helmets, is really interesting. There's huge potential for stories in just that one action. There's nothing like that in BOBF, and it feels as if very little attempt was made to do so. Mayfield, a secondary character in The Mandalorian, has much more character than Boba Fett.