Image credit: Disney+
The latest and adrenaline-pumping chapter of The Book of Boba Fett Star Wars Spin-off series only partially lifts a fluctuating season.
We arrived on the last Wednesday in the company of The Book of Boba Fett which, with the seventh episode, closes the narrative arc on the famous bounty hunter. It was a stormy journey that of the Disney + series, punctuated by soporific digressions, questionable narrative choices, and abrupt changes of course. From the introduction to Fett's new route, between past and present, we moved on to a focus on the character of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and finally to the long-awaited grand finale.
The last chapter entitled In The Name of Honor was a succession of surprises and heated fights, confirming an excellent graphic and scenographic rendering. Unfortunately, in terms of the story, not everything turned out to be flawless, as was to be expected. The mass of characters, each with their own background, flooded the engine of the series. The screenplay written by Jon Favreau tries to give space to each of the elements involved, by restricting the prime time of the protagonists.
Obviously, we are talking about the unfortunate Boba Fett who, although present, never stands out in the story. There is certainly no shortage of great sequences with the "protagonist" of the series, but the accessory elements are more surprising than the character itself.
It's a real shame because the foundations for creating something unique and capable of competing with the parent series were all there. The primary difficulty, in our opinion, was to give shape to a new personality for the former henchman of Jabba the Hutt, as the canons that had defined him in the films had been inherited from Pedro Pascal's Mando.
That said, The Book of Boba Fett still manages to give us excellent moments, those capable of making us jump out of the armchair. The problem, however, is once again the direction of Robert Rodriguez. The director can't stand comparison with Dave Filoni, who directed the sixth episode, or with Bryce Dallas Howard and his fantastic The Return of the Mandalorian. In short, Rodriguez's aesthetic sense does not seem to blend with the Star Wars universe; a bit like water and oil.
The following contains spoilers, so we recommend reading for those who have seen the seventh episode released on Disney + on February 9th.
The Book of Boba Fett the final battle in the streets of Mos Espa
The sixth episode of The Book of Boba Fett closed with the surprising arrival of Cad Bane, one of the most famous and ruthless bounty hunters in the galaxy. After a fantastic Mexican stalemate with Cobb Vanth and his deputy, the Durosian gunslinger is easily the winner, starting a real war between the Pyke Syndicate and the new Damien of Tatooine. Fett, having accepted the gauntlet, has to deal with the repercussions, first of all, the explosion of the characteristic Mos Espa tavern.
This is what happened on Tatooine, while in another part Grogu's decision remained pending: to receive Yoda's old lightsaber and continue his Jedi training or to accept the chain mail given to him by Mando and leave the streets forever. of force. Each piece is in place, and the fuse of battle has now been lit. In The Name of Honor, a heap of rubble starts right from the tavern. Boba Fett, Shand, the Cyborgs, and Mando consider the way forward to face their enemy.
One cannot fail to notice a certain similarity with the last episode of the first season of The Mandalorian. Both endings share not a few elements in common, starting with the protagonists barricaded in a room in obvious numerical inferiority, while on the outside the enemy moves their apparently unbeatable troops. It is not the first time that Disney has been digging up scenes from old products to create new ones in others; whether it is in animated films or within Cinecomics.
Leaving aside this aspect, however not just, the seventh episode of The Book of Boba Fett launches into a frenzied race through the streets of Mos Espa, between shootings, screams, and a lot of explosions. The arrival of the cyborgs on their colorful speeders lights up the receptors of our memory, and the scene is immediately accompanied by an iconic theme: "When you don't know how to get out of trouble, call the Power Rangers. Here they are in our city, mom what speed.
Red and yellow plus pink, black and blue, the Power Rangers colors ”. Unfortunately (or fortunately) they will not be the heroes of the moment, and we will not have the chance to see a giant Megazord in the world of Star Wars. But Jon Favreau knows exactly what fans want, and in the middle of the episode, he gives us the highly anticipated Boba Fett back at the Rancor. What can I say, at this point, the series regains points again. But let's go in order.
The arrival of Grogu and the duel with Cad Bane
The calm before the storm is broken by the betrayal of Mos Espa's noble families, whose followers begin to attack members of Fett's group from behind. The first to fall are the two Gamorrean guards, in a scene with questionable execution. In a chain, the cyborgs and the brutal Wookie Krrsantan are stopped.
Meanwhile, Mando and Fett engage in a heated blaster battle. The moment is well constructed, especially thanks to that western cut that characterized the previous episode. The synergy of the movements between the two characters, the use of jet packs and armor as shields, fortifies the moment, which will continue in an escalation of adrenaline. We are talking about the aforementioned arrival of rancor and Grogu. As much as the little one warms his heart every time he enters the scene, his presence in The Book of Boba Fett rests on pure fanservice, also detracting from the value of The Mandalorian's ending.
We would have expected, after the appearance in the sixth episode, to see him again in the third season. The screenplay instead decided to immediately bring him back to the fold, once again detracting from the presence of Boba Fett and his companions. This is demonstrated by the fact that the episode ends with a funny curtain in the company of Mando, instead of with the protagonist.
In The Name of Honor, it also shows the duel between Cad Bane and Boba, perhaps the most important moment of the series, the one in which the protagonist's path is given greater depth. In the previous episode, the Durosian claimed that Fett is a ruthless killer. Yet, our protagonist seems to have left that life behind, he has softened. This characteristic was discreetly accentuated in the third and fourth episodes, going to dismantle the myth of the great fighter.
Beyond this, Fett manages to get the better of Bane thanks to his new heritage, embodied in the Tusken stick; a cathartic moment that encompasses his entire path. The Book of Boba Fett could be wrapped up in this single duel, which tells a lot more about the protagonist than previous episodes did. Even here, however, the villain is eliminated too easily; we would have expected a greater presence within the episode.
The Book of Boba Fett is an ending that only partially redeems a fluctuating season
But let us return to that structural problem of the entire series, namely the goodness of Boba Fett. The latter would like to be the new crime lord, but his criminal actions have very little. In fact, we are faced with a good and merciful leader, able to accept everyone's requests for a higher purpose: to save the city and the entire planet from the clutches of the spice and from the despots of the galaxy; a real savior, as evidenced by the final scene in which the people of Mos Espa happily bow before their leader.
And this is where the same principle applies as in the previous episodes because the episode does what had not yet been done: giving space to action. In The Name of Honor is an adrenaline-fueled episode that leaves no room for moments of stasis (although not everything is embroidered with all the trimmings).
From the arrival of Grogu to the clash with Rancor, from the duel with Cad Bane to the end, it is a very pleasant race at breakneck speed. We are happy, of course, to see such moments, but at the same time, we have to deal with what has been shown previously.
The Book of Boba Fett is not a perfect series, and the ending fully reflects the entire season: there are some great action moments, but some narrative choices undermine their full success. Finally, Disney + 's new Star Wars product doesn't beat the comparison to The Mandalorian, but it's still many steps ahead of the sequel trilogy.
The final episode succeeds in the difficult task of putting all the pieces back in order, touching some of them improperly, of course, but still giving meaning to a story that for four chapters did not have a precise address. The final minutes also lay the foundations for the future, with Mando and Grogu back together and a revived Cobb Vanth, the sheriff of Free Town, being regenerated inside the Bacta tank in the post-credit scene.
We will likely see the charming Timothy Olyphant again in a possible second season of The Book of Boba Fett or other derivative works. In conclusion, the series on Fett confirmed once again how much the Starwarsian imaginary can be adapted to various stories, and how the western component is the right path to follow; perhaps with a less shaky script.