The Book of Boba Fett (SPOILERS possible)

[Dave]

I guess the fact that today's episode was my favorite one yet says a lot about how I feel about the overall plot of TBOBF so far.

No ****.  That was by far the best episode and it didn't even have Boba Fett in it.

I'm not sure it moved the plot of TBOBF forward in any way, but it sure is setting up The Mandalorian Season 3.

[Matt_Fury]

There were some small movements in the main plot, mainly fleshing out the pykes a little more.

[Jeff]

I'm not sure it moved the plot of TBOBF forward in any way, but it sure is setting up The Mandalorian Season 3.

Not only setting up The Mandalorian Season 3, but maybe other shows as well....  makes me wonder if all those "pre-Empire,Galactic Republic" ship parts ended up on Tatooine thanks to whatever is gonna happen in Kenobi?

[Nicklab]

I have to say, that when season 1 of The Mandalorian happened and I learned that Bryce Dallas Howard was directing Chapter 4 of that show I had serious misgivings.  Was this nepotism gone awry?  Was she up to the task as a director?  But she actually rose to the occasion with that episode, and it had some genuine heart.  Fast forward to Mando season 2 and her episode, "The Heiress" - this was one of my personal favorites from season 2!  She got to introduce Bo-Katan and the Night Owls, along with advancing the story of the Imperial Remnant.  And it exposed Din Djarin to just how insular his world had been as one of the Children of the Watch.

This new episode of The Book of Boba Fett did not disappoint!  I'm going to refrain from getting into specifics about the show, except for the striking absence of the title character from this episode.  When he's featured more in the RECAP segment than the actual episode that's kind of weird.  Don't take that as me disliking the episode, because that's absolutely NOT the case.  I loved it!

[Dave]

Some things I really liked about Episode 5:
- I loved the opening battle with Din and his bounty.  Boba needs to be more like that.  I love the "You've got two options - warm or cold."
- Space station ring world (apparently called Glavis).   It reminded me of the space station from that Matt Damon movie Elysium.  Very cool.
- The Darksaber.  I loved the battles with it and Din's challenge at controlling it.  I loved how it seemed so heavy that it drags around and is hard to control.  I wonder why Moff Gideon didn't have this problem.  I need to go back and find the Rebels episode when Sabine gains control of the Darksaber and learns to control it.
- The Mandalorian covert.  Its nice to have The Armorer and her wisdom sort of guiding Din in his journey, although it would have been nice to see Din ask some questions about Bo Katan, helmet removal, etc.  Good to see Paz Vizsla survived too.
- Beggar's Canyon
- Kinda funny that Din has to take "the bus" since The Razor Crest was destroyed.  Sounds like he still wants one.  It'll be interesting to see if he can track one down, gets Slave I, or sticks with his Naboo starfighter, although that doesn't seem too practical for brining back bounties larger than a severed head.

A few things that I didn't like:
- Too many random things get tied in to the story line, and especially Tatooine.  I was okay with R5-D4 being on Tatooine with Peli Motto, but why was BD-1 there?  I'm not that familiar with the Jedi Fallen Order story, but I didn't think it involved Tatooine.
- Not sure I liked that Peli Motto dated a Jawa.  That just seemed weird and a little creepy.  Most of the humor in this episode was pretty good, but I didn't care for that bit.

[Rob]

I’d be happy if I never heard the word Wizard in a Star Wars story ever again.

[Matt_Fury]

This episode has some people wondering if Din Djarin is force sensitive.  I'm not convinced either way, but the idea behind the will of the Force and the will of Kyber crystals is something that I find fascinating and want explored in future episodes/shows.

I loved the look of Glavis.  Looks like they blew a lot of the effects budget on tis episode.  Seeing the atmosphere around the ring was so cool.  As a Space guy, I geeked out a bit.

The flying through beggar's canyon was great as well as the pod race nods during the flight.  I don't know what's more cringe, Mando saying "Wizard" at the end of the flight or the fact he could've said "Now this is pod racing" at any point during that sequence!

Why is the Rangers of the New Republic shelved when they actually had the Rangers of the New Republic in this episode.  I know that Cara Dune was supposed to have a major role in that show, but she's a marshal not a ranger!  Get some good writers working on this Disney!  The conversation they had with Mando during that scene was great and is hinting at things we're going to see in future shows.

There's so much to unpack in this episode that I need to rewatch it a few more times...loving the ride!

[Chris M]

I think I may have said this back, or perhaps in another group...

I came into this show with no expectations.  The plot has moved very slow, but the past two episodes have been really good IMO.  I think Star Wars might be going the way of Marvel and having a bunch of little plots and stories develop that will eventually be tied together.  I certainly hope that's the case.  They definitely have the right guy driving steering the ship..now if we can just get KK to get out of her own way...

[Jeff]

I think Star Wars might be going the way of Marvel and having a bunch of little plots and stories develop that will eventually be tied together.  I certainly hope that's the case.

It is definitely the case for the Mando-era series.  KK said that Ahsoka, Mando, TBOBF (and the now cancelled Rangers of New Republic) were all going to feed off each other and "culminate in a climactic story event" which sure seems like it'll have something to do with the planet Mandalore.

[Mister Skeezler]

One of the things I geeked out about (and just remembered right now) were the K-2 droids marching and firing during the destruction of Mandalore. Very Terminator-esque!

[Ryan]

Echoing what a lot of people have said, I loved the episode last night. There were so many great little parts. I'm really excited to see how they continue to develop all of the Mandalore stuff.

I'm not sure it moved the plot of TBOBF forward in any way, but it sure is setting up The Mandalorian Season 3.

Not only setting up The Mandalorian Season 3, but maybe other shows as well....  makes me wonder if all those "pre-Empire,Galactic Republic" ship parts ended up on Tatooine thanks to whatever is gonna happen in Kenobi?

Great call out Jeff! It definitely will be interesting to see if that is the case. There is what a 10-15 year gap or so between the series?

Why is the Rangers of the New Republic shelved when they actually had the Rangers of the New Republic in this episode.  I know that Cara Dune was supposed to have a major role in that show, but she's a marshal not a ranger!  Get some good writers working on this Disney!  The conversation they had with Mando during that scene was great and is hinting at things we're going to see in future shows.

I was wondering about that a bit myself. Maybe Rangers of the New Republic was also supposed to have some Rogue Squadron tie-ins? Seems like they could still have found a way to do it without Cara Dune otherwise.

One of the things I geeked out about (and just remembered right now) were the K-2 droids marching and firing during the destruction of Mandalore. Very Terminator-esque!

That and the hundreds of TIE Bombers, I think that was one of my favorite bits. I would love if this is all building to some sort of an eventual showdown with Thrawn at Mandalore.

[Muftak]

That was weird.

My son hooted and hollered at the double-punch of Mando appearing and his theme playing. And the beginning was genuinely thrilling and exciting in a way TBOBF has not captured for me.

It's weird that so much Mando lore now resides in the middle of another series. That would be like the episode where Richie Cunningham goes to college and Chachi moves in with Fonzie while Arnold sells the diner to Al all taking place in a January episode of Laverne and Shirley. It's weird Will this all get a 10 minute recap on the real season 3 premiere?

So then the episode got moving,, and never left Mando. I couldn't believe it, as we had like seventeen mini-episodes unfold including a forging montage, a training montage, a flashback, a battle to the death...seriously I would have preferred these bits to be fleshed out over the first four episodes of the series, and have all the Boba Fett "Daimyo" stuff get crammed into episode 5 instead. I guess that would have been Mandalorian season 3, though. Yeah, that's what I want.

Once it got back to Tatooine I got a little bored or maybe just exhausted, and I will point out that TPM is my 3rd favorite saga flick so it's not like I wasn't enjoying the callbacks. Too much Pelli Motto for my taste. (She had more lines, screen time, and plot involvement this episode than any of the side characters introduced in TBOBF so far. Why couldn't we get a chance to get to know the characters of the 2 Gammoreans hanging around with Bo a like this? Some antics, some history, maybe one of them dated a Jawa..?)

Last week I was resigned to disliking this series because of the strange structure and complete failure of good storytelling. This week I loved so much of what was going on...but the underlying problems are still there. The storytelling is being forgotten and in its place are at best fun skits to watch (and at worst seriously cringe-inducing bad TV.)

If this is them trying to do a large overarching storyline, it isn't working. Build a larger narrative to guide the story, but remember these are individual episodes that at their best should have the ability to be watched and enjoyed on their own.

[Nicklab]

One of the things I geeked out about (and just remembered right now) were the K-2 droids marching and firing during the destruction of Mandalore. Very Terminator-esque!

Absolutely!  I have to suspect that the domed city the TIE Bombers were attacking was Sundari.  Those couple of shots of the bombers moving in, and to see them all massed like that and level the city was brutal.  And I agree about the imagery, because the mushroom cloud, the probe droids lighting the battlefield and the KX droids mopping up was very much an homage to the Terminator movies.

Bit by bit the pieces have been laid out leading to us seeing this scene.  In 'The Prisoner' Burg asked "Why do we need a Mandalorian?"  Mayfeld responded "Well apparently, they're the greatest warriors in the galaxy".  Burg responded "Well then why are they all dead?"  Din Djarin had said that Mandalore was a graveyard, and Boba Fett said that the surface of the planet had been turned to glass.  Throughout the series Mandalorians are either scarce or in hiding.  The Beskar steel for their armor is scarce and highly coveted.  And then there's the stories about Moff Gideon, and him telling of the Night of a thousand tears.  It's all making far more sense now, and it's tragic.  Probably even moreso after everything we've learned about the Mandalorian society in Clone Wars and Rebels.

I can appreciate the frustration with the series going off on this tangent in week 5.  Once we got Mando's music at the end of Chapter 4 I knew that we were in for some follow-up after Grogu had left with Luke.  Where does Din Djarin go from there?  And it seems that him tracking down that Klatoonian was a side-job on his way to finding the Armorer on Glavis.  That, along with him now possessing the Dark Saber led to all of this backstory about what happened to Mandalore and the Mandalorian warriors.  And the consequences of Din Djarin removing his helmet are now bearing fruit.  He's without a tribe.  And Boba Fett is building a tribe.

I think that the groundwork was laid for season 3 of The Mandalorian.  Does he find Grogu?  Does he give him the Beskar chain mail shirt?  And does he go to Mandalore to redeem himself as one of the Children of the Watch?  What about him having the Dark Saber, and the possible conflict with Bo-Katan?  This was a fantastic episode.... if it was an episode of The Mandalorian!  But I agree with one thing - the story of The Book of Boba Fett barely got advanced at all.

[JediJman]

I'm not sure it moved the plot of TBOBF forward in any way, but it sure is setting up The Mandalorian Season 3.

Not only setting up The Mandalorian Season 3, but maybe other shows as well....  makes me wonder if all those "pre-Empire,Galactic Republic" ship parts ended up on Tatooine thanks to whatever is gonna happen in Kenobi?

Ooooo!  I like that idea.  I thought Tatooine was supposed to be a really remote, untraveled location from the OT.  It seems like the hub of the universe between Luke, Kenobi, Boba, Mando, the Pykes, the Hutts, etc. A tie in to Kenobi would be a nice link - that's one of the things I love so much about all the Marvel stuff is the small connections that make it seem cohesive.

I'm also not clear on why Din didn't tell the Armorer or Paz about the other Mandos - they seemed to think they were the only ones left.  It felt kind of weird that he rejoined them for a few hours just to leave again.  Certain scenes like Mando having to unload all his weapons before boarding seem odd to me - if nothing's going to happen to them, then we didn't really need to belabor that.  When I recap my travels, I generally don't spend a lot of time talking about how I made it through airport security with no issues. 

I really liked the episode overall despite the lack of Boba.  Kind of slow at times, but it gets Mando to Tatooine with a new ship, brings the mechanic (and R5!) back into the story, lets us know the Armorer and Paz are still out there, and had some great scenes with Mando flying the N-1, the Wheel space station, Darksaber battle, Night of a Thousand Tears, etc.  Weird to have this in the middle of Boba's show, but I liked it as a stand alone episode.  I wonder what other muscle they're going to bring in?  I'd love to see some OT bounty hunters join the cast.

[Jeff]

I guess the fact that today's episode was my favorite one yet says a lot about how I feel about the overall plot of TBOBF so far.

Today's episode - awesome.  The Mandalorian Season 2.5 > TBOBF.