The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 1 Review A Slow Start The Nerd Stash

“Just throw him in the pit!” George Lucas is quoted as saying upon deciding the fate of the Star Wars franchise’s most iconic bounty hunter. And in the pit, Boba Fett was thrown, meeting his end in the mouth of a hungry Sarlaac in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. Many were quick to point out that Fett’s demise was anticlimatic and unbefittingly comedic, given that Episode V builds Boba Fett up to be a fearsome, legendary bounty hunter. As such, Boba Fett has been resurrected in both the Expanded Universe novels and, now, in his own Disney Plus spin-off series. That said, does the first episode restore dignity to this prematurely-offed antihero?

Out of the Sarlaac Mouth, into the Desert

It’s fitting we started discussing the Sarlaac Pit because The Book of Boba Fett starts with the bounty hunter trapped within the slimy confines of the creature. Fett manages to escape and finds himself stranded in the Tatooine desert. However, it isn’t long before he’s nabbed by Jawas, along with his gear. And thus, Episode 1 of Book of Boba Fett sets the plot in motion.

You see, the episode uses the same plot device many modern TV shows/movies love. That is the constant switching between past and present narratives. One narrative has us follow Fett’s exploits under the subjection of Tusken Raiders. Meanwhile, another is set in the Present, where our (anti)hero heals up via bacta pod and is made head of Jabba the Hutt’s crime syndicate (because, you know, his boss died in ROTJ).

Now, while we are here, let’s talk about Temeura Morrison a bit. The 61-year-old New Zealander does justice to the role. Plastered in disheveled makeup, the actor’s gruff look certainly exudes the look of a veteran mercenary. And the fact he has much more physical things to do this time around gives Morrison a chance to show off in fight scenes. Indeed, watching him only brings greater realization as to how impeded he was in Lucas’s CGI-infested prequels.

The Look of Boba Fett

Not only does Morrison have more action than the prequels, but he has more story. The Book of Boba Fett‘s first episode does a good job of setting up the premise of the show. Jabba’s death means Fett runs his former employer’s show now and he doesn’t hesitate to seize the role. However, he’s not alone. Ming Na-Wen reprises her role as Fennec Shand from The Mandalorian, this time serving as Fett’s right-hand woman.

Essentially, her narrative role is to give Fett a 101 on Mos Espa’s societal function. We see Fett and Shand visit a tavern, where some of its denizens unhesitatingly hand over their money. The scene is an effective examination of how Jabba’s syndicate held an iron grip on Mos Espa. And with Boba Fett as the audience surrogate, we are lightly inducted into the inner workings of this corrupt world.

Episode 1 also teases Boba Fett’s plans to rule the Syndicate compared to his predecessor. Whereas Hutt ruled with fear, Fett outright states he plans to rule with respect. Now, this is all well and good – and gives us some insight into Fett’s values. However, we are not so much shown this as we are told it. And, as with any visual media, this is a huge disadvantage. That said, this is only the first episode out of seven so perhaps we’re just getting ahead of ourselves.

Disturbance in the Force

Now, as made clear, The Book of Boba Fett has a good premise. If there’s anything positive you take away from this review, it’s that the Powers-That-Be have given Boba Fett a story set-up worthy of his legend. But the problem is, that as far as pilots go, the episode doesn’t establish a compelling enough hook to rear in viewers for next week’s installment.

During the middle of the episode, Fett and Shand are assaulted by a group of ninja-esque warriors. However, the episode doesn’t even tease their relationship to the action nor do they embellish their importance. All we are left knowing is that these assailants are not big fans of the new Syndicate leader. The fight that ensues is rather subdued and dully choreographed for Star Wars, which we hope isn’t a sign of the series’ overall quality standard. In short, we aren’t given enough reason to care about these villains, at least not yet.

The pilot is also incredibly solemn in tone. Now, there was always going to be some seriosity due to the fact we’re watching Boba recover from a traumatic incident and take over a criminal empire. However, the beauty of Star Wars has always been its ability to blend humor and light-heartedness with its incredibly high-stakes scenarios. This may well be due to their being a tribute to 1940’s adventure serials, but it’s always been an element that’s helped stop the movies from being too glum. Even Empire, the franchise’s darkest movie installment, didn’t shy away from levity due to the likes of C-3PO, R2-D2, and Han Solo’s wit. The Book of Boba Fett has yet to establish the centre of its comic relief, to help discipline its mature premise.

The Book of Boba Fett Has Just Begun

Yet, it always feels unfair criticizing a series’ first episode. The Book of Boba Fett has the potential to be a good addition to George Lucas’s beloved universe. That potential is already evident and it’s clear the series needs more hours to seduce us into its world proper. Given this, I’m wondering whether it might have been in Disney’s interest to release two episodes instead of one (like Hawkeye). After all, the next episode appears to establish Boba Fett’s adversaries and, hopefully, central conflict, which of course is the key to all good drama.

Saying that, as far as pilots go, you could do much worse. And man, isn’t it great to see Temuera Morrison as ol’ Boba? The hook of the show doesn’t quite have tasty enough bait at this point, but its potential is vast enough to have us bite in the future. The Force isn’t completely with this one, but it’s got another six episodes to hone it.

Verdict: The Book of Boba Fett’s episode one has solid acting from its stars, some great physical scenes, and satisfyingly unintrusive CGI. However, the episode is all set up and doesn’t do enough to leave our mouths watering for its follow-up. That said, the potential is there and we look forward to seeing how the whole thing turns out.