The Book of Boba Fett

As I write this, six episodes of “The Book of Boba Fett” have aired, and next week will be the season finale. Overall, I’m enjoying the series. It started out a little slow, but it keeps getting better. I’m anxiously awaiting the upcoming episode, to see how they resolve all this.

Uh, oh, it’s going to be another one of those “unexpected reinforcements” climaxes, isn’t it? Like the end of “The Rise of Skywalker”, or like we saw thirty times in the Lord of the Rings movies. Here’s what I’m picturing:

The Pykes show up at Boba’s doorstep (formerly Jabba’s Palace). It’s a small group of Pykes, with Cad Bane in the front. Boba comes out, surrounded by his allies and guards. Cad tells Boba to step down and there won’t be any further trouble. Boba refuses, and tells Cad that if the Pykes want Boba out of the way, they’ll have to fight for it. Cad snaps his fingers, and more Pykes come out of hiding and join the group. The Pykes now outnumber Boba’s group by ten-to-one.

Fighting ensues. Things look bad for Boba at first, but then the Freetown townsfolk appear over the horizon, a makeshift army of moisture farmers and retirees. But it’s not enough. Then a tribe of Sand People come running over a nearby dune - new allies Boba befriended off screen after his own tribe was massacred. But more Pykes join the fight. Then a bunch of Wookies appear, called in by Krrsantan. Also a hundred more street punks driving brightly colored speeder bikes. Finally, Amy Sedaris comes over the ridge, leading an army of Jawa ex-boyfriends.

The Pykes keep taking losses until they start to flee. It eventually comes down to a fist fight between Boba and Cad in the throne room. Just as Cad gains the upper hand, Boba manages to hit the trap door button. Both fall into the pit, but the Rancor has imprinted on Boba, so only Cad is in danger. Boba spares his life in exchange for his total surrender.

I’m mostly kidding, but I can’t wait to see if any of the above is true. (Edit: Well, I was close on a couple of details, anyway.)

Boba Fett was my favorite Star Wars character as a kid. At the time, we only had the original trilogy, and this was even before the Special Editions. Which means Boba only had about two minutes of screen time, during which he mostly stood around nodding at people, before having a clumsy death.

But he had the coolest costume, and that made him memorable. Sometimes less is more, and Boba’s lack of screen time meant we could fill in the details with the coolest adventures imaginable. His action figure got more use than any other toy in my collection, and I drew many comic books starring Boba Fett.

So, is the new show any good? Well, I like it, but I can see why some other people don’t. Fett’s noble demeanor – he wants to be a crime boss who uses honor instead of fear – is at odds with roughly half the fan fiction out there. If you read some of the older Expanded Universe novels and comics, you’ll even find official authors conflicting with each other.

One novel might portray him as an honorable hunter who abides by a strict moral code, while another makes him out to be a cold-bloodied killer who turns on his allies to make a quick buck. So the fans of the “cold and heartless” Fett are probably disappointed that they went with the honorable version.

It doesn’t help that the best BoBF moments are the ones that involve The Mandalorian. Causing some to ask: Is Din Djarin cooler than Boba Fett?

The problem with that question is that we haven’t seen enough of Boba on the big screen. His scenes in the original trilogy were basically cameos. Then we got to see him as a kid in the Prequels. And now we’re seeing Boba’s retirement plan. I have every reason to believe that when Boba was in his 20s, he was just as much of a badass as Djarin. It’s just that those adventures were relegated to comic books and novels, most of which are no longer canon.

Din Djarin, at this point in his life, basically is young Boba Fett. He’s having the adventures we always wanted to see from Fett, but were never filmed. And when Djarin reaches Boba’s age, he’ll probably start thinking about a retirement plan of his own. And then he’ll be boring. So no, Djarin isn’t cooler than Boba. He’s just at a cooler time of his life.

But you know what’s really cool? Peripheral vision. Being able to get a haircut or eat in public. Scratching your nose when it itches. Kissing. The ability to convey emotions through facial expressions. Sneezing without getting snot all over your visor. Having people actually recognize you, without them having to wonder if someone else is wearing your clothes (anybody remember Jodo Kast?). Just, in general, being allowed to take your helmet off when you want to, without violating some ridiculous cultural pseudo-religious taboo.

You know what’s not cool? Helmet sweat. It’s damp and rank and it gets everywhere. Hate on Boba Fett all you want, but at least his helmet doesn’t smell like armpits. “If I ever remove my helmet, I won’t be able to put it back on.” Yeah, that’s because you’ll smell fresh air for the first time in 20 years, Din. I wouldn’t be able to put my helmet back on either. But I digress.

Another complaint I’ve seen is that some of the elements don’t seem to fit in the Star Wars universe. The most glaring example being those brightly-colored speeder bikes in the third episode. Apparently they were designed as an homage to “American Graffiti” by George Lucas. Personally they don’t bother me.

I’ve probably said this before, but the problem with Star Wars is that we haven’t actually seen enough of the casual part of the universe. Most of what we’ve seen has been during wartime, from the perspective of the soldiers fighting in those wars. When we do see someone’s day-to-day life, it’s either the criminal underworld, or royalty, or a geriatric Muppet living in exile. Rarely do we see the normal life of a civilian. 

Except on Tatooine. We know far too much about Tatooine. It’s supposed to be a remote planet most people have never heard of, but it’s the site of half of everything that’s ever happened in Star Wars. Between Tatooine and Jakku, the desert feels like the default Star Wars location. When people picture a Star Wars casual outfit, they picture desert gear.

Picture this: It’s 1000 years from now. We’ve colonized every habitable planet in our solar system. Earth is the birth of our civilization, and most of our system is governed by the colonies on Mars. And yet, for some reason, 50% of our fiction takes place on Pluto. WHY? I wish the Death Star had blown up Tatooine instead.

Why is this such a problem for me? Because of everything we don’t know. We don’t know what Star Wars grocery stores look like. Or what sort of TV shows people watch. Or what sports they play. I mean, sure, we know a lot about the desert planets, but what’s everyday life like on Coruscant? Or Naboo? Planets where the biome itself isn’t such a huge factor in your everyday life. Why should I care who wins these "Star Wars" when I rarely see the lifestyles they're trying to protect?

The reason this bothers me is that it means whenever they do try to introduce new casual elements… the new elements don’t look “Star Wars” enough. This isn’t a new problem. When Episode I came out, some people complained that the ship designs were too sleek and modern looking. When Episode II came out, I heard a few complaints about some of the scenes on Coruscant (like the diner) seeming out-of-place in the Star Wars universe.

So those complaints about the speeder bikes make no sense to me. Just look at the world around you. If people have the technology to build a thing, someone will eventually build it. Look how different cars look now than they looked in the 1950. Look all the different fashions, and the shapes of houses. Styles change all the time in real life. But apparently people want Star Wars to remain stagnant, using only variations of what we’ve seen already. That, to me, is unrealistic.

And this is why I want more official Star Wars content. I would like Disney to hire George Lucas as a consultant (and nothing more), and I want them to make some TV shows that flesh out the more casual side of the Star Wars universe. Not everything has to be an action/western just because it’s Star Wars. Give me a sitcom set on Bespin or a legal drama set on Coruscant. Even if a show turns out really bad, it will normalize some of the elements we haven’t seen. Adding to the Star Wars lore will give future writers more to work with.

As usual, I’ve really gotten off track here. My point is, Book of Boba Fett is a decent show. If nothing else, I’m glad we finally have a canon, on-screen depiction of Fett escaping the Sarlacc pit. But the show is not for everyone. Like most things Star Wars, I’m just tired of people hating it for the wrong reasons.