Is the Book of Boba Fett a story worth telling?

The Book of Boba Fett is the first spinoff series from the Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. The show will consist of seven episodes each varying in length, with the first capping off at 38 minutes.

The show will dive into where Boba has been since the events of Return of the Jedi, and his new role in the universe as Jabba the Hutt’s successor.

The first episode starts off well compared to other shows, however to me it still doesn’t compare to the opening we got in The Mandalorian.

There were many things I didn’t like about this episode, but that might be because I’m picky and I like to know where a story is heading. We only get an inkling of the story ahead in a few scenes, those being the fight scenes on Tatooine.

I would have preferred this episode to be all about Boba’s backstory and not flashing back when the present plotline is perhaps not strong enough yet to carry a full episode.

Audiences haven’t seen Boba since Return of the Jedi, if you’re not counting non-canon comic books, and I’d much rather see a full episode of his time between then and leading up to his appearance in the Mandalorian.

The second episode would then pick up in the present with Boba and Fennec doing the warlord plotline.

I just feel the flashbacks break up the story too much and don’t hold much relevance until we get the bigger picture, which I have no doubt will continue to happen throughout the next few episodes, if not the whole season.

Whatever happened to Boba Fett during his time alone is far more interesting to me than this warlord plot going on. I feel as though his backstory would have been a great way to not only intrigue people into the mystery and story, but also get that part of his story out of the way.

That was my main issue with this episode, but hopefully by next week we’ll have more of an idea where the story will be heading.

Though I do like the comedy between Boba and Fennec, played by Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen, I feel as though one of the characters is slightly better than the other.

We got introduced to Fennec Shand in the first season of The Mandalorian, however, she didn’t become a main player until the second season that was released last year. Though she was in four episodes altogether and made a cameo appearance in the Clone Wars spinoff, The Bad Batch, the character is still relatively unknown to mainstream audiences.

The lack of development stands out far more than it should compared to a character like Boba Fett who audiences know, and we already have a developed backstory for. Having the characters stand side by side with these noticeable differences makes scenes rely heavily on Boba and not Fennec who is an interesting character.

I hope we do see some more backstory and character development for her in later episodes.

Some of the story beats felt a little predictable, the moment where the Sand-Person and Boba are fighting the creature and he saves her was right out of a superhero movie. Things like this and knowing Boba would be accepted by the Sand-People were too predictable and they could have easily made these moments a lot more serious.

They could have Fett still be treated awfully by his captures, show them as brutes like how they are portrayed in any other Star Wars media, or even go as far as having Boba kill them to show the audience, he means business.

Even without the suit he is still a warrior.

The shots in the show so far aren’t anything interesting, fight scenes are possibly the most creative sequences to occur, sadly we don’t get enough of them in the first episode.

The costumes are exactly the same as how we see them in The Mandalorian, though I imagine there are some minute details that you wouldn’t be able to see without being up-close and personal with the actors.

The music is very similar to The Mandalorian, not surprising when Ludwig Göransson is behind it. However, it doesn’t have the same punch as the title theme of said show, but I do like the rustic feel it gives me.

The dialogue is my favourite aspect of this episode so far, the back and forth between Fennec and Boba makes for some great comedy as well as witty one-liners here and there. The two made a great pair in the second season of The Mandalorian and was no doubt a driving force for the show's development.

Even though I was a little disappointed with the opening episode, I’m still eager to see what little story they have goes and hopefully it leads to an explosive ending.

The Book of Boba Fett gets 3 out of 5 blasters from me.

The Book of Boba Fett is now streaming on Disney+ with new episodes every Wednesday.