Book Of Boba Fett

[Mr. Vee]

I withdraw my tentative benefit of the doubt. This show's just plain awful. And I guess, now, also boring.

 

Spoiler

But hey, at least now we don't have to worry about the skin condition since it was fixed both in main timeline and flashbacks. Fixed by the power of 'who cares?' maybe?

 

[Techwright]

On 1/4/2022 at 5:14 AM, biostem said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm also a bit confused by the whole bacta thing - my understanding is that you basically take a dunk in the stuff, and get healed after some time.  I wonder if Boba either has a chronic or degenerative condition, so he's just keeping it in check by all the dunks, or if maybe it's really just a mental issue at this point, and he's kind of relying on the bacta treatments as a sort of crutch or coping mechanism...

 

 

That's actually an intriguing thought...

Spoiler

I'd been assuming the bacta tank was used in a long-term repair of damage both from the Sarlacc and from all the bodily trauma Boba received afterwards.  After all, we've seen Vader in a similar situation, receiving long-term treatment for the brutal injuries received on Mustafar (Rogue One).  But the idea of "degenerative condition" would really underline his clone nature.  Perhaps his clone genetics are not as "pure" as the Kaminoans and Jango believed.  Or maybe its a combination of the two.

 

Or perhaps Boba just uses the bacta tank as a Star Wars equivalent to Dune's spice.  Constant treatments extend the life.

 

One note that I make regarding episode 2:  I like that they had the leader of the Sand People note that there were two schools of thought in their tribes.  One school believed in survival by aggression, and the other, their tribe chose to (mostly) stay off the radar of others.   This allows for the aggressive Tuskan Raiders of the Original and Prequel trilogies, while also permitting the somewhat more cooperative tribes seen in The Mandalorian and now The Book of Boba Fett.  It also draws a more realistic parallel to tribal life across Earth.  Some tribes were aggressive, some could be cooperative or aggressive depending on the pressures applied.

 

Okay, a second note, I guess:  Why are the twins in line for Jabba's throne?  What happened to "Stinky" (Ahsoka's nickname for Jabba's son from the Clone Wars animated movie)?  He would have been in his 20's presumably.  Did Bib Fortuna have him killed?

 

I'm guessing as these flashbacks continue we'll see Boba's first encounter with Fennec Shand.  I really don't think his rescue of her in The Mandalorian was their first encounter.

 

[biostem]

@Techwright said...

 

Spoiler

Okay, a second note, I guess:  Why are the twins in line for Jabba's throne?  What happened to "Stinky" (Ahsoka's nickname for Jabba's son from the Clone Wars animated movie)?  He would have been in his 20's presumably.  Did Bib Fortuna have him killed?

 

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My thinking is that maybe Hutts age more slowly or something?  If one cannot simply kill a Hutt, as Shan pointed out, then I doubt Bib Fortuna would've had the guts to kill the baby...

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Interesting thought by Techwright...

Spoiler

Forgot that Boba is a clone of Jango. If there's some kind of instability (or incept date?) as Techwright suggests from the process that might also explain why he's using Bacta to maintain himself.

 

Also explains how Zac Efron's still around and aging normally.

Though surely someone would have mentioned that in the tabloids by now.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Finally got round to seeing Ep2, and not seeing the reasoning for all the Twitter hate. It's definitely a slower story than Mando (which was langorous to start with), but I'm liking it. 

 

On @DougGraves ' point from the other day: one of the things about D+ shows, since they're not beholden to execs or advertisers, is that they seem to burn not just one, but two or even three eps on setups before things kick off (hint: start Wandavision at Ep4 and then go back to 1, 2 and 3 as curiosities. This much improves the show. Hawkeye is a rare exception, which starts with some fun and uses ep5 to take a breather).

 

 

One neat touch I already liked in that episode - but am only now kicking myself for realising.

Spoiler

The gaffi stick they carve from the wood he brought back from his dream state...

...how many trees do you see in the Dune Sea?

Zero.

 

One other neat thing I know... Temeura was already trained in that art, and they borrowed some of his traditions. There's a not dissimilar Maori quarterstaff called the taiaha, which has similarly intricate carvings, though the overall design of the gaffi's more like an Irish shillelagh. Which, if you've ever been to a proper Irish wedding, you may well have seen in action.

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[biostem]

2 hours ago, Krimson said:

Probably something simple like the fact he's a Bounty Hunter, and his cargo is probably none to happy about being cargo. As such, all you have to do to keep them compliant and agreeable is to start depressurizing the ship when they start acting out.

Well, in the scene in ESB, he's alone in his own ship, so I don't think that'd apply.  I suppose they could retcon it that he was dealing with severe abandonment issues, and wearing his father's armor all the time was a coping mechanism...

[Greycat]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:06 AM, Mr. Vee said:

I withdraw my tentative benefit of the doubt. This show's just plain awful. And I guess, now, also boring.

 

Have to 100% disagree.  The little setup of a showdown, not bad. We'll see where that goes.

 

But that whole look at the Tuskens, that whole bit of backstory, was just freaking *cool.* (Well, maybe not "backstory." Culture, rites?) We've gotten little bits and pieces of this elsewhere, but seeing it all kind of fold into itself and into who he's trying to be now? *Love* this.

 

(Mind you, IRL I love history. In my various sci fi / fantasy worlds, I love backstory and buildup. The Silmarillion's my favourite of Tolkein's middle-earth works. If I could tack another 200 (healthy) years onto my life, and not have to worry about little things like money, you'd find me digging back into cultures and linguistics to see how pieces fit together. WoT? I want to see more than the *end* of the age of legends... I want to see the end of what came before and provided the basis for how *they* grew, and so forth.)

 

Besides,

Spoiler

having the balls to strong-arm the PIkes - who are portrayed as the serious badasses of the SW underworld - into paying tribute to these "uncivilized" raiders? And having them, frankly, not have a choice? Gotta love it. We'll see how that plays into the rest of the show. Pike-Hutt standoff?

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Ran across a Twitter thread which quoted from Tales Of The Bounty Hunters. 

Since we know Filoni's a deep nerd who likes his deep cuts... yeah, he's gonna use it.

(It also has an early tale about IG assassin droids that Boba's tangled with...)

[Bug You 2]

As far as him suddenly removing the helmet more often, I imagine id be doing the same after having been trapped in the Sarlac. But im already a little claustrophobic.

[biostem]

8 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

Ran across a Twitter thread which quoted from Tales Of The Bounty Hunters.

I think it was the Youtube channel "Generation Tech" that went into how, in some Legends books, the Sarlacc somehow extracted memories of its victims and since Boba was partially digested, he gained many of them.  Either way, yeah - there's more to the experience than we've been shown thus far.  The sail barge wreckage had ceased smoldering, IIRC, so it was probably a few days, or at least many hours, that he was down there.  Since he was gasping for air, he could have also suffered some brain damage or something from oxygen depravation, etc... 

[Techwright]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:01 PM, biostem said:

@Techwright said...

 

  Hide contents

Okay, a second note, I guess:  Why are the twins in line for Jabba's throne?  What happened to "Stinky" (Ahsoka's nickname for Jabba's son from the Clone Wars animated movie)?  He would have been in his 20's presumably.  Did Bib Fortuna have him killed?

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

My thinking is that maybe Hutts age more slowly or something?  If one cannot simply kill a Hutt, as Shan pointed out, then I doubt Bib Fortuna would've had the guts to kill the baby...

 

Spoiler

Minor point, but I've learned the name of Jabba's son was/is "Rotta", so I can drop the "Stinky".  I cannot imagine Dave Filoni forgetting him, especially since he was more or less the McGuffin of the first Clone Wars animated story, Filoni's project.  So, I expect we'll learn at some point why the Twins are seeking the throne instead of Rotta.  

 

I've seen some elsewhere speculate that there's a single head that authorizes execution of Hutts.  I'm not sure that is the answer.  Older Star Wars material, if I recall correctly, mentioned a group of lead Hutts.  I'm not sure what they'd be called (board? consortium? summit?)  I'm suspicious that this overseer group is whom Fennec reference when she said they'd have to have permission to kill a Hutt.  It's a survival tactic: you kill a Hutt lord without their blessing, the combined houses drop their armies on you.

 

[DougGraves]

I continue to find the Ming Na Wen show of the "present" to be interesting and the Boba Fett show set in the past to be boring.

 

Spoiler

Mandalorean did not seem to be forced into being a western.  The white guy living among the natives and helping stop a train just feels forced in this. 

[Cancrusher]

Great second episode.  Much improved from the first.  That big Wook was terrifying.  Can't wait to see more of him.  😁

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

1 hour ago, Cancrusher said:

That big Wook was terrifying.  Can't wait to see more of him.  😁

He has a name, y'know. Krrsantan. 

 

...btw, does anyone else want a Doc Aphra series?

[Techwright]

1 hour ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

He has a name, y'know. Krrsantan. 

 

...btw, does anyone else want a Doc Aphra series?

 

I'm aware of the Doc Aphra character, but only from descriptions by others, so I cannot speak pro or con for wanting a series, but I'd certainly like to see the character canonized with a live appearance.

 

 

3 hours ago, DougGraves said:

I continue to find the Ming Na Wen show of the "present" to be interesting and the Boba Fett show set in the past to be boring.

 

  Hide contents

Mandalorean did not seem to be forced into being a western.  The white guy living among the natives and helping stop a train just feels forced in this. 

 

Not to get all politicky but you do realize Tem Morrison, though he has British ancestry is actually of mixed ancestry and has deep ties to his Maori tribal roots, yes?  The episode was crafted around his dual heritage. The choice of weapon alone should reveal that.  Also, Star Wars has a long history of homage pieces to other genres or works.  They even did a Godzilla/kaiju movie homage in The Clone Wars.  Magnificent Seven, one of the greatest western movies, has been reference multiple time in different works under the SW umbrella, and western film concepts are often present even if an homage episode is note.  Take bounty hunter Cad Bane, for example, whose outfit and mannerisms show a strong "spaghetti western" influence.  I see this episode as an homage to yet another western "A Man Called Horse" though others tend to compare it to "Dances with Wolves", probably because it was more recently made.  That's two popular western movies, not to mention any western train movies.  To me, it doesn't feel forced.  More like a continuation of theme from Mandalorian.  YMMV, and I respect that.  Just wish to politely state another viewpoint.

[Cancrusher]

14 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

He has a name, y'know. Krrsantan. 

 

...btw, does anyone else want a Doc Aphra series?

After I posted my earlier reply, I came across an article in my newsfeed that explained that bit.  I wasn't familiar with those comics, so it was a surprise to me, but a cool one!  I'll have to try to get my hands on that comic run (maybe wait until BoBF runs its course, so I don't have any spoilers).

Edited January 9, 2022 by Cancrusher

[Techwright]

Episode 3...

Spoiler

I went back and rewatched the fight with Krrsantan.  Best I can tell the Wookie took the following damage:

• hit with the gaffi spike to the gut
• hit with the gaffi spike above the right shoulder blade (stuck in)
• both ears boxed
• dagger to the right side
• electro-chain to the left wrist
• glancing dagger blow to right chest
• multiple blaster shots to right back and flank
• powered hammer hit to chest
• gaffi stick torn from right shoulder blade area
• gaffi stick blade to back of right knee
• Gamorian blade to the back
• Gamorian blade caught mid-swing in left hand
• throwing knife to right hand

That's over a dozen damage moments, and he still jogs away when released.  Get that guy on the team!

 

The war chief of the Tuskans was not seen in the carnage.  In Hollywood mind-think, that means she might not be dead, but has either escaped or been captured.  I'm going to guess she and Boba will link up to deal with the bikers who annihilated the Tuskans.  The kid wasn't seen either, but his stick was prominent in the pyre ritual, so I'm guessing they were squeamish at showing dead kids.  Which is fine.

 

Props to the costume department.  I don't normally go out of my way to say that, but when I saw the outfit on the Mos Eisley head Pyke, I marveled at how good the quality appeared to be. 

 

Okay, to the cyber-gang.  I've seen and heard a lot of trash talking of them today.  First thing to note:  they are meant to be stand-out.  It's how they make a statement.  It's like a group of Goths in a downtown of "normals".   Second, their fine clothes, their well-cared-for, modded hoverbikes, and their cybernetic modifications all appear to reference real world MOD culture.  Someone elsewhere even commented on the number of mirrors on the girl's blue bike, and I've seen pictures of 1960's Modded bikes covered in mirrors.  Admittedly I don't yet see them as the threatening beings the water monger was claiming (who was probably full of it) but they're plucky and intelligent.  They can learn to be a serious threat.

 

I'll admit the "rancors have feelings" bit was a shock, but I'm willing to go with it, especially if we get to see Boba ride into town, not on a litter, but on a rancor!

 

I'm not 100% convinced the Twins are gone.  They seem the type to let opposing forces clash, then move in when they're weakened enough.

 

The Pykes as the "big bad" is interesting.  The organization is far-flung across the galaxy.  As such, though it may have a head, the organization would be more of a swarm, hard to completely kill.  I'm not sure how Boba can defeat them except to make it unprofitable for them to continue to wage war on him.

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Thoughts on TW's post:

Spoiler

• I like the idea of "space Mods". Though how you glue Quadrophenia into a space western is a stretch even for me, and the show hasn't had enough series yet to merit a musical episode. Probably. CoH has its own equivalent in the Freakshow.
• You don't get to be a top gangster as a slow-moving ugly space slug without being crafty. Would bet the Twins are watching (orchestrating?) the upcoming carnage, ready to come in and hoover up when one side is defeated and the other depleted...
• ...which oddly was what I thought Boba was going to do, a la Fistful Of Dollars / Yojimbo.
• Tame Rancors: maybe they're like pitbulls, naturally quite friendly and soppy and have to be trained/abused to be killers. Rule of Cool would definitely apply as a battle steed...
• ...speaking of which,Danny Trejo cameos are always bonus points.
• And speaking of cameos: watch out for Mando characters wandering around Mos Espa - like a curly-haired mechanic and three angsty pit droids.
• We're only on episode 3. Pykes are likely a mid-TF boss group,not the Big Bad. 

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Techwright]

Episode 4 is out.

 

Spoiler

Generally, I loved the episode.

 

Unleashing fire and brimstone on the biker gang alleged to have killed his tribe was the Boba Fett everyone always assumed was under the helmet.

 

Putting the dinner table over the rancor pit was fantastic. One presumes they probably thought the pit was still empty.

 

The droid chef was a nice nod to General Grievous.

 

The rat-catcher droid was some amazing work blending the practical and CGI, and its great that this model finally made it into live action.

 

The cyber mod shop scene was interesting, though I have to say with the YouTube reviewers: its Tatoonie.  Leaving the cyberworks exposed is going to get sand in the parts.  Better to give her a pseudo-skin covering, even if it must be see-through to satisfy the mod doc.

 

Fennec's spy droid is probably the smallest droid we've ever seen in Star Wars. 

 

The Saarlac Pit scene was wild, and there were some amazing graphics there.  Nuking a saarlac...sorry, THE saarlac with a seismic charge is just so satisfying. Regardless, it was just plain stupid to move the ship over the creature.  It does, however, show just how important Beskar armor is to families of Mandalorians.   Expect a close encounter with a saarlac to be added to the next Star Tours ride iteration. 😉

 

The episode failed to explain to the casual viewer why Black Krrsantas went all kinds of nuts on the Trandosians.  That left a lot of YouTube reviewers puzzled.  If the Jennifer Beals character had only dropped in a line about the deep hatred between the two races due to the Trandosians hunt or enslaving the Wookies, everyone would have been on the same page.  It's nice to learn Han wasn't kidding about Wookies and opponents' arms.   The small Trandosian should have run away and followed C3PO's advice:  "let the Wookie win".

 

Nobody seems to have picked up on it, perhaps it was too subtle, but the campfire-roasted Tatooine "chicken" scene:  Does anyone else realize they just showed us "bantha fodder"?  As in "You may have been a good smuggler, but now you're bantha fodder."  That insult has been kicked around in the Star Wars story for a long time, and we just now get a visual confirmation that banthas are omnivores (or at least carrion eaters, which might make more sense considering they're not exactly the fastest predator).

 

The Klaatoonian underworld boss that sat on the opposite end of the dining table from Boba was played by legendary voice actor Phil LaMarr.  He also played, or at least voiced, the planetary Pyke boss last episode.  That was some great makeup/prosthetics work on the Klaatoonian.

 

Carey Jones is killing it as Black Krrsantan!  How one can act under that shag rug is beyond me, but he gets his eyes to speak volumes.

 

[biostem]

Spoiler

@Techwright said:  "Fennec's spy droid is probably the smallest droid we've ever seen in Star Wars."

 

There was that droid that Obi-Wan had to "swallow" to change his voice when he went undercover in the Clone Wars, and those "micro-droid-explosives" that were involved in a few episodes, that I think may be smaller.

 

I will say, though, that as cool as it was, it annoyed me that it had these giant glowing red lights on it, (I feel like it would have been better to show them only when it initially powered on or when it was transmitting, or at least have them dim way down while it was actually scouting).

 

[DougGraves]

The episode was pretty good but the show seems to cover about 1/4 of what is going on or supposed to be understood.  They just seem to expect the audience to know the extended universe so a lot of things are not explained.  

 

[biostem]

16 minutes ago, DougGraves said:

The episode was pretty good but the show seems to cover about 1/4 of what is going on or supposed to be understood.  They just seem to expect the audience to know the extended universe so a lot of things are not explained.  

 

IMO, I think the issue the show keeps falling into is the "why don't you just shoot the guy" cliche...

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Have mentioned it before, but it seems D+ have this theme where things kick off in Episode 4.

Spoiler

Stealing Slave I (which I guess is the "Firespray" now) was fun, and reminds me why I'm never buying a car without reversing cameras again.

 

Sarlacc bit was also great fun - partly for the payoff, mainly for the energy between Morrison and Ming-Na.

 

I loved the bait-n-switch in the casino scene, trying to gently talk Krrsantan down, with spectacular results ("...welp. It was worth a try.")

 

Also loved the bit shortly after where Temeura - no longer playing Boba, just being a typical Kiwi, ambling up to a terrifying bloke four times their size and offers them a gig. Half-expected Krrsantan to wind up pulling pints in Tatooine's first Irish bar (staffed by other intergalactic Kiwis and their adopted waifs and strays, naturally).

 

If there was a let down, it was the speeder chase with the Mods. I'm not sure why but it seemed oddly... sluggish and treacly in the way it was filmed rather than as kinetic as you'd expect a car chase to be - or the Train Job was.

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Techwright]

6 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

Have mentioned it before, but it seems D+ have this theme where things kick off in Episode 4.

  Hide contents

Stealing Slave I (which I guess is the "Firespray" now) was fun, and reminds me why I'm never buying a car without reversing cameras again.

 

Sarlacc bit was also great fun - partly for the payoff, mainly for the energy between Morrison and Ming-Na.

 

I loved the bait-n-switch in the casino scene, trying to gently talk Krrsantan down, with spectacular results ("...welp. It was worth a try.")

 

Also loved the bit shortly after where Temeura - no longer playing Boba, just being a typical Kiwi, ambling up to a terrifying bloke four times their size and offers them a gig. Half-expected Krrsantan to wind up pulling pints in Tatooine's first Irish bar (staffed by other intergalactic Kiwis and their adopted waifs and strays, naturally).

 

If there was a let down, it was the speeder chase with the Mods. I'm not sure why but it seemed oddly... sluggish and treacly in the way it was filmed rather than as kinetic as you'd expect a car chase to be - or the Train Job was.

 

 

 

Response:

Spoiler

Are you perchance referring to the speeder chase in episode 3? 

 

I understand people's negative reaction to the speeds involved.  For me, it was acceptable when you realize the streets are not exceptionally open.  The narrowness of them, the sharp right turns, combined with the people and gear in them would result in a slower chase.  Somehow, even when hitting droid rikshaws and supports for water towers, the point didn't communicate to the audience, who collectively seemed to want something a bit shy of a pod race.

 

(Also, loved that you used "treacly".  We don't get that marvelous word much in the American South.  Folks are more likely to say the longer phrase "slow as molasses".)

 

As to the ship's name...well...why not just have Boba rename the ship in light of his epiphany on tribes and harmony and his own temporary enslavement by the Tuskans?  "Firespray" is fine, it is the ship class after all, but to not use the ship's name puts an emotional distance between owner and machine, something his "rescue" of the ship didn't portray.

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Re: @Techwright : maayyyybbeeee?

Probably because I got interrupted in the middle of ep 3 last week, so rewatched 3 & 4 back to back yesterday.

 

Yes, that bit did feel like...

 

Spoiler

....the random Brit expression of the day: "like wading through treacle" (something that's annoyingly slow for no sane reason).

 

They were trying to indicate speed, there were all the right 70s police car chase tropes (Scaffolding! Boxes! Bad guys getting buried in fruit! Two dudes walking across the road with... a painting instead of a pane of glass, but close enough!) And yes, I can see this was more a back alley chase. Somehow it just felt... wrong. Uncanny valley.

 

And for the life of me I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it was the angles, the cutting, lighting / missing shadows, those fabulous virtual sets not quite holding up... or the lack of subtler non-gag practical effects around the CGI (dust, clothing effects, etc). The most specific moment was when Mod Girl rail ground the steps and skimmed the rooftops before jumping the speeder - for some reason both pop out of the world around them at that exact moment, and disbelief stopped being suspended. It felt unnatural compared to The Train Job, and an odd misstep in an otherwise great ep. Or two.