The Book of Boba Fett Series 1: Review

This review contains minor spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian

Star Wars has always been a kingpin within sci-fi media, spanning over 40 years and cementing its place within popular fiction. Through various media forms and multiple settings, many stories have been explored in this galaxy far, far away. The most recent entry within this epic space opera is The Book of Boba Fett.

This series focuses on the adventures of Boba Fett, a bounty hunter that was thought to be dead after certain events in original trilogy films. First appearing briefly in episodes V and VI, Boba has been the subject of many fan theories through the years, This was due to the initial mystery behind the character, followed by backstory introduced within the prequals and various other source material.

With that in mind, his most recent appearance within the series was in The Mandalorian, sparking the new show. The real question here is, does his canonical adventure meet expectations?

The series starts off answering questions that any fan would have after seeing a character thrown into a toothy space belly button, how did he survive? After showing us what can only be described as a further fall from grace (doesn’t get much lower than space belly button food) we watch our anti-hero’s journey of growth through flashbacks. Mirrored in this buildup through the first few episodes is a present-day story. This story showcases Boba’s struggle with his new position of power as Daimyo of Tatooine.

These first few episodes can be slow at times, the flashbacks show a straightforward story of growth as Boba befriends some rather unlikely allies. While his present-day story is more a slow-paced struggle in an underworld he attempts to control with a few surprises thrown in.

Once the flashbacks end in chapter 4, we’re all caught up on why Boba decided to trade his bounty hunter badge for a Daimyo’s throne. We are then treated to a complete flip on narrative, following some familiar characters from other series on their journeys. This surprise will be welcomed by fans of The Mandalorian, however, this does swap the spotlight from the series main protagonist. Although this would be fine in small doses, this takes place over 2 episodes and rarely cuts back to Boba, making this feel like a teaser for Mando’s next season. There are other character appearances that serve to grow the lore of the Star Wars universe, this cuts Boba Fett short in his own series.

What we are left with following this is a season finale that I can only describe as goofy fan service. All plot points lead here for various characters, and although this serves as entertaining, it feels massively chaotic. If this was the aim of the producers, then they nailed it.

There are many moments that are epic, completely drawing attention and giving fans the much-needed action these shooter series provide. But there are some moments that feel thrown in, pointless and ultimately don’t serve the plot. This conclusion doesn’t feel like an epic battle and even the victory is too easily earned with the stakes on hand. Ultimately this series felt like filler for various other Star Wars projects. Although the cast did an excellent job, including Temuera Morrison who truly brought the role of Boba to life. The spotlight was shared far too much, and not enough ground was covered by our protagonist for us to believe he can fulfil his new role as daimyo.

All in all, The Book of Boba Fett has many entertaining moments and answers enough questions about the anti-hero since his unexpected return. However, the focus of the series became fractured, leading to a plot that was at times forgotten. If your hope for this series is to just view another story in the Star Wars universe, then you will be happy with the mixture of references and appearances. If you were hoping for a series that had a grizzled bounty hunter hammering his way through trials to reach his peaceful goal, you will get moments but not many. I look forward to seeing where they take Boba Fett’s story next, my only hope is that he is focused on far better.

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