I was enthralled by last night's finale of Book of Boba Fett. It's been pretty cold around here lately and I have a little heater next to my computer. I was two thirds of the way through the episode before I realised I'd forgotten to turn the heater on. That's definitely the mark of a good TV show or movie--it quite takes you out of your life. The writing was decent but the lion's share of the credit goes to Robert Rodriguez who, despite the grudge many people in the industry and netizens have against him, is undeniably talented at putting together action sequences and evocatively framing characters.
A lot of people might be tempted to call this The Book of Grogu. The little tyke formerly known as Baby Yoda certainly stole more than one scene, first just by showing up in Luke's X-Wing, then by lending a hand in the decadent melee at Mos Espa. So we still haven't had a Disney+ Star Wars series that can show it can stand on its own without the tiny superstar. Oh, well. I didn't like Grogu in season one of The Mandalorian but I'd warmed to him in season two. In this episode, I liked the scene where he soothed the rancor and the scene where he showed up with Amy Sedaris whose comedic timing perfectly punctuated her "Mando, have I got a surprise for you!" line.
As for Boba (Temuerra Morrison) himself, his best scene was his showdown with Cad Bane (Corey Burton). I'm conflicted on whether or not I want Bane to be actually dead from that scene. On the one hand, it makes for a satisfying conclusion to Boba Fett's story that was developed on The Clone Wars. On the other, Cad Bane turned out so well in live action it seems a shame to only have him around for two episodes of one series.
Did you hear the rumour that Han Solo was supposed to show up in this episode? From what I read and heard, a lot of people were dead certain it was going to happen. So much so I wonder if it was a false rumour planted to sew seeds of disappointment as part of the campaign against Rodriguez. I suspect this grudge is a leftover from the Me Too movement as a lot of people feel Rodriguez must be guilty of something for his former association with Harvey Weinstein. The same people probably feel the same way about Tarantino but Tarantino proved much too big to take down. Rose McGowan also made vague, bitter statements about Rodriguez, her former boyfriend of several years. It wouldn't surprise me if many of the netizens spreading random, inexplicable bad comments about Rodriguez are former members of the "army" she tried to build online. It's pretty sad--I saw Rodriguez and McGowan in person at Comic Con when they were promoting Grindhouse and it was clear that she absolutely adored him. Now she seems to have a career driven by bitterness.
I'm glad Han Solo didn't show up if it was going to be like Luke last week. It's since been revealed that Mark Hamill wasn't at all involved with that episode, that his voice was digitally created. At the time, I'd thought he sounded a little flat but I thought it was just because he was in a recording studio. Sometimes actors forget to change their voices when doing voiceovers to match an outdoor scene. Is the irony lost on Lucasfilm that Luke has become more machine now than man? Sadly, I think it is, especially since they can't seem to write Jedi in a positive manner at all anymore.
The Book of Boba Fett is available on Disney+.
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