The Book of Boba Fett Episode 5 Review. (Spoilers)

I liked this weeks episode of Boba Fett and as usual like the other reviews I've done here, this first paragraph will just be some general chat to make sure that no spoilers can be seen by anyone scrolling through the posts that may not have seen it yet. Okay, I think they're gone. Let's talk.

Source

So, this week, poor ole Boba got the boot, from his own show. I have to say I'm not unhappy about it, the quality of this weeks episode really went up. Let's go from the start, we see someone in Mandalorian armour, silhouetted behind a curtain. But, once he walks through the doorway we hear that iconic theme playing and see the Mando. He's walking through some kind of meat processing factory looking for a bounty and after a bit of talk, Mando gives his famous line which he has delivered a few times in his previous show. "I can bring you in warm. Or I can bring you in cold." with that the fight erupts and Mando takes out his dark sabre and uses it to win the fight and even goes as far as to chop off the head of the target. He lets the workers take what they want from the place to let him just walk away which they go for. During the fight he hurts himself with his Dark Sabre, later in the episode we even see him training with the weapon. But, he is fighting against the sword, which is a cool idea, that the sword almost has a mind of it's own and knows what it wants to do.

The first 5 minutes of this show completely re-affirms why the Mandalorian (Din Djarin) is a great character. But, it doesn't end there. He brings the bounties head, to the person who hired him, who offers an invitation to join in on a feast, which he declines. The person tries to push him into it and he declines further by threatening to take the bounties head and collect from someone else. This idea is one way of showing that Mando is not only his own person, but, is confident enough not to be pushed around. Something, that sadly I don't think would of happened if it had been Boba Fett instead of Mando in this scene.

One thing I will say here. The place he's at is a ringworld and they show it off when he arrives, it's like the Halo ring, which I don't really like the idea of that being added into Star Wars. Looking a bit closer though, at not only the look of the people's costumes and the way they all talk and walk around happily. It's not like the Halo ring, it's exactly like the Citadel in Mass Effect. The look of the costumes, the city on a ship. Once I came to that conclusion I started noticing more and more things in the episode and the show in general, that just screamed Mass Effect instead of Star Wars.

I know they're all Sci-fi franchises, what's the big deal? There isn't a big deal, really. I love Mass Effect, Halo and Star Wars. Clearly, some of the people involved in this show do too, it's risky territory though, people taking things they love from one franchise and adding it into another, kind of ruins both of them. Imagine if every franchise done that, none would seem different from one another, we all like different franchises for different reasons. Star Wars and Star Trek are pretty different in the way they go about exploring space and telling stories. Mass Effect to me always felt like Star Trek, not Star Wars. Each of those franchises has a very unique feel to me. Seeing them blending into one is a shame, I'd love this stuff if it was a Mass Effect TV show, but, in Star Wars it doesn't sit well with me. Anyway, I'll move on.

The armorer takes his Beskar spear off him and melts it down at his request to make some armour for Grogu. The bag she gives him though is tiny, I was hoping for it to be a helmet, but instead by the look of it, she made rings, which I'd imagine are for some kind of ring mail shirt. Then that got me thinking. What if?

Speculation
What if that shirt he makes for Baby Yoda is going to be used way down the line to save his life. What if when Kylo and the Knights of Ren destroy Luke's Jedi Temple and Grogu survives because of the ring mail vest that Mando gives him? I'm just guessing, we don't even know if it is ring mail armour... But, if it is. That would mean that when we see a show that jumps far into the future, there is a huge chance that Grogu will be in it and grown up. Meaning that he would be able to start his own Jedi order having spent years with Luke as his mentor and possibly even Asoka. Just an interesting idea, to be honest I think the writers would of had this planned from the start of The Mandalorian. We all love Baby Yoda and I haven't heard many complaints about him, other than the fact that they added him in just to be a cute thing in the show. But, this idea really gives him weight as a character and an element which we'll be able to potentially follow his lifes journey far into the future of the Star Wars universe. Which I think is well played if they were to go along with the idea. Whether that exploration happens with movies or tv shows doesn't matter, I think most of the fanbase of Star Wars would be behind the idea, regardless of which medium they used to write it into. But, let me know if anyone thinks the same as me. Anyway, back to the review.

Then the other Mandalorians see he has the Dark Sabre and him and Visla fight over it as he claims it was his ancestor who created it. The fight is cool and was a lot more dynamic than some of the previous ones we saw in this show. Mando wins it and then he finds out since he took his helmet off he's not a true Mandalorian. So he walks away sad, feeling alone no doubt since he doesn't have Grogu with him.

I think the "never take your helmet off" rule is stupid. I'll say it, it's kind of dumb lore. During that scene I could only imagine Mando, sitting on the toilet, taking a shower or washing his clothes all while wearing his helmet. Maybe I'm being stupid, but, yeah. I think to keep it that if someone else removes your helmet you're not a Mandalorian. Because, that could be like them losing their respect by being defeated in battle and shamed, which is good lore for a warrior culture, but, not that you have to wear it forever. The Mandalorians must absolutely stink if that's the case.

The rest of the episode is slow, but, entertaining, with the help of his friend he gets a brand new ship. Before it was unvailed I thought it was a pod-racer and I thought brilliant, maybe Mando is going to compete in a race. But, then I saw it and realised it was a Naboo Starfighter. Which they modify to make it the perfect getaway vehicle for the Mando. He even gets pulled over by some Rebels and after some back and forth he uses it to getaway. I find it funny that the Rebel Pilots are all glorified cops now, it's kind of silly but, I just think it's a funny idea. I loved the Razor Crest, but, this Naboo Starfighter ship is really cool, I always liked the sleek design of these ships. The fact that we're seeing more Clone Wars era stuff show up is great I think, hopefully we get to see some of the Republic Gunships, they were always my favourite ships from the prequel thrilogy and would love it if he maybe got one of those or even if he just worked for someone who used one.

When he gets back to Mos-Eisley Fennec Shand is there at the scrap yard to pay Mando to come and help Boba Fett and her, deal with the Pykes, but, he declines the money and says he'll do it for free. But, first, he has to meet up with a friend. I doubt the friend is going to be Grogu, I was trying to guess who it'll be, I have a feeling it's going to be Asoka.

Conclusion
I think the Boba Fett show came out at the wrong time, to be honest. Having a two shows about loners who work alongside other people, who are meant to be badass bounty hunter sort of people and who both wear Mandalorian armour, is unfortunate timing. I think it should have been Mandalorian, Obi-Wan, maybe Asoka and then The Book of Boba Fett.

I think they made Boba as he appears in this show, to make him as different to The Mandalorian as possible since the two of them would essentially be the same character. I know the plot lines are different and their wants and needs are different. Boba is making a criminal empire and Mando is just floating from place to place earning money taking bounties, while also trying to help Grogu. Boba Fett's personality should be more like Mando's if not slightly softer. He shouldn't be chasing rat catching robots around kitchens and being extra nice to everyone, to the point where he's being walked over. I know Boba Fett has had moments, taking out a train, airstriking all the bikers, getting into a bar fight and killing a desert monster with his bare hands. Great. Cool sequences, but, it's all the small annoying things the writers made him do and say which completely deflates his badassery. They can make Mando cool, funny and compassionate, so why can't they find that same balance for a beloved character? Well, it's probably because Mandalorian is their creation and it means a lot to them and Boba isn't. I'm not saying they're purposly character assassinating Boba Fett to bolster The Mandalorian.... But, to me it seems that way. We haven't gotten to the end of the series yet so they could turn it around, until then though we'll have to wait and see.

I could be wrong about all that, but, I think the writing has harmed The Book of Boba Fett. That and having Robert Rodriguez heavily involved in it. lol

I don't know if the next episode will revolve around the Mandalorian, I kind of hope it does because even though not a lot happened in this episode I wanted it to keep going. I think the run time was about 40 minutes, I was happy about the runtime, it didn't feel rushed and at the same time, it didn't feel boring.

10/10 it made me want to watch Mandalorian, again.