This weeks episode of the book of Boba Fett was so much better than I could have expected it to be. The runtime was around 40 minutes and in such a short space of time, they were able to accomplish so much.
This weeks episode was directed by Dave Filoni and it was also written by him and Jon Favreau, the two of them are huge fans of the franchise and responsible, for essentially saving Star Wars. With this series alone you can tell that. The show's first half seemed weak until episode 5 boosted the show to above average and this episode has thrown the rating for me up even higher than the previous one, leaving me with high hopes for the season finale next week!
So the episode starts with the sheriff character from the Mandalorian shooting down some Pykes and dumping their spice out, while the Mandalorian makes his way to a planet. Not sure which one it is, but, he meets R2 there and waits for Luke, so Mando can give Grogu the gift he brought him. While Mando waits we see Luke and Grogu training, the whole training sequence to me was brilliant. Another thing that happens is Luke uses the force to help Grogu remember some stuff and something we see is him during order 66, watching as the Clones kill three Jedi, it'll be interesting to see what else he knows about the Republic era.
It's great being able to hear Luke bestow the knowledge he learned from Yoda and Obi-wan to Grogu and I think an entire show based around the Jedi being trained would be entertaining. Honestly, I think the creators of the sequels missed a good opportunity by having Luke's new Jedi order completely wiped out in Canon. Being able to pull from that well for certain shows, movies, comics or games could have been great, seeing the adventures of off-beat side characters. But, anyway.
Mando is woken by Ahsoka, it's funny in last weeks review I said I don't think he's going to visit Grogu, I think he'll meet Ahsoka instead. The two talk for a while and Ahsoka explains that Grogu can't have any attachments, which upsets Mando.
Actors Wearing Masques I just want to say and I've always said it, one thing I've always noticed about Star Wars, is that even though certain characters are wearing a mask, you can almost see their facial expression and know what they're feeling, just from things like body language and I think the score helps too. Something I've always found interesting though. I would also put it down to good Directing, but, I think for any actor it's an achievement to be able to emote without showing their face and without using huge expressions with their body.
Mando leaves his gift with Ahsoka and heads back to Boba Fett, after he leaves Grogu continues his training and gets blasted by a training ball thing, I felt so bad for Grogu being beaten up by the thing until he starts to jump like crazy, something was off about some of the jumps/ landings of them animation wise. But, it would be a nitpick to point it out, it didn't bother me. Then Grogu crushes the thing using the force. While he's doing that Luke and Ahsoka talk, about Mando and Ahsoka even mention Anakin, after giving the gift to Luke for Grogu, Ahsoka leaves. I'll come back to this as I had some speculation.
Back on Tatooine, Boba, Fennec and the rest of them are preparing for their war, but, say they need foot soldiers which Mando says he can help with. He heads out to Freetown and tries to recruit the Sheriff Codd Vance to come and help. After some talking Mando leaves, while gathering people Codd notices someone approaching. A recognizable stranger even from a distance, Cad Bane. One of my favourite characters from The Clone Wars show, he shoots the Codd and his deputy after some talk, showing that he's just as cold-blooded as he was in The Clone Wars, it's great seeing him brought into live-action. As well as that the Pykes leave a bomb in the bar that Boba Fett had visited multiple times throughout this series. There was a lot more brutality in this episode than any of the previous ones, as well as a lot of talk and training in the ways of the force, making it for me one of the best yet.
Then Luke gives Grogu a choice, between the chainmail armour or Yodas lightsaber, to see where Grogu's heart is. Before he decides the episode ends.
Speculation When Luke asks Ahsoka will they see each other again, she replies saying perhaps. I have a feeling during her show, we will see her returning to Luke after his Jedi temple is destroyed and as he is going to go into hiding. But, he will leave Ahsoka with Grogu to train, which I think will be great. As it means that Grogu will still be around and potentially be able to be seen far into the future, as I said in my previous review, I think the chainmail will be used to save Grogu's life. This will be a nice bit of plant and pay off which won't be seen for a few years down the line. The main reason I want to see something like this is that I want to be able to see Mark Hamill at his age now, not some face swap. If that happens the show could run simultaneously with the last Jedi and as Luke dies, if they can't make that not canon, the least they can do is make him a force ghost, helping Grogu in the latter end of his training, which to me is what everyone wants to see, the sequels failed to give us any kind of meaningful time with the original cast of the original trilogy, so I think this is the best we can hope for.
Face Swap It's great that they have the technology to do it, but, it doesn't really work yet, it's almost there, but still far off before it looks perfect. Even if they can make it perfect, should they? I understand that being able to show the original characters shortly after the OT is important for the timeline, but, I think they should be writing in ways to use Mark Hamill at his age now to do this, if he hadn't been killed off I'd love to see him in his own TV series or something, but, as I said the best bet they have is being able to see him as a force ghost, as long as they don't force ghost his younger face swapped self we're all good. I mean, having Luke show up guiding Grogu with his training, means we can potentially see Mark appear in many Tv shows and Films, so long as they're set after the Last Jedi.
Conclusion This season started on an average, went low and is now ending on a high by the look of it, honestly, I don't know what to think about it, the best episodes didn't even feature Boba Fett. It's not the Actors fault and it's not because the character Boba Fett is bad. It's all down to the writing.
Disney should put Dave Filoni in charge of Star Wars, with help from Jon Favreau, between the two of them they love Star Wars and can really do it justice, they should allow other people to come in and write and direct their own episodes, but not let them make creative decisions without the consent of Dave and Jon. Not only do they love the Franchise, but they know so much about the lore and their work stands out in whatever episode or show they write and direct, more so Dave Filoni, to be honest. I think out of the two of them he's the biggest fan with the most respect for the franchise, which is why I think out of the two of them he should be put in charge.
11/10
