The Book of Boba Fett - Chapter 5 - Return of the Mandalorian

[ctg]

Holy smoke, imdb rating is pure 10, but then again they didn't list the name and it took me a while to get to it. The episode is around 50 minutes long, approaching the streaming standards (if there are any).

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

As much as the first four episodes left a sour taste in my mouth, this episode does deserve its 10/10.

Spoiler: But, err...

Can someone explain why the only episode of The Book of Boba Fett that doesn't suck does not show Boba Fett?

Finally some new locations, finally some progression in the story, finally some tight writing and editing, finally some great fight scenes. Not a moment wasted.

Also, best Pimp My Ride episode I've seen.

 

[ctg]

I know what you guys have been saying and I've thought a great deal about it. It's just I've learned from all the other treads and various forums not argue. There is no point because it's a valid criticism and if it's not voiced, it'll poison the atmosphere later.

While the Disney SW live-action series are new and somewhat experimental, as we haven't had anything like it, they are not new to this business. I too have grumbled over the years in various threads and I feel what I said went through. So there's even more reason to allow rather than to defend, because to be honest there has been inconsistencies and niggles, while the series has kept its head above 7 point line throughout the season. Seeing the magical 10.0 is amazing, because I've never seen it. Not once as the closest score to perfect ten has been 9.7 so far.

So let's see how they put this episode together.

Mando walks into the a butcher shop... it feels like a beginning of a joke, but the butchers weren't laughing. In fact the whole setup reminds me about the organised crime and in the terms of Mando doing his bounty hunting stuff, he should think about the future, even if he doesn't really care about it. The reason is that he's still the wielder of the Black Sabre and that makes him a leader, just like Boba is trying to be a Daimyo.

It was amazing to see him taking on whole gang, even giving them an opportunity to walk away before they were chopped to pieces. It was also so refreshing to see him get hurt by the Black Sabre as he isn't a swordsman. Never got the training. But the fact is that nobody comes out from a knife fight uninjured.

OMG, a ring planet. I don't know what is rarer, a space-elevator or a ring-planet. The later is at least ten times more difficult to produce, but it fits the universe very well as the whole construct is ultra-technology. And that torus is bigger than the one we saw in the Elysium. It cave me chills the moment I saw it.

By looks of it, it has an atmosphere, even greenery. Although my mind is saying no, not possible, because I cannot quite comprehend how it generates it. Mando trotted through it as if it's normal that the edge of space starts hundred meters above him or under him.

It made no sense until I saw the Armourer. In some ways, when I saw her in the original series, I though that she was the boss. Even in this one, she more bossy than Mando could ever be.

The clan has shrunk down to three, but more importantly Armourer told the Dark Sabre history. "Empire lasted thirty years. It was forged over thousand years ago by a Mandalore called Tarre Vizsla. He was both Mandalorian and Jedi."

"Whoever wilds it can lead all of Mandalore. It is said, one will defeat twenty and the multitudes will fall before it. If, however, it is not won in combat and falls into the hands of the undeserving, it will be a curse unto the nation."

"The songs of eons past foretold of the Mythosaur rising up to herald a new age of Mandalore. Sadly it only exists in legends." Wink-wink-nudge-nudge-say-no-more.

This is the way.

I loved that Armourer is the narrator and every time she's on the screen, it's important for whole Mandalorian movement. I loved even more seeing her tools and finding out that her forge is portable. The only thing that riled me was the notion that she took away Mando's Beskar spear and turned it into armour, because it could potentially pierce their pieces.

But you look into the Wookiepedia and under the Mandalore notes and you'll find out that they forged the weapons from Beskar and they were wildly used against the force users of the past.

The Great Purge AKA The Night of Thousand Tears. It happened after the Rebels finished, Bo-Katan had been gifted the Dark Sabre. She had not won in the battle. She took it and lead the House Kryze and the Death Watch to end of days, even bend knee to Maul, before the Emperor brought his wrath in the form of the Great Purge.

"Only those who walked the way escaped the curse prophesied in the Creed." Not completely true, but we get the idea. They were totally and utterly effed for losing their homeworld, and many of the people. And they were shattered, but not erased, even though their numbers were diminished.

Another interesting detail is the point that Armourer rised, "In order to master the ways of the Force, Jedi's have to forge all attachments." To which Mando replied, "That is the opposite of our Creed. Loyalty and solidarity are the way."

I'd say that the Armourer knows one way, but that one way is not all the ways.

Oh Mando, maybe giving away the spear was a bad idea. He is not force sensitive and what we know about the light weapons is that they are extension of the Force. In untrained hands they are as much danger to the wielder as it is to the opponent.

"You're fighting against the blade. You should be fighting against your opponent. You cannot control it with your strength. Your body is strong but your mind is distracted."

What she's unable to convey is "Use the Force, Mando. Use it and best your opponent."

I admit it that it sounds dark, because that's what it is, blade fighting is a dark, brutal sport. And just as it is The Way, the wielder has to accept challenges. So a big facepalm moment for Din being so untrained in the arts of sword wielding. His pose and techniques were poor against the Armourer and the challenge came from House Vizla's ancestor.

Not that the blade helped Paz Vizla any better. They both fought better without it. Stupid blade. Nobody needs it. So my vote goes for the Armourer to keep it.

"According to Creed, one may only be redeemed in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore." - "But they were all destroyed." - "This is the way."

If those three lines don't foreplay of what will happen in the Mandalorian season 3, I don't know will, because that is a perfect reference. The clan cannot disappear into the history without a fight.

Wimps. The droids were actually shaking. Peli Motto is the best. She also tried to sell N-1 to Mando as if it was the way. Sure it's sleaky and handcrafted, but it has no cargo hold. No armoury. Not talking about canteen or other facilities that you might need during way.

I wonder if it will come with the BD droid, that was introduced as a companion droid in the SW Fallen order, although it can be found as luxury items for secretary functions in the Old Republic.

Personally I loved seeing the restoration work and Jawa's doing the supply trade. I wouldn't be surprised if they had star ships and some secret moon for the best bits.

Gorgeous. Still need some panels and maybe beskar armour replacements. It even has a dome for the small people to see out during the voyage. But no armoury. And no cargo hold. But she has speed in her veins. That is a fact. I loved seeing her leaving X-wings as dots in her rear view monitor, when she speeded away.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

That particular Stanford Torus reminded me of the Mass Effect series' Citadel, especially in the second game. And the ground shots of the Great Purge were a not-so-subtle reference to the Terminator's Judgment Day, not that it's anything to complain about. I would have loved to see more Mandalorians trying to fight the invaders though.

 

[ctg]

You can see a lot of it in the last season of clone wars. It is a dark period and also they don't have air or space forces to match up Emperor's Armada.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

Yeah, I saw the Clone Wars. But I meant this episode was a great opportunity to show some Mandalorian badassery, if only for a shot or two, in live-action.

 

[Dave]

As much as the first four episodes left a sour taste in my mouth, this episode does deserve its 10/10.

Do you know about the Star Trek Film curse? That the even-numbered movies are a lot better than the odd-numbered ones. It was the even episodes 2,4 that were better in this, but this episode breaks the sequence.

Spoiler: But, err...

Can someone explain why the only episode of The Book of Boba Fett that doesn't suck does not show Boba Fett?

Also, best Pimp My Ride episode I've seen.

After Episode I: The Phantom Menace, my son had a model of that craft. It should have a yellow paint job.

OMG, a ring planet. I don't know what is rarer, a space-elevator or a ring-planet.

That particular Stanford Torus reminded me of the Mass Effect series' Citadel,

You can see a lot of it in the last season of clone wars.

I've not seen any of those, but I know enough from reading the online comments from engineers about Larry Niven's Ringworld that the stresses upon such a structure mean that it is unlikely to work. Still, it does look cool.

Finally some new locations...

Apart from the Ringworld, really? Beggar's Canyon? Ben's Mesa podracing track? Mos Espa? We are back on that same planet again.

 

[ctg]

, but this episode breaks the sequence.

Some people claim that this is first episode of season 3, but we already knew that the crossover was coming and using different PoV on known characters is completely okay. None of the episodes has been bad or bonkers. So we can put a lot of it to the story-telling issues. Two episodes to go, I cannot see that this series gets wrapped. There has to be more of it and the next one is penned by Mr Filoni, even though I feel that he has had finger in the pie along the way.

I've not seen any of those, but I know enough from reading the online comments from engineers about Larry Niven's Ringworld that the stresses upon such a structure mean that it is unlikely to work. Still, it does look cool.

Yeah it certainly does and it has completely different engineering challenges than the space-elevator. There are a lot structural problems and then there is the atmosphere problem, which didn't seem to affect anyone. I did led it slide instead of yammering endlessly about it. It's ultra technology and SW universe is ultra tech universe, so it should be common to see those structures and more.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

Apart from the Ringworld, really? Beggar's Canyon? Ben's Mesa podracing track? Mos Espa? We are back on that same planet again.

I don't know, it felt like we spent a solid 20 to 25 minutes on that Ringworld and there were several locations there. That was very refreshing after so much sand and sun(s). As for the Tatooine locations, they were also different from the two or three locations that the entire first four episodes were set in (Jabba's Palace, Mos Espa main street and the Sarlaac Pit. I won't count the endless sand dunes as a "location", it's more like a non-location). So that was refreshing too! The inspired direction from Bryce Dallas Howard helped a great deal too. Many iconic shots in spite of the familiar locations.

ETA: I must say, even though that episode was ace and I'm happy I stuck with the series long enough to see it, this also felt in many ways like the last nail in The Book of Boba Fett's coffin. When the best episode in the series (so far, granted) is the one that does not have its titular character in it, it really makes you wonder why that character deserves his own show at all. Boba Fett could and should have remained a character appearing in cameos in Din Djarin's storyline, not the other way around. If you think about it, you could keep that one episode and maybe the next two, throw out the rest and watch it as a bridge between the last and upcoming seasons of The Mandalorian. After season 2, Djarin takes on a few contracts, struggles with controlling the Dark Saber. He shows up on Tatooine to get a new ship and gets hired by Fennec Shand who is looking for muscle to help Boba Fett, who has been living in Jabba's Palace and struggling to take over the Hutt's criminal empire. Done and dusted, no further explanations necessary. There was more character development and story progression in this one episode than in Boba Fett's entire arc so far which, to me at least, is far less interesting than Djarin's slow path to becoming the new Mandalore. Boba is now a secondary character in his own show.

Which somewhat angers me. I'm weary of this pop culture trend of taking viewers hostage of an entire fictional universe just to keep up with the one character whose adventures they actually enjoy. I know the Marvel Cinematic Universe did it first, and I know comic books did it a long time before Marvel ever was adapted to the screen (when you had to buy all the mini issues from Batman, Detective Comic, Robin, Nightwing, etc. to follow the overarching storyline), but this trend of continuing character's storylines by having them show up in shows dedicated to other characters is a pain in the bum. Why should anyone have to keep up with the subpar The Book of Boba Fett (and presumably Ahsoka, etc.) if they just want to follow Din Djarin's adventures? That episode was no mere cameo, it really was the first episode of The Mandalorian season 3, and it is essential viewing for anyone interested in that character's arc.

Now I'm hoping that this series was simply a setup to create a twist in Din Djarin's storyline, with some kind of a passing of the torch moment between him and Boba Fett in the last episode. That would be great, although it was a hell of long set-up...

 

[ctg]

Boba Fett could and should have remained a character appearing in cameos in Din Djarin's storyline, not the other way around. If you think about it, you could keep that one episode and maybe the next two, throw out the rest and watch it as a bridge between the last and upcoming seasons of The Mandalorian.

I fully feel that they cocked up by not having a plan. BF is beloved character by many, many people and we accepted that his life as a bounty hunter is over by his move to take over Jabba's palace and the business in desert planet.

But the season is not finished and they've hyped that they put all the bangs at the end of the season, which we are seeing as a war between Pyke Syndicate and Boba's people. Mando is one thing but who else is going to show up?

I really doubt that Luke will let Groku out of his sight in middle of the training, because it would be repeating his mistakes. Although supposedly around nine months of time has passed and in that time Ezra learned to use Force very effectively. Luke also has his own interest with the desert planet through his legacy. So it might be a long reach, but he might show up alongside Groku, but there must be other muscle that they can bring in, since Boba has credit.

On that note, I suspect Boba inherited Jango's fortunes and he only added on top with his own jobs, meaning that he might be a filthy rich but he might not want everyone to know it. The other muscle might be big names, but the opposition might also bring their own, and that brings that problem of screen time. Who would get the focus minutes?

Overall I suspect Disney is trying new ways of story telling, and the Book of Boba Fett is telling his rise as a crimelord, which in turn would turn out to be an asset for Mando for the season 3 and the Return to Mandalore. If it's not set here, it might rile up in the season 3, because of the storytelling problems ... but I still would like to see another season of Boba, because I'm not finished with him despite all the flaws in the series.

 

[ctg]

I leave this here

Mando's and the problems with the shiny sticks. Also notice how much shorter the blade is against Kanan's one. You'll have to be aggressive with it, because of that reach disadvantage.

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

I really doubt that Luke will let Groku out of his sight in middle of the training, because it would be repeating his mistakes. Although supposedly around nine months of time has passed and in that time Ezra learned to use Force very effectively. Luke also has his own interest with the desert planet through his legacy. So it might be a long reach, but he might show up alongside Groku, but there must be other muscle that they can bring in, since Boba has credit.

I don't see Grogu going anywhere with Din Djarin. Why would Mando associate the child with a crime lord's quest? Why would he take him out of a safe environment to bring him into a dangerous situation? Luke wouldn't want to facilitate that either and I don't see him helping Boba Fett in any way. In any case, I'd rather not see much of CGI-young Luke.

If the writers are any good, Djarin paying a visit to the Jedi shouldn't go according to plan. Either something will happen on the way there, preventing the child from getting his new beskar present, or new characters and events will be introduced once Din arrives at Luke's Jedi academy (other Jedi training with Luke? Maybe even familiar faces...) and this will up the ante as the series comes to a close.

 

[REBerg]

I wish I had a few dozen more thumbs to turn up for this incredibly entertaining series.
They can't give Peli Motto enough screen time. She is one of the best characters in the series.
Her revelation that she has dated a Jawa was hilarious. "Very furry."
The little touches, like vermin infesting Mando's new ride and the reptilian "chicken" crowing at dawn, add to the fun of watching the show. Refurbished and modified as it may be, the Razor Crest's replacement is the coolest spacecraft I've seen since the Expanse's Razorback.
The space station was also fantastic. Who needs a planet to orbit or a wormhole to tend to put a whole civilization on a ring?
If Disney's plan is to merge The Mandalorian with The Book of Boba Fett, I'm OK with that.

 

[Parson]

I believe you lot are corrupting me. I too, thought that this was the best episode of the series, and felt that this was actually an episode of the Mandalorian. I'm not sure I would have thought that before. --- The Ring World was fantastic!! I literally hooted when I saw it. I'm not much for characters played only for laughs and that's how I see Peli Motto. But I love that she's a crackerjack mechanic and a slimy used car salesman with a soft spot for outcasts. So I'm okay with her too.

The N-1 starfighter is ultra cool, but I would reckon it's about as practical as a Lamborghini, ---- Great for a fast get-away, Great for Ohhhs, and Ahhhs, but really horrible to travel for any extended time in.

It's also nice and I think smart to see Mando getting advice from both the Armorer, and Peli Motto about how to work his new tools. It makes him more human.

 

[ctg]

but really horrible to travel for any extended time in.

Some, although rare people believe that as long as they have toothbrush and passport, they're fine. Then again Millenium Falcon has same problem and it too could be seen as a lambo or ferrari, with a bit more luggage space. But for Mando, if keeps holding onto the relic, a bigger ship with a garage for the toys would be better.

Something that Mr Solo had found and were using in the ep VII, when Rey found him.

 

[Parson]

Some, although rare people believe that as long as they have toothbrush and passport, they're fine. Then again Millenium Falcon has same problem and it too could be seen as a lambo or ferrari, with a bit more luggage space. But for Mando, if keeps holding onto the relic, a bigger ship with a garage for the toys would be better.

Something that Mr Solo had found and were using in the ep VII, when Rey found him.

True, but when I watched Mando squeeze into the cockpit it didn't look like that would be comfortable even for sitting for any considerable period of time (think days).

 

[REBerg]

True, but when I watched Mando squeeze into the cockpit it didn't look like that would be comfortable even for sitting for any considerable period of time (think days).

Well, he can always add the spacecraft equivalent of a Honda Odyssey to his garage later on, for longer trips with the missus and their two youngsters, Mando Jr. and Mandolin.

 

[ctg]

Jango, young Boba and Slave 1 in Ep II. The one thing that troubled me when Din asked to make a piece of armour was that I was thinking codpiece. Neither Boba or Din carry protection, but Jango and Paz Vizla certainly do. And another thing is that they seem to have a variation in the armour pieces, especially in the mid section. The chest is almost always very square even on females, but rest has variations.

All I'm suggesting is that if Mando is to keep the sword, he might want to protect the sausage. So more bling. Just like Jango is showing with full Beskar armour. Like our Mando he too likes to show it. The people are ignorant for not noticing the shiny things.

Kaminoans also confirmed that Jango had been "paid exceptionally well." So overall Boba must be loaded and it's no pain for him to pay for anything. Except Din is doing it on house, even though he should fatten the war chest.

 

[ctg]

The Book of Boba Fett's Latest Throwback Is Having a Weird Influence... on Vintage Toys?

Star Wars ' love of both its own past and its own merchandise sometimes comes together to give something old a new value.

gizmodo.com

If you still have old naboo starfighers somewhere, you can get nice prices for them. Starting around 200 dollars.

 

[Dave]

Thanks for that. I've let my son know. He can come over and root around in the loft for it.

Except that $200 is for the "lights and sound version" and what he had was just a standard model.