Every week, I begin my review of the new episode of The Book of Boba Fett by stating that a new episode of this series starring Boba Fett as the main character has arrived on Disney+. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can write that with a straight face with this episode. Because while you may click on “Episode 5: Return of the Mandalorian” expecting an episode of The Book of Boba Fett, you may be surprised to find that Disney accidentally uploaded the season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian instead. This has to be the only rational explanation, right?
In Episode 4 of this series, we got a few hints at the return of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). The final scene of that episode has Fennec Shand stating that credits could buy muscle if they knew where to look, as we hear some notes of Ludwig Goransson’s Mandalorian theme. It left the episode on a high note as we wondered if the next episode would feature the war between Boba’s army and the Pykes or if it would simply feature Boba and Fennec finally leaving Tatooine to search the galaxy for Djarin. Either option would have made for a fantastic episode that set the series into high gear.
The opening scene features Djarin entering a slaughterhouse looking for Kaba Baiz. It’s great to see Djarin again over a year after his emotional season finale, and we hear him say his iconic line: “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.” This leads to a fantastic action sequence that immediately reintroduces the audience to Djarin’s power as he fights the Klatooinians. We also see Djarin wield the Darksaber after he won it from Moff Gideon, and it’s always a wickedly fun time to see the Darksaber in action. It’s a phenomenal opening scene that really should have just stayed an opening scene.
Once the title card appeared on screen and we continued to follow Djarin, I found myself slightly baffled. As the episode went on, I almost wanted to refresh the browser to ensure that I was watching the right show. Later, Boba meets the Armorer and Paz Vizsla, two survivors of the Mandalorian tribe. They discuss the Darksaber, the fate of Moff Gideon, name-drop Bo-Katan, and Djarin gets the Armorer to melt his beskar spear into a little gift for Grogu, the child Djarin watched over in his series. How is any of this relevant to the Boba Fett storyline we have been following for four episodes?
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It’s not. It’s not relevant at all. Episode 5 does not continue the story threads left off by the first four episodes of The Book of Boba Fett. Instead, every storyline referenced in this scene is a direct continuation of season 2 of The Mandalorian, a completely different show. Anyone who hasn’t seen that series is left in the dark with this episode that is almost wholly disconnected from the first four episodes. There are no references to the Pyke Syndicate, the Tusken Raiders, or Mayor Mok Shaiz, whom the series has been hinting at as its primary antagonist. The sequence with Djarin, the Armorer, and Vizla adds nothing to what the show has been setting up.
Think about the duel between Djarin and Vizla as Vizla attempts to claim the Darksaber for himself. It’s well-choreographed, but it lacks any emotional weight as these two characters had never been in this show before this episode. Then, Djarin meets Peli Motto on Tatooine, where she replaces his Razor Crest ship with an N-1 starfighter. A scene with the Jawas finally connects the episode to the main storyline where Peli tells Djarin about the Pykes who control the spice trade and rule over Tatooine.
As Djarin test flights the starfighter, he goes through Beggar’s Canyon, a solid reference dating back to 1977 when Luke Skywalker flew towards the Death Star saying, “It’ll be just like Beggar’s Canyon back home.” It’s a fun sequence primarily due to Bryce Dallas Howard’s exceptional direction, and the episode ends with Fennec arriving to recruit Djarin to help Boba in the coming war. This now marks three consecutive episodes that end with the characters saying, “we have a war coming up, and we have to get ready.” The show moves at a snail’s pace for a war that can’t come soon enough.
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Now, as an episode of The Mandalorian, this was perfectly acceptable. But as an episode of The Book of Boba Fett, this was dreadful. The problem with this show is that it stands on the shoulders of superior films and shows to make itself appear tall, but the story cannot stand on its own two feet. The series relies on your preexisting knowledge and love of Star Wars to get you to like this show, but the fact that they threw in an obvious backdoor pilot for season 3 of The Mandalorian demonstrates that this story has so little meat on its bones that it can’t stand on its own as a good show.
While it was nice to step away from the drab setting of Tatooine in this episode, and Howard remains a talented director, this episode only rubs salt in the wound that Star Wars fans aren’t willing to admit they have. That wound is the unfortunate reality that this show lacks a compelling story and is actively wasting its protagonist by throwing him away for an entire episode. Some have argued this is the best episode of the series so far. However, if the best episode of a show is the one that most closely resembles an episode of a completely different show and the titular character is absent, that exposes a gaping hole in the very concept of a series titled The Book of Boba Fett. If there’s anything this show has been good at, it’s been making you wish you were watching something better.
SCORE: 4/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 5 equates to “Poor.” The negatives overweigh the positive aspects making it a struggle to get through.
Disclosure: The critic watched the episode on Disney+ for ComingSoon’s The Book of Boba Fett – Chapter 5 review.
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