SPOILER TBOBF EP. 2 - The Tribes of Tatooine

Never waste a potential resource. That Rodian may have helped him escape in the beginning, only to be disposed of later once his usefulness ran out. That is what the Boba Fett of Legends would do, IMO. And the Boba Fett of Legends was a stone-cold killer. He would smoke anyone for credits or to win.

Tuscany Raiders :

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 6, 2022, Original Post Date: Jan 6, 2022 ---

I watched it. It's like a preview of next week's episode or something. The biker gang appears to be larger group of the ones from Tosche Station.
The white landspeeder scene gives me nothing to suggest who it is. Who do you think it is?

 

His age and having an older look isn't an issue for me. That's something I can ignore. Better Call Saul is the same way but the acting and story helps me ignore that the actors in real life are older from when they were on Breaking Bad but playing their younger selves years before the events of Breaking Bad.

My issue is that I'm trying to figure out the point of this show since we only have what 4 or 5 episodes left before the series end. By Episode 2 of Hawkeye (which would make a good comparison for this show), we know what the point of that show is and have a good idea on what to expect. Can't say the same about Book of Boba. I feel like the flashback is messing up with the flow of the series. Maybe they should of started off with events of the flash back stuff first and then by episode 3 or 4, have them show what the present day Boba is doing.

 

I enjoyed both episodes but I'm feeling better about the show overall after this one.

My fear in the first episode was that this would mostly be a power squabble between Boba and the Mayor. But the appearance of the Hutts and a certain familiar bounty hunter made it feel like the conflict has more weight, has more connection with the bigger criminal underworld.

Also a lot of great worldbuilding with the Tuskens.

 

Legends isn't cannon. I'm not drawing my conclusions from there. It's not to say he hasn't killed. Heck he killed people in the first episode in self defense, vaporizing that one attacker when they were scaling the building. I'm not trying to disrespect Legends, I'm also not familiar with all the stories. Disney's version of Boba Fett is not a stone cold killer. Also the situation of survival was in play with the Rodian.

By the way, love the picture.

 

In Star Wars?

 

Wow, really impressed by that episode. The first didn't really grab me, I was looking at my phone and losing interest etc. For this episode, I was glued. Black K looked menacing, the power-play between Hutts/Sanctuary/The Mayor and Boba will prove interesting. Mos Espa is SPRAWLING, I hope we see more of it. Humanising the Sand People is a really important step, the clues in the name - people. It'll be good to avoid cliches/tropes here, I think some have already touched on. However, Boba is clearly being humbled by this experience - which may explain his patience as a ruler in the present. I hope we see more connections with the prequels and originals, I love it when a thread joins both in one thriving and vibrant tapestry. Tosche Station! Yes! ANH Luke would get his ass kicked hanging around there.

All in all, more Star Wars, more world-building and character development - I'm here for it. What else am I gonna be watching? Succession? Pffft

 

Boba Fett's character development isn't about being a badass killer. This story is about him stepping out of his father's shadow and becoming a leader. Bounty hunters in general don't make good leaders, they're usually lone wolves. It's like me, I'm an independent contractor, and it would be ridiculous for me to think I could run a multi billion dollar corporation. Same with Fett. He's been under the thumb of Jabba and Vader as a contractor pretty much his whole career, working alone. In this show he's becoming his own man, not just a clone of Jango.

The tree vision was symbolic of him breaking away from Jango. Also being stripped of Jangos armor, was a big turning point.

 

I'm still catching up all the articles, videos, etc. but I've got a thought that I don't think has been mentioned:

Fennec said something to the effect of "you need permission to kill a Hutt." First of all, who grants that permission? Secondly, I think Fett gets that permission.

But how does he go about that? Speculation below:

Spoiler

I'm thinking he pays Black Krrsantan to turn on the Hutt Cousins, who then murders those two. I think it makes sense since Fett and BK worked together before. Plus, there's this image below:



The left side of the photo seems awfully empty... Could certainly fit a wookiee and maybe another character.

 

Heh, cool...



Anyhow..

I'm liking it so far.

As is the way, I think a lot of criticisms are founded on the series not portraying things in the way they'd hoped, which I can understand to point. But, Fett was a Bounty Hunter... not a psychopathic serial killer. His grievance against the Jedi for killing Jango was one of his motivations, living up to his father's reputation was another, and then there was the obvious one - Bounty.

Old man Boba, left for dead, alone, with no employer, no bounty on the line, no Jedi to hate. Got punked by a slapstick near death experience whilst working for Jabba. Perhaps laying there in the sand, drenched in Saarlac stomach juice, he thought to himself... what the **** am I doing here?

So what does he do. Does he just go off killing people on tattooine, for no reason, no bounty? No, because he's not just a psychopathic serial killer, he finds a new cause. Himself. Why work for other people to get paid, when you can just take the power for yourself? Jabba ruled with fear, and look where that got him. Boba wants to work for himself, and he's not so stupid to think that ruling through fear is the best play, hence he wants to rule with respect - that way, instead of looking over his shoulder to see who wants to kill him, he can rely on allies to look over his shoulder for him.

I'm fine with flashbacks, parallel story-telling has its advantages.

My biggest gripe, is it looks like TV. Can't put my finger on why.

 

I’m certainly enjoying the ‘Temuera and His Sand Buddies’ show. I just wish it wasn’t occasionally interrupted by all these lengthy commercials promoting some other show about Boba Fett getting his real estate license or whatever’s going on.

It’s kind of funny that half the plot of this show is predicated on the main character taking lots of long naps during the day. And the other half, so far, is him having the same basic conversation that generally goes like this:

Boba: I’m in charge now.
Some Smarmy Jerk: But are you though?
Boba: Uh, yep.
Jerk: Well, we’ll see about that.
Fennec: We should probably kill that jerk.
Boba: Nah, the season just got started. Anyway, I gotta go take a nap.

Seriously though, I really enjoyed the episode. The Tusken plot certainly has some ‘white savior’ vibes since that’s what’s being referenced. But it’s resting more in articulating the benefit of cooperation between two disparate cultures and how combining the best of both can be a truly positive thing. They teach him. He teaches them – it’s a mutual exchange based on respect. Lovely.

Territoriality is what binds the diverging storylines. In the past, the Tuskens are staking claim to the Dune Sea. In the present, Boba is staking claim to Jabba’s domain. Tribalism and factionalism are keeping the parties apart and at odds. We see how Boba’s recent experiences are probably influencing the choices he’s making - applying lessons learned to his current situation . . . or trying to anyhow.

My biggest impediment to investing in this character’s journey though is still: Why do I want him to become a crime lord?! I don’t. I’m not rooting for that. Crime = bad. Crime = suffering. To be the head of all crime in this town is to be responsible for all the suffering that comes as a result of it. That’s decidedly anti-Star Wars.

So, so far, I mostly don’t care about who gets to become the king of garbage mountain. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop on that one.

Question: So the Tuskens have noses under there then? How’s that trip lizard getting in so they can go have their own little tree trimming spirit quests?

 

I keep seeing this criticism even though there hasn't any drop off in production quality in any of the Lucasfilm series. I'm also seeing this for other shows.

My guess is "familiarity breeds contempt" phenomena or changes in people's TV settings/equipment? In some ways TVs are pushing past theaters in terms of picture quality.

 

THIS! ^^^^^^^^

AND THIS! ^^^^^^^^^

Great insights, @Flying spaghetti monster !!!

These concerns are especially understandable when the character of Boba Fett (in canon) is surrounded by mystery. It lended itself to fans making him into whatever they wanted him to be.

Exactly! A good professional bounty hunter's focus is always going to be on the bounty, not who is paying him for it. If Boba Fett is a villain because he took jobs for Darth Vader and Jabba the Hutt, what about Din Djarin took a job from the Empire?

Some fans keep bringing this issue up. It's especially surprising given the same production crew responsible for The Mandalorian are doing TBoBF. My best guess at the answer is because the show (to this point) has been on Tatooine. While there's a lot of nostagia and fondness surrounding the planet given ANH, let's face it: it's not a location that lends itself to awe-inspiring cinematograhy or goose-bump producing settings.

 

Nor do I think Legends is canon. But it is the only storytelling we have when its comes to Boba(apologies to the comics he was in, I've never read them), so then where are you drawing your conclusions from?
Because from this point:

To this this point:

we ain't got a whole lot to go on.
I also have not read the War of the Bounty Hunters either so I'm not sure how he was portrayed there.
What I do know is that Fett's inspiration is this man:

And this man was a badass killer in his own right.
Maybe that's where we are getting hung-up here. When I say "he was a badass killer" I mean he is the antihero that will do anything to win, no matter the cost, even killing people, which he was very, very, good at. He didn't hesitate to try to blast Obi-Wan on Kamino. He didn't get the reputation as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy by sitting down to tea with his marks and asking them to come with him nicely. He either killed or captured them skillfully and got the money. That is what bounty hunting is the SW universe. He was a villain in the OT, even if it was subtle.
What is he now? He's a crime lord, who gained his throne by cold-bloodily shooting the former boss. He wants to rule with respect? Fine I'm cool with that, but I just don't see him getting through this without getting his hands dirty.

 

Yeah, I thought that was an interesting line. My initial thought is that the other Hutts would grant that. Obviously it's not like the Mayor can issue a Hutt hunting license, but it would be wise to not have the entire Hutt cartel against you.

Good thought. Makes sense they'd add that line, then.

 

Great catch there, @Randy Butternubs !

First off, I believe it was a clue to what's coming later on because it was too strange to be a simple throw-away line from Favreau or his assistants.

My guess is that Favreau and Filoni wanted to tease the audence with an innocuous line that, if noticed, implies there's a more powerful baddie in charge of the crime syndicate that the Hutt Twins and the Black wookie work for.

In Ep 1 - we thought the conflict was with the Mayor, in Ep.2 it was no...it's the Twins.....I suspect later on we'll discover, NO, the Big Boss is actually......???

 

I am curious where the story with the mayor is going, though.

Right now, I'm thinking two possibilities:

- The mayor actually is the big bad, and lured the Hutts here to depose of Fett (or for whatever other nefarious purpose).

- We'll eventually see the Mayor in a more sympathetic light. He is, after all, the more typical good guy- trying to save Mos Espa from multiple crime syndicates warring over it.

 

I have a hard time seeing the mayor as a "typical good guy" when his aide asked Boba Fett for a tribute in Ep.1.

 

True- but if you flip the script and we have the mayor as a virtuous figure trying to test the waters with Fett or hold him accountable like a typical business rather than a crime syndicate... maybe? Even if that was the case, it was definitely intended as a red herring.

Just a thought.

 

I don't want to hate here, but I'm kinda disappointed that this show (and probably all of current SW) feels very earth like so far.

In episode 2 of TBOBF we saw a biker gang with leather jackets and logo on their backs. Then we got a train heist. The story with the Tusken Raiders also feels like an idea straight out of a golden age western.

While I get the intention of those scenes I wish we would get something more unique and "unearthy".

Boba Fett would be a great opportunity to go crazy.

 

What, in your opinion, would you say counts as "unearthy" in Star Wars though?