SPOILER TBOBF Ep.7 - In The Name of Honor

The 2 Mandalorian episodes of the series were well done and worth tuning in for. I’m looking forward to Mando S3.

The ‘central’ BOBF episodes, including the finale, were mostly cringe-worthy TV. I’m super disappointed overall. The one common theme for me seems to be that RR directing style just doesn’t work for me - and yes, that includes his Mando work.

The entire Boba story line was really poorly written - I repeatedly cringed at the Saturday morning cartoon level scripts, pacing and acting. Maybe a 7 or 10 year old might find it compelling but I yearned for even prequel level acting while watching most of these episodes. Basically these were on the level of live action Bad Batch or Resistance episodes. Huge wasted opportunity imo.

Bring on Obi and Andor!

 

Not great like it could have been but at least decent - good. Alot of cool stuff mixed with some weak stuff but nothing really "cringe worthy tv". Just meh at worse

 

I liked the finale, but TBOBF changed Boba’s story from “finished” (albeit not finished that well) to “unfinished,” and the finale didn’t do anything to provide a new conclusion. Does Boba just live happily ever after on Tatooine? Will there be more seasons (which will frankly get really confusing in terms of trying to integrate the series with the future of The Mandalorian).

It seems crazy to think that Grogu might not follow the path of the Jedi.

Frankly, Cad Bane’s death was overdue. That was a satisfying ending for him.

 

OH I really want this poster now

 

Thought the finale was a bit messy & a little too over the top in some places, but enjoyable.

Coming into this Cad Bane was the most anticipated thing in the ep for me, and he really lived up to it in his scenes. His first and last stand offs with Boba were really tense and well done. Very poetic how Boba loses the quick draw, but kills him with his Gaderffii.

I still think Cad's death in the unfinished TCW scene is done really well as well. Thought it was neat he made the dent in Boba's helmet. All though him losing to a kid Boba is kinda weak. So probably for the best that wasn't canonized.

Honestly not sure How I feel about Grogu and Mando being reunited. It kinda (As of now at least) makes the emotional farewell with Luke in Mando S2 Finale seem.... kinda pointless? Maybe "pointless" isn't the word, but less powerful of a scene?

Fennec taking out the mayor and the Pykes really leaves Boba as the sole one with power in Mos Espa. Seeing Cobb in the bacta tank at the end of the credits leaves me wondering, will Boba eventually leave the Daimyo position to him and move on to other things??

I liked seeing Boba no longer as a ruthless mercenary, but a changed man. He's still a killer, but he's got a heart. He's not in it just for the credits anymore, but for the wellbeing of folks. I know some people wanted the same ole Boba from the films, TCW, etc -- but I liked what F&F did with Boba.


Overall I thought TBOBF, despite it's flaws, was good. Not on the same level of quality as Mando S1&2 in my opinion, but still a fun series. And one I hope we see another season of. If not another season of TBOBF, at least more of this Boba. Whether that's in the Daimyo role or not.

 

I like how Din, in that scene, makes a point of removing his helmet - making it clear (if he never sees him again) that between Grogu and his Mando code, he chooses Grogu.

Grogu reuniting with Din proves the feeling is mutual. Between Din and his Jedi code, Grogu chooses Din. You don’t get that if they don’t separate. That makes it more powerful to me.

 

Wow, I think this is the most inactive I’ve been on this forum while a Star Wars show was running.

Overall, excluding those two Mandalorian episodes, I found the series to be very mediocre. It wasn’t great and it wasn’t horrible, though there was absolutely some really good and really bad elements to be found. Getting “The Bad” out of the way:

• I really did not care for the Biker gang. I think their aesthetic was kinda cringeworthy but I still feel like some of the less egregious designs, as well as those Vespas, would have been better suited for Coruscant or some other planet besides drab, boring Tatooine.
• The split narrative between the past and the present for the first four chapters ultimately did not work for me. I feel like that would have been better served if it were condensed down to the first chapter or two.
• The plot and antagonists were super boring. I never felt any tension, the plot seemed kinda aimless with the Pykes hardly being present in the, well, present storyline up until the very end of Chapter Four.
• I’m not someone who tends to notice these sorts of things but some of the special effects, directing and action throughout Chapters 1-4 and 7 were surprisingly poor for a modern Star Wars project.
• That awful post credits scene. Cobb Vanth living was not at all a surprise and I don’t really get how the Modder guy really needed to step in when he just got shot in the shoulder. We’ve seen characters walk that off several times by now.

Some of “The Good”:

• I do feel like the Boba action we did get in the finale was pretty good. Seeing him kill Cad Bane was epic.
• Cad Bane himself was pretty badass in live-action. I’m glad they killed him off too; I am starting to get a little bit wary of every original Clone Wars character showing up in these post-ROTJ shows. I do have mixed feelings about his overall implementation however, which I’ll get to later.
• That scene with Fennec Shand murdering the mayor and crime leaders was super brutal and well-done. Probably should have been Boba to do it, but I’m glad Fennec got a chance to shine here.
• I found Boba’s changed philosophy on bounty hunting after the Sarlacc Pit to be very interesting. In Star Wars, we’ve seen so many of these crime lords send out bounty hunters and mercenaries to risk their lives over stupid and selfish reasons. I thought that was a really cool direction to go with for Boba.
• Obviously both of The Mandalorian episodes here were fantastic. Fan-service a plenty, but I am a fan and I do enjoy being serviced. Episode 5 was probably the stronger of the two but I was just smiling all the way through both episodes. I also can’t believe we got to see Din with the Darksaber, Cobb Vanth, The Armorer, Paz Vizla, Luke, Ahsoka, R2, Yoda’s lightsaber, foreshadowing to Luke’s Academy and flashbacks to Order 66 and the Night of a Thousand Tears in just those two episodes. So much awesomeness, I’m pumped for Mando Season 3.
• Seeing Black Krrsantan in live-action. It only took like five years but I’m finally working towards getting up-to-date on the Star Wars comics. Fortunately, I was already well aware of Krrsantan from some of the volumes I already do have. I thought seeing the Wookie/Trandoshan hatred brought on screen here was super cool as well.

And as for “The Ugly” or things I had mixed feelings on.

• Boba Fett’s arc. Like I said, I really liked the angle of him being over bounty hunting and working for gutless crime lords. I liked seeing more of who he is as a person rather than a plot device like in the OT. His honorable side felt consistent with the young Boba from The Clone Wars. And I feel that, on paper, seeing a Boba Fett who wants a family or community to have in his life after the Tuskens is neat. Having him try to be a respectable crime lord and not immediately just fighting people is decently interesting. I just don’t feel like a lot of those ideas were executed super well. Now that it’s all said and done, I do agree they made Boba kinda… boring. The Mandalorian Season Two warmed me up to the character, only to just shrug at him and say “I guess he’s cool” once again. I just have mixed feelings on the “soft Boba” approach. We kinda have a “softer Boba” with The Mandalorian, who does show brutality and callousness at times but is ultimately a good-hearted person whose son brings out the best in him. I almost feel like they should have gone for a more gray-area, gritty Godfather-esque Boba Fett to differentiate him from Din Djarin. One who says he’s going to be better than these other, immoral crime-lords but his past and greed make him turn into one of them. Maybe he could see the error of his ways and then decide to knock-off the crime lord thing, instead of the weird “I don’t know if we’re cut out for this” exchange we got in the finale. At least we saw him kick ass in the finale, and have to protect Din Djarin at points. And like I said, seeing him defeat Cad Bane, as well as riding the Rancor, were both super badass.
• I also was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get more on Fennec Shand. I like the character and the actress, but we’ve seen her in three shows now and I still don’t feel like we know her very well. She’s definitely a badass and almost has a bit of a playful side to her, but I still feel like she’s lacking something. Hopefully they figure something out for her in The Bad Batch or Mando Season 3.
• Like I said, Cad Bane was legendary here, but his usage was also a lot of wasted potential. They fell into the same trap as the other Disney+ shows with the “surprise” antagonist who only shows up at the end and usually feels unsatisfying. I feel like he should have been the main antagonist from the start honestly. They still could have had the Pykes be wanting to take over the Tatooine territory, but with Cad calling the shots and going after Boba head-on. It could have been cool to see the different perspectives of these old bounty hunters and the way they see themselves and their pasts, more than a couple exchanges in the finale.
• They really should have saved The Mandalorian stuff for Season 3. Without those episodes, TBOBF feels incredibly half-baked and Mando ended up stealing a lot of the spotlight ever since his theme played in Chapter 4. I also am pretty disappointed that they reunited Din and Grogu so soon and in such a rushed way. I feel that this drastically undercuts the Mando Season 2 finale and somewhat hinders the characters. Din’s not going to care about the Darksaber and working with Bo-Katan to reunite Mandalore now that his “only priority” is back in the picture and Grogu’s not going to care about at least getting his powers under control now that he’s back in his comfort zone. This honestly might have been what disappointed me most with this series. Granted, I’m still super excited for Season 3 all the same, and I did love the precious little hug we got here. I just don’t feel like the plan was originally to bring Grogu back so soon, it was probably because the character is too popular to leave out for even a season of The Mandalorian. I get that, I love seeing them together regardless.

Anyway, those are my long-winded thoughts. If we get a Season Two, hopefully it’ll be a lot better, and even if we don’t, hopefully the next few shows make up for the only dud I feel that Star Wars has had on Disney+ so far.

 

An okay-ish episode, but as a finale quite weak.

Robert Rodriguez once more proves he's bad with action directing. Most of the action scenes feel slow and boring. He's overusing slow-motion as well.
Seeing the Rancor in action was cool though.

Mando and Grogu together is always a plus as well.
Cyborg Cobb Vanth will be... Different.

Quite surprising that Cad Bane died. I didn't see that coming especially because he's one of Filoni's creations. I actually quite like Cad Bane in this show. His role was small, but pretty badass.

 

Rodriguez has had the biggest most complex action sequences to direct in the series (inc Mando) so far. I can't think of an action sequence prior to these ones that compares or show better direction. Keep in mind that effects heavy shots, like ones involving the Rancor or any fast moving flying vehicles etc are handled mainly by ILM with RR's input of course. I've yet to be shown a comparison within the D+ Star Wars shows so far that could be held up as "good" direction

 

The perfect comparison is the final shootout in 'The Mandalorian' Season 1 at 3:00 min

It's pretty much the same scene as in TBOBF, only much better. Pace, choreography, blocking, editing etc is on a completely different level here.

Season 2 also had to choreograph an action scene with a huge creature (also seen in the video) with a lot of stuff happening at the same time.

 

That came to mind but honestly, the memorable things about that scene are one or two tiny moments. That scene actually sprung to mind because, even though the one in TBOBF is waaaaaay bigger in scale and scope, it still managed to make sense. I don't agree they're on different levels, except that TBOBF finale was clearly way more ambitious and difficult to pull off.

Let's face it. Stormtroopers getting mowed down is just inherently more appealing than just about any kind of action you could ask for in SW.

 

Mos Espa?!

 

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 10, 2022, Original Post Date: Feb 10, 2022 ---

I don't know what happened... my computer is acting up I meant to quote your post regarding Leon: the Professional. One of my favorite films.

 

I personally don't think Cad Bane is dead. Look at the lengths they went to show how Shand survived. Also, no way they introduce Bane like that for two episodes.

 

I thought maybe you'd posted in the wrong thread.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 10, 2022 ---

I don't know about that. I got the feeling that Filoni might possibly be reacting to accusations of nepotism for his Clone Wars creations getting promoted to live action by swiftly killing one of them. ("An old gestapo trick")

 

Cobb Vanth got shot in arm and is surviving in a bacta tank.

 

Some visuals of the chapter.
That was harder. Not as appealing as last 2 and some cool shots are cut so fast, in RR style.

 

Bane had that blinky light thing on him still flashing, so you might be right.

I am kind of tired of people dying and coming back to life in SW though. At least some people have got to stay dead, or killing them loses its impact!

 

I know. But he had people there to care for him and get him treatment. Who has Cad got?

 

It's possible that Boba gets him healed, because he has a job offer for him.