"The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 6" review
Major spoilers for this one.
The Mandalorian episode 6 is here... Wait sorry I meant Boba Fett episode 6, it's easy to forget that this is his show after the last two episodes. It feels wrong to say, because these last two episodes have been excellent, but I'm beginning to feel that naming this show after Boba Fett might have been a mistake. He deserves a show one hundred percent but that show has to be about him, the flashbacks have been excellent and are exactly what a Boba Fett show should entail but sadly the 'present day' content is less about him and more about almost anything else. Having said that, I can absolutely get over this if the show maintains the momentum that it's building up.
First thing's first, Cobb Vanth is back. They're building up to a real Avengers style crossover now. And he's still a cool character even without the Boba Fett armour, Timothy Olyphant does a great job of holding his own amongst the wealth of pre established characters which is no easy feat in a show like this. He's not given much to do at first but he has some great moments later on.
That N-1 starfighter is still easily the least practical ship for a bounty hunter but it it more than makes up for that in style points, it's easily one of the coolest ships in Star Wars. More importantly, the Mandalorian is back and he's hear to see some old friends. R2-D2 is always great to see too. At this point the review is just a list of characters, but that's pretty much the episode.
The direction that they're going in with the Jedi school being built is great, maybe they'll show a bit more of what happened there (I know they've done it in the comics and they're great but a live action expansion on this would be nice). I know it's a bit early for them to link this to the sequels but the seeds are being sown and I'm looking forward to seeing where it will go next.
Speaking of the sequels, this is exactly how they should have been. Luke Skywalker (oh yeah I forgot to say, he's in it) is exactly how he should have been, the training montage is great and the tone is much closer to the original trilogy than the sequels were.
Not only is Luke Skywalker's character more accurate but the CGI is much better than it was this time last year too. This is the first time that a digitally de-aged character in Star Wars hasn't been properly unsettling, it works.
The flashback to order 66 is great, but my one question is why? It feels a lot like it was just put in for the sake of it. It's very good backstory to Grogu but it feels a bit shoehorned in. Backstory and fan service for the sake of backstory and fan service is sometimes worse than no backstory at all. I can forgive it though, I just wish it had been a bit more organic.
Ahsoka's appearance was great but a tiny bit confusing. Was she there just to tell Din Djarin to go away? Has she been there before? Why does she leave? It was great to see her again, and Rosario Dawson was a great casting choice but again I just wish it had been a little more organic. Even if she was just there to help Luke with Grogu it would just make more sense. But like most of my complaints about this episode this one is just a bit of a nitpick.
My main problem with this episode: The Jedi. They've always been self-rightieous but it's time for that to ease up I feel. Why shouldn't Grogu have any attachment to the Mandalorian? They've all done it, Luke to Leia and Han and C-3PO and R2-D2 and Obi Wan and Yoda, Ashoka to Anakin. Hypocritical much? I just think it's not as intersting as they seem to think it is, it just makes for frustrating viewing. Why does Grogu have to choose between the lightsaber and the armour? Can't he just have both, it would make sense to. It just feels like they should leave that plot point in the prequels. Would Anakin have become Vader if he was allowed to visit his mum and be with Padme publicly? I don't think so. Obviously they have a plan and that's great but I just think it would make for a better story if the Jedi showed growth and changed this rule.
My other issue is that Fennec Shand isn't the main character of this show when she does so much more than Boba Fett, it feels a whole lot like Boba Fett is here just for his name. He had absolutely nothing to do this episode. He's in it though. Did you notice him? Maybe, but it would be easy to miss him. Maybe they should have made this all a part of the Mandalorian season 3 or a bounty hunters show. I'm not sure, I don't get paid to come up with it for them but it definitely seems like most of this show was thought out before the title and that the title was just sort of tacked on.
That's the nitpicking done.
Cad Bane. Live action Cad Bane. Cad Bane vs Boba Fett. Cad Bane vs Boba Fett but in live action. Finally. He was made to be in a show like this, the perfect space western character and this scene was perfect for two characters like Cad Bane and Cobb Vanth. Cowboy stand offs are always a bit dumb (like just shoot first, don't wait in the name of fairplay just shoot Indiana Jones style) but in this it was awesome, I'm just hoping for them to remake that deleted clone wars scene with Cad Bane and Boba Fett, you know the one (if you don't then this will all mean nothing and you'll probably be saying "who's Cad Bane?"), there's no way they won't in some way.
Overall this episode was a little weaker than the last, but not much weaker. It's only flaws just come down to lazy writing but it more than makes up for that in character appearances and in the way it sets up the rest of the series. I'd have to give this one an 8, it's another great episode and is so promising for the rest of the Star Wars universe.
