Now that Disney Plus watchers have officially gotten a look at The Mandalorian spinoff, Book of Boba Fett, there's at least a decent idea about what this season is going to entail. It's true that fans already had some idea of what to expect considering the trailers for The Book of Boba Fett shed some light on things. There was quite a bit of Star Wars action planned, including battles against monsters and the takeover of Jabba The Hutt's palace. There was also some light shed on just how Boba was going to be as a kingpin on Tatooine.
The former bounty hunter made it very clear he wasn't going to rule with an iron fist. Even if we saw him take over the throne with some serious violence at the end of The Mandalorian's latest season, trailers showed that Boba Fett wants to be a kinder, gentler ruler. To some degree, his approach to ruling the criminal enterprise on the desert planet is similar to how the original show handled the character development of the other bounty hunter on Disney Plus.
The Mandalorian started off the series as someone who looked like he was tough as nails. He looked like someone who wasn't going to take any guff from anyone and was perfectly happy killing or maiming anyone who got in his way. Then, the character took a bit of a turn in order to actually be a hero. He showed reluctance when it came to firefights. Boba is showing the same kind of character traits. While that makes some sense when it comes to building a character that Disney Plus audiences can actually root for, there's one plot device that the new show should avoid at all costs, if it really wants to set itself apart from its predecessor.
Boba Fett Doesn't Need To Be A Father Figure
There is one big plot device that took over The Mandalorian early on in that show that actually worked fairly well because it was something that hadn't really been seen in Star Wars properties before. When Mando took on a kind of father figure status through the first two seasons of his show, it was something that helped make him even more endearing to the audience. It also allowed him to be tough as nails to certain people he ran across, while also still showing his more tender side because of the way he was constantly looking out for Grogu.
At the same time, there were times during The Mandalorian when it felt like it was leaning on the "Baby Yoda" meme a bit too hard. It seemed as if the character was starting to take over the show. That's likely why it seems as if the Grogu is going to have a much smaller role, if he comes back at all, in Season 3. The showrunners for that series seem to understand that the daddy figure plot device had run its course. That's why it's a bit concerning that it appears that The Book of Boba Fett is going to try and plumb some of the same depths, only this time making Boba the one who turns into an unexpected father.
The first episode of The Book of Boba Fett worked hard to fill in the gaps as to just what exactly happened to the former bounty hunter turned Kingpin of Otherworldly Crime between the end of Return of the Jedi and the second season of The Mandalorian. The show should absolutely be celebrated for filling in those blanks. That's especially true of just how he managed to get out of the stomach of the Sarlacc, considering going in there in the first place was supposed to be an extremely painful death sentence. However, things potentially took a turn in a direction that could hamper the series if it continues heading that way for any real length of time.
A large part of The Book of Boba Fett's action so far has involved the Sand People (otherwise known as Tusken Raiders). The desert nomads apparently like to take a couple of people prisoner at a time in order to use them as a kind of slave labor. This appears to be the way that the former bounty hunter spent an awful lot of his time once he was able to get away from the Sarlacc pit. While the idea that he had to win over his captors in order to also win his freedom is interesting enough, it's the way that he happened to win over his captors that should give audiences pause.
It turns out that the main "guard" for the Sand People's prisoners is a young Sand Person. At first, the two have a very adversarial relationship after Boba starts to escape from the camp only to be seen and stopped by the youngling. At one point, Boba showed a kind of rage that the audience won't see again for the rest of the episode. He raises a staff and looks as if he's about to beat the kid's brains in before he realizes his attacker is in fact a kid.
Later in the episode, the two continue to be at odds as Boba and the other prisoner go out with the youngling in order to dig in the desert for the cacti that have water hidden inside them. It's this point where the relationship takes a turn in The Book of Boba Fett when some sort of sand monster comes out from the depths and attacks the group. When the monster turns his attention to the Sand Person, Boba leaps on his back and kills it by choking it with a chain. That particular attack is quite similar to how Jabba died in Return of the Jedi.
When Boba Fett, and youngling and his trusty dog return to the encampment, the kid is more than eager to tell the story of the fight and clearly spells out that the prisoner had saved his life. If that is the end of this particular relationship, if there isn't going to be a bunch of back and forth from here on out where Boba takes the child under his wing and helps raise him, then it was an interesting way of showing how the former bounty hunter won his freedom.
If however, this young Tusken Raider is going to be making a return in subsequent episodes, then The Book of Boba Fett might have a problem on its hands. Disney Plus doesn't need two shows that feature men wearing Mandalorian armor who find themselves, unlikely fathers. Especially not running back to back the way the network is apparently going to be having the schedule work out. There may not be a better way to make sure that The Book of Boba Fett struggles in its first season than to have far too much of its first season use a well-worn plot device that's still at the front of the audience's minds, rather than something truly new and different.
The Book of Boba Fett is now available every Wednesday on Disney Plus.