S01.E06: Chapter Six - From the Desert Comes a Stranger

[absnow54]

3 hours ago, WritinMan said:

Not gonna lie:

If this last episode has a big showdown that starts to go bad for our little band of "heroes", then the bad guys start to levitate or something, and we cut to Grogu in his chainmail using the Force on them, I'm going to lose my shit.

I also hope he has his Yoda-sized lightsaber, because after making his decision, Luke was like "Just kidding! Of course you can have your armor and be a Jedi! Do whatever you want, like me!" 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Dancing Queen said:

I understand this in theory, but am having a hard time seeing how Grogu can maintain his healthy attachment to The Mandalorian if he's not allowed to spend time with him.  Turning Din away seems counter-productive since Grogu is constantly yearning for him.  That yearning won't go away, and might even grow stronger as the separation continues.

According to Bowlby and Ainsworth's attachment theory, healthy attachments form when a young child feels secure that the parent is available to comfort them.  The child with a secure attachment will explore, return to the parent for reconnection and reassurance, then go back out to explore again.  I think Grogu would feel safer, happier, and more focused on his Jedi training if he knew he could spend time with Din at regular intervals. 

Dani, I'm not arguing with you or your excellent explanation of how the show is using the concept of "attachment," I just want to tell Luke, "Think it through" (tm Cobb Vanth).

Yes, I completely agree with you. Mostly, I feel like Star Wars as a whole does a really poor job of explaining the actual philosophy the Jedi are based on. Terms like attachment and even the word Jedi doesn’t mean what people think it means. 

I do think that TPTB themselves also are going off the idea that the Jedi are wrong in their approach. Clones Wars fills in a lot of gaps and is largely a condemnation of the Jedi philosophy. Here Luke is the representative of that philosophy. Unfortunately, Luke’s not going to think it through because he has to follow that philosophy to a set future. 

I suspect that Grogu’s story will be a rejection of that extreme just like I hope Din’s will be a rejection of the rigidity he was raised in. Din and Grogu are very much on parallel paths. The last episode was Din dealing with that rigidity and now we are seeing Grogu in a similar position. 

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I also hope he has his Yoda-sized lightsaber, because after making his decision, Luke was like "Just kidding! Of course you can have your armor and be a Jedi! Do whatever you want, like me!" 

It was explained in Rebels that Light sabers adjust to the height of the user. The dark saber can be Grogu sized. 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Guest

[tennisgurl]

Is the "new information" that Boba learned in this episode that he's become a side character in his own show? Because I think most of us already knew that.

I am still annoyed with Luke. Grogu is a baby, making a baby make a choice so huge is horribly unfair. I wish that Ahsoka had said something, she of all people should know how flawed the Jedi order could be. I know that all of this has to happen because we already know what happens to Luke's new Jedi school, but its still frustrating. A lot of the franchise can be frustrating that way, it spans so much time with prequels and sequels that we know where so much of it is going and can see how its all going to go wrong, but there isn't anything that can really be changed. I really liked Clone Wars but holy shit could watching it be depressing, knowing how everything would end. 

[FierceCritter]

On 2/3/2022 at 12:28 PM, absnow54 said:

We also don't know what the lifespan is of Cad Bane's species. We already know that wookies and yodas (not googling it...) live for 100s of years.

Per one of the better SW YT'ers, the Duros don't live very long. It's rare for any to get past 69. At 71, Bane is somewhere around 100 human years.

[foxfreakinmulder]

On 2/3/2022 at 1:45 AM, benteen said:

Are we to believe Luke has completely detached himself from Leia and Han at this point?  This is something I think Favreau, Filoni and the sequel trilogy gang (perhaps even Lucas himself) have gotten completely wrong about the character. 

That being said, didn't expect to see Ahsoka and hope she and Luke will meet again.  The deaging effect was most impressive. 

Damn, Timothy Olyphant always brings it.  His showdown with Cad Bane was awesome and it was cool seeing him.make his live action debut.  I hope he's still alive but that didn't link promising.

Like I said, this should been a "From the world of The Mandalorian" Anthology. 

I agree 100% with what you wrote about Luke. My love for Star Wars has always been episodes 4,5 and 6 and Luke my favorite. I think what happened is the writers have to get Grogu back with Din so having Luke make him chose is what they went with. And I don't think we'll see Luke again after Grogu goes back to Din :-(

I would've rather watched a show of Luke training Grogu then this boring Boba show. The only episodes I've found not boring were the last 2 and he wasn't in the first and last one only for a few seconds. Or how about a series with Vanth, that would be a lot more fun then this show. No disrespect to Boba fans, but I really want a show with the space cowboy.

Loved everything about the showdown, that was cool as hell. I don't know who Cad Bane is I don't read the comics or books or watch the animated series but he looked bad ass and like a Star Wars character unlike some of the characters on this show.

Anyways, this show has made me really miss The Mandalorian, I hope we don't have to wait too much longer.

Also, I watched a recap and they said Luke's voice sounded off because it's easier for the CGI if there's not a lot of emotion in his voice or facial expression. I thought that made since, anyways just wanted to share what I heard.

Edited February 4, 2022 by foxfreakinmulder

[arc]

1 hour ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Also, I watched a recap and they said Luke's voice sounded off because it's easier for the CGI if there's not a lot of emotion in his voice or facial expression. I thought that made since, anyways just wanted to share what I heard.

I don't think the de-aging in Captain Marvel used deepfake tech, but my vague recollection was that Samuel L Jackson was certainly able to emote.

[benteen]

Luke doesn't have the lifespan or the resources to raise younglings from birth to be Jedi.  In order to create a new Jedi Order in a post-Empire galaxy, he is going to have to recruit beings who have emotional attachments and most likely some serious emotional baggage.

Seriously, how did everyone involved in the Star Wars films and shows come to the conclusion that after the Battle of Endor, Luke would embrace the most rigid and dogmatic tenant of the extinct Jedi Order?  It's like they decided to write Luke to fit their stories instead of writing their stories to fit Luke.  Luke's victory at Endor was because he rejected the failed and outdated teachings and advice of the masters who presided over the demise of the Jedi Knights.  After Endor, did Luke just leave everything behind?  No, he returned to Endor to be with the family and friends that he loved.  Does that sound like the Luke who gave Grogu an ultimatum? 

Edited February 5, 2022 by benteen

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

The only episodes I've found not boring were the last 2 and he wasn't in the first and last one only for a few seconds. Or how about a series with Vanth, that would be a lot more fun then this show. No disrespect to Boba fans, but I really want a show with the space cowboy.

Loved everything about the showdown, that was cool as hell. I don't know who Cad Bane is I don't read the comics or books or watch the animated series but he looked bad ass and like a Star Wars character unlike some of the characters on this show.

I agree with all of this. If they needed to do a series that set up a confrontation with the Pyke Syndicate for the next season of Mandalorian to work, a series centered on Vanth trying to maintain law and order in the frontier town while the Pykes begin to play a greater role in the surrounding area would have been much better than the series I have actually been watching. 

Like you, I've never read the comics, novels, or watched any of the animated series, but as soon as I saw Cad Bane I knew he was bad/evil and that were in for an old-fashioned/old-school shoot out on main street, and I loved every second of it. 

[arc]

3 minutes ago, benteen said:

Seriously, how did everyone involved in the Star Wars films and shows come to the conclusion that after the Battle of Endor, Luke would embrace the most rigid and dogmatic tenant of the extinct Jedi Order?  It's like they decided to write Luke to fit their stories instead of writing their stories to fit Luke. 

It does have to fit the story already shown in TFA and TLJ.

BTW, I know this goes back to the first episode of the Mandalorian, but it's never made a lot of sense that a long-lived species like Yoda's would have a correspondingly long time from birth to being even a toddler. Way too late to change that lore now, I guess.

[Boadicea]

The picture on a YouTube reaction video to this episode reminded me of something I had forgotten to mention my last post. The picture showed Grogu next to the remote. Watching the episode, I was flabbergasted when I saw Luke put the remote down next to Grogu. We all know what it does and it was very obvious how Luke was going to use it: To shock Grogu into making a jump using the Force. 
 

Let’s consider that for a minute: Luke was going to give a baby an electric shock to make the baby jump. And I thought I have a problem with Luke! Clearly the writers of this episode like him even less than I do, because that was total character assassination, IMO. 

[Guest]

I am really wondering how much of a baby Grogu actually is. Clearly he is still a child but being a baby doesn’t seem consistent to what we just saw. In The Mandalorian I would have said he was the equivalent to a toddler but now I am thinking that is too young.  Luke said that he is remembering his training so if he was able to do those same things 19 years ago he’s not a baby now. Yoda became a Master at 100 so it seems like Grogu would be over halfway to adulthood. 

I’m curious if they will explore his species at all or see more flashbacks to get a better idea of where he is developmentally. 

[Sakura12]

Grogu looks like a young baby but he's been around for 50 years and been trained by many Masters before Luke. So the only thing I fault Luke for is saying that it will take him many years to be a Jedi. Grogu recieved more training then Luke has. 

And if we go with that Grogu can go be with Mando until he dies then get Jedi training from someone else. Luke's choice is only for Grogu getting training from him. Which it doesn't need to be him.

 

[arc]

30 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

And if we go with that Grogu can go be with Mando until he dies then get Jedi training from someone else. Luke's choice is only for Grogu getting training from him. Which it doesn't need to be him.

My vague understanding of canon is that there really aren't a lot of Jedi left though. It's not like before ol' Palpy came along and slaughtered them all.

[johntfs]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Is the "new information" that Boba learned in this episode that he's become a side character in his own show? Because I think most of us already knew that.

I am still annoyed with Luke. Grogu is a baby, making a baby make a choice so huge is horribly unfair. I wish that Ahsoka had said something, she of all people should know how flawed the Jedi order could be. I know that all of this has to happen because we already know what happens to Luke's new Jedi school, but its still frustrating. A lot of the franchise can be frustrating that way, it spans so much time with prequels and sequels that we know where so much of it is going and can see how its all going to go wrong, but there isn't anything that can really be changed. I really liked Clone Wars but holy shit could watching it be depressing, knowing how everything would end. 

We know that Grogu's name is Grogu because Grogu told Ahsoka that through her mind.  Yes, Grogu is a tiny, mostly non-verbal person, but I think calling him a baby is wrong.  I also think Luke isn't a fool or a sadist.  He gave Grogu the training that Grogu could handle.  I think he's also giving Grogu a choice that Grogu can handle.  Which is something that most Jedi never got.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, johntfs said:

We know that Grogu's name is Grogu because Grogu told Ahsoka that through her mind.  Yes, Grogu is a tiny, mostly non-verbal person, but I think calling him a baby is wrong.  I also think Luke isn't a fool or a sadist.  He gave Grogu the training that Grogu could handle.  I think he's also giving Grogu a choice that Grogu can handle.  Which is something that most Jedi never got.

I agree. Grogu is also training with Luke because Grogu reached out with his mind across planets. I’ve seen people comment on Luke giving Grogu those awful memories back but Luke asked him if he wanted to remember. Grogu isn’t passive in this whole process we just don’t know what he is saying.

[Emily Thrace]

On 2/2/2022 at 7:46 AM, KeithJ said:

Cad Bane was ok but they really messed up the color of his skin.  It should be a darker blue than it was.

That might be because of technical issues. Really heavy artificial make up colours like that can be a bitch to light because the make up is so thick it doesn't reflect light the way normal human skin does. If you watch the first  Guardians you'll notice Gamora's skin tone actually varies quite a bit because they were still trying figure out how to light it and just how heavy to actually apply the make up. Plus a lot of the blue face paints still use copper which is fine in small amounts but can cause reactions in higher concentrations. So it might have just been easier on the crew and the actor to have the make up a few shades lighter.

[Sakura12]

8 hours ago, arc said:

My vague understanding of canon is that there really aren't a lot of Jedi left though. It's not like before ol' Palpy came along and slaughtered them all.

If we go by ones that were actually trained at the Jedi academy, the only ones left that we know of are Ahsoka and Grogu. Rey's around years later so they can teach other the ways of the Jedi. Lol

Grogu is not the same as a human toddler. He's older than Ahsoka. As she told Din he understands when you talk to him. He's just non verbal either because he has to learn to talk or he just is. We also have to remember that both Luke and Ahoska know Grogu's thoughts. He can communicate with them. If he couldn't handle something or was scared they would know. 

Since he's already went through more training then Luke. Luke is not really teaching him anything new. He's just helping him remember what he learned. 

One thing that is bothering me is they keep telling Grogu about Yoda. Which if he was at the academy for many years are you telling me Yoda never went to see another of his species or helped train him?  His species seems mysterious as it is, since we don't even know what they are called, where their planet is and why in all of Star Wars have we only seen 3 of them. And the only female we saw, (Yaddle) was basically a background character. 

[Ottis]

On 2/2/2022 at 1:59 AM, WritinMan said:

With a show that's supposed to be centered around the criminal underworld, I was hoping it would stand on it's own more. Seems like a missed opportunity to introduce more new characters and ideas.

Have you watched any of these SW shows? All they do is reintroduce characters, settings and plots from previous SW movies and shows. There is very little that is new here. It's all about 1) merchandising (hello, new ship for Mando, new light saber, Grogu, etc.) and 2) fan service.

In fact, it has created a catch-22 for itself. Its approach is the easy path creatively - no need to create new worlds or characters or interesting concepts because everything is just more of what has come before, BUT all the fanboys are all wrapped up in details like why the gunslinger isn't the right shade of blue and the Jedi practice of no attachments BECAUSE it is more of what came before and it doesn't exactly fit.

Deep Fake Luke is creepy as hell, all serious and uptight with no laughter or smiles - and then a jerk when he forces a choice. 

On 2/2/2022 at 1:22 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Don't see many folks surviving that Cantina explosion, so if that is it for Garza that was kind of a waste of Jennifer Beals.

Everyone will come back. It's what SW does.

The legacy of the Boba Fett show will be the trashing of the mysterious and used-to-be-cool-to-fanboys Boba Fett. There is no saving Boba at this point. But hey, now they can sell more Tuskan Raider and Jawa playsets, and Mando can push the space toys.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Ottis

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Ottis said:

The legacy of the Boba Fett show will be the trashing of the mysterious and used-to-be-cool-to-fanboys Boba Fett. There is no saving Boba at this point. But hey, now they can sell more Tuskan Raider and Jawa playsets, and Mando can push the space toys.

You never know, we saw Boba Fett when he wasn't completely healed, maybe he had a traumatic brain injury (that would explain a lot), and now he is firing on all cylinders and is now a total badass!

[vadare]

Hi!

Read everyone's comments and appreciate all of them. Some of my own:

1. ITA that this show has become less and less of "Book of Boba Fett" and more "Star Wars: Tatooine" and yes, maybe that would've worked better as a title. But the way I see it, I'm on board and strapped in for the whole Favreau/Feloni-verse, so I really don't care what they call it. I'm also wondering exactly how much losing Gina Carano in the middle of planning all of this affected the flow of things. (Please, let's not go into the whys and wherefores...I'm just commenting on the end result.)

2. Having not watched Clone Wars or Rebels, I only had a passing familiarity with Cad Bane, but his reveal was still impressive. (I've heard some say he reminded them of Lee Van Cleef...I can totally see that.) Also, I love both the character Cobb Vanth and Timothy Olyphant (yummy!) so I hope it was only a flesh wound (sorry, couldn't leave it sitting there).

3. If the Jennifer Beals character is dead, what a waste! (BTW, does she ever age? Her and Ming-Na Wen, can I just look half that good when I'm that old? I realize TV and makeup, but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.)

4. I realize I'm speaking Star Wars blasphemy, but the way things sit right now, IMO Luke is being a total dickwad. Din left the Beskar chain mail tunic as a gift and Luke is using it to be a manipulative bitch. (BTW, to whomever mentioned it above no, you aren't the only one who thought of Bilbo's/Frodo's mithril silver undershirt when you saw it. That was the first thing I thought of and after watching several reaction videos, most everyone else said so too. Wouldn't be surprised at all if that was an intentional homage by Favreau/Feloni.)

5. If Grogu has had, as some have speculated, 20 years of training in the ways of the Jedi, doesn't that mean he's had far and away more training than Luke? Maybe that's what was intended when Ahsoka said "sometimes the pupil guides the teacher" or something like that. Maybe it's Grogu who should be training Luke, not vice versa. Of course YMMV.

6. At this point, the only thing I'll say in Luke's defense is that when he did the Vulcan Mind Meld (tell me I'm not the only one who thought that) with Grogu, he had no idea he was going to stir up a memory that traumatic. But I'm sure the "sometimes I think he's remembering rather than me teaching" line was put in there for a purpose, I just can't think of what it might be.

7. I can't wait to find out who rescued Grogu from Order 66. I'm thinking it might have been Yoda and that Grogu is, indeed, his son. In which case, when Yoda tells Obi-Wan in ESB that Luke was "the last hope", then either he didn't remember Grogu (unlikely) or someone else rescued Grogu (Mace Windu perhaps?) and neither Yoda nor Obi-Wan were aware of it.

Lots more to unpack, but I'll stop here. Thanks!

[starri]

1 hour ago, vadare said:

7. I can't wait to find out who rescued Grogu from Order 66. I'm thinking it might have been Yoda

We know Yoda was on Kashyyyk when the order was executed, and then went straight to Coruscant.  Wherever Grogu was, it looked like a ship.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, vadare said:

6. At this point, the only thing I'll say in Luke's defense is that when he did the Vulcan Mind Meld (tell me I'm not the only one who thought that) with Grogu, he had no idea he was going to stir up a memory that traumatic. But I'm sure the "sometimes I think he's remembering rather than me teaching" line was put in there for a purpose, I just can't think of what it might be.

Maybe Grogu is like a Jedi Library, they showed Grogu everything about the Jedi and anyone with a Vulcan Mind Meld can access the information, then the Jedis locked Grogu's mind and hid him away, so that the information could only be unlocked by another Jedi when the threat had passed.

[AnimeMania]

Star Wars: Mark Hamill Didn't Record Luke Skywalker's Dialogue for The Book of Boba Fett

The De-aged Luke was not acted or voiced by Mark Hamill. They used actor Graham Hamilton for the motion captured deep fake and a program called Lola to simulate the voice. For the voice they used a neural network where you feed information into and it learns. They used archival material from Mark Hamill in that era. They had clean recorded ADR from the original films, a book on tape he'd done from those eras, and then also Star Wars radio plays he had done during that time. They were able to get clean recordings of those, feed them into the system, and slice it up, and feed it into their neural network to learn this data. (Unfortunately they were not able to fool anyone, the performance was robotic.)

[magdalene]

Cobb Vanth better not be dead.  I thought his scenes in this episode were so much more interesting than anything Boba Fett has done in this show. But then Timothy Olyphant has this effortless charisma that's ideal for the Western archetype. I wish we could have more of him in the Star Wars universe but he is doing another Justified series so I doubt he has the time.

[nomodrama]

My Star Wars loving heart damn near exploded with the Luke and Ahsoka interaction. Since they first had her appear in The Mandalorian, I was hoping that meant that she would meet up with Luke on her show and I never expected that we would see it now. I'll take what I can get and loved every second of it, but I do wish they had saved it for her show and given us an introduction, with her first meeting him and explaining to him her history with his father. Ahsoka continues to be everything I ever wanted in live action, Rosario Dawson is just killing it in that role. 

Seeing Cad Bane in live action was awesome. I am wondering now if he might make an appearance in the Obi-Wan series, that would be cool. Those two have some history. 

I'm betting that Cobb Vance is only wounded though, no way he would go out so unceremoniously. 

I actually do not see Luke giving Grogu the choice cruel, he is giving him one, which seems pretty progressive for a Jedi. It almost seems like they are setting it up for Grogu to end up being able to choose both though. 

The chain mail immediately gave me LOTR vibes.

[Morrigan2575]

19 hours ago, starri said:

Wherever Grogu was, it looked like a ship.

Looked like the Jedi temple on Coruscant. I heard somewhere this was a cut/deleted scene from RotS.

[tv echo]

(Pic from this Feb. 5, 2022 TVLine article)

[tkc]

A beskar mail shirt!

Also, lol’ed at the krayt dragon skull on top of the sandcrawler… reminded me of a Cadillac with steer horns on the front grille! 

[magdalene]

On Cad Bane's face not being blue enough, could it be that they are holding the vivid blue in reserve for 

Spoiler

Thrawn

 

[FierceCritter]

On 2/5/2022 at 11:05 AM, vadare said:

2. Having not watched Clone Wars or Rebels, I only had a passing familiarity with Cad Bane, but his reveal was still impressive. (I've heard some say he reminded them of Lee Van Cleef...I can totally see that.) hanks!

I saw in a SW YouTuber video that that was intentional. I don't recall which one.

On 2/5/2022 at 6:29 PM, magdalene said:

Timothy Olyphant has this effortless charisma that's ideal for the Western archetype. I wish we could have more of him in the Star Wars universe but he is doing another Justified series so I doubt he has the time.

You just made me squee. Thank you.
 

[Ottis]

On 2/4/2022 at 5:43 PM, benteen said:

Seriously, how did everyone involved in the Star Wars films and shows come to the conclusion that after the Battle of Endor, Luke would embrace the most rigid and dogmatic tenant of the extinct Jedi Order?  It's like they decided to write Luke to fit their stories instead of writing their stories to fit Luke.  Luke's victory at Endor was because he rejected the failed and outdated teachings and advice of the masters who presided over the demise of the Jedi Knights.  After Endor, did Luke just leave everything behind?  No, he returned to Endor to be with the family and friends that he loved.  Does that sound like the Luke who gave Grogu an ultimatum? 

The depiction of Luke in the new movies and shows has also made no sense to me, because of what you reason. I guess I have assumed that somewhere along the line Luke had to make a decision that sacrificed someone he loved and then went into self-imposed exile to deal with the emotional baggage, but I don't follow SW and all its outlets well enough to know that happened. Grumpy Luke makes no sense to me, though - he was supposed to represent hope.

On 2/5/2022 at 2:45 PM, AnimeMania said:

The De-aged Luke was not acted or voiced by Mark Hamill. They used actor Graham Hamilton for the motion captured deep fake and a program called Lola to simulate the voice

Ah, that is why he sounded weird. Like I posted earlier, he was creepy. The technology is amazing but it isn't like the real person.

 

[greyhorse]

This show has been a MAJOR disappointment.

Hey, I liked seeing young Luke and wondering how they did it (obviously CGI or something like they did with Carrier Fisher) and how they got his voice (did Mark Hamill record?  Or some voice modulator did it?).  But this show is about BOBA FETT.

I was expecting a bad a$$ bounty hunter that terrorized the galaxy and was feared by all.  Instead, we learn that his number one is a more skilled assassin, that he is protected by a bunch of kids on Vespas, and all he does is sit around having meetings.

[Sarah 103]

I agree that this show was a major dissapointment. 

2 hours ago, greyhorse said:

all he does is sit around having meetings.

In the first Godfather movie, even though you don't really see Vito Corleone do more than sit and talk to people, you get the sense that Vito Corleone is someone with power and a force to reckon with. I don't get that sense from Bobba Fett.

If they wanted to make Boba Fett bad at being a gangster/leading a criminal organization, take a page from Goodfellas and show everything go wrong (only have it go wrong over the course of a season instead of a single day) and admit that the character is in over his head and failing.  

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

If they wanted to make Boba Fett bad at being a gangster/leading a criminal organization, take a page from Goodfellas and show everything go wrong (only have it go wrong over the course of a season instead of a single day) and admit that the character is in over his head and failing.  

Blame it on Jabba for not grooming competent minions and Leia for strangling him... Swapping Bib for Boba is like replacing Urban Meyer with Joe Judge...

[arc]

8 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

If they wanted to make Boba Fett bad at being a gangster/leading a criminal organization,

I definitely think he has been bad at it but I still don’t know if the show thinks he’s bad at it. Sure, they had Stephen Root say no one in Mos Espa respects Boba Fett, but then he does stuff like give away all his claims to tribute* from his nominal crime franchisees and he framed it as a win! And the show didn’t undercut it in any way to suggest it knows he’s failing badly.

* then what’s the point of being a gangster????

[FnkyChkn34]

On 2/7/2022 at 2:26 PM, greyhorse said:

This show has been a MAJOR disappointment.

Hey, I liked seeing young Luke and wondering how they did it (obviously CGI or something like they did with Carrier Fisher) and how they got his voice (did Mark Hamill record?  Or some voice modulator did it?).  But this show is about BOBA FETT.

I was expecting a bad a$$ bounty hunter that terrorized the galaxy and was feared by all.  Instead, we learn that his number one is a more skilled assassin, that he is protected by a bunch of kids on Vespas, and all he does is sit around having meetings.

The first 4 episodes were boring, but the last 2 were great, IMO.  

 

Could Boba Fett not be a badass bounty hunter, and feared by all, because he spent the greater part of 4 episodes sleeping in a bacta tank?  He's not feared because he was injured, I guess?  Now that whoever that was proclaimed him fully cured and no longer needing the bacta tank sessions, maybe he'll show his "true self" in tomorrow's finale.

[paigow]

Maybe Fennec will execute a False Flag attack... recruit the "neutral" crime families by killing a few members and framing the Pykes for it... 

[arc]

8 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Could Boba Fett not be a badass bounty hunter, and feared by all, because he spent the greater part of 4 episodes sleeping in a bacta tank?

 

[arc]

Late thought: too bad Garsa Fwip didn't outfit her cantina with the kind of weapons scanners the spaceport had last episode.

Edited February 9, 2022 by arc

[SnarkShark]

On 2/2/2022 at 2:49 AM, Wylie Bradford said:

Do they even know what this show is supposed to be about?

Fan service?

On 2/7/2022 at 2:26 PM, greyhorse said:

This show has been a MAJOR disappointment.

Hey, I liked seeing young Luke and wondering how they did it (obviously CGI or something like they did with Carrier Fisher) and how they got his voice (did Mark Hamill record?  Or some voice modulator did it?).  But this show is about BOBA FETT.

I was expecting a bad a$$ bounty hunter that terrorized the galaxy and was feared by all.  Instead, we learn that his number one is a more skilled assassin, that he is protected by a bunch of kids on Vespas, and all he does is sit around having meetings.

Apparently among the people who hated the de-aging of Luke in The Mandalorean was a guy who did a sample of how to fix it, which he posted online.  Rather than try to shut him down for copyright issues, they hired him. 

[Peace 47]

I know that perhaps the following observation might have been a limitation of the CGI on Luke, or it could have been intentional to the episode.  I’m going to interpret it as intentional for purposes of this post.

I saw Luke as professionally detached from Grogu (both here and in the S2 finale) in a way that Din has never been.  That is, in the way that there is a difference between how teachers view students and how parents view their kids. Like when Luke gently admonishes Grogu for trying to eat the frog, he uses the Force to raise all the frogs in an attempt to engage Grogu’s interest so that they can continue lessons, but he’s never really “charmed” by Grogu like Din often is.  The frog thing was an attempt at teacherly inspiration, not an attempt to entertain a bored toddler.  Here, Luke often seems mildly frustrated by Grogu for not being as enthused about Luke’s passion project as Luke himself is.

When I rewatched the episode this weekend, I also picked up on more of an ambivalence on Ahsoka’s part towards Luke training Grogu than I got from the first time around.  On first watch, I felt like she was trying to discourage Din and get him to leave to make things easier on Luke and Grogu both.

But on rewatch, I felt more like she could have also been testing Din (harshly).  She seemed impressed and a bit surprised that he would be so unselfish as to walk away without seeing Grogu.  She also challenged him on the motive for the present, and when he conveyed an entirely unselfish motive (not so that Grogu would have something to remember Din by, but so that he would be protected by something that is his absolute right to have), she was very gentle with him.  (I think she even laid a hand on his shoulder when she comforted him with the thought that Grogu misses him terribly.)

Also, when Din is questioning her about why she was okay with Luke training Grogu when she didn’t think it was the right thing to do, she says she doesn’t control the wants of others, but she also doesn’t really condone Luke’s choice.  And then she goes back to Luke and implicitly suggests that maybe Grogu needed to reevaluate why he was there.  Just like she challenges Din with the idea that Grogu is a Padawan and not a Foundling (Din passes that test), she challenges Luke with the idea that he may not have more to offer Grogu than someone who truly loves him does. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Peace 47

[angora]

That's a fair point about detached-teacher Luke, @Peace 47. That might have been what the show was going for, or it might have been a characterization they leaned into once they realized that CGI Luke was going to be pretty flat. I DID enjoy watching the two of them walk through the forest together, with Luke periodically lifting Grogu up with the Force so he wouldn't fall behind.

In thinking about CGI Luke, this is what struck me. The limits of the technology are understandable, and so while he looks and sounds very authentic, he comes across as blank/muted. But this just highlights even more what a feat The Mandalorian pulls off. In this episode, the non-speaking puppet with multiple operators and the guy who never shows his face (who's voiced by someone who may or may not have actually been the guy in the suit) are both brimming with emotion and expression. Mando killed me with that, "But... I came all this way"--I MAY have shouted, "Mando, go get your kid!!" at my screen. And Grogu displays more "acting" ability in his right ear than CGI Luke conveys the entire episode.

[DoctorAtomic]

I've finally got around to the show, and my head is exploding with Ahsoka and Luke in scenes together. 

I don't really care about any of the crime stuff. 

[magdalene]

On 3/20/2022 at 3:26 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't really care about any of the crime stuff. 

Nobody seems to.

[Camera One]

I was almost hoping they would go two for two with no Boba in the Book of Boba Fett.  I didn't mind Boba too much (and he is good as a supporting character), but it is kind of funny how this series has morphed back into The Mandalorian.  Considering how long it is between seasons, I wouldn't mind having this type of hybrid thing happening with the other spinoffs.

I enjoyed seeing Luke training Grogu.  Whether or not Grogu trains to become a full-on Jedi, regaining his skill with the Force will help him immensely with not being killed and perhaps even helping Mando when they inevitably reunite (which they smartly saved for the actual third season). 

Since Luke is supposed to be the zen teacher, I don't mind the flatness of his tone.  He still felt more like himself than in the sequel trilogy.  I too didn't like his adherence to the Jedi way but I liked the interpretations of some of the posters above.  I like that Luke himself was questioning what to do, so he was trying different things.  It's not like he had a lot of experience training foundlings up to this point.  I like that they had Mark Hamill on set despite using a stunt double and the software for voice.

I too hope that Vanth survived the shot.  I still wish they didn't kill off that mechanic guy in Season 1 of Mandalorian since one of the fun aspects of this universe is to revisit old "friends" around the galaxy.

[Orbert]

It almost felt to me like they realized that Boba Fett was not a strong enough character/personality to carry things, so they brought in Din Djarin to make things more interesting, get things going again.  But that's clearly not the case, since the entire series was mapped out ahead of time and completed before the first episode even dropped.  Also, they've said that this was the plan all along.  Maybe in a regular network broadcast series they might try a mid-season course correction, but not here.

Still, the result seems rather odd.  With the focus back on Mando, and actual plot and character development for him, it makes this series seem like Mando Season 2.5, just with an extended side story involving Boba Fett.  Boba Fett is a supporting character in his own series.

[magdalene]

Well, they did call it Mando 2.5 in the production notes all along so it was the plan all along.

[Camera One]

I am just rewatching the second prequel movie "Attack of the Clones" and I had totally forgotten Boba's origins, and I didn't realize this show hired the same actor back (the one who played Boba's father).  That is pretty cool.   Though I don't think "The Book of Boba Fett" connected back to what happened to him as a child and what he was like as a kid in "Attack of the Clones".  I'm sure losing his father suddenly was traumatic, but as a young kid, he was already cheering his dad on when he was shooting to kill Obi-Wan.  I can see how he grew up to become a ruthless bounty hunter.  Not so much how he was acting in this series, though.

[Dobian]

Is this show about Boba Fett anymore?

[Guest]

On 8/6/2022 at 10:37 PM, Camera One said:

I am just rewatching the second prequel movie "Attack of the Clones" and I had totally forgotten Boba's origins, and I didn't realize this show hired the same actor back (the one who played Boba's father).  That is pretty cool.   Though I don't think "The Book of Boba Fett" connected back to what happened to him as a child and what he was like as a kid in "Attack of the Clones".  I'm sure losing his father suddenly was traumatic, but as a young kid, he was already cheering his dad on when he was shooting to kill Obi-Wan.  I can see how he grew up to become a ruthless bounty hunter.  Not so much how he was acting in this series, though.

As with most things in the prequel era, The Clone Wars really fleshes out Boba. He’s ruthless but he also has his own sense of honor.