This was a massive step up from the first episode. Better pacing and direction. It felt far more cinematic, with the lighting and cinematography disguising the limitations of filming in the Volume for the most part. The flashbacks were also far less jarring as a result.
Plus it drew on the new and original expanded universe without seeming too much like fan service.
Black Krrsantan looked suitably menacing. The Hutt Twins were a great new addition. With the Pyke Syndicate too, it’s shaping up to be the exploration of the Star Wars’ underworld it promised to be - if it can keep to this quality.
The train attack reminded me of the one from the early 1980s Classic Star Wars newspaper strips - where Luke derails an Imperial desert train under attack from Chubbits on the planet Aridus. The train designs are very similar - see Classic Star Wars issue 10.
Camie and Fixer getting into scrapes at Tosche Station recalled Biggs’s comments to Luke in the Star Wars radio drama that they would never amount to much: “They’ll never leave Tatooine - maybe never get as far as Mos Eisley. … Fixer’s just about smart enough to know he’s better off being a big noise in a small room. Camie’s dumb enough to think she’s made the prize catch hereabouts.”
Liked the parallels between the Tuskens’ aquatic past and Boba’s own watery upbringing on Kamino.
The ‘humanising’ of the Tuskens felt very classic Star Wars - the indigenous species battling superior tech - and a modern day counterpoint to their portrayal in the OT and PT.
The only negative I’ll add at this point is that the sparseness of the narrative - as with the Mandalorian - really requires great direction to elevate the material. The Rick Famuyiwa and Deborah Chow episodes of the Mandalorian were real standouts. Famuyiwa’s ‘The Believer’ from Season 2 being the high point for me.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Robert Rodriguez’s opening episode of the series, nor has stint on the Mandalorian season 2. I hope his subsequent episodes don’t drag down the show’s pacing.
On the plus side, I hope we’ll see Steph Green direct more Star Wars TV.