I’m glad I qualified my praise for the previous episode because this week’s was drek. Rodriguez has a unique talent for making this world look so cheap. The Bantha Bobba rode in the flashback looked like a muppet.
The fight choreography was lacking. Bobba is no worse for wear after being tossed around, choked, bitten and crushed? Then he lets Black Krrsantan just walk away. The Hutts are just leaving?
The Vespa scooters & their riders seemed jarringly out of place - a Quadrophenia homage on Tatooine? They seemed like something from a bad Syfy or CW show. What was with the bizarrely slow ‘chase’ scene?
Where are the stakes? What is the hook? We’re three episodes in yet the present day story is still thin and underdeveloped. I don’t expect the Sopranos in Space but the poor plotting and characterisation is really exposed when you don’t have a strong director capable of elevating the very basic writing.
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.
The handling of Bobba Fett here reminds me of how the Prequels undermined Vader: the economy of his dialogue was a large part of his menace. He didn’t say much but what he did say was pointed and delivered with weight.
The Book of Bobba Fett leaves me wondering did we really need this chapter in his life? More than that, it leaves me thinking who is this inept wanna be crime lord? How can someone who was one of the top bounty hunters in the galaxy be so ignorant of the underworld? How does his organisation work when it seems to only consist of him, Fennec, a couple of Gamorrean guards and a few droids? Why is he so ‘nice’?
With any luck we get a better director who can at least make these issues less glaring. But this show underlines some significant problems with the Mandoverse. I’m looking forward to some other show runners being rather more ambitious.