Since we had been trading off reviews, we thought that it would be fun if we both gave our thoughts on this finale. What follows is a chronologically illustrated record of our reactions to the episode as it aired.
Fangirl: Well, I guess Garsa is actually, truly dead. That makes me very sad. She seemed like a fun character with a lot going on that we never saw. I'm surprised Shand is pro-spice. It felt like it came out of nowhere. Surely this would have been something to bring up before they were on the exact brink of war?
JRS: I really don’t feel we’ve set up enough about spice to make it the center of the final episode. I mean it’s well established as a drug, and a cause of gang wars, but I feel like all those weird political moves earlier in the series have basically been a red herring if control of spice has been the issue all along.
Fangirl: Yes, there were a lot of red herrings early on. Like the whole thing with the Hutts and assassins in the first episode. We definitely could have gotten to the Syndicate/spice as the main issue a lot quicker. Or, you know, not spend two episodes on an unrelated side quest.
Fangirl: That sounded a little bitter.
Fangirl: Wouldn't moving back to the palace lead the fighting out of town, therefore saving more lives? I would think that if you want to protect the town, then you don't do you're fighting somewhere with easy property destruction.
JRS: I think the argument about where to fight and the final decision about where to make their stand is fairly ridiculous; it seemed like it was mostly a frame for the moment with the Mods standing up to Fett and emphasizing Fett being for “the people.” Which I thought worked – that was another callback to earlier in the series, and exactly why he wanted to hire them.
Fangirl: Sidenote, but it is very nice to actually have Boba saying words on screen again. Him, Mando, and Shand are a lot of fun on screen together. I wish we had more of it.
Fangirl: Cad Bane is so freaking cool.
Fangirl: Confirmation that the Syndicate did kill the Tuskens, and for the reason that I thought: protecting profit. I would not have told Bane this, though. He's very clearly going to use that information against them.
Fangirl: Nice to see the mayor, although I thought that he was said multiple times to be off-world with no evidence to the contrary?
Fangirl: Grogu! No surprise that he ultimately chose to forsake his Jedi training. But I expected that reveal to be saved for The Mandalorian itself. That's that pretty large, emotional moment to put in a different show.
JRS: Grogu showing up implies he decided to forsake being a Jedi for his relationship with Mando. Given the context, this was an almost understated reveal, and this show has a history of red herrings. Is it possible Grogu found a way around Luke’s ultimatum?
Fangirl: The first Bane and Fett showdown was everything that I wanted it to be. You got a sense of their history without it being a massive exposition dump. You got a really tense moment between Fett and Shand when she tried to keep him from killing Bane on the spot after he tattled on the Pykes. (What was his motivation there? He's clearly trying to prompt a fight, right? That seemed more like a personal motivation than anything logical or what his employers wanted.) I really liked seeing actual emotion from Fett too. I feel like he's been very muted all season, but this time there was actual rage.
JRS: I loved the connection and emotion between Shand and Fett in this scene. I wish we’d spent more time in the series building up and delving into the history of Fennec Shand and Fett relationship. I felt a couple more episodes focused on their history would have shown us how they’ve gotten to the point where their relationship is so strong. I can see the strength of it and the actors do a great job selling it. It just doesn’t feel earned by the series.
Fangirl: Ming-Na Wen in general has been severely underused. It’s a shame too because when she does have stuff to do it’s fabulous.
Fangirl: Noooooo the Gamorreans! I was very fond of them. Being pushed off of a cliff is also low key terrifying and more violent than I expected even if we didn't see the impact.
JRS: I’m hoping they get a bacta tank revival.
Fangirl: Not surprised at all that the other gangs turned on Fett, but I was a bit surprised at how unsurprised he was. Didn't he just say two or three episodes ago that he was sure they wouldn't turn on him because they were smarter than that? And I said that he was being woefully naive? He (and Mando) even admitted that turning against him was the smart move and that he couldn't blame them for doing it.
Fangirl: How did the majordomo not even read the tablet before he scurried out there? I was very sure that he was going to be shot, but I'm glad he wasn't. He skirts the line of funny and annoying very closely, but the actor makes it work.
JRS: I can’t say the same for Pelli Motto. She seems utterly superfluous in this episode, I mean I chuckled a couple times.
Fangirl: From here on out, it's basically 100% fight scene. I have to double check the timestamp but I think it's 40 minutes out of the hour. Most of the fight scenes are very, very good. They lose momentum and interest when we leave Fett or Mando, but luckily they don't do that too often. You can definitely see the director's personal flair and past experience in directing Westerns. The droids in particular look properly intimidating and scary, which I will always consider an accomplishment in this series.
JRS: The fight scenes were fun for me to watch and kept my interest despite happening on three separate fronts. They did a great job of selling the hopelessness of the situation, and I loved watching Fett take care of his people and even going back for Krrsantan (and calling him Santo, which I think only Garsa has.)
Fangirl: Mando and Grogu's reunion actually got to me emotionally. I did not expect this. Again, surprised that they put it here in this series instead of their main one. I know that we live in the era of interconnected everything when it comes to media, but still.
JRS: The rancor coming out for Fett was well shot. This was a totally epic moment and one of the moments I felt was set up and really earned by the series; we saw that relationship build over time. You know, Fett owes a debt to the Hutts, if you think about it.
Fangirl: RANCOR
Fangirl: RANCOR
Fangirl: RANCOR
Fangirl: I had forgotten about the rancor. I don't care how dumb it might be. Rule of Cool is at work right now and I am living for these Pacific Rim kaiju/robot style fights.
JRS: I had to share this verbatim doodlequote from my notes:
Fett+Rancor
Fennec+Mods
Mando+Grogu we all got our pets
Fangirl: I'm going to echo a point that I made last episode about Grogu and his use of the Force. It skews more destructive than I would expect from a) a small child and b) from a protagonist character in general. Yes, he's not killing anything (unless it's to eat it) but there is definitely intent to do harm. Right now, it's only driven from a protective urge, either to protect Mando or himself from pesky remote training droids. But I'll be curious if that changes over time.
JRS: The whole Jedi mythology about attachment and detachment is pretty well documented, and has led people down a bad path before. I’m sort of hoping Grogu doesn’t suffer the same fate. It's good to remember that despite the small stature he's actually 50 years old and was born in the same year as Anakin Skywalker.
Fangirl: I liked the second showdown between Fett and Bane less than the first. I didn't think that Fett being a killer was ever really in doubt? Yes, he wanted to be benevolent and offer mercy to his foes, but I don't remember him ever renouncing the fact that he was a killer.
Fangirl: Did love the theme music kicking in as Fett turned the tides and killed Bane with his Tusken weapon, though. Didn't love that Bane died, but ah well. We've been killing off a lot of people these past two episodes, apparently. And I suppose that it does make sense for Fett to kill him, especially if you've seen their relationship from the start in Clone Wars.
JRS: I felt like Fett killing Bane was supposed to connect somehow to the flashbacks from earlier in the episode. I loved Fett using the Tusken weapon, too, although at this point it feels like the Tuskens were kind of an afterthought.
Fangirl: The Rancor has gone full King Kong. I can't tell if it's fun or if the reference is too obvious.
Fangirl: I'm realizing that maybe I have taken too many notes. Sorry, Joseph.
JRS: No such thing as too many notes, Fangirl. I didn’t like the part where the people just start attacking the Rancor – he just saved them!
Fangirl: GROGU IS CUDDLING WITH THE RANCOR MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE
Fangirl: Seriously, how cute was that? And another show of his power, and this time it wasn't destructive. But mostly it was so cute.
JRS: I loved this moment, but I have to admit I was waiting for Grogu to do something more powerful, like raise his hand and lift all the Pyke soldiers up the way Luke had lifted the frogs. Maybe this is more hopeful.
Fangirl: Shand is actually terrifying. Again, that scene was scarier and more violent than I would have expected, especially the mayor's fate. No blood, because blood doesn't exist in Star Wars, but it still felt harsher and more adult than what we usually get. I think I'm okay with this.
JRS: Ming-Na Wen is especially good at this sort of thing – creating an atmosphere of terror as an action star. I did see some green glinting on the blade at the end – is Pyke blood green? Wow, I’m morbid. I also liked how she seemed to be developing a relationship with the Mods.
Fangirl: Mid credits scene because everyone has one, but this one made me very happy. Cobb Vanth is still alive! Even though he was explicitly said to be dead in the episode, even by the people of Freetown. I wonder if this was a last second change following Gina Carano's firing? Cobb might be able to take on whatever role she was going to fill moving forward. Regardless, I'm glad he'll be back.
Overall
Fangirl: Looking at the series as a whole... my emotions are fairly muted, I think. It was perfectly serviceable as a piece of entertainment. There were multiple flaws and issues that I have with it, and they're the same ones that I've stated time and time again: pacing, motivation, and the two episode side journey into The Mandalorian. This finale episode actually showed a far better balance between the two shows. Mainly because Fett was actually in it and had words that he could say and things he could do. I'm not sure if The Book of Boba Fett fully justified its existence. I don't think that I'll ever rewatch it. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to someone else to watch unless it's with a few caveats (like just watch the last three episodes to be fully up to date with Mando and Grogu). But I don't hate that it exists either.
JRS: I think my favorite parts of this series were the Rancor and Fennec Shand. I had fun watching each episode. I think the series failed at telling a full story. It felt like the story was extremely rushed in places, and I wanted a season with Shand and Fett before jumping into the Mando crossover. Overall it comes across to me as a very good setup piece with some great cinematography that’s just short of being a standalone series – even our review is mostly vignettes of great moments, and the biggest Boba Fett-series storyline pay off moment may very well be the Rancor and its relationship with Fett.
I also felt the themes overall were mixed. Is this a series about honor? Some moments indicate this. Is it about resisting drug cartels? Dealing with evil mercenaries? Or love versus duty? All of these are raised but few really feel satisfyingly addressed.
I guess that leaves us with... three out of five superspeedy ships? (I might rewatch the finale for the Grogu scenes.)
Fangirl, Joseph, thank you both so much for covering this series for us. I'm still back at episode two but will hopefully catch up soon.
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