Okay, I just finished watching.
Because I'm a righteous dude, I'll still allow time to pull out, those who are in this thread and probably shouldn't be.
So, I'll start talking a little below...
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You have been warned.
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**SPOILERS AHEAD...ANYONE VENTURING BEYOND HERE, I DON'T WANT WANNA HEAR ANY SHIT ABOUT "MAN, YOU GAVE SPOILERS!" UH...YEAH...
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Okay...
A bit of a slow start, but kinda interesting.
A few things, in no particular order:
- I was under the impression two episodes were released today, but all I can see if S1,E1. But if you watch the entire show through the end, a little thing comes up that reveals a "beyond the helmet" documentary about the creation/history of the character, so that might've been what I skimmed earlier today. As far as I can tell, there doesn't seem to be two actual episodes of the show itself, just the one premiere. If I have that wrong, and I'm somehow overlooking it, please let me know!
I could easily watch another episode tonight!
- Those of us wanting to know what happened to Boba after he fell in the pit, how he got out, etc. will be happy. We get it, and it looks a lot like what many of us imagined. No sign of the skiff with our departing heroes, but you definitely see the remains of Jabba's destroyed sail barge, the pit itself (and a nasty glimpse inside).
- Very heavy on fan service, but more of the natural, incidental type, vs. the heavy-handed, cheeseball variety. Within the first 10-15 minutes, you've got the pit, sail barge debris, Jawas, a Sandcrawler, Sandpeople, Banthas, Tatooine's twin suns, gamorrean(sp?) guards, Jabba's palace, a Rodian (Greedo species), and that oddly human-faced droid from Jabba's palace
- A bit of humor in places, including some lines between Boba and Fennec Shand as they visit some places formerly under the control of Jabba and make their presence known. The lady they spoke to at that club/casino looked familiar. Who was she?
- No Slave 1 appearance in this opening episode...but it's coming, I'm sure
- Some great visuals throughout, that sunken city (Mos Espa?) on Tatooine and all
- A very Ray Harryhausen type sand creature pops up toward the end...when it walked, that was the first thing I thought of, some of those old, giant stop-animation monsters in those old movies. You'll see what I'm talking about when you watch.
- A nice rooftop chase/fight scene featuring Fennec.
- It seems Boba undergoes regular bacta tank treatments for his Sarlacc wounds/injuries. Instead of the vertical tank we've seen Luke (
The Empire Strikes Back) and Vader (
Rogue One) use, this is a horizontal version, looking more like a tanning bed or high-tech coffin. He lies down in it, puts a breather in his mouth, closes the lid and liquid fills up and he lies in the stuff. The episode opened this way, with him having dreams/flashbacks to that Sarlacc scenario and its aftermath, and it was featured again later in the episode.
- No space scenes at all, no ships and no signs of the Empire or Rebel Alliance, Jedi, Sith, etc. anywhere. It was all Boba, Fennec, Tatooine, Mos Espa(?), Sandpeople, etc. Most of the action was of the hand-to-hand fighting and chase variety. No blaster play that I can recall.
- The visuals/FX seemed pretty good, every bit as much so as
The Mandalorian. Speaking of which, Robert Rodriguez directed and Favreau and Filoni were shown prominently in the credits. If you like
The Mandalorian, there's no reason you shouldn't like this, especially once things pick up and a true storyline/plot kicks in. This was more of an introduction/what happened at the pit and a brief glimpse of current time episode, vs. anything with an actual, true "plot". It was a tad slow at times, but I still enjoyed it for all the above.
- The theme is by the same guy who did
The Mandalorian, and you can tell. That pulsating, sinister-sounding rhythm and wind instrument motifs. It
sounds very Mandalorian-y at times.
- Stick around until/through the credits and you'll get the prompt for that "behind the helmet" doc.
- I think once it fully kicks in and we are introduced to some new characters (or fun cameos of folks we already know) and the conflict/tension/gunplay all ramp up, it'll be a fun show to watch.
- PS - I think I'm gonna wind up having a thing for Shand. And that lady who owns the club/casino, whoever she is.
And there you go. My breakdown/thoughts on
The Book of Boba Fett, season 1/episode 1.