[psmith2.0]

BTW, the casino/cantina-owning Twi'lek was Jennifer Beals(!). As in Flashdance.

Here's hoping there's a chair-doused-with-water scene in an upcoming episode.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 - No Slave 1 appearance in this opening episode...but it's coming, I'm sure

Well, except for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it flashback to Boba's childhood at the very beginning, about 1 minute 10 seconds in.

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 And I'll do my best to rein in any rambling and mega-paragraphs, but... No promises!

Bring 'em on.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Brad [spoiler]Well, except for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it flashback to Boba's childhood at the very beginning, about 1 minute 10 seconds in.

True. But I was talking more now/the actual show and the character’s “now” timeline. I bet that also gets flashed back to in a future episode. When he left on the sail barge that day, I’m sure it never occurred to him he wouldn’t becoming back after everyone’s execution. His ship was parked there at Jabba’s palace somewhere. When nobody made it back, a) how long did it take someone there to swipe the keys (“the owner won’t be needing it, he died with the others out there”), and b) who took it?

“How I got my ship back” is part of an episode I want to see.

Also, I’m a little fuzzy on some timeline stuff.

On that episode of The Mandalorian where they pick up Bill Burr and go to that outpost to get the location of Gideon’s ship, Boba’s armor is all repainted and cleaned up.

In this show, it’s the way it. Normally looks…dinged and battered.

So is this show taking place in that period between Boba reacquiring his armor in The Tragedy, and that following episode with Burr when we see the cleaned, repainted armor?



I know it’s a little, silly thing. But they made it quite obvious in the Burr episode how nice and clean it all was. And tonight, while he was getting dressed by the droids before accepting his tributes, you could see the armor was the way we usually see it.

Makes me wonder if, the final episode of this show, the armor even more ragged out and that’s when he has it fixed up…which then makes it clean that, yes, the seven episodes of this Boba show actually took place between episodes 14 and 15 of The Mandalorian, and maybe we get a brief cameo of Mando, letting a newly refurbished Boba know their next move in rescuing the kid (going to that salvage yard to spring Bill Burr from his prison labor).

[drewprops]

A friend called me at 10:30pm, because he was confused about the timeline. I think we all know the material so much that we're lasering in on every detail.


...

[psmith2.0]

Well, yeah.

But there is that odd mismatch, so what I talk about above must be the case. Is it their way of letting us know when things are taking place without having to blatantly say it?

Show, don’t tell?

His armor is pristine and repainted in the final two Mandalorian episodes, here it isn’t. That means something. That, for whatever reason, this show appears to be taking place between episode 14 (The Tragedy) and episode 15 (The Believer) of The Mandalorian. And there could be some payoff or “ahhh, cool” reason given in the final episode or two?

If we can’t talk about this kind of shit here, then where?!

The timeline is a bit muddy, but because he has his armor and he’s with Fennec, we know it’s in that general space between episodes 14-15 of the other show. We just don’t know how long those gaps are or how much time has passed. Hours? Days? Weeks?

It’ll all be made clear by the time Han Solo/Harrison Ford makes his CGI de-aged cameo in the finale, where he and Boba settle their feud and bury the hatchet.

“Lemme buy you a drink, Buckethead. I know a good place…Chewie, keep an eye on the Falcon”.

[psmith2.0]

I'm watching some YouTube reactions to the episode (as I did with The Mandalorian). I always enjoy seeing how others respond to these things, or what they think about this or that aspect/scene/reveal, etc.

So, I have to ask...what is it with all the stupid faces/expressions in nearly every single thumbnail? That wide-eyed, open-mouthed "I've just gotten my first erection/emission" look? I started noticing this a while back. I see it on thumbnails for guitar-related videos, reaction channels, builders/makers, tech unboxing/reviews, tiny house videos, video game, etc. Is this a thing, or is just how online/YouTube nerds all think makes for a good thumbnail? You see a few hundred of something, you can't help but be curious. Is that just S.O.P. for YouTubers and their thumbnail design/creation?

Go to YouTube, type in "Book of Boba Fett reactions" and you'll immediately see what I mean.

EDIT: Nevermind, I'll save you the trouble...



Believe me, I could've easily snagged 15 more. I doubt they were "posed" (maybe some are?), so I assume that these are grabs from the video itself, someone responding to something cool or whatever. I get that...natural reactions look like that. What I don't get is when did everyone decide, en masse, that this was to be the official YouTube Genre Reaction Video Look? It seems a bit...organized/purposeful. And, as a result, a bit schlocky/cringe-y. That one guy in the orange hat and glasses...all of his thumbnails are like this. He's perpetually on the edge of geek-jizzing, it would appear.

[kscherer]

You missed something, Paul. There was a "sign" of the Empire floating about, although not in the "current" timeline, whatever that is. There was a very happy Storm Trooper hanging about in the Sarlac tum-tum that volunteered his oxygen to Boba.

I found that humorous.

[psmith2.0]

I’ve always wondered what it looked like down there. If it was depicted in some comic book, animated show or a video game, then I’m unaware. This is the first time I’ve seen how Boba ended up after falling into that mouth. Looked pretty miserable.

The fact that he went in with his weapons intact always made me think, even in 1983, he probably wasn’t a goner. I even thought he might reappear in the third act of ROTJ to give Han and Chewie a hard time of things, but he never did.

But he went in with those knee missiles, flame thrower gauntlet, darts, blades, jet pack, etc. “No way he’s hanging around in there for a thousand years…”.

It would’ve been cool to see him pop up on Endor toward the end of ROTJ, all pissed off, seeking revenge and having a shootout/gunslinger duel with Han.

I remember sitting in the theater at my first viewing of ROTJ and thinking “okay, this is probably where Boba Fett shows back up…”. It never really occurred to me he was dead and gone.

I did that about 4-5 times before I gave up.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 What I don't get is when did everyone decide, en masse, that this was to be the official YouTube Genre Reaction Video Look? It seems a bit...organized/purposeful. And, as a result, a bit schlocky/cringe-y.

Sadly, plenty of YouTube SEO/algorithm research over the last several years resoundingly agrees that this stupid staged shocked face increases view counts versus more normal realistic thumbnails. It is organized/purposeful now, and that's why you see them everywhere. Probably says a lot more about human psychology that people in general are more likely to want to see what the OMGWTF face is seeing even when there's a deluge of them.

[psmith2.0]

Oh, wow. Interesting. I had no idea. I thought something was up, everyone looking like that.

I just kinda noticed it a while back as I’d watch stuff. “Why is everyone looking like they accidentally sat on a pylon?”

[drewprops]

Another cash grab set up is first reaction videos for music. The trend that I saw emerging was young black adults listening to music that appealed to white 50 year olds. They got a TON of traffic, because the people who love that music were excited to find a connection with people who come from a different age group and cultural background. I had a favorite guy who was really making big over Steely Dan songs. Then one day I saw two young guys get all excited about Wichita Lineman ("I am a lineman for the County") by Glen Campbell. Listen, I don't care HOW much you may like that song, it's a cornpone shitkicker and you CANNOT groove to it the way those two were doing. It was such hilariously bad acting. Totally killed that genre for me!


...

[kscherer]

"I am a lineman for the counteeeeeeeeeee …"

[psmith2.0]

I re-watched the first episode again, with a clearer, less goo-goo/gaga eye. Nothing happened.

It was 4-5 minutes of fan-service/question-answering (the pit) and then just kinda aimless and repetitive after that. Several of the same types of scenes - tied up, waiting, walking around, long looks, etc. - on repeat.

I do hope the remaining six(?) episodes are a bit more, otherwise I'm gonna wish they'd maybe just left the character alone (or just let him occasionally pop up in future Mandalorian episodes when extra muscle or help is needed).

I hope this doesn't turn out to be a bad idea, but that second viewing kinda drove home that there wasn't much meat on the bone. Absolutely nothing happened, just a good bit of hurry-up-and-wait.

I rewatched that "behind the helmet" doc as well, and found it funny that everything everyone said made the character so popular and iconic for four decades likely winds up being undone/cornholed by this very show they're all working on, by the time it's all over. He will no longer be this enigmatic, laconic "Eastwood in space" type of character. It's always a dice-roll when you opt to monkey with that sort of thing; you risk marring/undoing everything that worked, and added to the character's allure/mystique, in the first place.

Going forward, he may wind up being "just another SW character". Nothing particularly special or captivating because they've opted to pull that curtain back now.

I'll certainly tune in and give it an honest shot (already looking forward to Wednesday), but, fact is, this opening episode doesn't hold up for a second viewing like some of the better Mandalorian ones do. I'm hoping this is a fluke/aberration and a result of "setting the table right up front so they can get to the better stuff in the installments to come".

It looked amazing, no doubt about that at all. But, upon this second viewing, that's about all it was.

Be careful here, guys (Favreau, Filoni, Rodriguez, etc.). Please don't go J.J.-ing this thing up.

On a technical note, did anyone else struggle with the audio? Particularly Fennec Shand's dialogue? I missed a lot of what she had to say, doing that low-talking/understated thing she does. It seemed mixed low, volume-wise, yes, but it also seemed muffled/muddy in some way as well. I haven't changed any of my settings on my TV, I don't have an external speaker setup, etc. I had to scrub back and pump up the volume because I missed a lot (most?) of it initially.

[turtle]

I watched this with my kids the night it came out and we all enjoyed it. The kids were asking so many questions as though they had never seen Star Wars. I'm going to have to force them to rewatch it.

I have at admit the whole sand people thing just drug on so long. Surely there was a way to make that faster and more engaging. I mean, cool, you make the tribe leader happy and got handed a drink. High five.

Don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy it, but I'm also not expecting anything enthralling at this point. I REALLY hope it picks up the pace from here.

[psmith2.0]

Exactly.

It wasn't bad or anything like that (it would have to go a long way to be "Star Wars bad", IMO, and I'm not expecting that from this bunch), but I kinda expected a little more, I guess.

Took a long, roundabout way for him to just get handed some water...and I would've cracked that stick over that sandkid's head for being such an annoying little twerp.



I think this next episode will tell the tale and give a better impression. We've gotten all the "so what happened after he went into the pit?" stuff out of the way now, so maybe they'll get into the current-day stuff with the various local businesses, crime lords/gangsters, etc. and it might really find its groove.

I'm curious to see if it all stays centered on Tatooine, or, if at any point, the two of them travel elsewhere for some reason or another? Seems like they're trying to establish themselves on Tatooine, taking over Jabba's racket, so it wouldn't surprise me if the series stayed here, and stuck to ground level (but I do hope to see his ship a few times).

PS - I officially predict a cameo of the buckethead variety before it's all over. Either Mando, or Bo-Katan and her bunch. They're all in this universe/timeline together (9 ABY) and have some overlapping interests. They're going to cross paths, surely. Put me down for $5.

If my discussion re: the timeline (the events in this show taking place between episodes 14 and 15 of The Mandalorian) holds any water, then there's a solid chance some familar faces - helmet(s) - could pop up between by the time the final episode airs in early February. And there's a wild card shot that Ahsoka Tano could, because she's in that mix too. She's looking for someone; there's probably worse people to ask for help than a legendary bounty hunter/tracker with ties all over the galaxy.

Perhaps the final episode/closing scene of this show kinda helps set up her upcoming series (the way the final episode of The Mandalorian had that surprise, out-of-nowhere Book of Boba Fett tease last year).

[drewprops]

I don’t understand how he went from ROTJ shape to old and fat in just 5 years. That’s the issue at hand.


...

[psmith2.0]

It happens. People in real life, on this planet, certainly do so in five years…injury, illness, being a slob, etc. The “injury” thing would apply to Fett. The scarring from his time in the pit can help explain the lines/wrinkles (and general rough, older appearance). And if he’s been without his armor all those years, then he probably wasn’t chasing bounties and staying in shape as before. Not sure what he was doing in those five years…I guess he was scouring the Tatooine wastelands/villages for his armor.

Did he ever leave the planet? That may be answered in further flashbacks to come. There are a few holes that need filling.

Hard to believe he didn’t come across Olyphant’s marshal character years earlier and kill him immediately for it. He was obviously being watched, as we saw in that final shot of episode 9 last year.

Why he didn’t swoop down from that ridge and take possession of his armor then and there, I’ll never know. He waited another stretch of time, and flew to a faraway planet, to do so.

Hmmm…this silly-ass show does have a lot to answer!

[psmith2.0]

Episode 2...

Hmmm.



The present-day stuff, with Fennec, Mos Espa, etc. is mildly engaging/interesting (albeit slow and repetitive).

However, when it flashes back to his "Dances with Banthas" time with the Tusken Raiders...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Holy smokes, this episode, at 53 minutes, was more of a slog than last week. When I saw the run-time at the start, I was like "oooh, nice...they'll pack in a lot!"

Nope. They packed in a little, and then just dragged it out/repeated.

There is one of two things at play here, and I truly can't figure out which:

1) This is shaping up to be the most disappointing, pointless SW project ever (and, believe me, that's saying something)...

or

2) They're quietly laying the groundwork for an amazing, mind-blowing final five episodes between now and early February



But, once again...NOTHING HAPPENS.

The present-day Mos Espa stuff is them doing the same thing as last week (sitting in Jabba's palace for a while, then going to town to talk to Flashdance girl). Meanwhile, Fennec is giving Dana Scully a run for her money in the RBF/scowl sweepstakes. That seems to be all she really does in this show...scowl and grimace at everything. It was cute/sexy the first 23 times. Now it's more like an annoying tic.

"Do you not have another expression or go-to move?!" That constant catty, side-eye thing gets old pretty quick...

And then when Boba takes his bacta bath and flashes back to his post-Sarlacc time spent with the Sandpeople, it just grinds to this woo-woo, hippie-dippy halt with all the clichéd tribal stuff and "we're allowing this outsider in to become one of us" thing we've see before. Last week it took an entire episode for the man to get a drink of water. This week? He gets a stick.

There's just endless posing and build-up (the Hutts, that long speeder sequence, etc.), but it just all seems like "is this actually ever going anywhere?". Nothing is really explained or made clear. It just happens, and serves as a cobbled-together, ginned-up thing to allow the next scene/sequence to happen. It's just "stuff", kinda thrown into a pot. I picture a lot of the production meetings being like "hey, that would look cool if...". These shows have zero problem "looking cool". They can handle that all on their own. The trick is to make them engaging and entertaining, and, so far, two episodes into this series, they're coming up a bit short on that front.

I was hooked by The Mandalorian from the get-go. Two episodes into this show, and if my Internet went down next Wednesday to where I couldn't catch episode 3, I'm not sure if I'd be all that devastated, really.

Maybe they're just setting out to make this show the slowest-burn in television history? They're succeeding so far.



I see where Jon Favreau wrote this episode too. How is it he makes such engaging, fun fare on one show, The Mandalorian, while this new show feels like I'm sitting in a classroom and watching a clock?

As much grief as last week's episode got from many, I don't see this one doing any better.

It looks amazing. Very cinematic and Star Wars-y, at times, the visuals, locations, tech, callbacks/fan service, etc. But NOTHING HAPPENS and it just kinda half-heartedly chases its own tail for 40-50 minutes. It's so content to just be "quiet" and lay there, in a way I never would've expected from the folks who brought us The Mandalorian.

If The Mandalorian is Die Hard, then The Book of Boba Fett is My Left Foot, or The English Patient. With a dash of Dances With Wolves.

Holy hell...two weeks in and literally nothing has progressed or happened, and it's like the show is stuck on some weird repeat loop!

There's just something very fan-filmish about this, IMO. In the way that many (most?) fan films look amazing and nail the visual language, sound and overall Star Wars-ness, but come up really short on the story/writing/plot and it's just a bunch of average, amateur actors trying to sound deep and/or "bad-ass", so is this show! It just feels like a really high-budgeted fan-film, with little "moments" stitched together to try and make some "ooooh, he's a bad-ass" statement, but all the sullen, low-talking and long pauses aren't conveying that at all. It's conveying "we've run out of shit to say/do, but we still gotta somehow fill 25 more minutes!".

I'm quite disappointed, so far. Coming off The Mandalorian, and how Boba Fett was on that show, in just a handful of brief scenes, this is such an odd let-down so far.

I'm not being a "hater", and it never occurred to me that I wouldn't enjoy this show. I'm just being completely honest in all this. A second viewing won't be necessary...I watched this with clear, sober and measured eyes, taking into account last week's episode. But I can't/won't "grade on a curve", just because it's Star Wars and/or Boba Fett.

It's just not all that interesting. It's failing at the one thing Star Wars (for the most part) has never had trouble with...being interesting/engaging.

It isn't The Rise of Skywalker bad, don't get me wrong. It's just not all that interesting and, so far, feels quite pointless. The Mandalorian came storming out of the gate. This show is limping out, and pausing to tie its shoe. My main, initial fear - 40+ years of mystique and allure being undone by a seven-episode TV show that nobody really truly asked for or needed - may be playing out before my very eyes.

That whole "overexplaning" and "filling in the gaps" that Star Wars is (in)famous for it fully at play here, it's looking like. If the remaining episodes are like this, by the time this show is over the character will never be seen as he has been for the past four decades. That's really something to think about.

Sorry. Ain't my fault; I'm not the one writing/directing any of it; my hands are clean.

Here...I'll end on a positive (or neutral, at the very least):

Interesting tidbits, callbacks, etc.

- The rancor thing; while it was given a twist, the actual approach to it and the visuals nailed the ROTJ thing perfectly...the floor giving way, Jabba's throne scooting up, the "POV" looking up at Boba and Fennec through the grating, etc.

- A merc/hired-muscle/bodyguard Wookiee? That heavily-armed, mean-looking black/grey figure accompanying the Hutt twins was a Wookiee, correct? You know he's torn a few arms out of their sockets...

- That "gang" of shitheads, with their "bikes" and emblem patch vest/jackets...space Sons of Anarchy. It's funny how they do that visual thing to tie things in with what we have here on Earth

- The cantina band guys again

- Two Hutts, with the male one sounding very Jabba-y

- The desk clerk at the Mayor's office...who hasn't dealt with that type? "Do you have an appointment? I don't see your name on the list...". If they were thinking, they would've hired David Spade for that role. "And you would be...?" And then Boba just shoots him (see what I did there?)

- We now see how a gaffi stick is made

- That train sequence reminded me both of those raiding pirates attacking Mando and Bill Burr's truck in episode 15, and also that train sequence in Solo. It's funny trying to figure out which vehicles get wheels and which ones float in Star Wars. The desert "train" in this episode: floats, as do the speeder bikes. In the Mandalorian and Rise of Skywalker other things roll on wheels/treads...including bikes in the desert, which should definitely float/ride on air. That's toy-making reasons, though, I realize. When stuff is written into movies/TV shows that make no sense - and/or contradict all that has been established before - rest assured that's the Hasbro Effect taking place.

- Those bacta treatment soaks are working; present-day Boba looks smooth and tanned compared to flashback Boba, all scarred up, white splotchiness etc. A handsome devil, present day. An unfortunate, full-size Mini Me in those flashback sequences.

- Jennifer Beals as a Twi'lek is pretty damn hot

- Those "from the air" establishing shots of Mos Espa are gorgeous. What a bustling town! Such detail and it looks quite real. I'd love to walk around a place like that!

I'm sure there are more, but I can't recall (and I'm not gonna rewatch, so...).



PS - Despite all the above, I'm still optimistic and look forward to seeing if things hit a groove and stuff starts to happen! I like Temuera Morrison in this role. He's watchable/interesting in the same way Daniel Craig is...interesting face, and how he carries himself. I like how he is in current-day, in the armor and just being kinda cool/unflappable when walking around town. He'll be a fan favorite and enjoy a long, healthy existence on the convention/con circuit now. He probably was already, just from his prequel role. But he'll really be a popular fan-favorite now! I just can't figure out why Favreau & Co. are taking the slow, long away around the bend with this show, when they didn't with The Mandalorian. If this were a whole different team of writers/directors, it would make some sense. But it's all the Mandalorian folks. And that show has never bored me. In fact, if The Mandalorian was paced like this one - taking forever to get to anything, long pauses, repetitive sequences, etc. - we wouldn't have seen/met Grogu until about episode 5-6. I don't mind a slow ride, but there has to be some "worth it" payoff at some point. I just hope it isn't the final eight minutes of this show's final episode. Quit screwing around, Disney. People have waited 40+ years; get to it already.

PS #2 - Apparently that black/grey shaggy creature is a Wookiee and he's been in some comic books and other media. So this is his first live-action appearance. When one's Star Wars knowledge is 99% confined to the live-action fare (me), you learn something new all the time. I have no idea what's in the books, comics, video games, etc. These shows can bring some of those characters to life.

[psmith2.0]

Upon further thinking, just from the two episodes shown so far, I believe I would've done this instead:

Episode 1, last week, would've been an entire flashback about his time, post-Sarlaac, and with the sand people. It would be bookended with current-day framing (seeing him in the bacta tub, and maybe Fennec nearby so you know that we're seeing this in current time, her looking after him or sticking around to stand guard while he's vulnerable. But then he flashes back to the Sarlacc, maybe even spending another five or so minutes on that escape and the immediate aftermath.

And then, throughout the episode, as adventure or growing happens as he's befriending the sand people and learning from them, you'll cut to current-day-in-his-bacta-tank, blinking, etc. so you know he's still dreaming/thinking back to this. But that's it...just 1-2 scenes of current-day Boba still in the tank, dreaming/remembering. All of it culminating in the "you are one of us" campfire dance from last night. Followed by him waking up in the tank, it draining and him telling Fennec "we've got work to do" or whatever, and then getting his armor put on in the closing scene, as he and Fennec walk out and head toward Mos Espa.

Then episode 2, today, would've been all present-day, Jabba's palace/Mos Espa.

I think doing that flashback-to-the-sandpeople thing, across two episodes, is bogging this down. I wouldn't have minded all of that stuff being in a single, opening episode, firmly establishing, in one sweeping 45-minute episode, what happened to him after he fell into the pit...he got out, he was taken prisoner, he proved himself, he made allies (who, BTW, are almost certainly going to show up at some point to save his ass in a future episode; they would've make such a deal of him being accepted into their culture/tribe if they weren't setting up some scenario where they show up and help him when he needs it most). But you get all of that - his escape, rescue, learning, growing, etc. - out of the way in episode one. You then know "he knows how to fight with a stick", which explains his efficient ruthlessness against those stormtroopers in "The Tragedy" last year.

Episode 2, today, should've picked up where my above take left off. The tributes, they visit town and that cantina, get into a street ambush/fight, capture the assassin, visit the mayor, encounter the Hutt twins. Everything we've seen happen in Mos Espa over two episodes, present-day, is all in this new episode. Current-day, in armor, in town, dealing with everyone.

This jumping back and forth slows it down, drags out the past longer than it probably needs to be, etc. From episode 2, forward, it's all current timeline.

I'm hoping that campfire dance in this episode signifies the end of flashing back to that period, I truly do. I think all that would've made better as an entire single episode, with current-day bookends of about 4-5 minutes each...some talk with Fennec, getting outfitted up, etc. Maybe even save that full Boba-in-his-armor reveal unto the opening minutes of episode 2.

Just my .02. Two jumpy, chopped episodes could've been better formatted/streamlined, IMO. Make the first one about all that happened in his Sarlacc (and escape) period...answer all those questions, right up front, the entire first episode. Then you hit the ground running in episode 2, squarely focused on the present and the work he has to do taking over Jabba's racket.

I just think that would've gone a long way toward divvying up/compartmentalizing the two distinct timelines, and omitted the jumping back-and-forth, which really does/brings nothing to the mix.

I think the bulk of my dislike for it is simply in the pacing/structuring/editing. I think the exact footage we've seen, simply recut to put all the post-Sarlacc stuff into a single opening episode, would play better. *shrug*

Damn, I want to like this show. Love it. I'm trying! Stuff I like, I point out and praise. But it's just a plod so far... But it's not a "bad" show. There's no idiotic, lame dialogue or horrific acting as there have been in other SW projects. The overall plot/premise should be quite a thing...this character taking over from a dead crime boss, and all the ugliness/drama that must entail. The premise of this show already beats anything I saw in Episode 9, ffs. Everyone seems competent and on their game, in front of, and behind, the camera. The bones are there, Morrison is solid and engaging, the show looks amazing, etc. It just needs to pick up and do something now, after two full episodes, and be a little tighter/interesting. I didn't wait 3-4 episodes for The Mandalorian to hook me in and make me count the days until the next installment, so why is this doing that? That's the mystery here.

[Brad]

You're definitely not alone, Paul.

I'm still curious how our boy Boba gets the rest of his gear back, but so far, these first two episodes do feel a bit padded, and I'm already losing interest. I've found myself skipping forward several times as the show gets slow and quiet and plodding. I can enjoy the occasional contemplative scenes, but these don't feel like that. This show just doesn't seem it have as strong a hook that Mando had. Sure, it's expanding the lore by retreading known territory, which is nice to a degree, but maybe that's also why it doesn't feel as engaging to me. The mystery of the unknown isn't as present as it was with Mando.

I'm sure I'll keep watching to the end, but I'm not recommending this to all my friends as "must see TV" like I did with The Mandalorian. I doubt my wife will ever care to watch it, and she loved Mando.

[psmith2.0]

Yep, I’m getting/hearing a bit of this in my circles. It’s like they’re stuck in first gear, and the steering wheel is locked to one side. They’re just driving in circles, very slowly.

Hey, we all love a good car analogy here, right?

Everyone I know/talk to: “It looks great, but…are we sure this is from the Mandalorian people?! I’ve yet to be fully hooked/drawn in”, or some variation on all that. “Yeah, okay…but…”.

I look forward to the new installments, but, at this point, it’s more like “okay, is this the week it gets good and interesting” vs. “holy smokes, after the way that last episode ended, I can’t wait to see what happens next!” (which was all The Mandalorian did/was, pretty much every episode.

Unfortunately, there’s been none of that so far from this new show. My Wednesday tune-ins are more morbid curiosity (and Jennifer Beals) than genuine interest/enthusiasm.

I would not have predicted/imagined this, 3-4 weeks ago, this slow-burn approach.

Somebody needs to squirt some lighter fluid.

[psmith2.0]

PS - I loved that scene of him towing the stolen speeder Harleys back to the tribe. It was a neat visual and then just thinking about the physics of such a thing…”these things float, but you can tie a rope to them and tow one - or several - around so easily, like pulling a little wagon”.

That part, small and meaningless as it was, made me smile and think about SW tech in general for a bit. “How do they not clang together and get all snaggled up? They must have proximity sensors!”, etc.

I’ve always loved the whole landspeeder thing, so when I see other SW vehicles and hardware with that tech/capability, I always perk up and pay attention/enjoy. I think that’s why I hate the random introduction of wheels/tires/treads in Star Wars, after being shown for four-plus decades that vehicles in that world can hover and float (and walk!).

Shit rolls around on wheels/tires here, this planet…that’s just not particularly exciting or interesting to me at this point. “Okay, my car does that…”.

[kscherer]

Jess and I watched it last night. I don't have time for a long rundown, but we enjoyed it.

Personally, I love the old-west, "cowboys and Indians" vibe of the show. We had us the old "tied at the stake" routine, fighting with the tribe's best warriors, a long walk in the desert with no water, the "coming of age" where the "white man" learns the ways of the "red man", the pesky "train through the territory", a good, old fashioned "chase down the train on our horses" robbery, some "you ain't come through here without some beads next time, ya hear me, pard?" ne-goat-chee-aytin'. It's fun!

Any minute now I'm expecting that Tusken Raider "Chief" to offer Boba a female! I mean, I am curious about some things.

Between Mando and Boba, I'm convinced that Favreau and Filoni are taking Star Wars back to those old serials that George Lucas was always talking about, but instead of Sci-Fi stuff, it's the Wild Wild West!

I like it, but I agree that the story is evolving a bit too slowly. It seems to be more of a "what Boba went through" show than a "what Boba is" show.

[psmith2.0]

It is very Western-y, which I don't mind a bit. I love Westerns...40's, 50's, 60', the spaghetti stuff, the 70's "rethinking" (where nobody wore white or black hats, and the "hero" was as low-down and mean as any villain), modern stuff like Unforgiven, Open Range. Yeah, anything set in a desert with gunplay, trains, holsters, saloons, showdowns, horse riding, fights, etc. I'm gonna watch...space-based or otherwise.

I probably won't watch Rust, but hey...

When that train showed up (I thought it was a big worm/lizard at first..."haven't we done this already?"), I was like "well that's something I wasn't expecting." How many people fell off that thing? A dozen or more, at least.

I like how the controls were kinda old-timey steam-engine looking, mixed with space/SW tech. And the engineer jumping out and spider-walking away. Shades of Generous Grievous...bailing the scene while walking in a weird way.

Yeah, people jumping from horses to trains - and having gun/fist-fights on top while jumping from car to car - is certainly a Western thing. They did a Star Wars take on it here...speeder-based vehicles, blasters, high speed, questionable marksmanship from the bad guys, etc.

Originally Posted by kscherer I like it, but I agree that the story is evolving a bit too slowly. It seems to be more of a "what Boba went through" show than a "what Boba is" show.

Exactly. And I just think the "what Boba went through" would've made a fine, episode one-only story, as I said a few posts up. But if they're going to drag that out over all seven episodes, and dividing each episode completely in half - part current Mos Espa stuff, part "five years ago" - that's gonna be a bite. That's a momentum strangler, IMO. I don't mind flashbacks one bit. I just don't like them ongoing, and unpredictably popping up when the thing it's interrupting is trying to get going, that's all. His whole "from Sarlacc to junior honorary Sandperson" thing would've been a cool, single "episode 1" series opener, I think. Jumping back to it, ongoing, is making it impossible for the Boba/Fennec/Mos Espa story to fully kick in and spin up. And I truly think that's what most folks are interested in; that's how the teaser/premise was presented, him walking in and shooting Bib Fortuna and sitting on Jabba's throne with his loyal sidekick. I wasn't expecting so much of the other, Dances with Banthas thing.

[drewprops]

I'm not as disappointed, as I have learned to set low expectations. From the outset it sounded like a one-off comic, and that's how it's playing out.

I found the Lawrence of Arabia homage entertaining. Like Lawrence, Boba comes to respect the nomadic tribes and leads them to take down a train. I mean, it's a love letter to the David Lean film.

I just can't spill that much ink on it, but I'm sorry that it's letting y'all down. I get it.


...

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Dances with Banthas thing.

When it was over last night, my daughter looks over and says, "Well, we just saw Dances with Wolves In Space."

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by drewprops I just can't spill that much ink on it, but I'm sorry that it's letting y'all down. I get it. ...

We’ll live, I’m betting.

It just needs to focus and pick up the pace a bit, that’s all. The pieces are all there.

I will be happy to spill supportive, positive ink the remainder of January, trust me. I’d love nothing more. I don't do politics, I've had it with COVID, I don't play Minecraft, I don't give a shit about sports, etc. If any major ink-spilling I do here has to center around Disney+ Star Wars stuff - positive or otherwise - I can live with that.

I’m kinda thinking, now that they’re unveiled some conflict/villainy - those Hutt twins and that big mean-looking Wookiee - we’ll get some stuff unfolding in the coming weeks. We now have something in place that might represent some conflict/action.

That one Hutt told Boba to “sleep lightly”. That’s a threat if I ever heard one.

“We’re about to send this big grouchy monkey after you!”

[kscherer]

I was thinking the same thing. That Wookie is a mean-looking sumbitch!

I wonder if he/she is related to Chewbacca?

Snarfle, snarfle, snarfle

[Brad]

Obviously it's Lumpy all grown up.

It's in those eyes.

Even at such a young age, you know he's seen some shit.

[psmith2.0]

If that big mean Wookiee wasn't already a known, established(?) character, I'd almost buy it. Remember, the SW universe appears to be comically small, and everything connects to everything else, everywhere else. I've learned that much...

If J.J. was heading this up, that's the sort of thing I'd totally expect from him, in some unasked-for effort to try and redeem or "make cool" that holiday special.

"People have often wondered what became of Lumpy. And that special is an under-appreciated gem and has som..."

No they haven't. And no it isn't, no it doesn't. STFU.