It’s very odd to review an episode of “The Book of Boba Fett”, when in reality I’m reviewing an episode of The Mandalorian that somehow found its way into another character’s supposed series. The good news is that The Mandalorian’s episode is far, far superior to anything we’ve had in The Book of Boba Fett so far.
That’s not to say that this one is perfect. The writing is a bit childish and there are some very boring exposition sections here and there. The writing leans a bit too far into juvenile sight gags at times, especially when it comes to cute little droids. And there’s one scene in particular that is just off-putting: if The Mandalorian is so ready to give up his religious beliefs for convenience, is it any sort of religion at all that he follows? It’s like having a scene where an Orthodox Jew says “I don’t do work on the sabbath,” only to follow it up in five seconds with the supposedly religious person joining in labor to avoid a hassle.
But overall, this is back at The Mandalorian level of quality. It’s distinctly better than even the second episode of The Book of Boba Fett, which was previously the best by far. The directing on this episode is the best it’s been, and clearly I can see where some of the $100 million budget went: the visuals and CGI here are up by several orders of magnitude. We finally have a hook too — several hooks actually — that make us want to come back to the next episode. I’m just befuddled why this hasn’t been happening up until this point. Why is that an episode all about Mando suddenly brings everything up to the quality of that show. If I were Mr. Morrison, I’d be quite unhappy that this series has been a huge disappointment in every episode featuring his character.
If the last two episodes of the show are this good, it’s likely all will be forgiven for the first mostly pointless four entries in the show. My guess is that viewers will just skip to either this episode or the last two rather than watching the first four. You’ve also got to give credit to Bryce Dallas Howard; after a horrible start to her year with a failed film, this episode definitely is a huge win for her. The nods to the Phantom Menace were unexpected and well-done and you can just tell whoever is heading up this episode is far better than some of the other directors we’ve had. It’s interesting that Episode 2 and Episode 5 are this much better than everything else. Pay attention to that.
hi i'm the mandalorian and you're watching disney channel pic.twitter.com/aYAqKEWuO7
— ًً (@djarinculture) January 25, 2022
So how do I score The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 (or is it still The Book of Boba Fett?):
Score: 7.5 Great
But feel free to disagree. Let me know in the comments below what you think. And as always, keep checking out That Park Place for all your latest Star Wars news, leaks, rumors, and reviews!
What do you make of an episode that is easily the best in a series… and that episode never has the lead character even show up?
