The Book of Boba Fett is a missed opportunity to expand the confines and meaning of a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away

The Ringer

"Helmed by the team behind The Mandalorian, Boba was ostensibly pitched as a chance to deepen and build on a beloved character whose potential was haphazardly cleaved in the franchise’s initial incarnation," says Lex Pryor. "Fett, resplendent in beskar, would receive top billing for the first time ever, with the prequels’ Temuera Morrison donning the repainted armor he once wore as Jango Fett. But sometimes reality pales in comparison to possibility. Sometimes under the mask there’s just a letdown waiting to tumble to the bottom of a toothy pit. In effect, the series has been muddled and disrupted by the nagging sense that it foregrounds certain settings and stories—the social themes with the potential to hold together the mysticism of the franchise—only as an excuse to rehash another legacy figure. In Boba, crime, desperation, and power are displayed only to certain ends. As its conclusion nears, the show, whatever its virtues, is a missed opportunity to expand the confines and meaning of a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away." Pryor adds: "If Boba has a defining attribute, it’s that the show has consistently gestured toward these themes and just as consistently stopped right at the edge of actual exploration. It is a work, much like The Mandalorian, with an itinerant gaze on the absence of power, the movements after the storm. But despite the time at its disposal, it never peers long or actively enough to home in on an answer." ALSO: 

ALSO:

• This week's Book of Boba Fett episode was essentially the Season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian: "From start to finish, it is 100% an episode of The Mandalorian," says Mike Redmon. "I’m talking Boba Fett isn’t even it, and Fennec Shand literally shows up for 30 seconds at the end to haphazardly connect the whole hiring Mando thing from last week. Again, the whole thing rips, and Bryce Dallas Howard delivered an absolute banger — but it’s not an episode of The Book of Boba Fett."
• eBay auctions for Hasbro’s classic Naboo Starfighter toy have exploded in the aftermath of this week's episode