Book of Boba Fett: Episode 2&3 thoughts

 

THE TRIBES OF TATOOINE

While the second episode in the new Disney+ series was a better overall outing than the premiere episode by this viewer - it for me showed the problems with streaming in both a positive and negative context.

The episode again used the present day of Boba Fett after the Sarlaac Pit and laying claim to Jabba's throne coupled with a flashback narrative of Boba being taken in by the Tusken raiders of Tatooine and being embedded into their tribe.

The use of the contrasting flashbacks and present day narrative, is that while both is necessary the flashback ultimately overstays its welcome. Too much is made of the tribe life, yet the introduction of the train (an homage to actual history of colonials shooting buffalo as they rode past on trains in the days of the Old West) is another feather in the cap to build upon the world of Tatooine and the ignorace of it being just Mos Eisley.

The tropes and cliche of donning tribal garb is there, the trippy journey to obtain his branch for his stick are predictable as well as telegraphed.

THE STREETS OF MOS ESPA

The third episode for me was again an improvement, a shorter running time yet it was very much by the numbers in terms of building character arc and narrative.

Boba is done with the flashback, and the flashback ending abruptly with the re-introduction of Black Krrsantan as an assassin on Boba's head. The fight is okay but shouldn't a crime lord have better protection in his own home. What follows is a visit by the twin Hutts who apologise and give Boba the black wookie as a gift, one that Boba immediately releases.

Then a visit to the mayor leads to the slowest chase since Barnaby Jones was on the air, with some bad CGI with many an obstacle in the busy streets of Mos Espa - culminating in information being given up far too easily.

The early introduction of Stephen Root in a supporting character role bodes well for future episodes, and the formal announcement of the Pykes as the main villains with the prospect of war incoming.

After three episodes, I remain indifferent and underwhelmed by the show thus far, this is a combination of pacing and the back and forth. Now we may have the prospect of an actual story in real time taking place, yet the action feels forced and predictable yet the anticipation cannot be ignored

Episode Four for one cannot come soon enough

A Very British Scandal - Review

The 3 part BBC series starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany about the very public divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in 1963 was broadcast over the Christmas holidays and is currently available on BBC iPlayer.

A bit of history before we commence, the Duke and Duchess were married in 1951 culminating in a bitter divorce battle in 1963 after a tumultuous marriage, where the Duchess Argyll was shamed for her promiscuity and those reports in the court case were made public, most damningly the knowledge of a photograph where Margaret is giving oral sex to a headless body.

The series borrows heavily from The Crown, none more so than the casting of Claire Foy against type as a sexual creature in contrast to that of her noble majesty. Whereas, Bettany cranks up the villainy of the Duchy as a man-child, who merely wants to live a good life and be left alone to his own devious devices.

However, the script plays out both leads as nefarious individuals, heinous beings who are not very nice at all in all honesty - the Duke is a drunk who merely wants Margaret for her money, and the Duchess makes no apologies for enjoying the sexual company of any man.

The contrast between the two genders is startling and played to the hilt - whereas the Duke can have many an affair, it is the female requirement to tally and keep record that proves the Duchess' downfall as her diary with the pinpointing of social engagements marks her out as everything a woman and wife should not be.

The Duchess was one of the first women to be shamed by the media, while the Duke was made out as a shining beacon of aristocracy hurt by a woman beneath his status. 

The film is as much about status, class and the hush hush nature of sexual conduct within the upper crust, Margaret's friend, Maureen (Julia Davis) makes it clear that he way the upper class fornicate and run around with each other should not be made for the gossiping working-lower classes, and 'they will close ranks' if it so happens.

Funny that all this occurs in 1963, mere years later the swinging 1960s come into full force where sexual promiscuity was rife and mindsets altered.

Yet all in all this series was a missed opportunity, it attempts to make a statement about shaming women in this post #MeToo era yet the Duchess is not a likeable individual much like her husband, you do not show her pity and yet you do feel sorry that her situation was one she had to endure. Yet the film is so besotted with the aristocracy that it is afraid to formally admonish them.

A shame to report that this scandal was a meek affair

A Very British Scandal is on BBC iPlayer now

Book of Boba Fett: A Template Laid Bare

 

The Book of Boba Fett premiered on Disney+ on 28th December, providing a treat for Star Wars fans around the world during the festive period.

Using a now common narrative tool of dual narratives - we begin where the post-credits Mandalorian sequence ended with Boba Fett taking the seat once held by Jabba the Hutt in his eponymous palace flanked by Fennec Shand.

The episode starts with Boba in a tank recuperating from exertions and his nightmares return as he reflects, with us the viewer thrust into his dreams as he is within the Sarlaac Pit where he famously fell during the Return of the Jedi. We see Boba fight out of the creatures stomach, his hand bursting through the sand a la many a horror imagery, reaching for the sky.

Once out of the desert, he lays awaiting rescue. Unfortunately, the first people to encounter him are the scavenging Jawas who strip him of his mandalorian armour leaving him to waste away. Then he is taken in by a Tusken raider tribe where he has to endure slavery and torture from a youngling raider who is going through a rite of passage with Boba as the task at hand to overcome.

This story of Boba overcoming adversity to reach the level of nomadic stature when we encountered him in the second series of the Mandalorian where he retrieves his armour is next to the story of him becoming a crime lord in the same guise of Jabba. He meets many a new suitor, people wishing to win his favour and encounters a representative of the Mayor of Mos Espa, Tatooine's second city. Usually these people pay the crime lord, but the majordomo wishes for payment from Fett. 

Boba wishes to meet the Mayor but as they leave The Sanctuary they are ambushed and the best set piece of the first episode takes place with plenty of action, fighting and the opportunity for Shand (Ming Na) to parkour around buildings chasing the attackers.

That strand of the episode ends with Fett on his haunches being held up by now loyal duo of Gamorreans. We then return to five years prior where Boba is in servitude to the Tusken raiders - he and a Rodian have to dig for water by the teenage Tusken. They then encounter a Harryhausen-esque creature with four arms.

Boba shows industry and inventiveness to defeat the monster with only his hands and the chain that binds him. The Tusken allows Boba to walk unaccompanied back to the village where he is given a gourd - a sign of respect and that he is made in their eyes. He is now on a voyage to learn the ways of the desert which takes us up to his first (re)appearance in the Mandalorian when dressed in Tusken robes and garb.

While the episode is not as kinetic or thrilling as other chapters of the Mandalorian would eventually be, yet if memory serves the first ever episode of that series was along the same lines with the need to build up character and atmosphere. There are going to be lulls in this series due to the quiet intense character that Boba is along with the equally reserved Shand.

The bond between Fett and Shand will be key to this series - the mutual respect the two have for each other as outlaws in an albeit lawless galaxy - this wish to live and die by their own sword; they share looks that speak volumes to each other and can say things with a raise of an eyebrow merely to instruct the other. This is empowered by the totem that is Temeura Morrison as the title character, years of wear and tear on his face and body exuded a host of emotions to convey.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Jon Favreau, the template of the western has long been establised with the outsider being welcomed into a forbidden tribe to earn his spurs so to speak, to then rise up and take control of a town or county through his grit. In this instance, the western genre has been extrapolated and put onto the science fiction/fantasy world of Star Wars again to winning effect.

Whilst watching I may have been guilty of looking at my phone on occasion, but there was enough to maintain my attention and ultimately look forward to the next episode on Wednesday in the New Year. As always, this is appointment viewing and not to be missed.

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