The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter Three: The Streets of Mos Espa (3/5)

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I was incredibly excited for this episode after the previous week and how wonderful it was. I was disappointed to say the least. After a 4.5/5 premiere and a 5/5 second episode, I had a lot of hope. Unfortunately, I can’t give this one more than a 3/5 and that is really pushing it for me. A major part of me wants to give it lower, so I feel as though I am being more than fair.

The acting was incredible as always, the present-day storyline was enjoyable. I think that it’s really special what Boba is doing for the people of Mos Espa. To me, him hiring the youth gang with the cool speeders rather than punishing them was doing better for the city than the water monger wanted. If they have work, they’re not going to get into trouble, and they’ll be more likely to be provided for, which was a real indictment of how we handle crime and punishment in our society because we don’t look out for each other. The people at the top simply want to punish those at the bottom for not having the resources that they do. The present-day plot was a heavier part of this episode, which was nice, I suppose, because it did add balance to what was happening. We got more of the Twins, some awesome Black Krrsantan moments, including a boss fight scene, which was amazing. We got a speeder chase which was fun, but could have been faster in my opinion, and all of that stuff makes me okay with giving it a 3/5 as opposed to a lower score. I would have liked to see Madam Garsa, but I suppose she can’t be in every episode, which is fine.

The part that really took away from this episode was the flashback part of the plot, and it took away from it in a major way. In the first two episodes, I was very excited about the Tusken plot. I loved getting to spend more time with them, getting to watch them be humanized, and just getting to watch their interactions with Boba. This episode really disappointed me in a major way with that plotline because I am tired of stories where marginalized characters get fridged. I hate it in such a way that it almost fully ruined the episode for me. It was a terrible way for this plot to be handled, and it felt like part of the point of it was that they ‘needed’ Boba to protect them and that without him, they can’t defend themselves. To have yet another group of Tuskens massacred offscreen like it’s Attack of the Clones all over again simply to impact the story of another character almost made me sick. Can we not have a story where Indigenous people aren’t subject to the trauma of being massacred? Please? Is that too much to ask? As a non-Indigenous person, I was angry at this choice that they made, and I cannot imagine how it must feel for Indigenous people who had to watch that without any warning. For all that I have seen people speaking about it, there is no experience I have that really comes close to this, even with the intersections of my own identity.

The main failure I think here is caused by the lack of diversity within the writing team for The Book of Boba Fett. Yes, this episode spoke to the stories of a lot of Indigenous people, with the coming home to find your community slaughtered, but it could have been handled in a completely different way, which could have been achieved by having an Indigenous person in the writing room. However, I do stand firm on my belief that the most important voices in this conversation are those of Indigenous people, which is why what I have said on the matter is all I will say. My opinions have been structured partially from listening to Indigenous people around me and their reactions, and I implore everyone to listen to the voices of those who are closer to the issue.

Honestly, if the main criticism a person has of this episode is the speeders, that is a person that I have no desire to listen to. Yes, it could have been faster or whatever, the VFX could have been done better, but there are more important issues with this episode and how science fiction and fantasy stories featuring the voices of marginalized people are told. Beyond what I have said above, there isn’t really much else I have to say about this episode.

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