It's like people forgot he was in Mando S2 and we saw what a badass he can be. He was introduced after he got his ship back and threatened to shoot a baby.

 

Is he actually softer though, or is that him trying to set a different sort of example? He gunned down the biker gang without mercy, pretty brutally murdered one of the assassins that attacked him once he had some room to move, and so on. He's trying to rule with a more level hand than wanting everyone to be afraid of him. Is that compromising his intimidation a bit? Sure, but he's banking on earned respect giving him better alliances and a stronger hold than intimidation and fear would get him. There is merit to that point of view, after all, it's part of why Fennec stayed with him rather than leaving after her debt was paid. It's also likely part of why Krrsantan accepted Boba's offer of a job.

 

I feel like the show gives us glimpses of that bad ass Boba Fett, and it’s trying to show that he’s making a conscious effort to be different. He leads the Tusken in taking on the armored train. He slaughters that sand monster using a chain. He massacres the speeder bike gang. He cleans out a bar on his own. He shoots Bib in cold blood. He kills the assassins in Mos Espa.

Where he’s showing restraint is when trying to build his “family.” There he’s trying to rule by respect, so he’s holding back. He’s out together a crew that could probably level a large part of Mos Espa in an afternoon if he wanted to. But he’s choosing a softer approach.

This show has struggled, but as of Episode 4 I feel like I’m starting to get it. Boba is trying to hold back his most brutal instincts to form a tribe. And he can’t do that using ultra-violence. Whether he is going to manage that is the central challenge of the show. I just wish they’d told this chronologically without the flash backs. I feel like we’d have understood the show better that way.

 

This is the way.

 

You worded exactly what I was trying to say but in a much better way. Very well put.

 

I call that the Wolverine effect.

 

What you wrote makes sense. What we see on-screen doesn’t.

First of all, you can’t rule as a crime lord through respect without violence. It becomes nonsensical and makes the plot a joke. Boba isn’t winning anyone’s respect because he’s abandoning violence, the plot is simply just glossing this over.

At this point the mayor simply turns off the lights and pretends he’s not home when Boba knocks on his door. That’s not Boba being soft, that’s just terrible writing.

There’s is absolute no reason for any of the other crime families to visit Boba, much less talk to him, feel any threat or have any need to agree to stay neutral.

Disney had some bizarre mandate to make Boba a “family friendly” crime lord. It doesn’t work. It’s obnoxiously illogical and a transparent move to make the character marketable.

Boba wants to walk the line of non-violence and build a new family. That’s fine. But this is the wrong vehicle for that. This could have been a story of the gunslinger who puts away his gun but is forced to fight to save his town/family. Instead it’s a story about some busybody who should be ignored by criminals because all he does is ask polite questions when he becomes confrontational.

 

Yeah, if anything I think this show's biggest sin was utilizing flashbacks instead of telling the story chronologically starting from his escape from the Sarlacc. Because by the end of the flashbacks in episode 4 you finally have an idea of what's going on in Boba's head. Plus, we've seen him be an absolute badass when he has to, but the flip side of the coin is that he's trying to show restraint because he's trying to build a tribe rather than rule by fear. I think the show has shown so far that his way of thinking has paid off to a certain extent. Fennec, the Gamoreans, Krrsantan... they're all chosing to work for/stay with him due to his actions. We'll have to see if it plays out for him completely but it looks like he's got another ally showing up in the next episode and I honestly can't wait for that. Curious what that individual's take on what Boba is trying to accomplish will be.

 

I don't think it's a Disney thing. The show hasn't really watered down the violence. I really think it's Favreau and Rodriguez trying to do something with the character that just isn't working.

 

Indeed, in the what is really just well received fan fiction now, Boba Fett was originally named Jaster Mereel. Exiled from his homeworld for murder. A man motivated more by an overzealous and somewhat hypocritical view of justice and morality.

A man who justified the relentless hunt of Han Solo for no other reason than that Solo was a fugitive who smuggled spice for the Hutts. Never mind the fact that Boba was willing to accept Jabba's bounty for Solo which also meant he was employed by a spice dealing crime lord for the extent of the hunt.

He was also an ugly, old virgin as the story of Last One Standing was accepted canon up until Episode II. Which, admittedly, sounds like the author trying to pull a Corran Horn with Fett.

[Listen to] a book!

 

The way people are divided on the portrayal of Boba in this is a classic example of the difficulty in fleshing out side characters.

Good side characters are like a holiday romantic fling. Brief, memorable, but ultimately not particularly deep. You'll always think about them and wonder 'what if', but realistically that's because you only ever had good times with them and with time you'll lionise that. You never have to fill out a tax return or worry about moving house with someone that is just a fling. With flings, there is no mundanity.

Once you make the 'what if' tangible, there are always going to be a certain portion of people who have an adverse reaction to it not living up to expectation.

 

Yeah, the show has an execution problem. That’s not the first time has happened in Star Wars. I’d argue the entire PT is a really good story poorly executed.

If we had the flashbacks first, I think we’d understand the whole thing better. It wouldn’t be perfect, but we’d be closer to a better product.

I’ve said before and will again, Temeura and Ming-Na are killing it in these roles. If it weren’t for them I’d have probably checked out of this one. Because of them I hung around to episode 4 where things are starting to make sense.

 

Temuera and Ming-Na

 

Uh, I believe that it is pronounced "Melinda May".

Speaking of, she is quota as advising fans to just watch and enjoy the story, essentially, as character motivations will continue to be revealed for that one "... Ah!" moment.


The Book Of Boba Fett Finale Will Change Fans' Minds, Ming-Na Wen Teases

 

Thinking on that (and admittedly, I'm rather... tipsy... at this point...), could Favreau be the reason for that? Iron Man is, to my mind at least, the best of the MCU origin stories and that was directed by Favreau and told half its story through flashbacks. Could he be trying to do the same thing with Boba Fett as he did with Iron Man, just telling it over around 7-7.5 hours rather than over 2.5 hours?

 

Thanks I fixed it

 

This is what I've been saying for a while. The genius of Boba Fett wasn't that he was a deep character, it was that he was mysterious and let our imaginations do the heavy lifting. It's a similar principle as not showing the shark in Jaws...our imaginations can be more powerful than what we see on screen, and I think Boba Fett really tapped into that. When you start giving him a proper characterization, the mystery is inevitably going to get weaker and weaker.

It's funny, tons of franchises have attempted to have "their Boba Fett", and none of them really catch on. Sure, a lot of Transformers fans like Lockdown. But he's not the cult icon that Boba Fett is, with merchandise consistently sold in every store. Heck, even Star Wars has tried to recreate the Boba Fett effect with characters like Phasma and (probably) Enfys Nest, and they never really catch on.

I'm personally satisfied with how he's being portrayed here. Just because a lot of us saw him being overly cold and brutal doesn't mean he has to be portrayed that way. If you're going to make him the protagonist, you have to make him more human. To me they seem to be characterizing Boba as someone who's brutal in combat, but reasonable in everyday situations. Which works for me. After seeing Boba destroy the speeder gang, I can totally picture how this Boba Fett could have gotten carried away and disintegrated someone.

 

I kind of see it as all the clones (including Boba) having an inherent sense of honor that was passed onto them through Jango's genetics. Sure, their experiences and such do influence how that honor mainfests, but it's there in all of them.

 

Maul and Grievous before that too.

And Jango, obviously.