In many ways, the season (or series? who knows) finale of THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT is a perfect microcosm for the series itself: it is a disappointing finale to a disappointing series, where many of the highlights of the episode were moments that didnât revolve around Boba Fett (and maybe one spectacular moment that does). Yet everything that did tie back to previous Fett-centric episodes literally made this episode worse. And it makes sense given that series showrunner, Robert Rodriguez, who helmed a few of the more disappointing installments of this series, returned to finish the mediocre job he started, mediocre-ly (I know thatâs not a real word, but this isnât a real finale soâŚ). There are some good bits. A lot of really wasted potential. And so much misplaced cheese that my lactose intolerance started acting up. All that in a narrative resolution that feels a bit too convenient and not really at all earned.
Itâs possible that things donât feel earned because the series took detours from the storyline. But if nothing else, CHAPTER 7 reinforced how bad all the negative elements present in the first four installments of the show really were, so Iâm all but convinced that an additional two episodes revolving around those elements wouldnât have done anything to help them. In fact, itâs possible it would have just made things worse. In particular, Iâm obligated by my own honor (see what I did there?) to specifically call out just how terrible everything with the Hot Topic Moped Gang really is.
Every shot, every conversation, every choice featuring these no-name characters oozes with misplaced camp, from the simplest act of a kid doing a stupid-looking twirl before shooting a gun, to the the overall sense of uselessness they provided in the climax of this episode, and the series as a whole. I didnât imagine myself ever laughing at unintentionally funny moments during my viewing of the first 6 episodes of the series. Still, here we are, at CHAPTER 7, and I canât resist snickering at the sight of a cybernetically enhanced cyclops delivering garbage lines and unnecessarily twirling during a gunfight.
Another element that I found hilarious, without going into spoiler territory, was that, once more, the idea of Bobaâs terrible decision-making comes into play as unfortunate events befall him to his own surprise, but literally not the surprise of the audience. At a certain point, I literally threw up my arms and went âReally?? You seriously didnât see that coming??â And once more, his muscle has to bail him out of messes he creates for himself.
Admittedly the episode tried to do too much, and Iâm surprised about how much of what theyâre trying to cram in sort of works in the time allotted to it. But, as previously mentioned, what does work isnât anything having to do with Blow-ba Meh-tt and his army of duds, but rather other characters we are infinitely more invested in. The finale absolutely had me wanting to see moreâŚof those characters only. Not so much the worldâs dumbest daimyo and his army of useless moped babies.
Look, if youâre reading this and are upset at me that itâs coming across as unprofessional and potentially immature, that should give you at least a little bit of an idea of the frustration I felt at Rodriguez while I was watching this episode. Further reemphasizing how much of a microcosm this episode is for the whole series, take a look at the screen time given to would-be co-lead, Ming-Na Wen. Without spoiling anything, this episode absolutely did nothing to increase her role or give more visibility/development to her character, given sheâs in this episode the least of any character in the series. I think she legitimately has like 3-4 scenes total, and the rest of the time, I thought to myself, âwhere the hell is she??â But my frustration with wasted potential doesnât stop with her. Other characters that have been mainstays both for this series and other shows are also utterly wasted in incredibly infuriating ways. I am absolutely livid about the use, or lack thereof, of one other such character.
Now before I ruin things, Iâm going to stop myself from ranting about the negative further because I can safely say I did find positives in this episode that are actually keeping me from giving it an outright failing vomit emoji (though itâs pretty damn borderline if you ask me). But the only reason this episode gets a pass is because, as previously stated, of sequences featuring The Mandalorian and 2 very BIG things that were teased in the past few episodes of the series. In fact, almost impossibly, in an episode of mostly crap and unintentionally funny moments, there was one very clap-worthy moment that everyone knew was coming, which didnât disappoint at all. Youâll know it when you see it. Itâs 1000% predictable but still awesome.
Overall, THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT CHAPTER 7 is a great example of what happens when someone sets you up with the ball for success, and you spike the ball right into the net. Itâs a season of television that gave you some phenomenal moments, featuring new iconic scenes in STAR WARS history â even in this one episode alone â but also idiotic characters and inconsistent storytelling. At the end of the day, I have no idea what to make of this series because the highs are so high, and the rest isâŚjust there. And with those two words, we conclude this series thinking about Boba the exact same way we did when we first met him in the original trilogy. He was just there.
THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT CHAPTER 7 IN THE NAME OF HONOR is also just there on Disney+