As someone who finds the Mandalorian series flawed and overrated, one thing that it NEVER was to me was boring. And therein lies the problem with The Book of Boba Fett. Along with all the flaws and bad writing, it's simply a boring series. There's no hook like Baby Yoda. And for as overrated as I think that Mando himself is, the fact is that he looks much better in his armor than Boba does in his. Hell, Mando's armor looks much better, period! A huge problem I'm having with Boba is his dialogue. It's vague, weird, and forgettable. He's all about peace and love, yet he's supposed to be a crime lord. It doesn't make sense. He's not cunning or smart or diabolical the way you'd think a mob boss would be. He doesn't demand respect. He's too nice. His new attitude doesn't mesh with his character's new stature. Conversely, the writing for the Mandalorian has always been simple. Even when he was defending Baby Yoda/Grogu, he also didn't mess around with anyone. He is unrelenting and to the point. Grogu was the only thing that he protected, but otherwise he is stalwart in his beliefs and doesn't let anyone push him around. Mando feels tough whereas Boba feels weak.
This episode is a perfect example of why The Mandalorian succeeds where Boba Fett fails. It starts off with Mando taking care of business in a bounty and features a fight scene that is better than any previous episode this season. Then it also has this beautiful looking Halo city in space. Also, it brings back two of the Mandalorian series best characters in The Armorer and Peli Motto. The scenes between Mando and these 2 ladies were well-written and crisp and set against beautiful cinematography. Why is the dialogue so much more entertaining and easier to follow in a non-Boba episode? Why does the set design look so much better in this episode that doesn't feature Boba, yet his first 4 episodes looked so cheap? And the bulk of this episode took place on Tattooine, which is the permanent setting for the series. Why does Tattooine look so much cooler with Mando in it than Boba? The pinnacle of the episode for me was Mando test piloting the Naboo fighter jet and racing through the canyons of Tattooine as a callback to The Phantom Menace, still to this day the best Star Wars prequel, in my opinion. Everything about this episode was just plain cool. The first 4 episodes collectively are not even half as good as Chapter 5. The show is called Boba Fett, not The Mandalorian, yet this episode proves that we should be getting Season 3 of The Mandalorian right now instead of whatever this Boba Fett show is supposed to be about.
This episode is a perfect example of why The Mandalorian succeeds where Boba Fett fails. It starts off with Mando taking care of business in a bounty and features a fight scene that is better than any previous episode this season. Then it also has this beautiful looking Halo city in space. Also, it brings back two of the Mandalorian series best characters in The Armorer and Peli Motto. The scenes between Mando and these 2 ladies were well-written and crisp and set against beautiful cinematography. Why is the dialogue so much more entertaining and easier to follow in a non-Boba episode? Why does the set design look so much better in this episode that doesn't feature Boba, yet his first 4 episodes looked so cheap? And the bulk of this episode took place on Tattooine, which is the permanent setting for the series. Why does Tattooine look so much cooler with Mando in it than Boba? The pinnacle of the episode for me was Mando test piloting the Naboo fighter jet and racing through the canyons of Tattooine as a callback to The Phantom Menace, still to this day the best Star Wars prequel, in my opinion. Everything about this episode was just plain cool. The first 4 episodes collectively are not even half as good as Chapter 5. The show is called Boba Fett, not The Mandalorian, yet this episode proves that we should be getting Season 3 of The Mandalorian right now instead of whatever this Boba Fett show is supposed to be about.