THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT: EPISODE ONE
Fans of the Star Wars franchise have long been fascinated by the armored bounty hunter Boba Fett. Boba Fett first appeared in The Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978, and fans have been screaming for a more in-depth storyline about the armored bounty hunter ever since. The first episode of The Book of Boba Fett dives right into exploring the iconic character on the planet of Tatooine.
Boba Fett and the Bacta Tank
The opening of the first episode shows a Bacta Tank with a dreaming Boba Fett inside. While in the tank, he is amidst a flashback to his escape from the Sarlacc. You will remember that the Sarlacc has acidic stomach juices that digest just about anything and anyone. Luckily, he fell in while wearing his armor. However, the first episode's opening suggests that Boba Fett did not escape unscathed. He has always been portrayed as an unbeatable character. But the introduction to the series suggests that he is not as indestructible as once thought. A Bacta Tank addresses short-term injuries and is a form of ongoing therapy for long-term conditions. Darth Vader used one as therapy for his chronic injuries. This leads us to believe that Boba Fett suffered long-term effects on his health as he is using the Bacta Tank years after escaping the deadly stomach acid of the Sarlacc. If not the Sarlacc, then something has weakened him.
Where is he now?
The show uses this flashback as a starting point for a dual timeline to emerge. The flashbacks to the Sarlacc are in duality with a present timeline which reveals Boba Fett to be the new Crime Lord of Tatooine. The end of season 2 of The Mandalorian shows him gunning down Bib Fortuna and taking control of the remains of Jabba the Hutt’s crime syndicate.
The dual timeline
A dual timeline in the first episode makes for interesting storytelling as there is a huge gap in the viewer's understanding between the past and the present. Boba Fett is in two different circumstances within the timelines, and you are likely to find out more as the series progresses. The past timeline begins with Fett’s escape from the Sarlacc. We know from The Mandalorian that he spent several years in the desert, and this is something that the first episode begins to illustrate. We see the Jawas stealing his iconic armor, which we know that he doesn’t get back for several years, again thanks to The Mandalorian. He is then shown as spending time as a captive of the Tusken Raiders. His progression from desert captive to crime lord is one that is interesting and will hopefully be unpacked further throughout the series.
The Book of Boba Fett promises to reveal some interesting character developments which Star Wars fans can look forward to in the coming episodes.
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