Ryan Shoots First: The Book of Boba Fett (S1 Ep3) “The Streets of Mos Espa”

This week Boba begins the process of preparing for war. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is any criminal empire. Boba is learning the hard way that being a crime lord involves a lot more politics than he thought. As he begins figuring out the lay of the land and the current state of Mos Espa it becomes clear getting the people and the regional gangs in line may be more than he bargained for. 

This episode spends the most time in the current timeline with only a brief scene set in the past after being accepted into the Tusken tribe. It’s been funny over the last few weeks to see people forming their opinions of what kind of character Boba is. Many are upset he is not “in character” which points to a greater issue in Star Wars fandom. Filled in gaps, Boba has had maybe a combined 34 seconds of screen time across two movies (not including ANH special edition) and only a handful of lines. To form any sort of concrete statement on who he is or how he behaves seems foolish. You can certainly have an idea who you wish he was, but there isn’t evidence to support he is this ruthless, heartless murdering machine who as Krombopulous Michael would say “just loves killing”. We know some of his upbringing but what we are seeing now is while he is hard nosed as ruthless he has a guiding star of respect and fairness. We see more of that in this episode as he deals with local merchants and the general state of affairs for life of the citizens of Mos Espa. Boba was born to be a killer but he strives for something more and I think that is the point of the show. To be more than just a Bounty Hunter. Turns out time slowly being digested by a monster really puts things into perspective. 

I think it shows why characters like Din in The Mandalorian are received differently. They are new characters without 40 years of baggage being put on them by fans who honestly cannot handle things not being just the way they envision it. I am enjoying the series and again it’s no shock the series seems to be slowly moving along, critics said the same of both seasons of Mando and by the end everyone universally praised them. Perhaps it is a symptom of the Binge age and people not accustomed to slowly watching a story play out one by one over multiple weeks but the stakes are growing, Boba’s enemy is now in his sights and he is amassing more and more allies and power. In short Business is about to pick up. 

Observations with SPOILERS:

• If you don’t know the backstory of the Bomar Monks… whew look it up.
• So Bib didn’t run anything!
• He’s come to Boba for his red stapler. 
• Damn Boba looks tough at night.
• Can’t help but feel I’m supposed to know these kids
• Boba is a man of the people!
• Cue Leo pointing meme
• Dang all that emotion without a single word in the Tusken Camp scene
• The old Wookie Wake up Call
• A New Rancor!
• Of course Danny Trejo is a Rancor Keeper in the Star Wars Universe
• Crimson Dawn?? 
• Ok If Boba rides a Rancor by the end of season I can leave this Earterial plane. 
• Also Boba referenced riding the Mythosaur in the Holiday Special that’s baller