‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Turned Its Antiheroes Into Skywalkers

Wow, so much happened in this week’s season finale of The Book of Boba Fett; we got Spaghetti Western-esque shootouts, a rampaging Rancor fighting battle droids, and even a brief scene in which R2-D2 space-Ubers Grogu to Tatooine. But despite all of its crowd-pleasing action, something still feels slightly off about this entire show. Now that the last episode has aired, it’s become more clear that perhaps part of the problem may be that Star Wars basically took two fringe antiheroes (Boba Fett and The Mandalorian) and tried to cram them into the familiar mythological mold of the Skywalker family.

In a way, Din Djarin’s life has always paralleled Anakin Skywalker’s to some degree; both had tragic childhoods that led to them being adopted by members of an alien cult, ultimately living their lives in cool-looking (presumably very stinky) helmets that they’re never allowed to take off. But this season made that connection even more explicit; The Mandalorian now cruises around the galaxy in a Naboo Starfighter, not unlike Anakin at the end of The Phantom Menace.

And his test drive through the canyons of Tatooine distinctly recalled Ani’s podrace victory. 

But even more palpably, The Book of Boba Fett imprinted much of Luke Skywalker’s arc onto Boba Fett; from Luke’s native planet of Tatooine becoming Boba’s home, to the first act of the story ending with the murder of his adopted family, not unlike the deaths of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

And the finale’s confrontation scene between Boba Fett and Vampire Smurf Marlboro Man (AKA Cad Bane) featured a twist that conspicuously recalled the dramatic reveal of The Empire Strikes Back. 

And, while it hadn’t really been much of an issue throughout most of the series, Cad Bane implies that Boba Fett is suffering from an internal struggle with the darkness he inherited from his father's bloodline – which, um, sounds kind of familiar … 

It’s not that these characters can’t, or shouldn’t be redeemed, but you’d think that the new “Saga” adjacent Star Wars stories would be able, and willing, to move beyond the hero-centric archetypes we’ve already seen. Star Wars keeps reverting to the Skywalker family, both literally and metaphorically, when these other characters should be capable of shouldering entirely new avenues of storytelling within the same universe. At least the finale didn’t end with Boba Fett randomly changing his surname in the middle of the desert to appease some nosy stranger. 

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Top Image: Lucasfilm