After a triumphant return to the world of live-action Star Wars in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett was set to be the character's big break. Fans have been clamoring for a spinoff focusing on the legendary bounty hunter for decades, and yet that is not the show audiences were treated to earlier this year. Two episodes of the show's already short seven-episode run focused on Din Djarin and the fallout from the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian.
After spending the first four episodes explaining how Boba Fett got out of the Sarlacc Pit and setting up the conflict between him and the Pyke Syndicate, the show switches direction in its fifth episode "Return of the Mandalorian." This episode initially appears to be a bottle episode to catch up on the life of Din and his quest to reunite with Grogu and give him a gift. However, this thread surprisingly continues into the show's sixth episode, where the focus shifts to Grogu's training with Luke, Din's attempt to meet Grogu, and a couple of scenes reminding the audience that the show is still (supposedly) about Boba Fett. It results in the show suddenly feeling confused about its own identity, and more like a quasi-subseries of The Mandalorian rather than its own show.
This goes as far as the final shot of the series. Rather than ending with the show's main character in the show's main location, the audience is instead left with the newly reunited Din and Grogu, setting off into space together for new adventures and assorted derring-do. It's a heartwarming ending, and the scene with Grogu leaping into Din's arms is truly sweet. But, that doesn't make it a fitting end for a show about Boba Fett.
It's no secret that one of the biggest reasons audiences gravitated towards The Mandalorian was the surrogate father-son relationship between Din and Grogu. That's why the ending of Season 2 was such a tragic shift in the status quo; it was a beautiful, natural end to their story. In doing so, however, the creative crew wrote themselves into a corner. It's suddenly very difficult to get audiences excited for Season 3 of The Mandalorian without the most popular aspect of the show present.
Therefore, if Mando was going to appear in The Book of Boba Fett, it'd make sense that one of the show's objectives was to undo the change from The Mandalorian Season 2 finale. It's theoretically a great idea: undo the controversial ending of The Mandalorian in a completely different show so that the status quo is automatically reset for Season 3. However, it accidentally ends up undermining the presence of Boba Fett in its own show.
Fortunately, the result is a fanbase that's super excited for Season 3 of The Mandalorian and the continuing adventures of space-dad and goblin child. While at the expense of The Book of Boba Fett, the next season of The Mandalorian is able to start in a much stronger place. However, it becomes quite a clear declaration that separating Din and Grogu was a mistake -- one the creators spent several episodes of a separate series trying to undo.
Both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are available to stream on Disney+.