This article contains spoilers.

“Wizard.”

Unfortunately, not exactly how I would describe “The Book of Boba Fett,” the latest addition to the “Star Wars” franchise and a spinoff from the hit Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.”

Created by Jon Favreau, the series centers on Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), a former bounty hunter introduced way back in 1978’s ill-received “The Star Wars Holiday Special” who was seemingly left for dead in 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” The franchise delved into his backstory in 2002’s “Attack of the Clones” and unraveled the mystery behind the iconic, helmeted gun-for-hire in the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”

After it was revealed nearly 37 years later that Fett survived his fall into a Sarlacc Pit, longtime fans celebrated the character’s return in season two of “The Mandalorian.” “Boba Fett” follows Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) as they navigate the criminal underworld of a territory once controlled by a powerful crime lord.

The show’s first four episodes are slow-paced but rich in detail, painting the audience a picture of the five-year gap in Fett’s story. However, the amount of time spent on flashbacks is to the show’s detriment. “Boba Fett” is not grounded enough in the present to develop Fett and Shand’s partnership nor build up the villains. The last three episodes, littered with cameos and tangential side quests, felt like a separate show from the first four.

“Boba Fett” proves that Favreau and Executive Producer Dave Filoni have accomplished exactly what they set out to do with this new era of live-action “Star Wars” television: establish a universe around Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, also known as the Mandalorian. Ironic, how a Mandalorian armor-donning bounty hunter with decades of history and a cult following could be so easily cast aside in his own show by a character who dons the same beskar armor he popularized, just shinier and new.

The thing is, Favreau and Filoni know the art of a tasteful cameo. Think Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) in season two of “The Mandalorian,” or even a young Caleb Dume (Freddie Prinze Jr.) in “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” But Djarin’s presence in “Boba Fett” isn’t a cameo — he steals the show.

As Taylor Swift sang in “Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”: “And someone else lights up the room / People love an ingenue.”

The best episode of a television show should not be one in which the titular character receives zero minutes of screen time. Don’t get me wrong, “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian” is a “Star Wars” television all-timer. But the latter half of the show’s plotlines centering Djarin and his adoptive son Grogu, colloquially referred to as Baby Yoda, deserved to be in season three of “The Mandalorian.” Morrison has given too much to this franchise — two decades of movies, voice acting and cameos — to be sidelined in his own show.

Ultimately, the season felt disjointed. Cramming in characters like Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), notorious villain Cad Bane (voiced by Corey Burton) and fan-favorite Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) — while delightfully surprising and enjoyable to watch — was a disservice to Morrison and his character’s arc. “Boba Fett,” unfortunately, devolved into season 2.5 of “The Mandalorian.”

In short: this is not the Way.

As the twin suns of Tatooine set on this chapter of Fett’s story, however, the future of “Star Wars” television looks bright. With “Obi-Wan Kenobi” slated for a May 25 release, “Andor” on the horizon and the third season of “The Mandalorian” set up by the finale of “Boba Fett,” the franchise’s silver-screen presence is shifting how fans consume this galaxy far, far away for the better.

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Twitter: @isabellesarraf

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