They spent six episodes building lore and story. They spent six episodes traipsing around, pretending it was acceptable Boba Fett was no longer a bounty hunter but a soft-hearted daimyo. They spent six episodes painting a back story to justify why Mando, Grogu, the rancor, Krrsantan, and more were all where they were in the season finale.

And yet, it doesn’t appear there was ever a plan.

The Mandalorian appears to have a plan. The first season was built to showcase the Din-and-Grogu relationship and to plant the seed of the darksaber. The second season built out the lore of Mandalore and created more conflict for bigger, badder baddies to come into the game. Bo Katan, Moff Gideon, Thrawn — seeds were planted and stories are ready to be told.

Boba? Is Boba an epilogue story? Some sort of side-quest anthology? A Mando Season 2.5?

See, I was OK with Boba Fett being soft-hearted after almost having his heart burnt to a crisp in that sarlaac pit. I was OK with the flashy Vespa speeder bikes, the Krrsantan brass knuckles that did no damage, the random Luke scenes that were seemingly planted for a reason beyond just fan service.

I was OK with all of that.

But today’s Boba season finale takes every planted seed and stomps on them with a steel-toe boot.

I don’t need a Luke Skywalker scene to be happy. I don’t need Krrsantan to be limping and unable to walk in one scene and for him to be limping in the immediate scene thereafter. I don’t need Cad Bane to still be alive. (Though I’m really hoping that gentle beeping from his chest means he’s still alive; he's the second greatest Star Wars villain of all-time.)

What I need is a promise — promise there was a reason to tell the Boba Fett story. That there’s something slowly brewing in the background.

What we got was a joke.

“Why does the Wookie get the melon?”

Because that’s, I guess, what The Book of Boba Fett always was. A joke.

The Book of Boba Fett has probably my favourite TV episode of Star Wars ever. Episode 2 was simply stunning. The Tusken story is pure Star Wars lore, complete with storytelling, surprise, action, music, and emotion. Pure Star Wars magic. I loved Episode 6, of course (I’m a Star Wars fan after all), even though I didn’t feel it fit in the overall Book of Boba Fett story. I especially loved Din’s ultimate dismissal from Death Watch.

But here I sit, wondering if the Filoni-verse is real. Wondering if there is a master plan. Wondering if Thrawn is actually part of the broader story.

Instead, it feels like there’s no master plan, just like the sequel trilogy debacle. What's next? A director trying to retcon the entire soft Boba Fett story by throwing in a clone story arc?

There’s a lot riding on Obi-Wan Kenobi on May 25th. That TV series is going to tell us a lot about whether Favreau and Filoni actually have all the power in their hands, or if Disney believes the “No Plan” game is still the way forward for Star Wars. “No Plan” led to The Rise of Skywalker and The Book of Boba Fett.

Disney is hitting under 50% right now. This Book of Boba Fett season finale was truly pathetic.