What do you think about the way the Jedi treated Boba? Like instead of acknowledging his grief and try to help him, they send him, who still was a kid, to a prison with many dangerous criminals. What they should have done? And what would have been the clones’ reaction to see him in jail?
Terribly. I
can’t picture any scenario where putting a little boy with the worst men in
the galaxy is a good idea. I still can’t decide if Boba being put on that prison is
the result of the writers not thinking things through or if the GFFA really
was THAT fucked up. Regardless of why,
Boba ended up on that prison so let’s talk about that.
As horrifying
as it was, this Jedi brand of justice was not unheard of. They were the ones
who allowed Jango to be sold into slavery in the first place, so this idea the
Jedi were all about justice and fairness is nothing but wishful thinking. It sounds
cruel, but it makes sense when we remember the Jedi preached that summary
execution was the best/only way to deal with Sith. For all their speeches on
compassion, when it came to beings who harmed the Order, they had very little
compassion to show (Boba, Jango, Anakin, Ahsoka, Barriss,… they felt the Jedi “compassion”).
Boba
probably grew up knowing the Jedi were the reason his dad was enslaved only to
witness a Jedi behead him. it was a vicious battle but Jango’s death was unnecessary.
I’m not judging Mace here, as I said, things got violent. But, if we put
ourselves in Boba’s shoes, what he saw was Mace cutting his dad’s arm (successfully
disarming him) and then cutting his head off (when Jango was no longer a
threat).
I get why he hates Mace, he dealt with it in the worst possible way but I get
why he was so angry. Boba goes on his mission to kill Mace, he fails and he is
told to “get over it”. To make matters
worse, he’s sent to an adult prison where all the worst beings are kept
together. He is like 12 years old! I mean…wow.
As far as
how the clones felt about that, I don’t think they cared too much. I’m not sure
if most of them even knew all about Boba’s past and, even if they did, they were trained
to be loyal to the Republic and Boba was considered an enemy of the Republic. No
matter how much they respected “the template”, I don’t think that respect was
translated into a deep compassion for Boba (who was convicted for the death of
many clones and the destruction of a Jedi cruiser).
In the end,
Boba was a grieving kid who was abandoned on a battle field. I don’t remember reading
about any Jedi asking around to see if anyone knew where the son of guy they just
killed was. I know, they had bigger concerns at the time but, imo, the welfare of
a 10 years old should’ve been a big concern for the most compassionate beings
in the galaxy. It’s not even about compassion, the kid clearly knew something. Take care of him, idk, don’t be sorry detached, pretend you care for a bit and you may gain valuable knowledge
that might help end the war.
I’m guessing authors didn’t think too much how this “solution” presents Jedi & Republic in a bad light
because TCW has a lot such weird, awful moments.
I’m even more angry about putting Boba in prison for
the worst
adult(!)
criminals
because Legends source Boba Fett #6: Pursuit gave us much better meeting between Fett and Anakin Skywalker (Jedi). A book for young readers has a bit too childish dialoques (that makes adult character like Skywalker sounding
a little
weird) for my taste but the story goes around this:
Boba run away from Separatist strongold on Xagobah that was now under attack of Republic. In space, Asajj almost finished him, but Boba get saved by Skywalker. Fett knew that identifying himself as a mercenary bounty hunter wouldn’t go over too well with Jedi, so he only
evasively said his ship get damaged and need to land and repair it. Skywalker allowed that but he personally get checked what is going on with the ship
Soon after that, turns out that Anakin knew from the start that the kid is Boba Fett (and even helped him repair Slave I) but since Fett violated Republic airspace back there on Xagobah and all unauthorized personnel automatically become detainees of the Republic, Anakin wanted take him for questioning promising he will “put in a good word” for him and that he is “sure we can find a place for you to work within the Republic.“
Which means, Anakin knew about Boba and his connection to Separatist and he was willing todo his duty and bring the kid to Jedi in charge of Republic attack on Xagobah (whose padawan Boba saved in previous part of series, what Anakin was aware, so he was going bring him to someone’s that owned something Fett) but was ready to stand up for the kid and find him a place to work/stay in Republic. Either, I
misunderstood the text, or Anakin is even okay with Boba working on his own, just as long he is not harming Republic’s best interest (not
peculiarly
the Jedi).
Of course, Boba is against that so out of desperation he claimed to have information vital to the safety of the Republic (true) and Anakin took that into consideration – something that TCW!Jedi didn’t bother to think about at all. At that moment in books starts the weirdly, too childish phrased argument that is soon broken by space slug. Anakin
instinctively passes from arguing to defending himself and the boy
(get that? He was moment ago arguing with Boba and the moment there is danger, he is all about protecting) and there was short fight in which Anakin get injured and Boba –
intentional or accidental
– saved him and in the end Skywalker agreed that Fett is going to Coruscant, under conditions
determined by him
personally, so he could meet with Chancellor and pass the important information. That Boba did, from what I remember.
I mean, the story may be seen as silly and childish at times, but here we have Anakin (Jedi) who actually didn’t judge 12 years old kid on spot as guilty, even when he was aware of his connection to Jango Fett and Separatist. Who was willing to put a good word for him, and help find a place / work in Republic to orphaned young bounty hunter that is much better than sending a kid (without any trial as far as I remember) to prison full of adult criminals. Who took into account that Boba Fett may posses some vital information to end the war sooner but didn’t torture him with Force to get that. I love this scene for Anakin and Boba interaction, yes, but whatever Jedi would be put in the story would have my sympathy for acting like that. TCW on another hand, just make everything worse. Boba did bad thing, yes, but for Force’s sake, he is 12 years old kid without any adult person to trust or guide him, he has only his (suicidal) anger to hold on. Putting him with the worst scums is not gonna change that at all.
@padawanlost But didn’t Boba grow up with the first batch of clones in the Kamino facility? Or was he separated from them all the time? You’d think that they had at least run into each other or had meals with each other for some time.
Nope. Boba
grew up in Kamino but he was kept apart from the clones because Jango wanted an
“unaltered clone” and because, I’d assume, the Kaminoans wouldn’t
want anything tempering with their “products”. Boba knew he was a clone and the
clones knew about him but they had no warm feelings for each other. He was not
raised as “one of the clone troopers”. Boba didn’t share lessons or anything
similar with them. as far as everyone was concern Boba was Jango’s, son not
canon fodder and he was treated as such. And considering how little Jango cared
for the clones, I doubt he’d have allowed Boba to be treated as one of them or
for him to get too close to them.
Raf's rants 