Boba Fett Made Peli Motto The Modern Star Wars’ Jar Jar Binks

Warning! SPOILERS for The Book of Boba Fett.

The Book of Boba Fett and, to a lesser extent, The Mandalorian let down actor Amy Sedaris by writing her character, Peli Motto, too similarly to the Star Wars prequels’ Jar Jar Binks. The character was first introduced in Din Djarin’s adventures in The Mandalorian, but crossed over into The Book of Boba Fett as Boba faded into the background of his own show, and it essentially became The Mandalorian season 2.5. Motto was played by comedy veteran Amy Sedaris, but that ultimately couldn’t save her from coming off as a cringe-inducing comic relief character.

Peli Motto was a human manager of Hangar 3-5 at Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine. The character spent her time working as an engineer, repairing ships, which brought her into the adventures of Din Djarin, better known as the Mandalorian. In The Book of Boba Fett, she served much the same role and briefly looked after the child, Grogu, before he was reunited with his bounty hunter father figure. Her role in this series saw her help Mando convert an old Naboo Starfighter and join both him and Boba Fett during their final battle against the Pyke syndicate.

Motto was written to be a comic relief character, but most of the time, her dialogue came off as clunky and bizarre; a trait shockingly similar to the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks of the prequel trilogy. Her supposed quick-wit was often undercut by Sedaris’ varied and occasional jarring delivery, no doubt influenced by the different directors of each episode, such as Robert Rodriguez and Dave Filoni. Much like Jar Jar Binks, she seemed to exist only to make light of a situation, though this typically came about through lackluster jokes and obvious humor.

However, the character had her fans, with many noting that she represented a rare example of a hardworking, blue-collar woman in the Star Wars saga. While this representation was absolutely valid, it was bizarre that the writers would give such a character poor lines and reduce her to a Jar Jar like figure. Yet, she was also far more competent than the Gungan, as she fixed Mando’s ship and helped him, Grogu, and Boba Fett during the final battle. Compared to the acts of Jar Jar, who allowed Emperor Palpatine to rise to power, Peli was far more accomplished.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Peli was the waste of her actor, Amy Sedaris. The comedic legend had been a major part of the Hollywood comedy scene for a long time, and many viewers already knew her as Princess Caroline in Bojack Horseman, who was one of the show’s best characters. It was thus a shame that the writers of The Book of Boba Fett gave her such poor material to work with, such as her randomly suggesting a barbecue during the middle of a battle without any context.

The Book of Boba Fett mishandled many of its main characters, most notably ruining Boba Fett himself. However, both it and The Mandalorian also created a character who rivaled Jar Jar Binks as the most misused comic relief character in the Star Wars universe. Yet, despite her clunky dialogue and questionable character development, Peli was at least a competent engineer and an appropriate ally to Din Djarin and Grogu, which was more than could be said for Jar Jar Binks.

About The Author