This article contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 1.
The Book of Boba Fett episode 1 has one particularly contrived scene involving the Jawas. When viewers were introduced to the desert planet of Tatooine, it was presented as the ultimate galactic backwater. "If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from," Luke Skywalker complained. Still, for all that's the case, Luke's homeworld has become ever more important to the Star Wars saga - and Tatooine has been handled better on Disney+ than in the movies themselves. The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are both taking a great deal of time exploring the Tusken Raiders, discussing aspects of their culture and society that have previously been unrevealed.
The Jawas, however, aren't quite getting the same treatment. The first Star Wars film established these mysterious beings as junk traders who took advantage of any scraps they could find, selling them on to humans for credits. Their speech has never been directly translated, but they seem to be about as greedy as the Ferengi in Star Trek—and frankly even more unethical. As seen in The Book of Boba Fett episode 1, when Jawas discovered a near-dead Boba Fett in the pit of Carkoon, the fearsome bounty hunter having dragged himself out of the Sarlacc's maw, they simply clubbed him down and stole his armor.
But, ironically, this shallow portrayal of the Jawas created something of a plot contrivance in The Book of Boba Fett episode 1. In one scene, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand were ambushed by a group of highly-trained would-be assassins. Boba Fett wasn't wearing his helmet at the time - it had been filled with credits - and it was knocked out of his hands. Some opportunistic Jawas jumped at the chance to try to steal the credits from the helmet; but that moment was an especially odd one because it didn't make sense that they wouldn't steal the helmet itself. That would be quicker than trying to pocket all the credits, safer because they'd have been able to run from the fight, and it would have made more financial sense because the Jawas would have gone on to sell the helmet. In narrative terms, it would also make the assassination attempt on Boba Fett feel more important because there was a cost.
Of course, from an out-of-universe perspective, there's a simple reason the Jawas didn't take Boba Fett's helmet; it would have complicated the plot, requiring a sub-plot in which Boba or his agents tracked it down again. But there's no credible in-universe explanation for the Jawas' uncharacteristic actions, making this feel rather contrived. Given the relatively short episode runtime, it really wouldn't have added much to include a scene in The Book of Boba Fett episode 1 in which Boba Fett the would-be crime lord sent an agent to track down the Jawas, and he could then have simply been shown wearing it again in episode 2, telling viewers his operative's mission had been successful.
Lucasfilm's Disney+ TV shows have turned Tatooine into the most well-developed planet in the galaxy—ironic for a world that is supposed to be so remote. They're doing a good job fleshing out the society and civilization of Tatooine, but so far they've bungled the Jawas. Hopefully, this plot contrivance will be the last one involving the Jawas in The Book of Boba Fett, and Lucasfilm will go on to give them as much depth as the Tuskens.
The Book of Boba Fett releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.