I see your point and I do understand that there might be a lot of people who are following the event but not certain characters so they need the reminder. I can't begrudge a new reader, particularly if it makes someone stick with the series.
But, I counted, ten pages of funeral and three pages explaining how Booster and Beetle got their persona. I like all of that in theory, but it could have been cut down. Particularly the funeral part. It was nice to see the funeral, but dang, ten pages!