When Kenobi was released in May 2022 it was met with a mixed reception from the larger Star Wars community. While many praised Ewan McGregor‘s return, the menacing presence of Vader, and giving insight to Leia Organa’s childhood tenure as Princess of Alderaan. However, there were deep criticisms about the show’s pacing, baffling decisions by all the characters, and once again removing dramatic tension from the galaxy by demonstrating how utterly incompetent The Galactic Empire was during its “prime”.
When the series marketing campaign began, one prominent character heavily pushed was an Imperial Inquisitor known as “Third Sister” – a fallen Jedi once known as Reva (portrayed by relative newcomer Moses Ingram). Her contributions to the franchise have been met with anticipation and a certain level of skepticism from hardcore and casual fans alike. Needless to say, her character has been a hotbed for discussion on the internet with the dissatisfied crowd certainly trying to make the most noise.
The concept behind Reva is interesting enough – A captured Jedi youngling who serves the Imperial Inquisition as a means to gain an opportunistic audience with Darth Vader so she can exact her revenge for Vader’s little youngling massacre on the eve of Order 66.
On paper, there is an interesting character study laying around beneath the surface. It’s written to be parallel to “becoming the very thing you swore to destroy” mindset” is a great concept to explore. This character can work if she was given a story that’s coherent and easy to grasp. Unfortunately, that’s also where the problems start…
An Aside – Keeping Race Out of This
Before going further, we must first address the hateful and racist racist comments that have been sent en-masse to actress Moses Ingrahm over her portrayal of Reva. This kind of fan behavior – persecuting an actor/actress for their race just because they were *cast* for a role in whatever universe – is never acceptable under any circumstances. Similarly, much like Hayden Christensen and Jake Lloyd’s reception for portraying Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, an actor/actress is never responsible for their character’s writing.
You can not like a character, that wasn’t her fault. Normally I wouldn’t give such arguments any attention, however, the controversy is vile enough that we need to address it before we can continue to talk about the issues with Reva the character, not the actress portraying her.
There have been YouTubers like Geeks and Gamers and Nerdrotic that keep perpetuating an interview with Moses on Variety talking about the importance of “diversity in casting” and saying
“‘Obi-Wan’ is going to bring the most diversity I think we’ve ever seen in the galaxy before. To me, it’s long overdue. If you’ve got talking droids and aliens, but no people of color, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s 2022, you know.”.
– Moses Ingrahm, Variety
Some took that quote and misconstrued it as proof Moses was only hired for a diversity quota and that she wasn’t a true Star Wars fan. I do agree she’s being a little full of herself with such a statement like that – as if black characters like Lando and Mace Windu never existed. The whole diversity in Star Wars issue is something for another article (#aliensareunderrepresented).
Not enough diversity?
Whether Moses was a “diversity hire” or not, this is no excuse reason to make Moses Ingraham herself a punching bag. If you cant find a reason to criticize her other than a racial quota, then I wonder why you care. It is stupid to criticize people of color in Sci-Fi roles since the idea (at least in most universes) is usually that we’ve evolved past the issue of race (at least among humans) while actors should foremost be hired for their talent, there’s no reason to not be overtly inclusive in the field.
It should also be stated that it’s equally egregious for media outlets to label entire branches’ fans as racist for making valid criticisms. This analysis has nothing to do with the race of the actor, this is solely to the execution of the character. The Reva character we’re addressing here could have been portrayed by a white woman or any color/creed/orientation of male and we would still be giving these same criticisms.
Now with that out of the way…
The Actual Problems with Reva
The creators were trying to do this character to be a dark inquisitor serving the enemy who has a secret revenge agenda of her own. The interval conflict among villains has been explored in other Star Wars stories. Henchmen have their motivations that can make for compelling drama. The problem with Reva is that she is a poorly established character that suffers from bad writing.
First off is her seemingly infinite knowledge – as if she’s read the entire script.
It’s already a big stretch that Reva would have made the connection that Kenobi and Organa were associated. Aside from saving Kenobi in ROTS and one Clone Wars episode (he was quite busy during the war), there’s little to no interaction between the two – hardly enough to be in the Jedi archives. Furthermore, if Reva could have found this out then why didn’t Vader, the ISB, or any other Imperial agent pick up on that trail before?
The next serious issue is how she commits violence without logical reason. From slicing a random woman’s hand off in the pilot episode to having every intention of torturing Leia in child form demonstrates the traits of a sociopath who takes satisfaction in inflicting pain. It’s clear from those scenes alone that Reva has been doing this for years to countless potential force-wielders, children included. Her fortress is decorated with displayed corpses of fallen Jedi as trophies, after all.
“… I can see that.”
The issue however is not Reva’s actions themselves. The problem is the show’s attempt to make us sympathize with her is incredibly forced. After witnessing all of Reva’s actions they expected the audience to feel sympathy because of a 10-second flashback.
On top of all that, Reva seems to have an inconsistent and explosively bipolar personality – speaking quietly for one sentence and violently screaming the next. A common argument is that it’s meant to show how Reva’s bombast charisma is a way of overcompensating the fact that she’s just a fragile girl forced to do terrible things. The problem with this argument is that Reva’s motivations are also inconsistent jumping back and forth between being misunderstood and being a stone-cold killer in the next. Saying she’s on the “Dark Side” is no excuse for bad writing. That’s like saying someone is a serial killer just because they’re a wee bit autistic.Reva’s overtly sadistic actions were neither ordered nor compelled by her order (tho perhaps appreciated) but were ultimately executed of her own volition.
“What’s My Motivation?”
Ultimately, the real problem is that Reva’s storyline doesn’t line up with her motivations.
She wants revenge for her fallen younglings, and yet she joins the ranks of the Inquisitors that specifically hunt more of her fellow Jedi, including younglings. Aside from that brief flashback we never got to see Reva’s past. Because of how quickly it came and went it becomes a very weak motivation for Reva’s revenge quest. You can’t put this much focus on the character when we’re given so little of her background.
When making a morally complex character, you need to establish clear motivations for their actions and conveyed them in a way audience can understand. It’s this crucial writing that was lacking with Reva. Unlike Vader, Reva is depicted to be overtly sadistic with a willingness to kill and maim random people purely out of spite.
Her motivations for going after Kenobi is equally contrived. She blames Obi-Wan for the massacre of her friends because he trained Anakin and failed. This comes across as a weak motivation for Reva’s obsession as should understand Kenobi was a complete non-presence when the temple was sacked.
“… Getting thrown off a cliff after killing General Grevious. What’s your excuse?”
The other big problem was aside from a quick flashback we never got to explore Reva’s backstory.
What she went through, what she did to get to her position, or what was going through her head. That may be because the current Star Wars would not permit harsh subject matter like torture and abuse on-screen. Yet Another example of why Disney star wars lost its teeth.
This also leads to another problem with Kenobi is that its tone is wildly inconsistent. In a way, Kenobi is the Darkest in the current Disney Lineup since kids are murdered and Vader visually snaps a boy’s neck. But some scenes and moments are flat-out comical like hiding kid Lea in Kenobi’s trench coat like it’s a cartoon. Why can’t they just pick a tone and stick to it? Disney’s tone is too tame with its subject matter for Reva to feel authentic.
There’s also a problem with how Reva was able to obtain so much information in such a short period.
Figuring out Bail’s connection to Kenobi was stretching things enough, but follow a tunnel and reach the end before Leia? The force does not give you the ability to teleport. You cant invest in Reva’s inner depth because You are constantly distracted about how to get around all these clear obstacles with such ease with no explanation.
Worst. Plot Armor. Ever.
All of these complications in her story would have been forgiven, perhaps even worth it had Reva died in the 5th episode.
Her 1-v-1 fight with Darth Vader would have given a solid resolution to Reva’s story. She wouldn’t have been redeemed, sure, but it would have given a chance for self-reflection in her final moments – staring back on what she has done and now she’s become that same scared child realizing that all the crimes she has committed have accomplished nothing in the end. Not every villain deserves a redemption arc, just a chance to see their wrongs and where to go.
You Died.
Go Back to Jail. Do not collect $200.
However, after defeating Reva in a 1-v-1 cage match and stabbing through the chest (though it’s not clear exactly where) it was revealed that the original Grand Inquisitor was alive and Reva was used as a tool for Kenobi the who time. With Reva being of no further use to Vader, the sensible option would be to kill her right away. For reasons unknown they simply left her for dead without making sure the deed was done.
This is perhaps the most insulting plot armor I’ve ever seen in the show.
Reva was stabbed in the chest area and it was heavily implied that this was the second time this happened by Darth Vader’s hand. Vader is not the kind of person to make that mistake twice. He wouldn’t have simply stabbed her, Vader would have taken her head to be certain another potential threat was gone.
This makes it very out of character for Vader to leave her in the ground still alive. These plot decisions don’t make Reva a compelling character it just makes everyone around her look like incompetent fools and It undermines how the Empire is supposed to be a credible threat.
Why Would Reva Even Care About Luke?
After getting stabbed in the chest Qui-Gon style, Reva apparently survives and somehow by (a stupidly contrived) hologram – putting together that Obi-Wan was harboring someone’s force-sensitive kid that just so happens to be the (not yet) plot-relevant Luke Skywalker.
What were her motivations there? She’s completely defeated (and uh… critically wounded…) by Vader and she has no place to come back to at all if she intended to get revenge it makes no sense since she doesn’t even know if that’s Vader’s child… or if he’d even care? As far as the audience is concerned, Reva might as well be looking for a random kid to slaughter.
This makes her decision not to kill Luke feel very forced because there’s no buildup to this sudden realization that killing younglings was wrong even though Reva has been doing it for years without hesitation.
Reva’s “redemption” isn’t earned because none of her actions warrant this kind of self-reflection. Having a sudden flashback is one of the laziest tropes writers can come up with. It doesn’t work on a character that the entire season has been depicted as a homicidal maniac. Reva’s story doesn’t work because she has displayed absolutely no good qualities thus far for an audience to relate to.
The worst part about this second climax is it had nothing to do with the rest of the story.
The fact they keep cutting to Reva hunting Luke in the middle of the real climax – the long anticipated Vader-Kenobi duel – dampens the experience of the series’ long-antipated rematch.
At this point, Reva may as well have been killed as her personal sidequest contributed nothing to the story. I feel bad because I can tell Moses Ingrahm is giving everything in her performance, but no matter how good your acting is there has to be a good script behind it.
Conclusion: And All That Could Have Been…
It is hard to figure out who figure whos to blame for Reva’s botched characterization. I don’t fully blame director Debrah Chow for the show’s direction, it’s obvious the main problem is the script she had to work with. I firmly believe Reva’s execution is the result of Kathleen Kenedy’s meddling in the writing process.
Since every Star Wars project under her leadership mandates that all female characters must be forbidden to appear to have flaws or vulnerabilities. This gives Reva automatic plot armor no matter how much sense it makes.
In a recent interview with the original scriptwriter, Stuart Beattie Reva was supposed to be killed by Vader. The entire storyline was different from the original script, Reva didn’t know Vader’s identity. Stuart also revealed It was Kenobi that revealed Vader’s identity to her not the other way around. It makes much more sense given Vader kept his identity a secret and Reva would not have known Anakin was behind that mask.
My guess for this change was Kennedy wanted “all” of her female characters to appear smart and powerful despite no compelling explanation.
In a way, Reva is a reverse Rey Skywalker – a character that fails at everything yet constantly gets promoted. Kennedy doesn’t like the idea that Reva was ignorant or defeated, traits that are important when developing a morally grey character. The number of betrayals towards her superiors should have gotten her demoted or killed.
By trying to make Reva stronger by taking away her vulnerability she ironically becomes weaker and less compelling. As a result of these ill-thought-out writing decisions, Reva has become less of a character and more of a third wheel in the story when the focus should be on Obi-Wan and Vader contemplating the existence of the other.
