One of the most advocated spin-off fans have been claiming since Disney’s take over is Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Likely one of the reasons is because Kenobi is a character that in many ways is the quintessential Jedi to look up to. There is also the question of what exactly has Kenobi been through for the past 20 years. Such an expansive timeline leaves plenty of room for possibilities that could’ve been done with the character.
Verdict: Great moments interrupted by contrived writing
The Setup
Set a decade after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi has kept his observation over a young Luke Skywalker. At this point in time, the Rebellion was still very much in its pre-infancy, with its public leaders preferring to play politics while times were still peaceful, if not uneasy
Back on Tatooine, despite looking out for Luke, Owen Lars refuses to let Obi-Wan come close to the boy. At the same time, the order of fallen Jedi known as “Inquisitors” are on the hunt for the remaining survivors. Among them, Reva, known as “Third Sister”, has a personal stake in hunting Kenobi and bringing herself closer to Vader’s side – and part of that plot is by kidnaping a 10-year-old Princess Lea.
Dramatis Personae – The Characters
Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi, Himself
The opening episode does a fantastic job depicting Kenobi in his day-to-day life on Tatooine. Obi-Wan’s story got me in when seeing this once great warrior working as a meat packer. It is humbling knowing that even a general such as Kenobi needed a job. Hiding his abilities also meant he can’t use his powers of persuasion like mind tricking his abusive supervisor or using his lightsaber when things escalate. Some fans criticize Obi-Wan for using a blaster since he always views them as uncivilized, people forgot that didn’t stop him from killing general Grievous with one.
To keep himself hidden, Kenobi cut himself off from the Force for 10 years and buried his lightsaber in the sand. This has left him in a far weaker state as he grapples with his mistakes, often having the same dreams and constantly reliving the same traumatic experiences. Hoping for some clarity he calls out for his old master Qui-Gon for help with no response. It is only until he learns to let go of his past regrets that he was able to commune with his former master.
Regardless of what some fans say about his portrayal It can be agreed by everyone that Ewen Mcgregor was the best part of the entire series. It’s amazing that after 18 years since the last film Ewen had no trouble at all slipping back the role.
Reva, the Angry Inquisitor
There is something conflicting about the “Third Sister”, aka Reva.
The concept of dark Jedi remembering Anakin’s massacre firsthand seeks vengeance by joining the inquisitor’s ranks to get to Vader is a fascinating concept on paper. It’s the way the story was executed that’s the problem. This discussion is worthy of an article of its own.
The main problem is that Reva’s portrayal is inconsistent. It wants us to believe that she’s an impulsive thug then in the next scene she is an intelligent dominatrix such as placing a tracker on lea’s droid. Furthermore, Reva’s immediate motivations don’t make a lot of sense. I get her motivation to get Kenobi as a prize for Vader, but her rationale that she blames Kenobi for Vaders rise is too contrived. The same goes with deciding to go after luke for no clear reason. In order to make your villains complex, you have to give them a clear set of motives that help us connect with and I just didn’t see that with Reva.
Supporting Characters
Princess Leia Organa… Jr
The most unexpected new character is the appearance of a 10-year-old Princess Leia. Overall, actress Vivien Lyra Blair plays the young Lea very well and despite her clear intelligence She is still written like a real child and keeps getting into trouble. Lea also allows experiencing a little bit of Aldarran before its destruction that has never been given the time it deserved in the films. One detail that must be noted is Lea was raised to believe in the goodness of the Empire. By this point in time, Many of the children of the galaxy’s ruling class would be educated in imperial doctrine, which puts many things into perspective when Lea becomes a major rebel figure. No doubt many of the Rebel leaders were made up of disillusioned imperials.
Tala
This disillusionment with the Empire has also been shown by my favorite new character in this miniseries Tala, portrayed by Indira Varma. Tala is an imperial officer who originally joined the imperial military when in her own words “stood for something” only to lose faith when she was ordered to deliver force-sensitive children to the inquisitors. Now her new mission is working from the inside to steer away from other force sensitives from the Empire’s grasp.
In many ways, Tala was a “redeemed character” Reva tried to be and failed, a disillusioned imperial who still serves the Empire while clandestinely helping out those who needed to get out. Tala didn’t leave the Empire when she knew it was terrible, she used all her credentials from the inside to get to the people that need her the most.
I also wanna give this show props for having the returning actors come into play like Joel Edgerton as Owen and Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa. For the limited screen time they were given they made every scene count and get some new insights into these characters.
A Bait-and-Switch, Or Just More Repetition?
One of the fears among some fans about the Kenobi series was that this was going to be another “bait and switch”. This is where the marketing makes it look like it’s about the title character and then focuses on an entirely different character. The same thing happened earlier this year with The Book of Boba Fett where it looked like it was Boba’s story then halfway through it became a “Mandalorian, season 2.5” focusing on Din, completely sidelining Boba. Thankfully we didn’t get that, at least not fully. It does deviate some time to focus on Reva and Lea, however, the overall story was still connected, even though the circumstances were weak.
While this series is not a complete bait and switch it does suffer from repetition from more recent star wars programs. There’s been a recurring pattern with the older disillusioned character taking care of a child on a quest. This has been a formula that has already been repeated with The Mandolorian and The Bad Batch. This wouldn’t be a problem if was done the 2nd time, but now that this was the 4th or 5th time it gets repetitive.
It also feels like this formula was done on the wrong character. Even though Kenobi should get some experience to find his groove back, I feel this story should have been about establishing the relationship between Ben and Luke. Even before A New Hope, It’s clear that Luke knew Kenobi very well. Despite Uncle Owen forbidding them, Kenobi and Luke probably encountered each other from time to time.
Continuity – What’s That?
When making a sequel or a spinoff it is imperative that projects not only be faithful to the films but also established lore. This Law is especially true to a long-running franchise like star wars with millions of fans that read so much into the lore in a way many filmmakers fail to understand. This series has sadly been dipping into its way too many continuities teases for the sake of tension.
When the series premiered it looked like there was a continuity mess was the apparent kill-off of the Grand Inquisitor. This presented a big problem because it conflicts with the Rebels show where the inquisitor was the main villain of the first season and it takes place 5 years after. Thankfully in the preseason finale, it was revealed that the Grand Inquisitor was alive this whole time and he and Vader were in a ruse to get to Kenobi quicker. While it didn’t destroy continuity it did take away the impact such a twist is supposed to bring. In hindsight, it felt more like it was pushing more for a shook twist rather than developing the other characters.
There’s also the question that people have with Lea being saved by Obi-Wan and having it not be mentioned in her message to Kenobi. There was a line that Kenobi says at the end to Lea that they can never talk about how they know each other, but that seems too much of a stretch There’s also the fact that Leia never seemed to have the same reaction to what Luke had in A New Hope. the only level that this whole dynamic adds is it could explain why Leia would name her son Ben.
There are however some much bigger continuity problems it’s amazing how they try desperately to write Luke getting far away from Reva as possible so he doesn’t look at the lightsaber. I’m convinced that they had luke knocked out in that chase scene so they can make the argument luke wouldn’t remember any of it.
The Little Moments
The better scenes in Kenobi involve the little moments where Obi-Wan has real conversations with other people. The first contentious exchange between Ben and Owen in the pilot episode feels relatable because they are two people who love luke, but vehemently disagree over how luke should be raised. Another great scene was Obi-Wan talking to lea about how he remembers fragments of his childhood. Considering that many Jedi were inducted into the order from a young age it’s not inconceivable that many wondered what their former families were like.
There are other people Kenobi interacts with added a lot to world-building. It is heartbreaking to see a homeless clone trooper who makes perfect sense. Considering that the Empire began phasing out clones in favor of more cost-effective and more numerous troops gives a sense of the tragedy of these once-great soldiers. No doubt this is an allegory for homeless American veterans following… well… basically every war.
Another lore-building element is the network known as “The Path” – essentially an underground railroad for not just Jedi but anyone who is force sensitive. Considering that most of the Jedi would have been purged, most being rounded up would have been children that showed any force abilities. Despite much of the galaxy turning their backs on the Jedi because of the clone wars and organized imperial propaganda, there are still plenty of people who remember what the Jedi stood for and risked their lives to help those escape.
Rematch of the Century?
Needless to say one of the selling points was teasing the apparent rematch of Kenobi and Darth Vader. This was perhaps the most worrying aspect of this series because the majority of fans (including myself) believed it made the most sense that Kenobi and Vader shouldn’t face each other again until A New Hope as thematically it made the most sense. Until A New Hope, there was no reason for Kenobi to leave Tatooine, his mission was always to look over Luke.
That said I was open to it if it’s done in a way that makes sense, especially if it connects to the brief exchange between Ben and Vader. Lines such as “a presence I’ve not felt since ..” or “Obiwan once thought as you due” could add a whole new weight to these characters.
Their first encounter was legit terrifying because of Vader’s Presence and Ben’s weekend state. After 10 years of believing his apprentice was dead, Kenobi is horrified to discover he’s very much alive but rebuilt into an unrecognizable monster. When they clash it’s barely a fight but an unstoppable force toying with a tired frightened old man.
Their other fight wasn’t even in the same timeline it was a flashback duel when they were still masters and students. When it was announced that Hayden Christenson return many assumed we would be getting flashbacks. Well While it was great seeing Hayden Christensen again without the mask, I wish this was done with the mullet Anakin from ROTS. At least it wouldn’t have looked so much like a 40-year-old playing like he’s 19.
However, the final conflict was what we expected to happen. The choreography fits more in line with the energy of the prequels. Even Vader whos usually very bulky and slow is a much more physically aggressive fighter than where he’s normally depicted. Kenobi struggled because he wasn’t ready to face him however Obiwan has his groove back.
This leads to an emotional scene with Vaders helmet sliced revealing his face with Vader taunting that it was he that killed Anakin, not Obiwan. There’s a lot of reading that Anakin says to Obiwan “I am not your failure” some could read this as Anakin’s last words of genuine comfort To Kenobi, while it could just as likely Vader was taunting him. This was very reminiscent of a similar scene that happened in star wars rebels between Vader and Ahsoka
While the fight is very well choreographed, the main problem is the camerawork. Much of the time it sufferers from shaky-cam. Such a technique is useful if you are following a character in a chaotic scene for the sense of realism. However, it’s a major detriment when your fight scenes have precise movements it takes you out of the experience. As much as I commend Debrah Chow for taking the massive task of directing all episodes, it is evident that they needed one or two more directors that know how to direct action.
While the pieces were there, this was not the rematch of the century as Kathleen Kennedy announced. The issue of Obi-Wan just leaving a shattered Vader seems like a weak way to end this conflict. One could argue that Kenobi’s Jedi Code forbids him from murdering an already defeated foe, but considering that Vader would likely go on to murder millions more, this was clearly a mistake. This rematch would have been better resolved if Kenobi was left buried in the rocks leaving Vader believing he was dead.
Conclusion
In theory, this show didn’t need to exist – but if there is a story that expands on the source material, it is worth exploring.
To a certain extent, it succeeded in filling a ceratin gap and how he has made peace in the past 20 years. If it weren’t for this journey to find Lea it wouldn’t have given Kenobi the wisdom and knowledge to teach luke. By cutting himself off from the force he is in no shape to train the boy.
It further contextualizes Obi-Wan/Vader’s final fight on the Death Star in a New Hope, where we see a much more muted duel as two old men lightly tap their swords one last time – only this time Kenobi fully embraced everything that has happened while Vader could not. It was that knowledge of accepting the truth that Obi-Wan would pass to luke into learning how to redeem Vader and defeat the Emperor (ignore the sequels).
In the end, Kenobi has had some gaps that needed to be filled after the purge. However, it left some qualities to be desired that needed to be fleshed out more. This is why should there be a season 2 it needs to be a more narrow focus and establish the fledgling dynamic between Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi. But if you want to see this to see Qui-Gon as a ghost or for Kenobi to say “Hello There” you’ll get it.
