TV REVIEW: STAR WARS OBI-WAN KENOBI

I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Revenge of the Sith was released. 20 years since we last saw Ewan McGregor play Obi-wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen played Anakin Skywalker and the much-debated and critiqued Prequel saga ended. Now both return in Obi-Wan Kenobi

Since then, Star Wars has been bought out by the House of Mouse and George Lucas handed the reigns to Kathleen Kennedy. What have we had since then? A mess of a sequel trilogy (don’t even get me started on that) a plethora of animated shows, some great some poor and a swathe of other projects.

Out of the movie projects, most Star Wars fans agree that the best of the bunch so far has been Rogue One a film that was brave enough to take risks and gave us the Star Wars experience we’d been waiting for. We’ve had the Mandalorian which has been excellent up to now and there’s a load tonne more shows on the way, the latest of which is Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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Return of the Jedi

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this series as at first, I didn’t think they could do much with the character. As we know from the original trilogy, Obi-Wan was in hiding for twenty years as he protected Luke Skywalker from the Empire and we assumed he didn’t get up too much except age really badly.

This show dives into the question of what the Jedi Master got up to during that large gap in the canon timeline. Well, we now know that he was suffering from a severe case of PTSD following the events of Revenge of the Sith and that he hadn’t used the Force for a long time to remain hidden from the Jedi Hunters called Inquisitors. If you’ve played the excellent videogame Jedi: Fallen Order or watched the Rebels animated show, then you know all about these mysterious former Jedi who now hunts and kill their own kind for the Emperor.

Nobody expects the Sith Inquisition

They arrive on Tatooine where Obi-Wan is hiding out and we learn that they are in fact hunting another Jedi who had managed to escape Order 66. This Jedi as the chief Inquisitor explains cannot help but aid those in need, that the Jedi code is like an itch that must be scratched and that eventually a Jedi always exposes themselves because of it. Low and behold he’s right and they discover the Jedi in question.

However, thanks to the actions of a hot-headed inquisitor called Reeva (who is a bit of a dick, to be honest) the Jedi manages to escape. You’ve probably seen the actress playing this character in all the press junkets, shoehorned in between Ewan and Hayden like a third shoe.

From these first two episodes, I really dislike her character (even the other inquisitors hate her) so I guess she’s playing it well. It turns out that she has a bit of an obsession with finding Obi-wan and believes that hunting lesser Jedi is beneath her. Why she hates Obi-wan so much we don’t yet know but I’m guessing she knew him prior to Order 66.

After Owen Larrs, (the uncle of Luke) bravely stands up to the inquisitors and gives nothing away about Obi-wan the Inquisitors leave but not until they capture the Jedi they were looking for and string his body up in the town square. (Yes, Disney went there. This show is finally embracing the darker side of the Star Wars universe and this time period is especially on the dark side).

Princess Leia

After that, we are shown the planet Alderaan where we meet a ten-year-old Leia. The actress playing her does a really good job at portraying the hot-headedness, wit and stubbornness of the character and it’s fun to watch her verbally spar with her parents and adopted family. Unfortunately for her, she gets kidnapped by some pirates who are working in league with the Inquisitors. They kidnap her and take her to a crime-ridden planet. Meanwhile, Leia’s distraught adoptive father Bail Organa contacts Obi-wan and pleads with him to find her. Obi-wan at first refuses as he’s not the man he once was. He’s broken, weaker than he’s ever been and has done all he can to distance himself from the wider galaxy. He also doesn’t want to leave Luke unprotected.

 Bail somehow tracks him down on Tatooine and begs him to help in person. (This is my biggest issue with the show so far. For someone desperate to stay hidden Obi-wan does a terrible job of staying low. How does Bail know where he’s hiding out?) Anyway, Bail convinces him to find Leia rightfully stating that she’s just as important to protect than Luke is. Obi-wan reluctantly agrees to rescue her.

I have to give it to Ewan, he plays the role of a man who’s been traumatised and is thrust into the scary wider world really well. He’s nervous, unsure of himself. Not the man he once was at the height of his power. He makes his way to the planet where Leia is held and encounters several shady characters, one is a con artist posing as a Jedi (although this plot point is a bit dumb as doesn’t the guy realise that someone will grass him out and get him killed by the inquisitors? Or are the Inquisitors just bad at their jobs?) Anyway, he rescues Leia, and I loved the interactions between the two. Her cheekiness about his age is amusing and in one touching moment Obi-wan reminisces about how she reminds of her of someone he once knew, as in Padme, Leia’s real mother. It’s a nice nod to the prequels and I’m sure it’ll hit fans right in the feels.

Reeva eventually catches up to him and pursues them through the city. At one point Leia falls from a roof and this is the first time we see Obi-wan use the Force to save her.

Feel the Force

From his reaction, it’s clear it’s been a really long time since he’d utilised it. As they escape the planet Reeva reveals that Anakin Skywalker is still alive (although I always thought that Vader’s identity was a really well-kept secret, so how does she know this?) Obi-wan is horrified. He believed that Anakin died on Mustafar, he had no idea he still lived. This revelation shocks him to the core and as they flee, he reaches out to Anakin in the Force. The final scene is episode 2 is of Vader in a Bacta tank, his eyes snapping open as he senses his former master. It’s a great way to end the episode and I cannot wait for the next one. I really wish, however, that Disney and these other streaming services would stop releasing these shows piece meal and just put all the episodes out at once. Sigh, but then again that’s just me being impatient and wanting to binge the whole thing!

Summary

Overall the first 2 episodes were really solid aside from a few niggles here and there. All of the actors play their parts well and the special effects are up there with the biggest of budget Star Wars movies. I give these first episodes a solid 8 out of 10.