Obi-Wan Kenobi Part 1 review
It’s pretty clear just from the first episode that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s biggest problem is six episodes isn’t going to be nearly enough.
Giving us rabid Star Wars fans a taste isn’t going to satisfy us knowing the quality of a Kenobi series with no end point a la The Mandalorian.
And Part 1 is a tasty dish with some scenes that filled in some necessary gaps in the Star Wars saga while setting up the next great adventure for Obi-Wan.
Director Deborah Chow immediately Force Grips our attention with a breathtaking opening sequence. We see another perspective from the Order 66 attack on the Jedi Temple. It’s a blisteringly intense scene. It shows how merciless this opening salvo against the Jedi was and the trauma it left behind.
Chief among the survivors still coping is Obi-Wan Kenobi. He’s tormented by the final events of the Clone Wars where he had to watch his best friend/little brother die after a kill or be killed duel on Mustafar.
This was a powerful scene and further bridges the Sith Obi-Wan with the New Hope Obi-Wan, who twists facts to pit Luke against his father. A decade reliving the worst day of his life is tough and shows how incredibly difficult the war was for Obi-Wan.
Now calling himself Ben, Obi-Wan is living a lonely exile on Tatooine where he can keep a watchful eye on young Luke Skywalker.
The decade has not been kind to Obi-Wan’s relationship with Luke’s uncle Owen. While he barely knew him, Owen does not want Luke to fall victim to the same fate as his half-brother Anakin.
With the opportunity provided by the series, it’d be great to get a flashback or two of Anakin returning to Tatooine and bonding with Owen. Just to help reinforce why Owen has no use for Obi-Wan.
MORE:
- DC Showcase: Constantine – The House of Mystery review
- New leaked WWE Elite lineups Elite 95, Greatest Hits
- Hasbro debuts Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series Morph figure
- Top Gun: Maverick review
Owen didn’t need more incentive but the arrival of The Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend), Reva the Third Sister (Moses Ingram) and The Fifth Brother (Sung Kang) isn’t helping.
They’re stalking Jedi. While the Grand Inquisitor is fine taking down random Jedi who survived Order 66, Reva wants the big prize — Obi-Wan.
I dig Ingram’s intensity. If some of the “fanbase” is gonna hate on a black woman being an Inquisitor she may as well be a badass.
A surviving Jedi Nari (Benny Safdie) escapes the Inquisitors and finds Obi-Wan, who wants nothing to do with any adventure or great conflict. Obi-Wan warns him to lay low and forget about being a Jedi.
Unlike probably every other series, Kenobi can absolutely get away with devoting subplot time to the kids.
Leia and Luke are arguably the most important kids on a show — apologies Arya Stark — and seeing the early years of these galactic heroes is actually worthwhile.
It’s a great dichotomy showing the pristine Alderaan palace grounds with its lush forests and the arid desert of Tatooine.
And any excuse to have Jimmy Smits back as Bail Organa is a good one. Vivien Lyra Blair completely nails Carrie Fisher’s cadence and it’s not hard at all to envision her maturing into the Senator from A New Hope.
Like her twin a Galaxy away, Leia isn’t interested in responsibilities. In her case, Leia could care less about the pomp and circumstance of being an official — not when she can run through the woods and gaze at the starships leaving Alderaan.
We always had to take Luke and Leia from how we met them originally, but Kenobi is providing a glimpse at how similar the twins are even apart and nowhere near each other.
Of course, Leia’s free-spirited nature gets her in trouble as she gets caught by a band of thieves. Their leader is acting on orders from Reva, who shrewdly deduces kidnapping the daughter of Obi-Wan’s friend will lure him out of hiding.
Bail and his wife call up Obi-Wan, who insists he’s not the man he was 10 years ago. Seeing Nari’s body strung up doesn’t make Obi-Wan think he made the wrong decision.
Since the call didn’t work, Bail comes to Kenobi’s lair and drops the truth bomb he needed — You couldn’t save Anakin, but you can save her.
Again, it’s vitally important to show how traumatized Obi-Wan was after his great failure and how it’s disillusioned him on the Jedi’s path. He’s become so disconnected from the Force, he can’t even communicate with his former mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn.
But now with one of his few surviving friends calling for aid, Obi-Wan must answer the call and return to life…as a Jedi.
McGregor largely got to be the dashing hero in the prequel trilogy and this series is calling on him to show the world-weary, broken hero trying to get his mojo back. McGregor was so universally beloved for his take on Obi-Wan that it was just a win seeing him back in the role. But this more nuanced take is even more fascinating.
It’s hard to see how this premiere episode could have delivered more. The premise was expertly established; the threats seem very significant and Ewan McGregor needed all of one installment to show Lucasfilm/Disney needs to just go ahead and map out Seasons 2, 3 and beyond right now.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney
Grab the Star Wars The Black Series Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan Kenobi figure from Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.