Obi Wan Kenobi
The dual-episode premiere of the first non-Mandalorian-based Star Wars Disney Plus series has arrived, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which has expanded its name from just ‘Kenobi’ as it was known originally. The series was given to Mandalorian director Deborah Chow, and so far, it’s going pretty well.
The trailers didn’t show much, but what they did show, it’s clear they were hiding two specific things that are revealed over the course of these two episodes, which definitely caught me off guard for very different reasons.
Spoilers follow.
The preview materials did not give us a specific explanation as to why Obi-Wan would venture off-world when he was in hiding, but now we know, it’s because Leia Organa is kidnapped in a ploy to lure him out, and it works, since he leaves to go to a dangerous planet to retrieve her.
Young Leia
While we glimpsed young Luke in the trailer and the first episode of the show, I was not expecting to see young Leia have such a prominent role, or to be played so expertly by a young actress, Bird Box’s Vivien Lyra Blair, who has a commanding presence despite being so tiny. Leia rebels against her stuffy upbringing, and appears to be exhibiting at least mildly force-like symptoms where she can read people’s fears to a certain extent, disguised as being observant. Now that she’s rescued from the planet, it’s unclear if this aspect of the story is done, or if the whole show is going to have her tagging along with Obi-Wan as some drama befalls them on the way back to Alderaan. IMDB lists her for the full six episodes, so it seems she will likely stick around.
The second surprise?
Well, there was some measure of controversy that Obi-Wan Kenobi was not doing justice to the Grand Inquisitor, the Clone Wars era villain played here by Rupert Friend, but in a way where some weren’t wild about his appearance.
Grand Inquisitor
Well, you won’t have to deal with him any longer, as Third Sister Inquisitor Reva stabs him as he keeps interfering with her quest to fetch Obi-Wan, who Vader has requested specifically. She stabs him in the gut and he very much looks dead as the scene moves on. He is not dead, given that he shows up later in the timeline in Rebels, but he may be out of commission for a bit, and either way, Reva has gone rogue, while...still serving Vader. It’s confusing. I am guessing that this may ruffle some feathers among fans because well, there is not much that happens in modern Star Wars that does not ruffle feathers among fans, particularly since it’s an actress of color killing the more established character. Sad, but actress Moses Ingram was actually warned by Lucasfilm about the racist blacklash she would face from the fanbase like Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) before her.
As for the show itself, I quite liked it. Ewan McGregor is finally getting something to work with in terms of a script, an upgrade from the prequels. It’s a lot initially slower than many may have envisioned, but I think that’s totally fine given the context of the return to the character. The arrival of young Leia makes sure it’s not all just brooding and regret, and the show also has some lighter moments like Kumail Nanjiani showing up as a faux Jedi, the actor now appearing in both Disney’s Star Wars and Marvel universes, the latest to join the club (Oscar Isaac, Natalie Portman, etc.).
There are four more weeks left, and while this is supposed to be a miniseries, there have been indications that everyone enjoyed making the show so much, they may want to do more. We’ll see how things go next week as things progress.
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