The more things change, the more than they stay the same — especially when it comes to
Star Wars. Like most folks born in the mid-90s/ early-2000s, I’ve been inundated with countless movies, shows, books, and video games ready in the “milky way far, far abroad”. I also saw every entry in the Prequel Trilogy (Star Wars: Episode I — Episode III) on opening nighttime. Even back in 2005, I felt that
Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith
stood caput and shoulders above the two films that came before it. Seventeen years later,
Obi-Wan Kenobi
has given me a major case of deja vu.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
is a 6-episode miniseries whose potential is largely undercut by numerous issues; uneven interim performances from lead characters and supporting bandage members, inconsistent writing, and questionable product decisions codify the beginning iv episodes (or “Parts” as they’re labeled on Disney+) of this show. I really struggled to get through the starting time two-thirds of
Obi-Wan Kenobi… still, once once more, the last third of this series truly shines. Many of the issues that plagued the prove before subside and so that stronger writing, heartfelt performances, and gripping action scenes tin can take center phase.
I believe that at that place are nuggets of greatness — namely Ewan McGregor’s precise performance — in the
Obi-Wan Kenobi
series that are buried below the show’southward weaknesses. But viewers shouldn’t accept to dig for four hours until they strike gilded. On the take chances that anyone is on the fence about this show, I’ll discuss what worked and what didn’t work for me.
Here, there be spoilers, though anybody else on the internet doesn’t seem to care much near discretion at this point.
Here’south Where
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Shines
Ewan McGregor’s reprisal of Obi-Wan is hands and consistently the best attribute of the show. From showtime to cease, it’southward articulate that he’south giving it his all come hell or high water. The role required a lot from him — he had to be a shellshocked veteran, a heartbroken friend, and a surrogate father — nevertheless he delivered every time. Hayden Christensen’s reprisal of Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader was also moving, specially in Parts V and Vi.
Reva/The Third Sister (played by Moses Ingram) and Young Princess Leia (played by Vivien Lyra Blair) are interesting cases for me. I feel that both of their actresses as well brought their A-game to
Obi-Wan Kenobi, just the showrunners did not render the favor (more on that later). I’one thousand glad that Lucasfilm is notwithstanding striving to make
Star Wars
more than diverse and inclusive, fifty-fifty if the execution yields mixed results. I’m also glad that Moses Ingram received support from her co-stars and colleagues when racists tried to single her out for the quality of the show (more on that afterward likewise).
Lastly, Parts V and VI feature some of the best activeness sequences in the prove by a broad margin. Special mention goes to the climactic duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader — not only due to the surprising choreography but besides considering it’s genuinely thought-provoking to a degree.
For me,
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s
greatest sin is feeling superfluous; this series had the opportunity to chronicle the Jedi Primary’south transformation from a traumatized survivor to the unassailable monk that Alec Guinness portrayed him every bit in
Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope.
Unfortunately, the moment that truly justifies this miniseries’ existence never really comes. At best, it’s fan service. At worse, you can marathon every major
Star Wars
motion picture without watching this prove, and ultimately be no worse for wear.
Despite appreciating Moses Ingram and Vivien Lyra Blair’s performances, I felt that their characters profoundly detracted from the evidence. Our time with Young Leia didn’t teach us anything that we don’t already know about the Princess of Alderaan; Leia’south ever been presented every bit a smart, trigger-happy, passionate woman. If anything,
Obi-Wan Kenobi
reinforces her maligned condition as a dryad in distress, equally she needs to be rescued multiple times throughout this miniseries.
Reva is especially problematic for me. On newspaper, she’s great — a Youngling who survived Society 66 and swore vengeance confronting Darth Vader (and
who but so happens to exist
Star Wars’
offset Black female villain). In practice, she, unfortunately, reinforces the “Aroused Black Woman” stereotype; instead of presenting her as a cunning and calculated tactician who’s equal parts sympathetic and dangerous (a la early on-GOT
Cersei Lannister), Reva is depicted as loud, uncouth, and perpetually angry — a misconception that continues to harm Black women each and every day.
Final Thoughts About
Obi-Wan Kenobi
At the end of Role Half-dozen, Obi-Wan reunites with an old acquaintance who tells him that “we’ve got a long way to go.” Indeed, I felt that this miniseries ended right when things were showtime to take off. It’s hard for me to recommend this show even to
Star Wars
megafans when their fourth dimension could be spent elsewhere.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
doesn’t close that gap between
Revenge of the Sith
and
A New Hope
— it leaves you wondering why they didn’t greenlight the Obi-Wan film that Stephen Daldry was poised to direct in 2017.
