Helen O’Hara stated in her review, “One of the
disappointments of the Star Wars prequel trilogy was how little stylistic
connective tissue it shared with the original films, given all those shiny
surfaces and CG creatures.” This show connects the two trilogies in style and
substance, giving us a great halfway point between “Revenge of the Sith” and Luke
Skywalker’s rise to fame, and a look into the missing decades of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s
life.
Obi-Wan (McGregor) is now cleverly disguised as “Ben”
Kenobi, a desert fish seller who keeps his head down and watches from afar on
Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely), without the approval of his uncle Owen (Joel
Edgerton). Then Imperial Investigators show up on Tatooine, looking for escaped
Jedi.
O’Hara noted, “There’s an effectively nasty premise in
the cat-and-mouse game between Inquisitors and Jedi here: Jedi can’t help but
help, so all the Inquisitors need do is threaten literally anyone, and nearby
Jedi will feel compelled to intervene. It’s a grubby, real-world totalitarian
tactic designed to divide and intimidate, because if a Jedi like Obi-Wan looks
away from such evil to keep himself safe, is he still a Jedi? Or has his very
nature been corrupted?” Such powerful evilness is strengthened by joyful arrogant,
in Rupert Friend’s Grant Inquisitor, and single-minded obsession, in Moses Ingram’s
driven Reva. These are new villains to be dealt with, and their story arcs
manage some welcome shocks.
O’Hara said, “Against this backdrop, Obi-Wan receives
a call for help from an old friend, and risks his hiding place to answer it.” The
job will bring him into contact with brave people still fighting the Empire,
and introduce him to the powerful strength that is Princess Leia, played by Vivien
Lyra Blair, intimidating even as a tween. However, it also puts him under the
radar of Darth Vader, reprised by Hayden Christensen, once more.
O’Hara noted, “Showrunner Joby Harold and director
Deborah Chow for the most part make a strong inter-quel chapter here, with a
despairing, wary McGregor as the missing link between the two trilogies. They
also create a world with both the dusty, used feel of the original trilogy and
traces of the flat glitz of the prequels, and only a few niggling
discontinuities with the canon. These adventures help to redeem not only
McGregor’s character but his entire under-loved era, cherry-picking the best
bits and leaving aside the embarrassing Gungans and terrible screenwriting.”
Despite the show not making Anakin/Darth Vader’s
emotional life speak, there are some killer moments for Christensen to play
here, and fights on alien worlds shined only by lightsabers. More importantly,
it’s an honor to see an older, wiser McGregor back to face him. McGregor became
more comfortable with his character with each film in the prequels, and now
those old robes seem completely familiar – despite, or maybe because, Obi-Wan
himself has never been more at stake. Still, over the franchise he recovers
himself a little, and earns a new path for his life as a Jedi. He finds out,
you would think, a new hope.
Other than a few continuity issues and over-familiar
parts, this has a solid understanding of its protagonist and a fun new
adventure. It’s a very welcome return to basics after the issues in “The Book
of Boba Fett.”
This is a great show. If you haven’t seen “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which came out in May, yet, and you have enjoyed the past Star Wars show, what are you waiting for? It is available on Disney+. Go on there right now and watch the entire series. I give it a high recommendation. If you were not impressed with “The Book of Boba Fett,” this show will redeem itself for you. You will go back to loving the Star Wars franchise again.
Stay tuned later for another review on a film that I
got to see today.
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