Director: Deborah Chow
Writers: Joby Harold, Hossein Amini, Stuart Beattie, Hannah Friedman, Andrew Stanton
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Moses Ingram, Vivien Lyra Blair, Hayden Christensen, Sung Kang, Rupert Friend, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Jimmy Smits, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse
Ten years after Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) has gone into hiding. Imperial Inquisitors are hunting down Jedi, yet when Obi-Wan receives word that young Leia has been kidnapped, he sets off to save her, at the risk of being pursed by the Empire, per the order of Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen).
The name, the premise, it was tantamount to entrapment for any Star Wars fan – a look at what happened in the years after Anakin turned to the dark side in an anger-filled rampage, during which he murdered a bunch of younglings for good measure, killed his wife, and then did battle with his former master Obi-Wan, before finally being left for dead on the fiery planet of Mustafar. It might not have hit the big screen, but with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen returning to reprise their roles as Obi-Wan and Anakin respectively, the six part mini-series is a must watch instalment in the franchise for any Star Wars fan.
Believing his old padawan to be dead by his hand, post Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan is wrestling with his grief and guilt over Anakin’s fate. With the Empire rounding up the remaining Jedi, Obi-Wan now lives holed up in a cave, watching over Luke from afar as the future hero grows up on Tattooine. While Luke may be safe under the combined supervision of Obi-Wan, his aunt Beru (Bonnie Piesse), and his uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton), over on the other side of the galaxy, Leia is anything but safe—she’s getting kidnapped. At the behest of Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), Leia’s adoptive father, Obi-Wan reluctantly leaves the (relative) safety of his hideout and embarks on a mission to return Leia home to Alderaan.
The plot seems obvious in hindsight, recounting the origin of a relationship that had always been implied but never seen until now. In pairing the Jedi master with young Leia, the show finally explains how Leia would have known of Kenobi in A New Hope, and didn’t just know him by reputation, but knew him well enough to name her child after him many years later. Over the course of the six episodes, Obi-Wan and Leia band together, forming a connection as they try to escape the clutches of the Empire—no small feat considering they’re the subjects of an obsessive manhunt being led by the perpetually angsty Third Sister Reva (Moses Ingram), and commanded by a brutally ruthless Darth Vader.
There were numerous logic leaps taken to make the plot work; too many times spectacle was chosen over continuity and common sense. There are moments when the action becomes so implausible, it’s almost farcical —including, but (definitely) not limited to, dubious disguises, chase scenes that play like slapstick, and characters making decisions as if they’d sporadically become semi-omniscient. In one episode, Kenobi actually hides Leia under his cloak during an escape and no one notices; he simply shuffles Leia along as they walk straight out of the Empire’s front door. At another point, Reva ferociously interrogates the ten-year-old princess for details about a Jedi smuggling Path she’s seen once, while a smuggler assisting Obi-Wan takes a man down within earshot of several Empire officers and no one bats an eye.
Plot armour keeps the leads alive far too often and too obviously for it to be entirely forgivable. Reva is an actual medical miracle; after suffering what should have, at the very least, amounted to a severe and incapacitating injury, she’s miraculously well enough to pop off to another planet twenty minutes later and fight without a problem. The pacing often dips across the six episodes; there are numerous filler scenes and MacGuffin chases slowing the plot down. Diehard Stars Wars fans, however, will be pleased to find that the mini-series is filled with an abundance of fan service, moments that span the emotional spectrum from cheering to chilling, heartwarming to heart-wrenching.
Vivien Lyra Blair is a standout as young Leia, perfectly embodying the amount of spirit and sass that Carrie Fisher iconically gave to the role. While ten-year-old Luke is playing at imaginary pod-racing, his world-wise, emotionally insightful twin sister is busy giving people verbal lashings, taking no prisoners, and marching to the beat of her own drum. Leia’s relationship with Obi-Wan, slowly developing from wariness to love and affection, is wholesome, tender, and heart-rendingly sweet—it might have been the Anakin/Obi-Wan relationship that was the draw card of the series, but it’s the Obi-Wan/Leia relationship that steals the show.
Ewan McGregor gives a strong performance as an older, disenchanted Obi-Wan, riddled with doubt and still haunted by the events of the past. Kumail Nanjiani steals whatever scene he’s in as Haja Estree, a slick and wily, yet disarmingly affable, con-man masquerading as a Jedi. While it’s the suit-wearing Vader who is now storming around the galaxy, where Anakin does turn up in flashbacks, Christensen slips seamlessly back into the role of the cocky, confident padawan he last played 17 years ago.
The Empire is as thick as it’s ever been (if not thicker), at times displaying unintentionally absurd levels of ignorance and ineptitude. The stormtroopers still can’t aim, and their armour also varies in durability depending on the situation (while sometimes a single bullet can take a trooper down, at one point, the armour is suddenly so tough that Obi-Wan resorts to using his saber like a bat, whacking it into a stormtrooper’s helmet several times in order to best him). It’s just one of the glaring consistency issues that plague the show.
The series subscribes to the ‘somehow Palpatine returned’ quality of writing—it’s a path riddled with plot holes through to the end. And yet, telling a story that has always been a missing link in the Star Wars timeline, the show unfolds under a persistent shroud of intrigue that fuels anticipation for each episode. There are moments to love, lines that tug at your heart, and scenes in which to hold your breath—it’s a surprisingly poignant story, with plenty of flash and performance to help carry it along. Obi-Wan Kenobi thrives on the undeniable thrill of seeing beloved characters return to the screen in a new tale—though while there’s lots to be enjoyed across the course of the show, like with any Star Wars content, there’s also much to fuel the fires of discussion.
