Obi-Wan Kenobi was the upcoming present that I used to be most enthusiastic about upon its announcement. As somebody who grew up with the Star Wars prequels, I used to be stoked to return to that period alongside Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, who could be returning to their iconic roles. After a fantastic begin, the center of the collection began to sag, and there have been a whole lot of awkward, weirdly-written components. As such, it wasn’t clear how the finale would pan out, however for essentially the most half, it gave me what I really wished from this collection: closure between the characters of Anakin and Obi-Wan as they seem within the prequels and within the unique trilogy.
What appeared to be an remoted collection revolving round Obi-Wan as he protected Luke was extra of a planet-hopping journey involving Obi-Wan and Leia. That’s nice, even when it was surprising, as Obi-Wan’s story was nonetheless intriguing and, expectedly, he was performed to perfection by McGregor. Whereas it’s not the extra secluded story it appeared prefer it was going to be, there have been some wonderful scenes, just like the flashbacks to Anakin and Obi-Wan’s coaching classes and the various good moments between Obi-Wan and Leia.
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However as was the case with The Guide of Boba Fett, it was stuffed with complicated and generally weird choices. From small issues like Leia very clearly hiding in Obi-Wan’s coat to main narrative beats like having two totally different characters survive torso stabs from a lightsaber, there was an underlying inconsistency that harm the collection. Some motion scenes have been finished nicely sufficient, however many others have been foolish or missing, which was most notably seen within the notorious chase scene from the primary episode. Tright here have been nice moments unfold all through many of the episodes, but they stored getting undercut by these odd decisions.
Admittedly, the finale suffered from a couple of of those moments, however the conflict between Obi-Wan and Vader was the spotlight of all the present. Not solely did it present some beautiful moments of motion all through the struggle itself, however it additional constructed upon the strained, emotional relationship between Obi-Wan and his former Padawan. Whether or not or not you’ve skilled The Clone Wars collection or learn supplemental novels, you could possibly really feel the difficult historical past between the 2 on this season-capping conflict.
As somebody who grew up loving Obi-Wan and Anakin’s adventures within the prequels, this battle was completely gripping. From the primary slash to Obi-Wan’s barrage of stones, there was actual emotion behind each assault. Their difficult emotions for each other, from Vader’s blinding hatred to Obi-Wan’s timeless willpower, bled by effortlessly. These strikes informed the story by motion, which is what turns a very good motion scene into a fantastic one and is harking back to their closing duel Revenge of the Sith in that regard.
These highly effective swings got here to a crescendo as soon as a part of Vader’s helmet was sheared off, which mixed James Earl Jones’ Vader voice with Christensen’s Anakin. Anakin’s voice was now not utterly hid, revealing his uncooked anger and the shell of the human he had devolved into. This literal and figurative unmasking gave Obi-Wan’s tearful response extra weight, since he was lastly in a position to hook up with the person he looks like he failed; not the masked monster he had turn into. Seeing his face meant Obi-Wan might lastly see his buddy was gone and get the closure he had wished since their duel on Mustafar.
It’s the factor that I used to be ready for by all the present, as asserting that the 2 have been returning naturally implied there would most likely be some form of extremely anticipated face-off. Even when they not often (or by no means) met, the data of each other’s existence might form how they method no matter conflicts come up all through the collection. And in the event that they did meet, it could be an vital occasion, up there with the pivotal moments of The Mandalorian. Whereas each of their conferences in Obi-Wan Kenobi have been noteworthy, their dynamic was much less distinguished within the collection total than I had hoped. Reva’s story was first rate and Leia’s significance was an surprising pleasure, however Obi-Wan and Vader’s story was the beating coronary heart of the present and that final episode was in a position to make good on that.
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The ultimate trade between the 2 was heart-wrenching, and solely prefaced the opposite distinctive components of the finale. The previous few scenes of Obi-Wan telling Leia about her mother and father, assembly Luke, and seeing Qui-Gon Jinn, supplied each little bit of interplay and improvement that Obi-Wan might have needed to extra totally flesh out his character exterior of the context of Vader and in a post-Revenge of the Sith world. Obi-Wan has come to care a fantastic deal for each Skywalker youngsters, and is much much less depressing than he was on the present’s inception. He has grown from a jaded and defeated former Jedi to a extra hopeful and at-peace hermit. This improvement ought to have most likely been extra unfold all through all the collection, however it did no less than make the finale extra memorable.
Regardless that the collection wasn’t what I anticipated, the finale was precisely what I wished. If the entire present had fewer wonky writing decisions and extra of a deal with Obi-Wan however maintained this closing showdown and the scenes that got here after it, this might have been up there with The Mandalorian as one of the best Star Wars present. Because it stands, it’s greater than value getting by the rougher episodes to achieve the ultimate half, because it’s a splendid Star Wars complement that lastly fills within the hole between the Obi-Wan and Darth Vader seen in Revenge of the Sith and their older counterparts in A New Hope.
