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 an ideal begin, the center of the sequence began to sag, and there have been lots of awkward, weirdly-written elements. As such, it wasn’t clear how the finale would pan out, however for probably the most half, it gave me what I really needed from this sequence: closure between the characters of Anakin and Obi-Wan as they seem within the prequels and within the authentic trilogy.
What appeared to be an remoted sequence revolving round Obi-Wan as he protected Luke changed into extra of a planet-hopping journey involving Obi-Wan and Leia. That’s high-quality, even when it was sudden, 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 glorious scenes, just like the flashbacks to Anakin and Obi-Wan’s coaching classes and the numerous good moments between Obi-Wan and Leia.
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However as was the case with The Guide of Boba Fett, it was filled with complicated and typically 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 damage the sequence. Some motion scenes had been carried out effectively sufficient, however many others had been foolish or missing, which was most notably seen within the notorious chase scene from the primary episode. Tright here had been nice moments unfold all through many of the episodes, but they saved getting undercut by these odd decisions.
Admittedly, the finale suffered from just a few of those moments, however the conflict between Obi-Wan and Vader was the spotlight of your complete 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 sequence or learn supplemental novels, you could possibly really feel the sophisticated 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 sophisticated emotions for each other, from Vader’s blinding hatred to Obi-Wan’s timeless willpower, bled by way of effortlessly. These strikes advised the story by way of motion, which is what turns a superb motion scene into an ideal one and is harking back to their last 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 ready to hook up with the person he seems like he failed; not the masked monster he had change into. Seeing his face meant Obi-Wan may lastly see his pal was gone and get the closure he had needed since their duel on Mustafar.
It’s the factor that I used to be ready for by way of your complete present, as saying that the 2 had been returning naturally implied there would most likely be some type of extremely anticipated face-off. Even when they hardly ever (or by no means) met, the information of each other’s existence may form how they strategy no matter conflicts come up all through the sequence. 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 had been noteworthy, their dynamic was much less outstanding within the sequence total than I had hoped. Reva’s story was first rate and Leia’s significance was an sudden 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 change between the 2 was heart-wrenching, and solely prefaced the opposite distinctive elements of the finale. The previous couple of 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 may have needed to extra absolutely 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 an ideal deal for each Skywalker youngsters, and is way 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 your complete sequence, however it did at the very least make the finale extra memorable.
Although the sequence wasn’t what I anticipated, the finale was precisely what I needed. If the entire present had fewer wonky writing decisions and extra of a deal with Obi-Wan however maintained this last showdown and the scenes that got here after it, this might have been up there with The Mandalorian as the very best Star Wars present. Because it stands, it’s greater than value getting by way of the rougher episodes to succeed in 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.
