To say that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s titular hero goes via it an understatement.
Within the first two hours of the Disney+ collection (now streaming, with new episodes dropping each Wednesday), the exiled former Jedi Grasp is a shell of his former self, working a dead-end, day job as a meatpacker and haunted by nightmares of dropping Anakin to the darkish facet at evening, within the cave he now resides in.
In his solitude, Obi-Wan tries to commune together with his outdated grasp Qui-Gon Jinn, performed within the prequel movies by Liam Neeson, however to no avail. (Yoda instructed him to do that on the finish of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.)
He buried his lightsaber within the Tatooine sand and goes by “Ben,” eschewing most remnants of his Jedi previous. Now branded a traitor, there’s the fixed menace of the Inquisitors, the Power-sensitive brokers tasked with searching all remaining Jedi. Reva aka the Third Sister takes that mission to coronary heart and acts so ruthlessly — she cuts off the hand of a girl who dared to speak again — that each the Grand Inquisitor and Fifth Brother warn her to dial it down. Reva, although, actually needs to impress Darth Vader, and in flip amass extra energy inside the Empire.
Nari, a Jedi who escaped the Inquisitors earlier within the first hour, reaches out to Obi-Wan for assist — however Obi-Wan’s greatest recommendation to Nari is to bury his lightsaber, keep hidden, and reside a traditional life. When requested what occurred to the once-great Jedi, Obi-Wan responds with a well-recognized line: “The time of the Jedi is over.”
Obi-Wan checks in on a younger Luke Skywalker from afar, utilizing a viewfinder, and secretly drops off components the boy will finally use to construct the toys we see in A New Hope. This bugs Uncle Owen, who warns Obi-Wan to remain away. When the previous Jedi reminds him that Luke, as soon as he begins “displaying,” will should be educated finally, Owen is fast to close that down. (Aspect word: Owen’s “Like his father?” quip cuts deep.)
Disdain apart, Owen does cowl for Obi-Wan when Reva interrogates him concerning the Jedi who evaded them earlier within the episode, and who they believe continues to be hiding within the space.
In the meantime on Alderaan, Luke’s twin sister Leia is a brilliant, confident, and mischievous princess who sneaks off to climb bushes and attempt to establish the totally different plane flying about. She receives a mild reprimand from her dad and mom, Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits, reprising his prequel trilogy position) and Queen Breha Organa, after verbally eviscerating a cousin who tried to disgrace her for being adopted.
Leia throughout considered one of her outside larks is kidnapped by Vect Nokru (performed by Flea from the Crimson Sizzling Chili Peppers) and his associates, who take her to Daiyu. The younger princess retains up a courageous face and talks again to her kidnappers, insisting her father will assist her. Bail certainly reaches out to Obi-Wan by way of a hologram message, insisting that solely he is aware of how essential Leia is. The down-and-out Jedi is reluctant to step in as a result of he’s not who he as soon as was, however he can’t sit again any longer when he finds a lifeless Nari strung up for the world to see, and Bail in his cave begging him to seek out Leia.
As Bail factors out, Obi-Wan couldn’t save Anakin (they each assume Obi-Wan’s former apprentice died on Mustafar), however he can nonetheless save Leia. That convinces Kenobi to return to the desert, dig up his outdated lightsaber, and board a shuttle to Daiyu.
Daiyu is not a welcoming atmosphere. There’s playing on the streets, a homeless Clone Conflict veteran asking for change, and a pink-haired teen making an attempt to promote him medicine. A child named Jayco gives to take Obi-Wan to a Jedi who helps folks, however even that could be a rip-off. Haja Estree (performed by Kumail Nanjiani) makes use of magnets and remotes to fake he’s a Jedi, so he can take cash from determined folks seeking to get off the planet. Even so, Obi-Wan makes use of the con man for data on the place Leia’s kidnappers could have taken her, calling the younger princess his “daughter.”
The Grand Inquisitor is livid with Reva for kidnapping a senator’s daughter in her bid to search out Obi-Wan, reminding her that she “got here from the gutter” earlier than becoming a member of the Inquisitors. Deciding to take Kenobi for himself, he dismisses Reva, who secretly alerts each bounty hunter of Obi-Wan’s presence in a plot to attract him out.
Obi-Wan does finally discover Leia in Vect’s drug lab, and so they escape. With eyes in all places, he buys her a cape for disguise, in addition to the gloves she simply had to have. (She could also be on an odd planet, however she’s nonetheless a princess.)
Leia catches on that Obi-Wan is hiding one thing and is suspicious of his declare to be a Jedi since he gained’t make her “float.” She then suspects he’s considered one of her kidnappers when she sees his face on the BOLO Reva transmitted throughout. It’s now panic mode for Obi-Wan who should chase after the tyke whereas being shot at by the numerous bounty hunters closing in on the massive payday. Leia leaps between two buildings and falls, forcing Obi-Wan to lastly use the Power to forestall her from hitting the bottom laborious. That was proof sufficient for Leia that he’s a Jedi, and so they each head for secure passage off the planet.
Alas, their deliberate egress is swarming with Stormtroopers. Enter Haja, who gives one other method out. He is perhaps a con man, however he’s con man with a conscience. Reminding Obi-Wan that he’s not alone and there are different Jedi on the market prepared to assist, Haja sends each him and Leia to an empty cargo maintain that’s leaving the planet quickly.
Reva, although, already traced them there, having been alerted by the blaster battle moments earlier than. Obi-Wan sends Leia to cover whereas he wields his lightsaber, readying himself for a hell of a battle. That’s when Reva shouts the game-changing information at her prey: Anakin is nonetheless alive. As an emotionally conflicted Obi-Wan processes this in his hiding spot, the Grand Inquisitor pops in to inform Reva to step apart. However she refuses to let him steal her credit score for capturing Obi-Wan and drives her lightsaber via his intestine. Obi-Wan and Leia escape through the commotion, and Reva is final seen angrily shaking her fists and yelling on the sky as they fly away.
Aboard the spacecraft, Obi-Wan is clearly shaken up on the information that his former apprentice nonetheless lives. Minimize to a murky shot of Darth Vader submerged in a bacta tank, aided by a respiratory masks and different tubes penetrating his physique. It’s giving Hannibal Lecter vibes, and it’s tremendous creepy.
What did you consider Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first episodes, and the drama surrounding not Luke however wee Leia? Submit your grade under and pontificate within the feedback.
