My opinion on the finale for Obi-Wan Kenobi is probably going to be controversial because I thought it was okay, but the season as a whole felt like a waste. I don't think the series was bad, but I felt very little by the end, which was something I was not expecting. My issues are mainly with the story we were given, I thought the execution by the actors was good. The choices the creative behind the show has left me feeling cold about the show, it is not just me not getting what I expected, but it is that the story they told was pointless. The story of Obi-Wan has been more or less fleshed out already, the one area is his time on Tatooine after Episode III leading up to Episode IV. Based on what we know of the Star Wars timeline, the series had some wiggle room to explore with the show, but there was no big moment given to fans. I had long assumed that the final confrontation between Vader and Obi-Wan would end with Obi-Wan defeating Vader. The one thing that surprised me was that I assumed the show would make it look like Obi-Wan died, because if he didn't why would Vader not spend the rest of time hunting him down. In my review of episode five I lamented the fact that Obi-Wan was not given the dramatic material to work with that I had hoped, and episode six did nothing to make me feel different. The confrontation between Vader and Kenobi should have had more emotion to it (from Obi-Wan), but I did not feel it from the writing of the scene.
As an episode it is okay, but as a finale and a big part of Star Wars canon I think it failed to make the whole season matter. It is not easy to write a story when you're boxed in by the canon of the property you are writing. Star Wars between the films, the series, the books and the comics there is a lot of material covering before, after and during the time of Obi-Wan Kenobi series. We are getting the Andor series in a few months, but Kenobi was the series most fans were excited for. I think Andor will be very interesting, and it will be a different type of series than what has come before. The Andor series has Tony Gilroy as the showrunner, and Gilroy was the write fore the Jason Bourne films while also writing and directing Michael Clayton. Gilroy was also the writer/director brought on to do the reshoots for Rogue One, so it stands to reason we will be seeing a more adult tone in Andor than any other series. I was expecting Kenobi to have a more adult tone, since they kept talking about the film using Logan as source material. I was disappointed that Logan was nowhere to be seen in the film except in the Leia and Obi-Wan dynamic. The series used Leia as a crutch, it used her as a means to keep the show lighter in tone, but she overshadowed Obi-Wan which is why I wish her role in the series was lessened. The actress who played was fantastic, and I am sure we will see her in that role again, but I wanted more of Obi-Wan in this series.
RECAPPING THE FINALE
The season finale starts with Reva arriving on Tatooine, she is looking for the location of Owen who she knows has a child of some significance. Reva we can see is still injured (being impaled by a lightsaber heals quick just ask the Grand Inquisitor), and she is wearing a very Jedi-like cloak with a hood. We jump to the escaping refugees from Jabiim, their ship we learned at the end of last episode has a damaged hyperdrive. The Empire is chasing the ship, and Obi-Wan decides to give the refugees the time needed to fix the hyperdrive by leaving the ship via a shuttle and luring Vader and the Empire away. Owen has brought Luke to the market looking for parts, it is there that Owen is warned about Reva’s presence on Tatooine. Obi-Wan tells Leia and the refugees the plan to keep them safe, they are all mad, but Obi-Wan says that they have protected the Jedi, and now it is time for the Jedi to pay them back. Leia storms off, and Obi-Wan makes Haja promise to make sure Leia is returned to Alderaan.
Back at the farm, Owen tells Beru about Reva and Beru pulls out some hidden blasters and starts to get ready. Beru tells Owen that she will not ask for other to risk their lives, but she believes that her and Owen can protect Luke. Obi-Wan says goodbye to Leia, he hands her the blaster holder that belonged to Tala. Obi-Wan is staring at his lightsaber, and he tells his former master Qui-Gon Jinn that he needs to face Anakin. Obi-Wan leaves the ship in a small shuttle, and despite the Grand Inquisitor’s suggestion that they continue the chase of the refugees, Vader is determined to follow Obi-Wan. On the farm Owen and Beru tell Luke that Tusken Raiders are pillaging farms, and that if something happens, he is supposed to run. Obi-Wan lands on a nearby planet while Vader has his ship prepped, he tells the Grand Inquisitor that he will handle Kenobi alone. Obi-Wan finds that Leia has slipped L0-LA59 into the pocket of his cloak. Obi-Wan removes the cloak and places L0-LA59 on the dashboard of the ship as he leaves to face Vader.
Reva has made it to the farm, as Vader’s shuttle lands on the planet ready to face his former master and brother. Vader and Obi-Wan face off, and Vader asks if Obi-Wan has come to destroy him to which Obi-Wan replies that he will do what he must as he ignites his blue lightsaber. The two battle with neither getting the upper hand in the fight. Reva’s walks into the farm igniting her lightsaber; Owen and Beru begin shooting at Reva from their hidden positions which Reva blocks using her lightsaber. Vader and Obi-Wan’s battle rages on, but Vader is able to get the upper hand using the force to cause an earthquake that traps Obi-Wan. Vader then begins dropping large stones on top of Obi-Wan burying him alive, and Vader walks away thinking he has defeated his former master. Reva is fighting Owen, but Reva pushes past him while Beru also tries to slow Reva down. Luke is told to run by Beru, so Luke escapes through a window and runs across the desert with Reva following him.
Obi-Wan is buried beneath the rocks, but he is not dead as he has used the force to shield himself from being crushed. Obi-Wan has visions of Leia and Luke which gives him the strength to push all of the rocks off of him. Obi-Wan chases Vader down, and the two former Jedi brothers fight again, though Obi-Wan gets the advantage this time. Obi-Wan uses the force to pick up a lot of the rocks and he begins propelling them at Vader who cannot block them all, Vader and his suit begin to take damage. The lightsaber battle continues with Obi-Wan landing direct trikes on Vader’s chest control panel, Vader struggling to breathe continues to fight. Obi-Wan force pushes Vader who lands hard and when he gets up Obi-Wan strikes his helmet breaking it open revealing half of Anakin’s face. Obi-Wan is given pause by seeing Anakin’s face, and he tries to talk to his brother to which Vader replies that Anakin is gone, and that Vader is all that remains. Obi-Wan says that he is sorry for all of what happened to which Vader replies that he is not his failure. Vader says that Obi-Wan ‘didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker, I did the same way, I will destroy you” to which Obi-Wan replies then my friend is truly dead, goodbye Darth as Obi-Wan walks away. Vader yells Obi-Wan, but Kenobi is done with him, and Vader is too damaged to be able to go after him.
Reva is searching for Luke at the base of a mountain, Luke falls to the ground making it easy for Reva to get him. Reva approaches Luke with her lightsaber lit, and when she goes to strike Luke down, she has visions of Anakin from the massacre at the Jedi temple. Obi-Wan arrives back on Tatooine and finds Beru and Owen who are searching for Luke. The three see Reva approaching them carrying Luke’s body, but the boy is okay as Reva was not able to kill him. Reva breaks down in tears as Owen and Beru carry Luke away from her. Reva tells Obi-Wan that she couldn’t do it, that she failed them, he killed them all and she couldn’t do it. Obi-Wan tells Reva that she did not fail them, she has given them peace and honored them. Obi-Wan tells Reva that whatever she becomes is up to her, she drops her lightsaber to the ground and Obi-Wan helps her up. On Mustafar in Vader’s castle he is reporting to the Emperor that probes are tracking every system within range to find Obi-Wan. The Emperor chides Vader with his failure, he muses loudly whether Vader’s thoughts on this are clear, whether his feelings for his old master have left him weakened. Vader then says that Kenobi means nothing and that he only serves the Emperor as the imperial march plays.
Leia is back home on Alderaan; she is putting on her clothes adding the blaster holster as her mother walks in. Leia and her mother meet her father on the landing platform as a ship arrives, and Obi-Wan comes out followed by L0-LA59. Obi-Wan is back in his cave/home on Tatooine and he is packing up his things. Obi-Wan takes the bag of parts that Owen refused to take in episode one of the series back to Owen. Obi-Wan goes to the farm to say that Owen was right that Luke needs to be a boy, and that he will keep his distance. Obi-Wan is travelling in the desert when he sees a shape appear out of nowhere, the shape is the force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn. Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan that he was always there, but Obi-Wan was not ready to see him as they move on through the desert as the episode comes to a close.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON
Obi-Wan Kenobi's first season (?) had high viewership numbers, but critically it seems it did not meet the expectations. The show had the money, but the story was the problem, and I am wondering what if anything can be done to make the possible second season better. The ending of the series definitely left the possibility of a second season as very open, but who knows if Disney will approve of a second season. The way the story ended for Reva and Obi-Wan it makes me think that there was a plan to leaves things open, and the interviews the cast has given suggest they are open to returning. There is still narrative room for more stories involving Obi-Wan and Vader to take place before A New Hope, but it would need to take place very shortly after the end of season one of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I would not mind a second season of Obi-Wan that was split into four parts, one focusing on Obi-Wan on new adventures helping a youngling, Reva on her journey to becoming a Jedi, Vader working for the Emperor, and a story of Leia embracing her destiny as a leader. The Obi-Wan, Reva and Vader story would connect by the end of the season with a final confrontation between Vader and Obi-Wan that would lead to Vader thinking Obi-Wan is dead. Leia should be on her own journey, the way the story left her and Obi-Wan was a perfect final encounter between the two (she never actually encounters him in A New Hope).
I would be really curious to learn what an average viewer (not a Star Wars fan) thought of the series, since my disappointment is based around the canon and execution of the story. I thought the fights were handled really good, but the one nitpick I had is that I wish more was of the fights were in the daylight. With the exception of the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin, the other fights between the two were done in darkened settings (because it is cheaper to animate the effects). The fight between Vader and Obi-Wan was great, but I think it made Obi-Wan seem more powerful than Vader which is not the case. Had Obi-Wan been shown to breathe and focus before launching the rocks at Vader I think it would have made it look like he won because he was calmer and focused than Vader. I thought the rocks burying Obi-Wan would have been the perfect time for Qui-Gon Jinn to appear. I spent the entire season waiting for him, and his appearance at the end of the episode was extremely underwhelming. I think it would have been more impactful if he had appeared to save Obi-Wan by lifting the rocks off of him. Obi-Wan getting a pep talk by Qui-Gon Jinn would have made more sense, as it would have made Obi-Wan look like a normal Jedi master. We know force ghosts can use the force still (thank you Rise of Skywalker), so have Obi-Wan be saved by Qui-Gon and get his focus restored.
I also would have been okay if Qui-Gon made his first appearance after Obi-Wan defeats Vader, if Obi-Wan went to kill Vader, but he was stopped by Qui-Gon I think it would have worked better. It does not make sense that if Obi-Wan felt that Anakin was truly dead, then why would he let Vader live knowing all of the monstrous things that he has done. If Obi-Wan went to strike down Vader, but he was stopped by Qui-Gon who said it was not Obi-Wan's destiny to end Vader or if he told obi-Wan that Anakin will be saved, but now is not the time. Qui-Gon I felt was missing the entire series, his guidance would have given Obi-Wan some of the dramatic moments I was expecting but never got. The emotion that was on display during the final fight in Revenge of the Sith was something that I never felt in this series. Obi-Wan learning that Anakin was still alive should have given Ewan a big monologue/speech, but we never got it and I don't know why. I thought Hayden Christensen did great work for what little screen time he actually had, I though his moments during the final fight in this episode were fantastic.
I know I have been very down on this series, but that is a by-product of how excited I was to see Obi-Wan again. I thought that the series was good, but as a Star Wars fan I felt the series was a letdown when compared to what we saw in The Mandalorian. The small touches were missing from this series for me; I wanted more dramatic scenes involving Obi-Wan. I also wished the show used more music from the series, I especially would have wanted to hear some of John Williams' score used in the prequels. I think if the final fight between Vader and Obi-Wan had Battle of the Heroes playing it would have gotten a more emotional reaction from me. There have already been fan edits of the fight using Battle of the Heroes uploaded on YouTube, it was a touch that would have gotten a reaction from more people. Despite all the negative things I have said I think the series should be give a 7/10 with the finale also earning a 7/10. I am giving the show credit for doing something I never expected which was bring back Obi-Wan and Vader together on screen. The show found a star in the making in the form Vivien Lyra Brown, they gave us our first live-action appearance of the inquisitors, and possibly a new hero in Reva to look forward to. I am sure that we will be seeing Reva and Leia (with Vivien Lyra Brown in the role) again as they both were standouts. I liked Reva's story, but again I think the execution of it lacked the finer details for it to have worked as well as I would have wanted. Obi-Wan Kenobi was an okay series that felt a bit sloppy, but I think there is a lot of room for improvement if a second season becomes a reality.
Thank you for reading my review of the season finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi; please let me know what you thought of the episode and the season.
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