Sonic Cinema

Sounds, Visions and Insights by Brian Skutle

Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV)

Grade : A Year : 2022 Director : Deborah Chow Running Time : 5hr 36min Genre : , ,
Movie review score
A

**I wrote about Natalie Holt’s score over at In Their Own League here.

When Disney first purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, I was less excited about notion of a sequel trilogy and more about what other stories we might get. In terms of legacy characters, the main one I was hopeful about seeing more of was Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. As flawed as the prequels are, he slid into the role of Obi-Wan like a glove, and it’s his work as the chips are pushed into the middle of the table that makes us feel the weight of what is happening to the Jedi as the Emperor takes over. When this limited series was announced, I know what shot up to the front of my excitement factor when it comes to new “Star Wars.”

The only reason to bring a character back is if you think there’s something to be added by doing so. For the most part, I think “Star Wars” has done that better than most franchises (although we’ll discuss “The Book of Boba Fett” in the future). I don’t know why I’ve been so unconcerned about the release of this series. Might be because, I figured McGregor would slide back into the role effortlessly, and her direction on “The Mandalorian” showed that Deborah Chow had what it takes to bring energy and passion to this section of the “Star Wars” Universe. I was not disappointed.

When an event happens to us that shakes our whole worldview, and makes us feel like a failure, it can take a profound toll that only an equally-jolting event will help us remember the person we felt we lost. This is what a lot of people who complained about Luke Skywalker in “The Last Jedi” didn’t really consider when examining the way he was written in the film. Luke saw an opportunity to prevent the past from repeating itself with his nephew, but inadvertently caused it to happen because he couldn’t let go of his fear. Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the same place at the beginning of this series; ten years have passed since his friend and apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, turned to the Dark Side, under his nose, and all but decimated the Jedi Order. It’s understandable why, when Bail Organa calls when Leia is kidnapped, Obi-Wan is hesitant to get back into the fight, especially since Jedi are Public Enemy #1 to Vader and the Inquisitors he employees. The Third Sister, Reva (Moses Ingram), knows that, ultimately, Obi-Wan will be the guardian of justice the Jedi wanted to be, however, and indeed, he must risk exposure to get back Anakin’s daughter (although the Empire does not know her true lineage), abandoning his post on Tatooine to watch after Luke in the process.

My favorite part of “Attack of the Clones” was the little detective story Obi-Wan goes on to find out who is behind the assassination attempt on Padme. In developing this six-episode arc, the writers must have been fans, as well, because it hits a lot of familiar beats, with Obi-Wan having to work an issue from the ground up, without the resources of the Jedi Order at his disposal. The series also borrows from Season One of “The Mandalorian,” and the bond between Mando and Grogu. Making this series more about Leia than Luke is a great misdirect, and what it does is to not only allow us to see the child that would grow into the politician and freedom fighter played by the great Carrie Fisher, but give us depth to why Leia, in “A New Hope,” would trust Obi-Wan to begin with. Vivien Lyra Blair is a firecracker in the role, and we see a genuine connection between her and McGregor that brings that depth to the dynamic, and makes “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope,” land just a bit stronger. She is his conscience and nerve when he needs it here, and I love seeing more of them.

Reva was an easy target for mouth breathing “fans” because Ingram is a Black woman near the center of a “Star Wars” film, but she is one of the richest characters we’ve gotten in such a short amount of time. A former youngling, she craves power and Vader’s approval, and orchestrating the plot to expose Obi-Wan, she thinks, is her way to getting both. Be careful what you wish for, though, and as the narrative progresses, cracks begin to form in her hardened facade. This is a familiar idea in many “Star Wars” narratives we’ve seen- a villain who struggles with their own sense of right and wrong, possibly towards redemption. This is Vader in the original trilogy and Ben Solo in the sequel trilogy, and even someone like Agent Kallus in “Star Wars: Rebels”- it’s like this universe understands that straight evil is not as interesting as conflicted evil. Ingram is a fantastic foil for McGregor, and seeing Reva go through that struggle is one of the reasons “Star Wars,” at its best, is iconic- George Lucas’s playground may have started with a firm bed of black-and-white morality, but understands that to last, conflict is not just as simple as a dogfight in space or a laser sword battle- it’s something that drives the characters, and makes them hold up over time.

Darth Vader was always going to be an important piece of this series’s puzzle, and while the multiple stand offs between he and Kenobi kind of dull the sense of “final conflict” between the two in “A New Hope,” seeing how each one progresses as Kenobi remembers who he really is as a Jedi is compelling. None of the lightsaber sequences have the impact of the scene on Mustafar in “Revenge of the Sith” or that final showdown on the Death Star, but at the end of the final one in this series, there’s a moment between Obi-Wan and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) that might be the best confrontation between the two in the series because of what it says about how far gone Anakin is, and how Obi-Wan couldn’t imagine him being brought back to the light in the original trilogy. On the one hand, I’m open to more of this series; on the other hand, I really want that moment to be the last one we see of these two together before that battle on the Death Star.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” played to what interests me in the “Star Wars” franchise so well, and added a number of great side characters- as well as more about Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru that shows us why Luke is in good hands with them. John Williams’s “Obi-Wan” Theme is another great musical motif from him, while the score by Natalie Holt shows why, after “Loki,” I’m fine with her star continuing to rise as a composer- she’s a great talent. I continue to have mixed feelings about the films that turned McGregor into Obi-Wan, but his return to the role fulfills a promise I’ve had for a decade with the sort of storytelling I love visiting a galaxy far, far away for.

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