Obi-Wan Kenobi After 3 Episodes: Disney is A Multi-Billion Dollar Company Making Fan Film Quality Content

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR FIRST THREE EPISODES OF OBI-WAN KENOBI, PLUS WESTWORLD AND STAR WARS REBELS

Take a moment to think of the best shows of the last ten years. Try to remember all those powerful stories with impressive production values for TV, high quality writing, great plot twists, and unforgettable characters. Ask yourself, how does Obi-Wan Kenobi compare to them side-by-side?

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the greatest heroes in American cinematic history. He is among the most popular Star Wars characters, if not the most popular. I do not think audience expectations are too high to expect the TV show that bears his name to have a certain gravitas.

So why, after three episodes, does it look like Obi-Wan Kenobi was done on a budget in a week? Why does the choreography appear comparable to Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Batwoman? Why are there so many plot holes and canon-violating events? Do they just not care? Do they take their audience for granted?

Take the last episode, promoted to have the rematch of the century. Now compare that fight scene to the duels of Dolores and Maeve in Westworld season 3. Or pick any sword duel from the last few seasons of Game of Thrones. How about the fight scenes in Altered Carbon? How about the combat sequences in The Expanse? What we saw in episode 3 just doesn’t stack up. This is Star Wars, not Buffy. If anything it should be superior in quality to its competitors.

Premise of the show had definite potential. Disney decided to write into the gap, so to speak, filling in the time Obi-Wan Kenobi spent on Tatooine after Revenge of the Sith but before A New Hope. There isn’t much in the canon, other than Kenobi’s defeat of Maul in Star Wars Rebels. There may be stories in the comics or expanded universe but most of the fans see this as a quiet period in Kenobi’s life and the saga as a whole.

The gap presents potential for a deep dive into the despair of Kenobi and the despair of living in hiding along with other Jedi fugitives. His potential failing commitment to the Jedi Way, perhaps reinvigorated by his mission to protect Luke. Sure it’s dark but how do you make an uplifting and positive story within this era? There is no hope until ten years later, as you could surmise by the name of the next movie A New Hope.

The show tried for this but the the pain and despair of Kenobi losing his entire way of life and being hunted as a fugitive just hasn’t been as compelling as advertised. The dark times, the Empire, the Inquisitors are certainly violent and aggressive but there isn’t that menacing fear that many others shows have been able to convey in their dystopian nightmare societies.

There’s still a few episodes left so it cannot be written off as a total failure yet. Perhaps someone threatens Luke, as has been rumored. Perhaps Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn commune with one another. The two have a lot to talk about.

It was Obi-Wan’s promise to train Anakin that led to the dark times. At this moment in time, Anakin is clearly not the chosen one. He joined the Sith, helped destroy the Jedi Order, and serves the Emperor in an oppressive new regime that dominates the galaxy. Perhaps Obi-Wan feels like he failed Qui-Gon, or maybe he blames Qui-Gon for his foolish belief in Anakin and the prophecy.

That conversation would be interesting…

So far, the focus has been on the kidnapping of Leia and the rematch between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. Both set into motion by a new character, Reva the Third Sister. These two events sounds grand in scale but really aren’t. For you see, there are no stakes. We know nothing will happen to Princess Leia and that nothing from this period traumatized or otherwise seriously changed her.

There are zero stakes for this alleged rematch of the century. We already know the outcome. We may not have known who won, only that it doesn’t impact events. The duel is redundant. If there are no stakes, what did this sad duel add to the saga? It simply didn’t need to happen.

Then there’s the scale. Aside from the duel, all of the action sequences are low-intensity and seem to be shot with a limited budget. In one scene Obi-Wan surrenders to three stormtroopers and one Imperial officer. He has a blaster and a lightsaber. Anyone who has seen the movies or animated shows knows that a Jedi Master of his skill can overcome dozens of enemies. The writers had to manufacture tension by making Obi-Wan weak and incompetent.

Then there’s the dialogue. There’s not much nuance, subtext, and no philosophical or thematic musings of any kind so far. The dialogue is basic, and only seems to explain whats happening in the specific scene. After a while it gets repetitive. For example, Reva’s ambition and lack of rank is pointed out in every exchange with the other Inquisitors. Leia has to demonstrate her precociousness in almost every scene.

There are exceptions. When Obi-Wan admits that he knew Leia’s mother, there is a real moment between them. Obi-Wan connects to Leia at that point, rather than maintaining his aloofness, as if she’s just a burden. When Leia asked Obi-Wan if he was her father, all I could think about was the fan theory that Padme was having an affair and that he indeed was Leia’s father.

It isn’t a serious theory and I strongly question why Disney would have Leia jump to this conclusion and breathe life into the theory.

The exchange between Owen and Obi-Wan is another good scene. Owen calls him out for his failed training of Anakin. This is a bigger story point and theme that should’ve been at the center of the whole show. Obi-Wan’s failure casts a massive shadow over this time period. Owen’s contempt for the Jedi is another conflict that should be explored. It makes for a great dynamic between two people that are on the same side.

Another moment that carried massive dramatic weight was the meeting of the former master and apprentice. Unfortunately it wasn’t well executed. The moment between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan is undermined when the Jedi Master and war hero turns and runs away. Talk about anticlimactic.

The rematch of the century???

The ongoing theory is that the two will duel again on more even terms before the end of the show. It is hard to see how that undoes how ridiculous this first duel was and how it denigrated Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master and war hero.

The acting is a point of contention among the audience but any objective person watching this has to admit something is off. Ewan McGregor is strong in some scenes but seemingly confused in others, as if he isn’t sure why he’s there. Joel Edgerton is solid in his few scenes. Disney and the showrunners desperately want you to be impressed with Moses Ingram but it isn’t working. Her dialogue feels like it was written for a cartoon villain.

It doesn’t help that Moses Ingram shifts rapidly between a blank expression to instant aggression and yelling. There is nothing in between. This doesn’t make Reva intimidating. Instead it makes her seem completely unstable. We still don’t know much about her or have any context for why she is the way she is. What is worst is after three episodes, we don’t know why she’s close to Vader, or how she knows he is Anakin Skywalker. If it comes later in the show, that would help but we got halfway through and still know very little about the Third Sister.

The preemptive ad hominem attacks on the audience by Disney did not benefit the character or the actress in any way. Reading the user reviews on any aggregate site will show that the criticisms of the show are broad and diverse, with only a fraction focused on Moses Ingram and the character Reva.

Moses Ingram can act. She isn’t doing well in this show but it isn’t for lack of talent. She was solid in Queen’s Gambit and had a small role in the latest MacBeth adaptation.

This show has been no one’s finest moment, in particular Viven Lyra Blair who plays 10 year old Leia. When it comes to child actors, any performance issues are squarely the fault of the director and producers. It is their responsibility to put extremely young actors like her in a position to succeed. They are not doing that. Her abduction scene was laughable. Watching her unconvincing retreat through the forest while evading three adults was insulting to any viewer older than 10. There was no effort to make that scene remotely convincing. In addition, her close-ups sometimes feel like the camera moved in too soon or too late. Her reaction feels delayed at times more than anything, which seems like something that could’ve been easily fixed in editing.

Given the near across the board mediocre performances, it is likely the problem lies with the script and the director, not with the cast.

Many critics and reviewers have noted the numerous small plot holes and problems with the action sequences. From the need to deactivate the laser gate, to Reva’s inexplicable teleportation from the safe house to the spaceport to head off Leia, these damage the suspension of disbelief constantly in all but the youngest of viewers.

Then there is the breaking of canon. For one, “retconning” or bending canon can benefit a story if done properly. So let’s look at two big breaks in canon and see if they benefit the Star Wars saga.

Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi duel again in between Mustafar and the Death Star. Darth Vader’s words to Obi-Wan on the Death Star strongly support the position that Mustafar was their last encounter. Calling himself the learner during that duel only makes sense if he was in some way still Obi-Wan’s apprentice. Anakin did not stop calling Obi-Wan Master until Mustafar. That was when their master-apprentice relationship ended. It is impossible to see how Darth Vader would still see himself as the learner during this duel.

This break in canon is small but cheapens their encounter on the Death Star slightly. It is yet another moment where Darth Vader caught him with one of his kids, this time his daughter. The issue here is whether this canon-break is worth it. What did we get out of this duel? Not much. The fight itself was awful, demonstrating Obi-Wan Kenobi is not in touch with the force for…reasons. This further highlights his incompetence, especially given his mission to protect Luke and eventually train him. How exactly is he going to do that when he seems to have lost touch with the force?

Adding a duel to tear down Obi-Wan Kenobi, bringing him to rock bottom, is not worth the bending of canon and cheapening of their duel on the Death Star. A fall from grace and redemption story could’ve been told without this superfluous duel.

The Grand Inquisitor is killed by Reva, not Kanan Jarrus. There are fan theories that the Grand Inquisitor is still alive and survived his wound from Reva. For now, let’s assume he’s dead. We’ve yet to see otherwise. Reva’s murder of the Grand Inquisitor demonstrates her murderous ambition and animosity towards her fellow Inquisitors. She is consistently petulant and disobedient. This scene puts the crown on that impression.

Was building up the sinister character traits of Reva better than Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger defeating him in Star Wars Rebels? Reva is an antagonist that, as far as we can tell, can only have a minimal impact on the saga. If she is going to do something bigger later in the show, did she really need to kill the Grand Inquisitor? What could possibly happen after this to make that worth it? All Disney has done is show they’re willing to shoot holes in the rest of Star Wars just to elevate one of their own new characters.

Now let’s assume the Grand Inquisitor is alive. You still elevate Reva and her ambition but now she’s as good as dead. He will no doubt order her execution and she’ll have to engage all of them. Obviously, they would love to see her dead anyway. There is no reason Darth Vader would defend her, unless he gives her credit for finding Obi-Wan and orders them to spare her life. That doesn’t seem like the most satisfying outcome but that’s the best I could come up with to tie this loose end up.

So what now?
Given the substandard action, dialogue, and plethora of plot holes, Obi-Wan Kenobi is just not going over well with hardcore fans, particularly the older ones. It just comes off as a little silly. The intended audience of this show must be a younger, more adolescent crowd with just enough fan service to keep some adults hooked.

The violations of canon and the preemptive attack on the fans before the premiere make clear that Disney and Kathleen Kennedy are still not interested in catering to the core fan base. That is yet another tragedy in the story of Disney Star Wars. For many of us older fans, Obi-Wan Kenobi was our only hope.

At this point, it is hard to find a reason for lovers of Star Wars to keep their subscription to Disney Plus. This just isn’t Star Wars, or rather not the level of quality we expect. You get the sense that Disney and the showrunners just don’t understand Star Wars, or at minimum, don’t respect it. Anything is possible in the last three episodes but past experience suggests this show is not going to turn it around.