Helmed by Deborah Chow, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith and follows Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) who is hiding on Tatooine, living a solitary life in exile as he watches over Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely), the son of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) who became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Vader has set up the Sith Inquisitors program, a group of Dark Side Force users, to hunt down any Jedi who survived Order 66, including Kenobi. As a result, he is forced to take on a risky mission off Tattooine and navigate a dangerous galaxy whilst being hunted by the Empire, the Inquisitors, and his former apprentice.
The Star Wars Prequels remain my least favorite trilogy in the Skywalker Saga but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have plenty of good things to offer that people have gotten attached to over the years. One of those was Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, which most people considered the best casting for the younger version of the character and the best performance in a trilogy known for its atrocious acting and writing. For years people have campaigned for Ewan McGregor’s version of Kenobi to get his own spin-off that would chronicle his days in between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, as well as fill in a lot of gaps that were left largely unanswered. And finally, after 17 years we have our spin-off in the form of a 6-episode story that follows Kenobi on his last mission before his destined fate.
I was massively looking forward to seeing this series, not caring about the garbage expectations of the fandom, and was instead fully open to seeing what Deborah Chow would deliver with her take on the character as one of the newest creative minds in the Star Wars Universe. And what she and the showmakers delivered was truly a magnificent mini-series that not only filled in many unanswered questions but also managed to deliver a very impactful personal journey for the titular character. It stayed true to everything that was established before but also managed to add so many new elements and life to the story of Star Wars without relying on pure fan service as a reason to exist.
Ewan McGregor returns as a grizzled and broken version of Kenobi, several years before becoming the wise master that would mentor Luke. With better direction and writing Ewan gives his all to this portrayal of the character, giving Kenobi a lot more emotional depth than he ever had before and showing how haunted he is by everything that happened in the past, including what he considers his greatest failure: the loss of Anakin. The heroic Jedi general of the Clone Wars has fallen hard from grace and we really get to see that in this series, thanks mainly to Ewan McGregor’s perfect performance.
Through both dialogue and facial expressions, we can see that he is plagued with fear, regret, and hesitation as he takes one final mission before returning to his destined fate. Seeing the broken version of this character was heartbreaking, though getting to see him rise to the occasion again and renew his hope for the Galaxy was exciting and thrilling.
That being said, the way the showmakers handled the elements of his journey was probably my favorite aspect of the series. Rather than have him unrealistically return to being an immediate jumping and kicking badass (as the fandom would want) they instead show the effects ten years without practice and suppression of Jedi techniques have had on him. When we see him in A New Hope and even his brief appearance in Rebels he’s not as powerful or spry as he was in the prequels and the Clone Wars, so this series perfectly explains that as well as develops the continuity of why most of the Jedi after the prequel era are a lot less powerful. It is a genius way to bridge the gaps for the characters and the larger story, creating a more flowing and unified universe.
But he does get his groove back as he rises to the occasion and manages to show he is still the Jedi master that many know and love. This was easily my favorite portrayal of the character we have had in all of Star Wars and I am happy Ewan McGregor got his chance to shine brightly as Obi-Wan after all these years. But he isn’t the only one that shined in this show as we get many excellent performances from several characters both new and old that contribute to Kenobi’s development and story in massive ways.
One of the biggest among them is the surprise character who is the reason Kenobi ends up leaving Tattooine, young Leia Organa, played amazingly by Vivien Lyra Blair. Leia’s inclusion and importance to this series was a truly unexpected surprise but a truly welcome one as this finally explains how Leia knows who Kenobi is and why she contacts him for help in A New Hope, which never got explored before.
We get to see her form a relationship with him on screen for the first time and while they might have a shaky, untrusting start we do get to see them grow a unique bond that has an impact on both of them in this series and in the future. And while she may not be fully the Leia that we know as an adult, we do get to see the known personality traits of the character radiate in this fantastic performance given to us by Vivien Lyra Blair. She’s stubborn, sassy, adventurous, strong-willed, and full of good, making an almost mirror image of her adult self that Carrie Fisher would have been so proud of. But at the same time, she is still a child that has a lot to learn and is unaware of how important she is to the fate of the Galaxy at this point in time.
The showmakers play with these elements in the best possible way as well as allow viewers to see unexplored terrain in the Star Wars lore, such as her life on Alderaan and her relationship with the Organas, including Bail Organa, reprised by Jimmy Smits, making what happens later more meaningful and impactful than it was before.
There were a lot of risks adapting this on screen as well as figuring out how to tie Kenobi into it without negatively affecting the canon yet it all works surprisingly great, showing that Deborah Chow and the showmakers were really respectful in staying true to the Skywalker Saga, while also adding new elements, especially with its primary characters. Together Kenobi and Leia meet many faces on their journey through a dangerous galaxy and are forced to face great opposition, which affects Kenobi personally.
This brings us to the villainous Inquisitors and their founder Darth Vader. This was our first time getting to see the Inquisitors put to live-action and I have to say they did not disappoint. They truly felt like a deadly force in this series, similar to their role in Rebels and Jedi Fallen Order, showing how dangerous they can be not just to Jedi but anyone who stands in their way.
Rupert Friend delivers a fantastically creepy and cold performance as the Grand Inquisitor; he mostly serves as a guest inclusion in the series but even with the short time he’s involved he was awesome and really matched with Jason Issac’s performance as the animated older version on the character in Rebels.
But the main standout of the Inquisitors was our newest inclusion to the Star Wars universe: Reva, played by Moses Ingram. She is an unhinged, vicious and impulsive villain that has a mysterious personal obsession with Kenobi that becomes more clear as the series progresses and she was played perfectly by Ingram. We’ve had unstable villains in Star Wars before but Reva stands out not only because of how strong and resourceful she is as an enemy but also because she is not willing to let anyone get in her way to accomplish her goal, including her own allies or superiors.
She is truly a brutal loose canon, making her stand out from most other Star Wars villains, but she stands out even more once the truth behind her actions is revealed. She is not just an obstacle for Kenobi to deal with for the sake of having an enemy but an actual character that is driven to her goals till the end and develops into something truly special. Moses Ingram really kills it in this role and establishes herself as one of the most interesting inclusions to Star Wars.
But by far the one villain that has the obvious greatest impact on Kenobi in this series and affects him throughout is Darth Vader, played physically by Hayden Christensen and voiced by James Earl Jones. What more can I say about the on-screen return of one of the best cinematic villains of all time. He’s handled beautifully in this series from the very moment he comes on, bringing a terrifying presence. Next to his famous hallway scene in Rogue One, this is Vader at his most brutal as he does not hold back in killing anything and anyone to get to Kenobi and make him suffer for what he did to him, literally toying with him in the cruelest ways possible.
Hayden Christensen does an incredible job physically portraying the character on screen, making him feel like a true figure of horror as well as delivering incredible action scenes people have dreamed of. And James Earl Jones still manages to deliver a perfectly haunting vocal performance that sends chills down your spine every time you hear him. His words speak volumes and his impact upon Kenobi is emotionally aggressive in so many ways every time they clash. This includes one amazing duel that is easily the major highlight of the series. Even though this is years before their eventual final duel in A New Hope this one felt more impactful, knowing what both have gone through to get to this point.
There was a lot of risk in having these two meet again like this, but Deborah Chow and the showmakers made it all work perfectly, delivering something not many people would have ever thought they wanted.
And while Kenobi certainly has many enemies on his journey there are also a number of allies he ends up finding, some of which come from the most unlikely of places, all played brilliantly by the supporting cast. Some of the highlights include Kumail Nanjiani as Haja Estree, a con artist posing as a Jedi, and Indira Varma as Tala Durith, a disillusioned Imperial officer who helps Jedi escape the Empire.
And for those wondering if there are any major appearances aside from Young Leia, Vader, and certain Inquisitors there are definitely some surprising faces this series has in the tank, including one that I think most people will be happy to see even for how brief it is.
When it comes to the story as a whole it is probably the darkest and bleakest entry of all the live-action Star Wars shows we have had so far and probably the most character-driven. It feels very much like a character study with emotional depth, high personal stakes, and great themes of lost brotherhood, fear, regret, growth, and hesitation towards redemption.
With how much goes on in this series, Kenobi thankfully remains the central character throughout as every other character, storyline, and element all connect back to him in some way. And right from the get-go, this series establishes its dark tone with an emotional recap and brutal opening that establishes the post-order 66 era that weighs in heavily throughout the series. There are little moments of levity, humor, and excitement present in this series of course, but compared to everything else we have had in terms of the live-action shows this easily takes the most grounded, bleakest, and emotionally raw direction.
And yes, even though some would wonder if a prequel series was necessary since we know most of the fates of the characters involved, it still feels impactful and important and it gives viewers a new understanding or appreciation of certain characters, story elements and events in the Star Wars universe.
And while I do still consider the prequel trilogy to be largely flawed in the Skywalker Saga it’s been shows like this and The Clone Wars that have largely improved upon what the trilogy established and made things so much better, even when we already know how things play out. Plus even when we do know the fates of certain characters we still get surprises that leave an emotional impact on anyone watching.
The technical elements of this series are marvelous across the board and feel largely cinematic, even more so compared to the previous live-action Star Wars shows. There are a lot of intense action sequences that blend the styles of the prequels and the original trilogy but with modern upgrades. Getting to see some of the old characters in action with new technology was absolutely awesome and it let them be able to do things they never could do in the past.
The visuals in this series were absolutely off the chain, with a high usage of practical effects and sets, making you feel very absorbed into the epic worlds and story. Yes, there are times when we get CGI landscapes and locations, but then we also get full-on actual landscapes and sets that are real and full of unique life, as well as colors that make them stand out. We also get a lot of practical creatures, costumes, makeup, and puppets throughout this series and it just feels so damn good to see it in Star Wars cause it makes the universe feel more alive.
But obviously, there are other cases where CGI has to be used and for the most part the CGI is top-notch, though it is never heavily relied on which is also a great thing. There were a few instances where the CGI felt off, primarily in some of the Tattooine scenes in the first episode, but the effects became increasingly better after those moments so it didn’t bother me too much. It never enters Prequel levels of poorly aged effects and green screen.
The editing for the series is also excellent, along with the sound design, but there was one instance in the second episode where they cut to the same scene from a different angle that threw me off and felt like an error. Other than that though everything flowed smoothly.
The cinematography for this series offers some truly gorgeous and impactful moments. There are so many moments you could feel the emotional weight of a character or scene, primarily because of the cinematography. Something I always love in these shows is the visual storytelling without even needing a single word of dialogue.
And of course, when it comes to music this series continues the trend of not a single bad score in the whole Star Wars franchise. But with this series in particular we do get an awesome main theme for Kenobi from the grand maestro himself, John Williams, who came back to compose for Star Wars for assumingly the last time. He delivered a beautiful theme that matches the character but credit should also go to composer Natalie Holt, who provides a strong soundtrack for the rest of the series. We get tracks that are thrilling, haunting, inspiring, and emotional, really adding to what happens in each episode no matter how large or small it might be.
There was a lot at risk making this series but Deborah Chow and her team bravely took it on, delivering a truly satisfying series that starts strong and ends stronger. Does the series need to have a second season? With the way it ended, I don’t think there should be one, nor is there a need for one. They did just enough with this series that I feel pushing it further could break the canon, unless they chose to focus on a time frame that occurs before the events of this series. But I think this series is perfect as is, aside from a few minor issues, and truly delivered another marvelous Star Wars story worth of recognition. I’m going to give Obi-Wan Kenobi an A+ = 99.
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