Obi-Wan Kenobi | Disney+

[Cap]

I am done. 

[Porthos]

16 minutes ago, Porthos said:

You know, in an era where there are soooooooo many complaints about shows literally spoon feeding you information, I'm struck by... I don't want to say a subtly here, but I'm not sure I can find the right words.

 

I know that...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

they're boxed in by canon, but I think the show here was saying, once Obi Wan truly saw Vader as Anakin... he COULDN'T kill him.  Not emotionally outside of a battle. 

 

It just broke Obi-Wan's heart in some way and he just could not kill his brother outside of the heat of battle. Sure, he claimed his brother was truly dead.  And maybe he believed it.  But, then again, unlike a certain someone who I will mention in a moment, he decided not to take vengeance for his friend.

 

In a way, I think it is drawing on ROTS in some ways.  When push comes to shove, he just... can't.

 

Is that a character flaw?  Well, I'm sure people will howl.  And, yes, boxed in by canon.

 

But, looking at the expressions on Obi Wan, he just metaphorically couldn't pull the trigger.  Not in "cold blood" as I said.

 

...

 

And, yes, not only are the parallels to the Ahsoka/Vader fight in Rebels striking, they are certainly intentional.

 

It also heightens, a bit, Obi-Wan's dialogue in RotJ concerning Luke and Vader.  Obi-Wan knows all too well how strong the ties of brotherhood go when he hears Luke say "I can't kill my own father".  It turns the following line "Then the Emperor has already won" into an all-too-knowing 'I've been there myself and I can't blame you' resigned undertone.

 

So, sure, the knee jerk reaction is to howl that Obi-Wan leaving Vader AGAIN makes no sense.  But to me, it makes all the sense in the world.

 

If Vader's mask hadn't split open and he hadn't heard Anakin one last time?  Maybe things would have been different.

 

But it also gave him that closure he so BADLY needed.

 

 

I was just reminded of a line from Revenge of the Sith on Twitter just now...

 

Spoiler

 

10 years later and he still can't do it.  Not when confronted with Anakin in the flesh.

 

...

 

Damn that brotherhood really did run deep, didn't it?

 

[Porthos]

Last comment of the night:

 

Spoiler

May you all find someone who loves you as much as Jedi love lifting rocks. 

 

[Juan Caballo]

Really good finale for this terrible series. 

 

I kinda wish there a actual reason for this to exist other than to break canon. 

 

Overall, some of the most amateurish writing and storytelling. 

[4815162342]

I enjoyed this show decently enough, but there were so many poor/baffling creative and technical decisions that permeated all the way up through the finale.

 

But let's just focus on the finale, shall we

 

Spoiler

Everything involving Reva on Tatooine aside from her being unable to go through with child murder was just a sloppy mess.

 

First off, I know Star Wars loves cross-cutting, but this was an instance where it flat-out did not work. Instead of putting the full focus on Obi-Wan vs. Vader, we got interrupted with snippets of hide-and-seek that really disrupted the flow of the main card event. Plus, the result of this was the apparent ability of characters to teleport light-years in a flash, which is not how lightspeed works. Sure you could say that the Obi-Wan stuff was happening chronologically earlier than the Tatooine stuff and they were just cross-cutting to amplify tension....but the whole point of cross-cutting in Star Wars is to show us things that are going on at the same time! So by that standard, it literally makes no sense.

 

It would have made far more sense, and been far more effective, if the first half of the episode resolved Obi-Wan and Vader, and then Obi-Wan sensed a disturbance in the Force that was Reva having survived and traveled to Tatooine, and he goes there and the tension becomes whether Obi will get there on time.

 

Also, did the finale forget that Jimmy Smits said in the prior episode that he was going to Tatooine? Did Jimmy Smits forget. Did Benioff and Weiss from Game of Thrones write the finale? If the purpose of the hologram was purely to tell Reva where to go, then that makes that plot device even sloppier than I previously thought it was.

 

Lastly, all of the climatic stuff was so goddamn dark and murky. Boba Fett had some cheap-looking cinematography at times, but all of its big action beats were in daylight! I'm not asking for a high noon lightsaber duel standoff, I am just asking for a showdown that looks better than being shot in a dark warehouse with a filter on the camera lens.

 

So to me it seems like Lucasfilm freaked about the movie plan, and made this miniseries on the cheap. And the funny thing is the original writing plan got tossed! So if this result is want Lucasfilm wanted, I am now morbidly curious how bad the original plan was.

 

 

At least Andor from the limited things I have seen looks like it was more competently made.

[Brainbug]

In this last episode nearly nothing makes sense anymore but i didnt care because i was never bored.

 

In the end, this show has a lot of high highs and low lows for me. It comes across as a neat fan project with lots of money to me. I dont mind it at all, but i do think it could have been a lot better.

 

It will ensure more memes though which is always good.

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

what a stupid show and waste of time

[Knights of Ren]

Watched the final episode again and really enjoyed it even more this time without being nervous the whole watch.  This was probably my favorite of the D+ SW shows to watch so far.  I thought the highs far outweighed some of the obvious lows.   Kenobi > Mando S2 > Mando S1 > Book of Boba Fett

 

Part 1: 8.5/10

Part 2: 8/10

Part 3: 7.5/10

Part 4: 7/10

Part 5: 9/10

Part 6: 9/10

 

 

[FilmFincher]

I'm gonna forget there was even an Obi Wan show in like a year. 

It's perfectly watchable but that's really all the show achieves. 

[Porthos]

You know the more I think about it, the more I am absolutely surprised that 

 

Spoiler

Obi-Wan just laid an ass whooping on Vader.

 

Like, beat him six ways from Sunday level of ass whooping.

 

It is very rare in new canon to see Vader just get his head handed to him on such a level [outside of, perhaps, the very first days/weeks/months as Baby Vader in the comics] which makes it all the more striking.

 

I think it's the scene with the rocks which addresses this most.  From the facial expressions to the body language to, well, everything this is Obi-Wan Ascendant. 

 

In fact, it was such a level of ass whooping that I now am starting to re-examine the ANH slightly.  It's long been an idea, if not outright stated, that Obi-Wan all but threw that fight in order to give time for everyone to escape/while ascending to a higher form of existence.  Not so much Obi-Wan toying with Vader in the ANH fight, but not going all-out to "win", as even if he beat Vader, getting onto the ship and getting out was probably... not great odds.

 

Now, I ain't stupid.  I know this is all retroactive examination of previously aired material.  Hell, even the ANH fight itself doesn't really "work" when compared to literally every other lightsaber fight, including ESB [ANH really is a... curious installment that is just different from practically every other piece of SW media ever made, for fairly obvious reasons].

 

But thematically?  It does fit.  The line where Vader says "when last we met I was but the learner" still does ring true.  Vader thought he had beaten Kenobi in the first rematch, but then got beat by both guile (decoy ship) and brawn (final fight in Kenobi), showing that for all he had come he still had much to learn when facing a truly formidable opponent.  Now he still has the bravado (this is Anakin Skywalker still, after all) that is necessary to make such a statement, but the series exits in a place where all the ANH/ROTJ dialogue still makes sense. 

 

Which is no easy feat.

 

Now do I have some quibbles/nitpicks/issues with this episode/series?  Sure.  One semi-major one that comes to the top of the list, actually, that stops this from being an all-time classic for me. But it's not nearly enough for me to seriously downgrade the series.  At most, knock off about a point or so on a final grade.

 

Am I going to go on about them?  Probably not. After all, everyone else is gonna gripe/moan/complain about it, so why should I join the chorus? Not today at any rate. Instead I'm gonna point out what was absolutely terrific in this episode/series, and that was one of them. 

 

I noted that this series might as well have been subtitled "How Obi-Wan Got His Groove Back", and that  part was delivered sublimely in this final installment. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Porthos

[CloneWars]

The show was entertaining but needed some help. The Darth Vader scenes, all of them, were great. This show did have some issues though. It's still better than the ST. It's not Mando though. That's for sure.

 

Spoiler

I really wish when Obi-Wan was in the ditch that Vader said "I have the high ground."

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by CloneWars

[Porthos]

18 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Instead I'm gonna point out what was absolutely terrific in this episode/series, and that was one of them. 

 

I noted that this series might as well have been subtitled "How Obi-Wan Got His Groove Back", and that  part was delivered sublimely in this final installment. 

 

11 hours ago, Porthos said:

That was a beautiful ending.

 

I want to talk more about this. 

 

Spoiler

I also noted previously that the show was all but blaring to the hills that Qui-Gon Jinn was coming back.

 

SW is noted for many things, but a certain level of subtly isn't always one of them [though as I have pointed out it isn't given nearly enough credit for when it is subtle].

 

In fact, Qui-Gon was so telegraphed that I was surprised that he hadn't shown up as we entered the final episode of this series.  I was expecting him to be the one to help Obi-Wan help get out of his funk/give him the talking-to he so badly needed.  As the final episode wrapped up, I had all but resigned myself to Qui-Gon not showing up.

 

Instead he only shows up after Obi-Wan has finally screwed his own head on straight.  He (metaphorically) stood back and let his apprentice figure out how to navigate his trauma/issues/problems on his own without having his hand being held.

 

And isn't that what Wise Old Mentor Figures are supposed to do? 

 

Having Qui-Gon show up at the end was a reward for Obi-Wan in navigating a most difficult trial.  It was earned by the character, to use the common screenwriting parlance. Sure it was fan service to a degree.  But it was earned fan service.

 

That's what I meant about "that was a beautiful ending".  It was Obi-Wan, with his self-doubt and lingering trauma, if not gone, then abated, truly being able to take back on Being a Jedi again.  It was showing that Obi-Wan Kenobi was finally ready for the instruction/meeting with Qui-Gon.

 

When first we saw Kenobi he, mentally and spiritually, was in no way shape or form ready for the next step.  But after this?  Oh yes, very much so.

 

Just a fantastic moment, really.  And I'm glad was in this series.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Porthos

[George Parr]

Somehow the show never really took off for me...

 

it's not that it was bad, it was mostly solid throughout, with an uptick towards the end, but it didn't really have a single episode I would consider to be great. It just chugged along at a level of "pretty good", outside of a few moments here and there. In the end, that leaves the show as fairly enjoyable to me, but in terms of what I had hoped the show could offer it is a bit disappointing.

 

If I had to rank all the episodes from the three live-action shows, I don't think a single one from this show would make the top 10. Maybe one could eek in at the bottom.

[CloneWars]

Damn! James Earl Jones is 91 years old.

[Legion Again]

Hmm, unfortunately this never really got great for me. I think it was just an incredibly difficult premise to thread, Kenobi doing stuff between ep 3 and ep 4. The inquisitors we’re mixed at best, Vader had some really cool moments but wasn’t a fan of how things ended with him. Obviously tried pretty hard not to contradict movie canon or statements too directly but it still ended up a bit strained for me on that axis.  
 

Oh well. TCW and Rebels still my top shows by a lot, so mostly hyped for Ashoka and Acolyte at this point.

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

I think the finale just proved how bad an idea this was IMO. Like Legion mentioned above.. with this premise, you're already backed into a corner. You're essentially arbitrarily coloring in the lines and any mark outside is a risk of retcon and contradictions. So what's left to even achieve or accomplish? 

[Menor the Destroyer]

I had a few issues with the finale:

Spoiler

The way Obi-Wan beat Vader was just quite unsatisfying. Felt very dark side and not really in keeping with his strengths (and not in a "Obi-Wan is being tempted by the dark side" way, but in a "not enough care was taken with choreographing this part" way). It seems like a minor quibble but I would have much preferred an Obi-Wan victory that leaned more into his strengths as a master of defense and redirection, rather than the generic raging powerup. Also, the rock throwing felt a little much towards the end. Would have preferred a more balanced outcome than Obi-Wan just completely thrashing Vader, it kinda makes you wonder why Luke is even needed at all. 

 

As others mentioned, the cross-cutting stuff wasn't thought out well. 

 

 In general I found Reva's storyline in this episode kinda meh, and didn't really justify the logic-bending of the way she survived in episode 5. I think that death would have been a better end for her character. 

 

Thought that the ending with Vader was a bit meh, it feels like his character didn't really change at all from this series.

However, it was still easily the best episode of this series for me. Generally wrapped up the storylines well and the emotional moments landed. Was thinking a 6/10 after 4 episodes, but the last two episodes were strong enough for me to bump it to a 7. It's held back by a meh-ok first two-thirds, and I still am not entirely sure that this show won me over about the very concept of Obi-Wan and Vader meeting between movies.

Spoiler

I think @Porthos is dead on about the way Qui-Gon's appearance was handled. I was also expecting him to come back to encourage Obi-Wan at the low point, but having him appear at the very end also worked quite well. Also think the parallel with Rebels during the duel was really well-done. 

 

I kinda understand what was going on with the lack of Imperial March/Leia's theme/Force theme after this episode, though I still feel like this approach to the score was not warranted, since those themes were all used quite liberally in ROTS. 

 

Enjoyed Leia's moments and the holster part was fun. 

 

[Torontofan]

Its funny the more Disney tries, all they do is make Revenge of the Sith a more enjoyable film. 

(I love Mando show though)

[Daxtreme]

Good last episode, sort of salvages the series for me. I still think the direction was poor overall but I'd give thumbs up to the show.

 

Spoiler

"Hello There" had me in stitches honest to god. Hilarious!

 

So 10 years old Luke has already been the victim of force powers. He even saw a red lightsaber firsthand! That doesn't seem to fit with Episode IV but I'm willing to let that slide. He's supposed to be some kid who's never had anything exciting happen to him ever in his whole life, lives in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. But now apparently a Sith Inquisitor wanted to assassinate him when he was 10. Holy crap! 

 

I've been really impressed with the way they handled Reva throughout the series though. Gonna repeat myself here but I still have no idea why people were so mad at the character/the actress. I think she does a great job! I want to see more characters like her tbh.

 

The fight between Kenobi and Vader was good. Not great, but good. They actually found a way for it to make sense with episode IV which I did not see coming. Like Porthos said, it does work with their duel in A New Hope. Obi-Wan doesn't give a fuck at this point, he's talked with Qui-Gon and knows how to become a Force Ghost. He just wants to join him and Yoda and sees this as the perfect opportunity. He doesn't even want to win against Vader anymore. He won twice, he's so over this now.

 

 

 

But please no 2nd season. There is nothing to tell here. Please let's just... tell a new story for once? Something new, with new characters, new storylines, new stuff. Before I thought these filler shows would only suffer from Prequel Syndrome but now they're full on on death's bed with the sickness.

[Menor the Destroyer]

8 minutes ago, Daxtreme said:

Good last episode, sort of salvages the series for me. I still think the direction was poor overall but I'd give thumbs up to the show.

 

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"Hello There" had me in stitches honest to god. Hilarious!

 

So 10 years old Luke has already been the victim of force powers. He even saw a red lightsaber firsthand! That doesn't seem to fit with Episode IV but I'm willing to let that slide. He's supposed to be some kid who's never had anything exciting happen to him ever in his whole life, lives in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. But now apparently a Sith Inquisitor wanted to assassinate him when he was 10. Holy crap! 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

Yeah that part bugs me as well, I don't like Luke interacting with the Force at all pre-ANH, it sort of takes away from the impact.