Why Obi-Wan Kenobi fans want a Season 2 — and why they don’t need one

Only several weeks into Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series, many fans are already begging for the six-episode limited series to produce more episodes. So much so that various rumors have claimed a “Season 2” of the series is already in the works. (The show is officially marketed as a limited run of episodes, but Star Wars rumors are notorious for ignoring the details.)

As I’m writing this, we’re only three episodes into the series — we’ve quite literally only seen half the story. It’s understandable why Star Wars fans want more. So far, the series has been packed with characters both familiar and new, along with references to those we haven’t seen much of on-screen. The timed jump between this series and A New Hope also creates the illusion that all those years need to be filled in with additional stories, particularly Kenobi-focused ones.

But just because there are gaps in time doesn’t mean all of them need filling. The nature of streaming has driven too many viewers into the mindset that six episodes of a show couldn’t possibly tell a full story, when in reality this may be the model that works best for some Disney+ Star Wars shows. If the first three episodes of Kenobi “prove” anything, it’s that less really is more. With fewer episodes to present a narrative, more care is taken to ensure every single second of screen time counts. Of all the complaints you may have heard thus far, “filler episodes” haven’t been a popular one for this show. There’s a reason for that.

Deborah Chow and her team can and will tell a complete story in this series, one that will seamlessly connect to when we meet Obi-Wan again in Rebels and then in A New Hope. The series has very clearly set itself up to be a narrative of growth, acceptance, and finding hope in the face of darkness. In it, Obi-Wan starts out a faithless, broken man.

By the end of it, he will emerge something closer to the version of his character we see in media set later on the Star Wars timeline. A good story doesn’t have to take multiple seasons to accomplish that.

Plus, the less time it covers now, the more other creators can have the freedom to come in and tell other stories set around the same time featuring different characters. Perhaps this show is both a character study and an avenue for other narratives — and maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s the exact story Star Wars needs right now.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor with appearances by Hayden Christensen and Kumail Nanjiani and is directed by Deborah Chow, who previously directed an episode of The Mandalorian. The series is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.

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