For the past few years, Star Wars fans had been waiting eagerly for the return of Ewan McGregor in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. And finally, this past May we got what we were looking for. Now all six episodes of Kenobi are available on Disney+, so I figure it’s a good time to look back on the series as a whole.
Obi-Wan has always been a very important character in Star Wars so it was very important that he be the main focus of his own show. After The Book of Boba Fett shifted to focus on Mando in the later episodes I was worried that this show might do something similar. Thankfully that was not the case at all. Obi-Wan is very much the protagonist and it’s his personal journey that shapes the entire series. From the start of episode one, we see that Obi-Wan is a very broken man, after all, why shouldn’t he be? He lost everything at the end of Revenge of the Sith and I think that is often overlooked. The hero Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just Ben. This show does such a great job of capturing that, he doesn’t even reside in the house we see in A New Hope, instead living out the last ten years in a literal cave.
Staying true to his character, the only thing that can get him to leave Tatooine is one of the Skywalker children in danger. And his bond with Leia is one of the best parts of this show. Leia has just the right amount of boldness and sass to the point where you can clearly see both her father’s and mother’s traits at work. Pair that with Obi-Wan’s character and you have just a wonderful duo. Now it’s true that we have seen this sort of thing before in Star Wars (*cough* Mando and Baby Yoda *cough*) but here it’s done in a way that makes it feel unique. They both grow together and teach one another different things. We know how both their characters will grow to the point they are in A New Hope so it’s nice to see some of that groundwork laid here.
One of the biggest controversies going into the series was the appearance of the Grand Inquisitor. However, once the show started the controversy began to surround another Inquisitor, the Third Sister. Not only did she take out the Grand Inquisitor causing people to question if this made Rebels no longer cannon, but she somehow knew the truth about Vader’s identity. Both of these were resolved before the end of the show and although she might not be my favorite character, I personally have no problems with Reva. Her ultimate survival did surprise me and it makes me very curious about what her future holds. As for the rest of the Inquisitors, their presence in the show provided a menacing threat but that was nothing compared to the Dark lord of the Sith.
Going into this series everyone was looking forward to the long awaited re-match between Obi-Wan and Vader. Then in episode three they finally crossed blades once again, only for Obi-Wan to get absolutely destroyed by his former apprentice. The chilling line “I am what you made me” and Obi-Wan literally being thrown into a blazing inferno make this fight a chilling sequel to their clash on Mustafar. But luckily they had two more duels up ahead. In the fifth episode they fight once more, but this time its not with blades (at least in the present) its with their minds. Beautifully cut together with a flashback sequence, Vader and Obi-Wan test their knowledge of one another’s minds. It’s their ability to predict the others movements and then one up them that makes this episode so interesting.
Things are more of a tie this time around and they finally come face to face one last time in the sixth episode. This was the duel fans were looking for. It is an epic display of lightsaber skills and neither of them are holding back. In this moment Obi-Wan finally becomes a Jedi master again and defeats his former apprentice. Vader tells him that he killed Anakin, not Obi-Wan and this lifts some of Obi-Wans guilt over what happened. In this battle we get to see Obi-Wan complete the journey that he started back in the first episode. He is a whole lot more Alec Guinness like than before.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the most highly anticipated Disney+ series and in my opinion it delivered on everything it promised fans. While a second season is always possible, I feel that one isn’t necessary and that the story has come full circle.