Ryan Shoots First: Obi-Wan Kenobi (S1 Eps 1 & 2)
Well, what a surprise! Lucasfilm surprised us with the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi a few hours early! Us Eastern time zone fans thank you! But it’s now 2 am so let’s get down to the review…
It’s no secret I am a huge Star Wars fan and will excitedly eat up anything they offer me but I have to admit this has felt like a really big deal. This is maybe the biggest a premiere has felt since The Force Awakens. We all love Mando but we didn’t know what to expect when it debuted. And I love the Clone Wars and Rebels but this feels like a genuine big-time sequel to the forgotten Prequel era. And it is just that, this series is a direct continuation of the story of Revenge of the Sith. Set 10 years later as you have guessed Obi-Wan is held up on Tatooine closely monitoring Luke despite the wishes of his Uncle to just leave them alone. The idea of the wandering Jedi helping the downtrodden is such a great look and pulls direct form the Western and Samurai films Star Wars has pulled form since the beginning. Obi-Wan despite his best efforts looks to subvert this. In the trailer we hear a voice over of the Grand Inquisitor talking about how the Jedi Code is an itch and Jedi can’t help themselves. Well that is usually true but when possibly the only hope in the entire galaxy is under your watch you unfortunately have to bite that bullet. And Obi-Wan does, he is forced to watch others be hurt and taken advantage of, helpless due to his oh so important mission. Compare that with the already defeated psyche of Ben, the great loss he has suffered and the failure he feels. It’s frankly a testament to his strength that he is even committed to this mission. As I’m watching I hate that I could pick out the moments a certain section of the fandom will be picking apart. Let’s just say if Luke’s mindset in The Last Jedi bothered you you probably won’t be a fan of Obi-Wan here either.
It has been such a joy seeing the stars of that era, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen come back on the scene. Throughout multiple interviews leading up to the release they have talked about how the kids they made the show for then are now old enough to really let them know how much they appreciate those films. Because believe it or not before Star Wars fans were hating on the sequels, the prequels were the end of Star Wars and the worst thing to ever happen to it. Man we sure can be a sucky fandom sometimes. Regardless to see them both “get their flowers” so to speak and be embraced back into the fold it has been nice to see. Ewan is great in these first two episodes and the direction of Deborah Chow is really on display. She did some of the best episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett so when I heard she would be doing all 6 episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi I was very excited.
These first two episodes really set the stage for where Obi-Wan is as a person and while it stinks we are already a third of the way through the season I look forward to seeing how his mental state and resolve is tested over the next 4 weeks. Star Wars is back baby!!!
Observations (SPOILERS):
- Like I’m skipping this recap…
- God I love Star Wars
- I can’t take this already. Too much.
- Here I am flipping out cause the Andor trailer showed some real clones.
- Oh man that shot of the inquisitor ship
- Yea Grand Inquisitor looks fine.
- Not surprising other Jedi would hide out on Tatooine.
- I don’t think that’s a Krait dragon but still excellent shot.
- Man this idea that he has to lay low and watch all this happen for the hope of Luke. Holy crap this is good stuff.
- That’s a heck of a commute every day to the fish market
- No way! Luke’s model that was barely even in the actual movie and a toy I own!
- Oh dang, it never occurred to me kid Leia would be a part of this.
- Man this is a real pickle Owen is in.
- 3PO!!
- Ok, I was wondering if she knew she was adopted.
- Well, there’s Flea.
- Oh I’m sure the anti-TLJ crowd are gonna love this.
- Man Reva is so close to figuring all this out haha
- Great first episode
- Can we just admire they put a mouse droid in the opening.
- No one does seedy like Star Wars
- Holy crap… a hobo clone.
- Oh I really think that Kumil’s character was not going to be a Jedi for real.
- Yep!
- Yea it’s been a while, Obi.
- Pretty genius way to get Obi-Wan off Tatooine without making it obvious he was doing something there.
- Ok, Velociraptor dude was awesome.
- Just like riding a bike
- Oh man that’s a bombshell to Obi-Wan
- Huh? That doesn’t line up with Rebels.
- Oh, man. Oh, man final shot is goosebumps.
