Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 1 Review
Here’s my Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1 review which is now streaming on Disney+ starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi among others.
This episode is titled simply as Part I and is directed by Deborah Chow. Story by : Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
Teleplay by : Joby Harold and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie
The show takes place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith and you can clearly see how things have changed and at the same time remain the same in planets in the Outer Rim like Tatooine. And its the setting for more of episode 1.
Obviously the CGI is really good for this new Disney+ show and the writing’s good. It’s actually the first Star Wars series that directly connects with the Skywalker saga with Ewan McGregor reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
I loved how they wrote him here as a man that has clearly seen a lot, disgruntled and barely getting by and McGregor elevates this by showing his pain and isolation; at the same time we see that’s he’s already used to this. So when trouble comes knocking to his door, you can expect resistance.
Plus he also has hang ups about the Jedis themselves, something that needs to be explored in the next few issues. Why is he having a hard time communicating with his master Qui-Gon Jinn? What happened? What was his mindset?
I applaud this series for giving us a number of things here’s a list:
- A better look at Alderaan before it got turned into a million pieces
- Young Princess Leia showing how much of her biological mother she is
- The Inquisitors
- The Inquisitors and their in-fighting
Speaking of Inquisitors, I kinda love how they deal with their targets. They toy with them a little bit and let anybody willing to give them a second of their time, to listen to them prattle on about what makes the Jedis and their order bad.
And while the Grand Inquisitor here looks menacing, the real villain spotlight goes to Moses Ingram’s Reva aka Third Sister who at this point harbors a deep grudge and anger over Obi-Wan Kenobi. The hows and the whys we are still not privy as of writing this.
I think by the time we get a proper reveal on why she’s so angry at Kenobi, that will be the time she takes a back seat for the bigger rematch, the fight everybody wanted to see after Revenge of the Sith and even after “A New Hope” – Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader. For now though, Reva serves the purpose of hyping up that fight plus she’s also interesting to watch.
I also have to applaud the production team for the ballsy move of starting episode 1 with the heartbreaking assault on the Jedi temple on Coruscant; an event in the movie we only briefly witness through the POV of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader.
Sadly there’s not much action for the first episode. It’s really straightforward info dump with tons of character development. The only people who even ignite their lightsabers are the Inquisitors setting up how dark they can be. Even Obi-Wan is affected with this dark and grim perception as he is forced to continue keeping low to ensure his cover isn’t blown even when faced with a young Jedi who is hoping he could bring the Jedi order back to life and take down the Empire.
VERDICT: 9/10
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