'Obi Wan Kenobi' Made Me Feel Like A Kid Again

Having grown up with the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and surrounded by the offshoot content that was associated with it, it's been difficult for me to reconcile my nostalgic attachment and love for the films with the fact that...they're bad.

I say that not to condemn people who like them (again, I like them), or to start a fight, I'm merely stating, as an objective fact, that the Star Wars prequels are not very well constructed movies. While the story they tell is reasonably coherent (I would argue because we already know how it's supposed to go), it's also unfocused, wildly inconsistent in its tone, and somehow manages to be simultaneously overlong and rushed (with the plot being stretched over three movies, while all of the truly important stuff only really happens in 'Revenge of the Sith').

One of the best things the prequels have going for them, however, is the offshoot content I mentioned above. This additional content, be it books, games, or TV shows, has taken the base laid by the prequel trilogy and filled in the gaps so well that it has actually kind of elevated the prequels in quality (a treatment the sequel trilogy could desperately use), and 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' is no exception. In fact, it might be the new gold standard of this particular trend. While not a perfect show by any means, and we'll cover that don't worry, 'Kenobi' nails its most important aspects, and allows us to experience all of the emotions that we should have felt during 'Revenge of the Sith' in ways that will leave you reeling.

So without any further ado, you know how this goes, slight character spoilers and whatnot...

The Good

Obi-Wan: Wow. I mean, Obi-Wan was always the best part of the prequel trilogy by a mile, but holy shit, Ewan McGregor really brings it in this series. We see Kenobi at his absolute lowest point here, the first few episodes really beat him down, and it's hard to see our hero fallen so far from grace. He's a hollow shell of his former self; his humor and wit still come through occasionally, but it feels like the life has been drained from him. He reaches for a blaster instead of his lightsaber, he struggles to use the force, he hides in a cave because the loss of his friends and the onset of the Imperial Regime have kicked all the fight out of him. This show really explores how the events of 'Revenge of the Sith' left a permanent mark on Obi-Wan, and the moment early on when he realizes Anakin is still alive is a complete heartbreaker, but it's these low moments that give way to Obi-Wan finding himself again, and lead to the last few episodes of the series being so damn satisfying. Without the awkward dialogue of the movies holding him back, McGregor is able to really bring Obi-Wan to life.

Anakin/Darth Vader: Much like Ewan McGregor, without bad dialogue in his way, Hayden Christensen is able to bring so much more to Anakin's character than what we experienced in the prequels. In the short flashback sequence within episode 5, alone, we see more nuance to his character than all three of the films combined, and it makes me long for a world where someone had seriously vetted the scripts for the trilogy. The painful inner conflict, anger, and obsession he captures feels so raw, his physicality as Darth Vader is nothing short of terrifying, and the dialogue between Vader and Kenobi in the last episode is easily in my top moments from the entire franchise. This feels like the Vader we've needed to see, to really help bridge that gap between the prequels and the originals.

Leia: This one I was not expecting; not only that she played such a large role in the story, but that she was so perfectly cast. I never doubted for one second that this was a young Leia Organa. I love that Leia is the catalyst for Obi-Wan returning, and that she acts as a reminder to him of the best parts of Anakin and Padme, an inspired idea for intertwining her into his arc.

Reva: I wasn't too sure about Reva at first; the first couple of episodes didn't give her much to do aside from "be angry", but by episode 4 it was pretty clear what her story was building towards, and when it all came to a head, I was very pleased with how it played out. I won't spoil her arc here, but suffice to say; it was nice to see another point of view on a major event from the prequels.

And no, I don't care about the fact that her performance was pretty average, I literally could not care less. We all know what the angry fans don't like about Reva and it has nothing to do with her acting. If we're going to condemn every person in Star Wars who doesn't knock their performance out of the park, then I have bad news for fans of Han Solo in 'Return of the Jedi', among others. Get some perspective.

The Story: One of my biggest issues with the prequels is how the character arcs are put almost entirely in the background of the films up until the last 45 minutes of the final movie, with so much runtime being taken up by the war (which is just a big puppet show for Palpatine anyway), interstellar politics, and, frankly, a bunch of nonsense. This show avoids that issue by making the larger events of the galaxy the window dressing, and making the story almost entirely about the characters working through their respective trauma's. The galactic conflict is still there, we still see bits and pieces of it and the Empire is an ever-present threat, but this is a story, first and foremost, about Obi-Wan becoming himself again, about Reva dealing with childhood trauma, and about Darth Vader's unhinged obsession with the one thing that still links him to a past he tries so desperately to bury. It's just so refreshing.

The Action: This one is pretty straightforward; while it might flip-flop in quality a bit in the first couple of episodes, the action only gets better, and better, and then waaaaaaay better, with the finale being an absolute powerhouse. The choreography for the final lightsaber battle may be some of the best in the entire franchise.

The Not So Good

The Soundtrack: This is unfortunate, as Star Wars soundtracks have always been some of my favorites, but this one is just very...unspecial. There's maybe one or two concrete, noticeable themes in the score, and the rest is just a cacophonous mess. This was especially noticeable in scenes where the old music, or even having no music, would have served the moment better, it's like they just wanted to have something going in the background at all times. I'm not sure what's up with the lack of old themes; songs like Battle of the Heroes, The Imperial March, any of the classic themes, these all seem like no-brainers to me, and their absence is just very confusing. I look forward to seeing some of these scenes rescored with the old soundtracks.

The CGI: This one doesn't really bother me so much, I mean it's a TV show after all, but with the practical effects looking so damn good it's pretty jarring to see the fairly mediocre CGI in comparison. The Star Destroyer in the last episode looked great though.

The Star Wars Fandom Nonsense

I was going to break this one up into sections as well but I'm not even sure where to start with Star Wars fans anymore.

No matter the quality of the content that releases under Disney, there seems to be a VERY vocal minority of Star Wars fans that just don't want to like it. I don't know what they want, they don't seem to know what they want (this show gave them so many things that they asked for), so how the hell is Disney supposed to know what they want? I used to envy the people who got to create Star Wars content, but not anymore.

This show was getting one-star review bombed by fans before it was even at it's halfway point, because they were taking the story one episode at a time instead of waiting for it to be whole (apparently they've forgotten how rising action works in TV shows). It's so frustrating to see this show honor and build off of the prequels that these fans claim to love, but then to see those same fans just looking for reasons not to like it; some of the critique I've seen for this show is downright...stupid. Not stupid like "I don't agree with you", stupid like "the things you're saying about this show are objectively false and you're basing your opinion of an entire TV series on inconsequential details like 'I wish they would use the environment more when they fight'", I mean what is that? Tell me you want to hate all of Disney's Star Wars content without telling me, I guess.

Also, the official Star Wars Facebook page had to make a post telling racists they weren't welcome because people were bullying Moses Ingram (Reva) basically the minute the first two episodes dropped under the pretense of not liking her acting. JJ Abrams gets away clean with this fandom despite having directed a downright insulting Star Wars movie, but every person of color in a prominent role gets bullied off social media when they don't give an Oscar worthy performance? I'm not down with that.

Look, if you didn't like this show, that's cool, I don't expect everyone to like all the same things. There are plenty of legitimate criticisms you can lob at this show, especially in the first two episodes. But when it comes to some of the more extreme fan complaints I've been seeing...I just don't get it, I really don't. I enjoyed every episode of this show, despite some flaws, and I think the Star Wars universe is better for it.

Anyway...

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' was excellent. An emotional gut punch of a character piece that delves into the relationship between two of our most beloved characters in a way that the prequels didn't, finally giving the actors who brought them to life a chance to really make us FEEL it. While the show might get bogged down in episodes 2 and 3 while it, and our characters, find their footing, the last few episodes make the entire thing worth it. I'm very torn about whether or not I want a second season for this; on one hand, I love these characters and would love to see more. On the other, this season wraps up the story it wants to tell so neatly, I'd hate for them to have to try and force a new story out of it.

Either way, this was a hell of a Star Wars experience that actually kinda made me feel like a kid again. This was a story, from the prequels, that I don't have to fight with my inner critic about, and it feels like the story these characters, and their actors, have deserved for awhile now.

4/5, I would consider the finale essential viewing for any Star Wars fan.