Obi-Wan Kenobi - Episode 3 - Review

After a double hit of Obi-Wan Kenobi last week, we are back to single episodes going forward, but somehow this third episode had more packed into it. The show also wasn’t shy about bringing in its major villain early on, but with all of that, was it enough to keep the force flowing, or should you have a bad feeling about this.

****Slight spoilers ahead****

The ending of the second episode, with Obi-Wan finding out that Anakin was alive still, shook Obi-Wan, not because he was alive, but that he was not the murderer of his brother. When the two were last on screen together, we got to see Obi-Wan break down emotionally at the actions of Anakin and in the past 10 years, it seems that the guilt was eating him up inside. We can see that he doesn’t quite believe it at first, as he is seeking support from his former Master, Qui-Gon Jin in order to make sense of what he is feeling. While that is happening, we get to see Darth Vader made whole once more, he is no longer in the tank and being dressed to impress and it was honestly a surreal moment. What was weird was that the Third Sister, Reva, would call directly to Darth Vader and report on the Obi-Wan sighting, clearly leaping over the chain of command that was meant to be there.

Reva is a character that is dividing the fan base, some love her and others not, my issue with her is that even with how the episode ended, she is still not a menacing threat. Yes, she is dangerous, but most of that appears to come from rage, rather than a sense of malice and while there are goals that she clearly has, hopefully she doesn’t choke on her aspirations. The sub-plot of Obi-Wan and Leia hitching a ride through the countryside was interesting, if only because it gave Leia more of a chance to learn about her past, as little as she did get. Obi-Wan is clearly not used to being ignored, he tells her not to speak and she starts a conversation, tells her to stay put and she has to walk off. It was a little heart breaking to have her apologise for running off, which lead to this, so it was nice to see Obi-Wan tell her it wasn’t her fault.

Of course, the real meat of the episode came in when Darth Vader entered the small mining town and we saw Obi-Wan just standing by, unable to lend any support to those in the way. We got that amazing scene back in Rogue One, of Darth Vader just decimating the Rebels on the ship and that was intense, but this was something else. When Darth Vader started pulling people from their homes with the force, snapping the necks of kids and in general causing chaos, it felt like Obi-Wan would jump out each time. The lack of reaction is clearly what drove Darth Vader to execute more drastic actions, but each time there was no response. The shot of him waiting in the quarry, before igniting his Lightsaber was amazing, if only because it then echoed the previously mentioned Rogue One scene.

Their fight though, or tussle is probably a better word, was a little weird and that isn’t because of how little Obi-Wan was willing to fight. Having the main character run away, over and over again felt wrong and yes, it makes sense that he knows he can’t win, but one would imagine that he does try things, but he really never does. The shot with the fire between them was interesting, if only because of the similarities to their final moments in Revenge of the Sith and while it was a tragic moment, there really didn’t feel like there was a sense of danger. Darth Vader even confirms that the pain has only begun and while the end result looks bad, there is nothing from Obi-Wan during it, to confirm it was weird.

There were also a few things off about the show, not in terms of story, but execution of it, the loader droids were clearly people in suits and we have had that since the original Star Wars in 1977. For some reason though, it was just something that stood out to me, in sort of a low-budget fan film way, rather than anything else. Also, during the scene where the Inquisitors are planning their next steps, there is a clear overdub of the dialogue for one of them, with the audio not matching the mouth movements and it was bad.

I still don’t know about Reva and her intentions, there are times when she appears to want to be the right hand woman to Darth Vader, but then we get glimpses of hesitation on her face, or perhaps doubt is a better word, that make me think there is some plan for redemption. It is interesting that, even though she is meant to be on the Dark Side of the Force now, she doesn’t have any of the telltale signs of it, no cracked skin, or angry red eyes, which also gives me pause that she might turn against Darth Vader and the rest of the Inquisitors. The savagery of Darth Vader was perhaps the most confronting aspect of the show so far and again proves why the character is such a dangerous and icon film baddie. I do wish there was a little less him standing and looking out the window, it is like they are attempting to plant the seeds of doubt in the viewers minds, on he actions he is willing to take and it feels like a pointless addition.

The third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi kept the momentum up from the first two, along with showing us some wonderful new locations to visit, though you can clearly see the volume in use during some shots, it also took the threat that the Inquisitors were meant to be and delivering it in a big way with Darth Vader being on screen. I really thought that Obi-Wan and Darth Vader were going to meet towards the end, so I was pleasantly surprised to see them squaring off so early on, it does raise doubts on the line from A New Hope, when Darth Vader claims that the last time they met, he was the apprentice. That indicates another fight is in the cards, one that Obi-Wan does win and with luck, thoroughly so, but it seems there is a wait ahead for that.

The Score

8.0

The Pros

+Obi-Wan still carries the weight of his actions with him and upon learning Anakin is alive, you can see the conflict on his face

+Darth Vader proving again that there is nothing going to stop him from doing what needs to be done, no matter how many people have to suffer

The Cons

-The people in robot suits

-Reva is still a mixed bag, she is either evil and wanting to become stronger, or going to fake out and redeem herself, and neither works right now