So we got our first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi a character return I’ve been waiting nearly two decades for at this point and overall really enjoyed intrigued to see where this goes.
But I also admit… it’s a little (okay maybe a lot) uneven.
SPOILERS BELOW OF COURSE!
What I Loved:
Well I loved Ewan as Ben and just the look at what his life is like now. I’ve seen some people upset that man living in a cave sad is another retread of Luke but no (that would have actually been Luke taking a page from Ben’s book) the difference is we know exactly why Ben is the way he is, we saw it play out, we understand his enormous loses.
I also liked the bit we got concerning his (not great) relationship with Owen.
I am so happy we aren’t stuck on Tatooine with Luke!
I love the actress, Vivian Lyra Blair, playing kid Leia. She is, for the most part, knocking it out of the park. I loved seeing her relationship with her parents (and its seeming contrast to what we’ve seen of Luke with his Aunt and Uncle in A New Hope) and just seeing Alderaan overall was something I’ve always wanted.
Loved the way Vader appeared at the end and like I said I’m very much excited for next week.
Iffy:
I liked the idea of Kumail’s character being just a Jedi fraud even though he did come through in the end. I don’t know though he didn’t feel that different from The Eternals I think at this point all I ever see of him is Kumail.
Did NOT Like:
Actually the scene I disliked the most in both episodes was one that so easily could have and should have been cut…
Basically when Bail SHOWS UP AT Ben’s cave and I’m like isn’t this a secret??? Isn’t he in hiding? Did he leave the dude his address? Oh it’s the third cave from the sand dune shaped like a tree? I don’t know.
Also I’m sorry but to have not one but two scenes of kid Leia escaping full grown adults that didn’t look very good in the first place and okay I can understand Ben not wanting to make a scene in the crowd but how the hell did they wind up on a roof??
Unfortunately I didn’t like anything about the Inquisitors.
(Well at least I did buy that Reva was reckless enough to try the kidnapping plot but I’ll get to that.)
Their lines were, to me, generally the most cringe inducing and that could have also been the delivery. But the in-fighting and the insubordination that just generally look massively incompetent. I’m not understanding at this point why Vader would put up with any of it for a second. I don’t know maybe the Emperor told him not to kill this bunch? Who knows? They aren’t scary. They aren’t intimidating. All I can say on that account is I hope with Vader back in the mix next week things get less bumpy.
And as to the kidnap Leia with the hopes his father will actually contact the long thought dead Jedi friend of his from the war plot??? (Despite the fact that Bail very well knows the stakes and technically Ashoka would have been an easier ask for him at the time period but fine.) Like I said I believed she would do it but it would have been so much easier than to monitor Bail especially since he would have taken her right to Ben!
So I think the script is uneven and little Leia while adorable can stop running away from adults that could easily catch her now but I’m still enjoying it. I was smiling the whole time and I’m looking forward to getting some Anakin/Vader meat in the weeks ahead!
I agree with everything you said. Though I do think kid Leia falls into a similar trap as kid Anakin. In the way that some characters aren’t meant to be seen at such a young age. Aside from that, I’m just glad to see such appreciation for the Prequels in live-action again.
I also wondered how Bail found Obi-Wan. I know Bail has his resources, but really??? Oh well, small nitpick.
I agree with how they are handling the Inquisitors. One of the tricky pieces of the ever-expanding canon of Star Wars stories seems to be maintaining the threat. That was one of my issues with ‘Rebels’ is it began to feel like the entire Empire was incompetent and each week Hera’s band were essentially “Scooby-Dooing this shit” (to quote Dr. Strange) and running circles around the Empire. That made the victories/narrow escapes/etc. in ANH feel less like Leia, Luke, Han, and Chewie were exceptional or lucky or both and more like it’s business as usual for the Empire. I want to be terrified of the Inquisitors. I want to feel the fear that hung around the actual historical Inquisition but with more evil Empire/Dark Side/Star Wars flare when I see them. But I lost that vibe early on in ‘Rebels’ and I’m not finding it here either.
At this point, there is a lot I find very entertaining about ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ (young Leia being the top of the list! I adore her character and how Vivian Lyra Blair plays her!) but a lot of how it’s coming together isn’t doing it for me. Maybe it’s the unevenness you speak of? It’s like the whole doesn’t feel greater than the sum of its parts to me or something.
That young actress is quite a find. Give her a couple of years and I’d be happy to see a young Leia series.
The directing and editing is definitely uneven but there’s some baffling character decisions here as well. I mean I don’t know how far you are but there are certain things where I’m like why is that happening? Would they really do that? Ah no they need to for the rest of the show to happen. I don’t know. It’s a fun show. It’s had some great moments but overall unless the finale is flawless I think I’m going to be mostly disappointed by it.