“Hello There,” thanks for joining us. We normally don’t do mini reviews like this, but with the first two episodes out, we wanted to share our opinion of the series with all the negative opinions flying around. This is honestly a very pro Obi-Wan series opinion, but it comes from a starting place of unbias. We don’t want any negativity here, so we will start off by saying everyone is entitled to their own opinions. That being said, if your negative opinions come from a place of attacking that the focus is that the series focuses on saving Leia and not Luke, and that a Inquisitor is a black female, then you can get right the fuck out of here and not come back.
I checked with our editor, just to make sure I could say that. He said he was fine… so now moving on.
As always we tackle the reviews talking about story, acting, and overall. Lets jump on in.
Story 8/10
So.. wow. A lot of people probably were not prepared to see a Obi-Wan so devoid of hope and joy. Say what you will about the prequels, Ewan McGregor played a very fun and enjoyable Obi-Wan. He could be stoic and a disapproving father figure to Anakin when needed, but for the most part the character oozed charm and fun. Now we pick up the series set to around 7-8 years after the prequel trilogy and we have a broken man, pushing away his prior life but clinging to the hope of Luke with the little grasp he has left to the force.
As we start off on Tatooine, I assumed we would deal with Kenobi keeping Luke safe from Inquisitors and Vader from finding him, but it turned out that we were all tricked! Leia is kidnapped by an inquisitor in an effort to pull Kenobi out into the public and force him to save her. She doesn’t know how important Leia was, and if it wasn’t for how important she was, Kenobi might have let it slide.
Mix in a strong female lead that for some reason is obsessed with Kenobi, and a conman pretending to be a Jedi, and you have a solid story. I really hope we see more with the conman in the future, but it’s unclear if we will with only four more episodes left.
Acting 9/10
While Kenobi might be a wet blanket, it’s a perfect acting choice considering where we left him last. The order fell, countless younglings dead by the hand of his apprentice. The same apprentice that he himself had to kill, or so he thought. Ewan McGregor does a brilliant job conveying all those emotions.
The inquisitors played by Moses Ingram, Sung Kang, and Rupert Friend are imposing and convey an intimating and over imposing group of right bastards. Who eventually stands out as the real enemy though of Kenobi is not Rupert Friend’s Grand Inquisitor, but Inquisitor Reva, played by Moses Ingram, who is willing to kill anyone even her teammates to get her man. A lot of people are giving Moses Ingram hate, attacking her as a diversity hire, that she doesn’t belong in the series, but she does an amazing job playing a villain that we want to hate. That’s not the fault of Moses Ingram, that’s just her doing a good job!
“(Vivien Lyra) Blair does an amazing job not only channeling a confident Leia, but also seems to have perfectly conveyed the energy and sass of the original actress, Carrie Fisher.”
Vivien Lyra Blair also joins the series as Leia Organa. While it was a surprise, and its great to see the character return in a respectful way. Blair does an amazing job not only channeling a confident Leia, but also seems to have perfectly conveyed the energy and sass of the original actress, Carrie Fisher. Every delivered line by here is adorable and impressive. Sometimes child actors in series can be frustrating or annoying, but Blair is a breath of fresh air and exactly what the Obi-Wan Kenobi series needs to add some softness to a series about a man who has lost everything.
Lastly I want to say that I laughed my ass off when I saw Flea/Needles in the show.
Overall 8.5/10
For the most part, the series is darker then we probably expected, and a lot more subtle with a lot of the show so far shown with a character known to be a bad ass mostly running for his life. I worry that we won’t get to ever see the Kenobi that could easily best Darth Vader, and that’s what we want. I also hope that we get more little Leia, she is such an amazing bonus to the series and is a powerful reminder of the amazing attitude and tribute to Carrie Fisher.
Conner’s Final Thoughts
Alec Guinness’s performance of Obi-Wan was never really as jovial as McGregor’s in the prequel series, but was definitely more hopeful and chipper then what we see in the beginning of this series. I can’t want to see what they do to give Kenobi some hope so that he is in a better place for the original trilogy’s start.
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