Kenobi Finale Review: That’s Enough Legacy, Thank You

Episode 6: That’s Enough Legacy, Thank You

Note: My normal practice is to view each episode twice before review – once to watch for enjoyment and general impressions, and a second time to take detailed notes. Once again, time is constrained this week, so I’m reviewing based on one full viewing, detailed notes, and referring back to the episode quickly when needed for clarification.

Impressions: Episode 6 of Obi-Wan continues the trend of having some individual good scenes, combined with scenes that make little or no sense. Too often, Disney is trying to force the narrative in a box and make you feel what they want you to feel, without regard to narrative sense. The overall feeling is that there may have been a good show in here, if the narrative had been tightened down or cut to an appropriate length. As it stands, the show has convinced me that Disney needs to stop mucking about with Legacy characters. If Star Wars is to continue, they need to tell new stories with new characters and stop taking sledgehammers to their own foundations. There were things to like about this show – but not enough to justify it.

****SPOILERS****

The show opens on Tatooine, with the “Southern” shift boss that Obi-Wan used to work for cutting in line at a water station. He is threatened by Reva, who is looking for the Lars homestead. In the next scene, we see Rokens transport dodging fire from the Devastator. Roken tells the refugees and Ben that the hyperdrive is nearly fixed and they’ll jump soon, but this is a lie. He confesses to Ben that the situation is dire and they need more time. Leia and Lola are trying to keep Corran and his mother entertained with Lola, and she remarks on their fear. Ben admits that he is afraid too. Back on Tatooine, Owen and Luke have arrived at a store to purchase a replacement belt for a speeder that Luke had broken. There is banter between the shopkeep and Owen, before one of the other citizens arrives to warn Owen that Reva is looking for him. We cut back to Obi-Wan aboard the transport, arguing with the refugees. His plan is to leave the transport in a shuttle in the hope that Vader will pursue him. Leia is upset by this, and so are the refugees – but – why?

They make the case that they all agreed to stick together, and the refugees claim to “need” Ben, but he has been the source of all of their troubles. He has been with them for at best a day, and his arrival has not only delayed their escape, but put all of them in mortal danger. This scene makes no sense and is once again the case of Disney trying to dictate to the audience how they should feel in a scene. It doesn’t work.

Back on Tatooine, Owen arrives at the farm and warns Beru that Reva is coming. They send Luke to the garage so they can talk, and uncover a hidden cache of arms. Owens plan is to flee into the desert, but he is overridden by Beru, who refuses to leave her home. Once again – why? This is another chance for Disney to show that the woman is in charge, despite the fact that staying in a place where Reva is coming provides no advantage. Like many other issues in the show, this doesn’t make sense.

At the transport, Haja has spoken to Leia. Ben says his goodbye to Leia, and gifts her with the holster that once belonged to Tala. As he’s preparing to leave, he reaches out to Qui-Gon again, who still does not answer. Roken again tries to convince Ben to stay. On the bridge of the Devastator, the Grand Inquisitor argues with Lord Vader. Vader will pursue Ben at any cost, but the Inquisitor argues for chasing and destroying the refugees – shutting down the entire Path Network. Why is this a debate?

Vader leaves in a shuttle moments later to follow Ben – could not the Devastator then destroy the transport? Both vehicles are hyperdrive equipped, and the Grand Inquisitor could command the attack in Vaders absence. But nevermind. The Devastator breaks off the persuit of the refugees and follows Bens shuttle, which dodges and weaves – it is very obvious that the Devastator is for some reason firing with only one cannon.

Back at the Lars home, Owen and Beru seal Luke into the garage and tell him that a Tusken Raiding party could be coming. They warn him to stay in the garage, and if anything happens to them, to run. Ben and Vader both land at a rocky spire planet that reminded me a bit of Rhen Var, but without the snow. There, Ben finds that Leia slipped Lola into his pocket to keep him safe. He leaves the droid on the dash of his shuttle. Reva arrives at the Lars farm, and it’s obvious she is in bad shape. Her breathing is labored, but she is determined. In failing to kill Vader, she is left with only the option to hurt him – and intends to do so by killing Luke.

Vader lands his shuttle and finds Ben waiting for him. Vader asks if Ben intends to kill him, and in an echo from Revenge of the Sith, Ben tells him that he will do what he must. The fight begins. There are a couple of things that stood out to me about the lightsaber fight – the first is that I miss Nick Gillard. They attempt to put more energy and acrobatics into this fight, but it doesn’t hold up to the choreography of the prequels. Part of the reason for this may be because they’re pulling their swings with their lightsabers – I think part of the reason is that they’re using LED-string blades (similar to the Black Series/Master Replicas) to have proper lighting, but they may be afraid to break them when making contact. In this case, I’d rather they go back to the metal/carbon-fiber rods and have the full force behind their swings.

As their fight begins, Reva stalks the courtyard back on Tatooine…

Back on the rocky planet, Vader and Ben are now fighting with the Force – Ben attempts to crush Vader by ripping a rocky pillar from its roots and crushing him, but Vader flings it aside. Vader remarks that Bens strength has returned, but the weakness remains. Vader forces Ben back and collapses the ground beneath his feet, exclaiming that this is why Ben will always lose. Vader buries Ben alive in a mountain of stone.

In the courtyard at the Lars homestead, Owen and Beru open fire on Reva, but she gains the upper hand. As she descends into the garage, lightsaber lit, they yell to Luke to flee. He climbs up through an upper window and escapes out into the desert. The scene is cut quickly, so it’s possible that he didn’t hear the hum or see the red glow of the lightsaber, but it’s stretching credulity to believe this is the case – won’t Luke have questions about this later? This seems to be a pretty serious break in continuity, and it’s done casually for no good reason. Ben holds back the tomb of stone surrounding him, and hears voices from the past. Many echo his failures, but then he remembers Leia – and one tiny memory of Luke. This gives him the strength he needs to throw off the mountain and resume his pursuit of Vader. (I do worry that Disney keeps coming back to the theme of using the Force to make rocks float, and showing that ability to be too powerful – I feel an effort like this should tax a Jedi, only a Sith should be able to use this kind of power with impunity – but for the sake of the story, I see why it’s necessary.)

Back on Tatooine, Reva follows Luke into the desert and a box canyon…

Returning to Ben and Vader, the fight resumes. Ben attacks Vaders weak points – his chest box, and slahses his back. Vader begins to struggle, and Obi-Wan throws him off – finally, Ben slashes his helmet (as Ahsoka will later in Rebels.) The face of Anakin is revealed, and in the best scene of the show, there is a conversation: Obi-Wan: “Anakin?” Vader: “Anakin is gone. I am what remains.” Obi-Wan: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Anakin – for all of it.” Vader: “I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker. I did. The same way I will destroy you!” Obi-Wan: “Then my friend is truly dead. Goodbye – Darth.” This scene is brief, but emotional and effective. My only complaint is that it did not do what this scene NEEDED to do for the series to work – Obi-Wan did not reach out to Anakin and offer him a path back to the light. When Vader declared that Anakin was dead, Ben didn’t push back – he just accepts it, and leaves. Because once again there is no scene that shows that “Obi-Wan once thought as Luke did” in Return of the Jedi, it makes this entire series superfluous. When leaving the planet, Ben has visions of Reva attacking Luke. He jumps to hyperspace, heading to Tatooine.

At the box canyon, Reva catches up to Luke and pulls him down from a ridge above, knocking him out. She prepares to kill him, but when she lifts her lightsaber to swing, she sees her younger self in his place. Memories of Anakin attacking the Jedi Temple and the killing of the younglings prevent her from carrying out the murder. Ben arrives at the farm, to find Owen and Beru calling out for Luke. Ben says he will go to search the Dune Sea for him, but as he prepares to do so Reva appears, carrying the unconscious form of Luke. They fear the worst, but Luke stirs. Ben and Reva have a conversation – Reva no longer knowing what she is, fearing that she is what Vader is. Ben tells her that she has a choice, and she chooses to leave her lightsaber in the sand, freeing herself.

Back on Mustafar, Vader has recovered and reports to the Emperor. The scene is brief, but I have to say that Ian looked great! This is the best the Emperor has looked since 1983 in my opinion – the makeup finally matches his original look, and I couldn’t have been happier about that. Vader wants to continue to seek our Kenobi, but the Emperor sees this as a distraction. He begins to warn Vader that if he cannot overcome his past, there will be consequences, but Vader interrupts him and pledges his loyalty to him and him alone. We finally hear a brief strain of the Imperial March.

On Alderaan, we repeat a scene from earlier in the series, with Leia dressing in her formal clothes for a reception. This time, she straps on a holster. Breha arrives and notes the odd choice of dress, but tells Leia that she likes it. Outside, Leia, Bail, and Breha receive Obi-Wan, who returns Lola to Leia. Lola is placed in her new holster. When talking about his future, Leia does suggest that Obi-Wan should get some sleep, which did get a laugh out of me. Ben admits that he hadn’t told Leia everything he knew about her parents, and described the attributes of Padme and Anakin that have been carried forward in her, over Leia’s theme. He tells Leia that she can call again if she will need help from an “old man” in the future. Back on Tatooine, Ben is packing his things and leaving his cave behind. He comes across the T-16 toy that he had purchased earlier, and makes a last trip out to the Lars homestead.

Owen is surprised to see him, but not openly hostile – Ben tells him that Owen has been right all this time, and that Luke just needs to be a boy right now, and that Owen and Beru are all the protection he will need for now. Owen smiles and asks if Ben would like to meet Luke. As he approaches the boy with his gift, he says “Hello There!” Finally – riding off into the sunset towards Beggars Canyon, Obi-Wan finally sees the ghostly form of Qui-Gon, who tells him that it’s taken him long enough. (This is new – in the Clone Wars previously, Qui-Gon was not able to manifest as a spectral form, so apparently he’s been learning some new tricks in the afterlife.)

As I expected, Ben asks him where he’s been, and Qui-Gon tells him that he’d always been there, Ben just wasn’t ready to see him him yet.

With that – the series ends.

There are a lot of things to like in this episode, but also some enormous missed opportunities. Overall, I can’t help but feel that the writers actually wanted to make the Leia/Tala/Reva show, but only felt they could do so on the backs of Obi-Wan and Vader. On the other hand, I did love the scene between Vader/Obi-Wan, even though Obi-Wan did not reach out to Anakin in the way they needed to. I’d also love to see a series with Ben and Owen being forced into an adventure together. (Every time Owen is on screen, he steals the show.) I think there probably was a differently-edited version of this story that could have fired on all cylinders, but as it is it moves in fits and starts and doesn’t add enough to the universe to justify its existence.

But that’s just my take – what is yours? Tell me in the comments down below – and until next time, May the Force Be With You.

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