Obi-Wan Kenobi (the 2022 miniseries)

[boske]

Yes, the acting was bad in quite a few places, but since I had originally lowered my expectations, I can tolerate what I am seeing. That being said, Ewen and little Leia are doing a great job imo, and holding it all together.

If Reva does not redeem herself I would be shocked, and that by the way, would be the biggest retcon of all: only Anakin has come back, they would be making it look like a simple thing. Anyway, this is not the vintage SW, so...

 

[Tulpa]

Excellent mixed with some very uncomfortable. The quality of dialogue nosedived this episode.

 

[Soolsma]

If Reva does not redeem herself I would be shocked, and that by the way, would be the biggest retcon of all: only Anakin has come back, they would be making it look like a simple thing. Anyway, this is not the vintage SW, so...

And if she used to be Jedi but now uses the dark side, does that make her sith? I thiught there used to be something called the rule of two?

 

[hopesfall]

My favorite interaction.

Man to Obi-wan: I can’t help you.
Obi-wan: You don’t understand what the Empire is capable of.
Man: The Empire killed my wife so I do know. I’ll help you.

I'm yet to see the new episode, but good grief. How that made it from someone's pen to the shooting script is beyond me.

 

[Tulpa]

I'm yet to see the new episode, but good grief. How that made it from someone's pen to the shooting script is beyond me.

I get what they were going for. If the dialogue was better it would have been interesting little skit on the many contradictory emotions people can simultaneously hold in situations like this.

But it's like they wrote an outline and forgot to actually draft a scene around it.

 

[thunderclap]

I'm yet to see the new episode, but good grief. How that made it from someone's pen to the shooting script is beyond me.

I paraphrased a bit but it is that quick of an interaction.

 

[thunderclap]

Also I think the inquisitors were Jedi once.

I believe they said as much in a previous episode.

 

[boske]

And if she used to be Jedi but now uses the dark side, does that make her sith? I thiught there used to be something called the rule of two?

From what I understood, that aspect of Sith order was informal, at least while they were underground (prequel era and before). Yet, it was also self-fulfilling, as all the apprentices would ultimately kill each other until just one remains to serve the master. The uneasy relationship between different inquisitors makes that point very clear imo. If you go back to ROTJ, the Emperor wanted to lure Luke to join Vader and Sidious. So at that point there would have been three of them, with obvious hints

It is very interesting to compare the Sith leadership principles to the rulerships of various totalitarian states over the history, it follows this pattern closely. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

[secretlettermkr]

REVA was obviously a Padawan.. is the first character we see in the first episode of the series

 

[secretlettermkr]

 

[Stavrogyn]

My girlfriend guessed that Reva would redeem herself from the very first episode, and I agree, @secretlettermkr, that girl from the photos is probably her. However, the concept of the so-called redemption irritates me. It made sense with Anakin since he eventually fulfilled the prophecy that he would be the one bringing balance to the Force by killing the Emperor and saving his son, all the while sacrificing himself and dying... It carried some weight. But Reva? I would put her in jail and torture her on that chair from Part IV for the rest of her life.

@boske, sadly, Anakin isn't the only one who ever "redeemed" himself. (I'm pleasantly surprised that no one mentioned the other character - their character arc was a travesty.) Star Wars is basically saying that you could be Adolf Hitler, but if you eventually proclaim that you feel bad about what you did, and maybe do one good thing, you're not only forgiven and redeemed but also a hero. (I had this same issue with Doctor Strange 2 recently).

Also, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Tala seem to be ruthless psychopathic killers just like the bad guys.

I agree with most complaints regarding Part IV. I also agree that Ewan McGregor and the actress playing Leia are the strong points of the series.

As for Reva as a villain... She might actually be a great villain because she's the first one that I really want to see dead. I've always been rooting for characters like Palpatine, Vader, and Maul (Dooku was also intriguing), but Reva, no, I just want Vader snapping her neck as he did to that random kid in Part III. (I'm not counting the sequel trilogy, because there I wanted everyone dead... except for Han Solo.) Vader actually displayed a lot of weakness by not killing her in this episode.

 

[boske]

I think it is explained that what Anakin ultimately did was an ultimate sacrifice that redeemed him: had he not intervened, Palpatine would have killed Luke and gone after Leia. Had Vader prevailed over Anakin, he would have left Luke to die and would then try to co-opt Leia. But, as we had seen, he disposed (yes, he did!) of Palpatine while getting mortally wounded in the process, for the sake of protecting his children, both of them. Vader committed many heinous crimes, and yet his (more precisely Anakin's) sacrifice, a conversion, in the end may have tipped over the scales of justice in his favour.

Apropos "reductio ad Hitlerum", we have not seen anything like that. Von Stauffenberg tried to assassinate him in 1944, but at that time German army was losing the war, while here we see Sidious at the top of his power.

By the way @Stavrogyn , I do not know what other arc you had in mind, maybe it was from sequels that I never warched

 

[Stavrogyn]

By the way @Stavrogyn , I do not know what other arc you had in mind, maybe it was from sequels that I never warched

Yes, it was I know you haven't seen those films, and that's probably for the best.

I agree with what you say about Vader - that's why his character arc carries a lot of weight, and his redemption at the end is so poignant. As for that other character... not so much. And I suspect that Reva might also get her own, similarly ridiculous, "redemption".

 

[boske]

My hunch is that she will sacrifice herself to save Leia. We'll see!

 

[Tulpa]

Today's episode was shockingly pretty to look at. That dynamic range is beautiful in Dolby Vision.

 

[secretlettermkr]

every episode the scripts become more nonsense

 

[Stavrogyn]

I finally watched the last two episodes yesterday evening, and I found them satisfying. To me, the lowest point of the season was Part IV, but III, V, and VI were quite good.

The series certainly has many issues, mainly with the scripts, but the prequels have them too, and I still love them. If I saw Obi-Wan Kenobi back when I first saw the prequels, I can imagine accepting it and loving it the same way.

Reva was improved as a character in the last two episodes, so she doesn't feel as unbearable to me as before. Her rage and ambition, which felt forced from the beginning, really were forced because of her hidden agenda, so her behaviour might bother me less on rewatches. And Vader being aware of her plans redeems his behaviour too, because at a few points I felt that he should have killed her or punished her, but he just kept forgiving her for everything she did.

What I enjoyed the most were the scenes with Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker and his interactions with Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was a nice touch adding the lightsaber training flashback in Part V because we had to see a bit of Hayden Christensen's face finally, and it served as a welcome addition to the relationship/dynamic between the two of them. I especially liked the scene in Part VI when Kenobi breaks half of Vader's helmet, and you can see half of Christensen's face inside, and hear a combination of his and James Earl Jones' voices - it wasn't only an emotional and poignant scene, but for the first time it really merged Hayden Christensen/Anakin Skywalker and James Earl Jones/Darth Vader into one person, so I think that, in the end, the series added something to the gap between the prequel and the sequel trilogies.

It was also nice seeing Ian McDiarmid and Liam Neeson, as brief as their scenes were.

In the end, of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't great television - I doubt anyone would try to argue that it was - but it's a satisfying addition to a beloved franchise that fills some gaps and adds a fresh perspective on some things that we thought were already clear.

 

[thunderclap]

This pretty much sums up my feelings on Obi-Wan.

 

[Tulpa]

In the end, of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't great television - I doubt anyone would try to argue that it was

I'd argue a good chunk of it was. The first and last episodes were outstanding.

 

[Stavrogyn]

I'd argue a good chunk of it was. The first and last episodes were outstanding.

I enjoyed some of the episodes very much - especially 3, 5, and 6 - and I will rewatch the whole series at some point, but I wouldn't call any of it great, not even close. I guess it comes down to personal preferences, but I try to avoid using the epithet "great" unless I believe that something is truly a masterpiece. I've been a lifelong Star Wars fan, but I'm not sure I would even call The Empire Strikes Back great. Unlike some (or even many) episodes of Twin Peaks, like 14 and 29, which I would easily call great.

But I'm very glad that I'm not the only one who enjoyed the show! We seem to be in the minority here.