Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Star Wars Series is a Dark Gift

One of the most intriguing quirks of the Disney era of Star Wars, after the acquisition of the Lucasfilm megalith from George Lucas in 2012, has been the growing reappraisal of the Lucas prequel trilogy panned by critics. This, of course, it could just be a case of millennial nostalgia, although I would say that it is also based on a valid sense of appreciation for the films that, while they are undeniably flawed in execution, are rich in the kind of cohesiveness and ideas that the Disney sequel. He lacked a trilogy. Whatever the reason, this reassessment is evidently a driver for the latest Disney+ Star Wars show, Obi-Wan Kenobi, a witty six-part series that seeks to explore what happened to the Jedi Master after the harrowing events of Revenge of the Sith. The show even starts with a recap of the prequels..

Directed by television veteran Deborah Chow, with scripts by showrunner Joby Harold, Obi-Wan Kenobi finds Ewan McGregor's stoic Jedi still hiding on Tatooine, where he has given himself the sacred mission of protecting the young Luke Skywalker. In fact, he is a broken man, haunted by the fall of the Jedi, the death of his friend Anakin (Obi-Wan doesn't know he survived to become Darth Vader) and trapped in a daily loop of drudgery and boredom. In pre-show interviews, Chow referenced movies like Logan, the X-Men spin-off centered on Wolverine from 2017, describing Obi-Wan's darker, character-centric approach compared to the rest of the franchise. Judging by the two episodes that premiered today, She wasn't wrong. It's a compelling portrait of defeat and regret., bolstered by a sad and moving performance from McGregor,

to make things worse, Obi-Wan is now isolated from the powers of the Force, for fear of alerting the Inquisitors of the Empire to their presence. These Jedi Hunters, who hardcore nerds will recognize from the animated show Star Wars: Rebels, they take advantage of the compassion of the Jedi. In a key scene, ambitious Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram) lures a Jedi out of hiding by threatening to kill a bartender, revealing that the Jedi will be played by none other than the Uncut Gems co-director, Benny Safdie. Obi-Wan's dilemma highlights: act, play hero, save others, it's condemning oneself (and probably Luke) to death. "What happened to you?" The character of Safdie, Nari, he asks Obi-Wan at one point. "You were once a great Jedi." Later Nari is found hanging in the village square.

Obi-Wan is finally forced into action by the big surprise of episode one: the kidnapping of a Princess Leia from 10 years, played with endearing precocity by Vivien Lyra Blair of Bird Box. Obi-Wan, who is one of the few people in the galaxy aware of its importance, she is approached by her adoptive father Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits reprising his prequel role) to rescue her. Now you must decide: will you act?, will be the hero, will save Leia? "You couldn't save Anakin", says Organa, “but you can save her”.

A recurring problem with Disney's era of Star Wars spin-off movies and TV shows has been that the more slots they fill in the overall timeline, more lights up the backstory of the great characters, Smaller and less interesting the universe becomes. Did seeing Han Solo in Kessel's career match your imagination? Did Boba Fett take off his helmet and reveal himself as a nice guy who made his character more attractive? Obi-Wan Kenobi runs the same risk here, but it is justified by being the first Disney+ Star Wars series to feel like a main Star Wars story, instead of a cutout, with its center of main characters from the movies. After all, it's hard to think of anything else that might tempt Obi-Wan out of his cave. Of course it had to be Leia..

Episode two offers another rare treat when it comes to recent Star Wars TV shows: A Trip Away from Tatooine. Obi-Wan ventures to the planet Daiyu, blade runner style, a hive of scum and villainy where he must avoid detection and locate Leia.

Joby Harold's script is notable in the first episode for its thoroughness., without a single scene feeling superfluous or wasted. Episode two is a bit looser and lends weight to the argument that perhaps this project would have worked better as a two-hour movie rather than a five-hour TV show. You could also argue this based on the production values of the program., which of course are absurdly impressive for television, But they remain unequivocally televised. Even with the participation of cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon, known for his work on Oldboy and The Handmaiden, the Tatooine and Daiyu scenes have a strange and artificial quality that does not correspond to Obi-Wan's great status. Don't you deserve a bigger stage?

Even so, There is so much to enjoy here. The dynamic between Obi-Wan and Leia is a delight., with the scene where she reminds her of her mother (Natalie Portman's Padme) being particularly poignant, while there are pulpy shadows of John Wick in the way Obi-Wan is plagued by bounty hunters all over town. Kumail Nanjiani's Fraudulent Jedi, who wears a bathrobe and uses magnets to move objects around the room, Perhaps it will divide opinion. The joke is undoubtedly funny, but there's something about Star Wars being so crazy and self-aware that it feels jarring. In addition, why would you pretend to be a Jedi at a time when Jedi are being hanged in the street? Sure there are safer cons.

The second episode ends with Obi-Wan discovering the truth: Anakin Skywalker survived and now lives as Darth Vader. The impact is immense and raises intriguing questions about how it will react in the future. They were like brothers once, And now they are enemies. The final shot shows a burned, scarred Vader in a bacta tank., which gives us our first glimpse of Hayden Christensen's return, who reprises his role as Anakin. It's no secret that they'll fight again in this series., which has raised some concern that it might undermine the importance of their duel in A New Hope from 1977, again, making the universe feel smaller.

But for now, based on the strength of these two episodes, I am willing to give Obi-Wan Kenobi the benefit of the doubt. Just like man himself, we must keep the faith.

Source: BBC