Somewhere within this 6-hour event there lives a concise and powerful 2-hour film, but sadly the filler and bloated nature of the latest Star Wars Disney+ show leaves it feeling unnecessary and aimless. When the show shines, it really does. This happens when the show focuses on its primary relationship, the fraught connection that still lies between Obi-Wan and Vader. Sadly, though the show feels it necessary to accompany this story with multiple others that truly add nothing to the wider story of Obi-Wan’s journey.
The show really caught me off guard initially with where it decided to take its plot. The inclusion of Leia was an unexpected surprise, but a welcome one. The show nails the characterisation of who a young Leia would be and laid the foundations for the character that we’re introduced to at the start of Episode 4. Vivien Lyra Blair does a wonderful job at playing this Leia with as much confidence and tenderness you would expect from her character.
In the initial 2 episodes too, there does seem to be a lot of promise for the show. It barrels through the plot at a consistent pace, the broken nature of Obi-Wan is explored quite well, and we get hints at him trying to wrestle with the shadow of his greatest failure and learning to come to terms with it. But after this initial start, the series feels aimless. For one, we rehash the same plot with Obi-Wan chasing Leia for another 2 episodes, which is so frustrating considering the length of the series, and the show seems more interested in telling stories of characters other than Obi-Wan.
Throughout the series I really enjoyed The Third Sister. The performance from Moses Ingram was fantastic, Reva is filled with this chaotic anger that hasn’t been managed and so manifests itself quite frequently in her actions. The series also handled why she is this way pretty perfectly. The reveal of the origin of her hatred was a delightful surprise. However, the show’s dedication to this subplot ultimately leads nowhere. Reva’s story doesn’t tie into the overarching conflict between Obi-Wan and Vader at all. If you can let a completely awful oversight in episode 5 go, where Reva is left alive by Vader, then her arc does conclude in a satisfying if all be it predictable way. But it just doesn’t feel necessary for this particular show. It could be removed, and it wouldn’t really change the trajectory of Obi-Wan’s character.
In all honesty, once the show is past the initial episodes where its set up the story, it seems more concerned with driving the plot in such a way that it arrives at these big cheer worthy moments, instead of naturally writing them into the story. Before even watching the show, you know there’s going to be an Obi-Wan vs. Vader battle in episode 6. The show even sets up the story to have naturally occurring moments, such as Obi-Wan talking to Qui-Gon, but ultimately chooses to write in the most boring and inconsequential versions of these moments.
It’s not to say that the show doesn’t have its moments that are worth its existence, but they are buried under a lot of unnecessary parts. The show is relatively enjoyable on the whole, but it just doesn’t hold the weight that you want it to. There’re no real moments of character driven intimacy that have any lasting impact unless they’re tied to these larger cheer worthy moments.
These moments in solitude are really enjoyable. The one thing this show absolutely nails is its characterisation of Vader. There’s not a single misstep of how Vader is written. We get to see Vader in his prime, at his most ruthless, and we get to see that raw power that’s fuelled by hatred and anger in the coolest ways possible. There isn’t a single interaction with his character where you don’t feel how imposing he is and how he intimidates those around him. “I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker. I did.” I mean this line alone was perfect.
It is a shame that this show didn’t come with the visual and sonic grandeur that often accompanies theatrical Star Wars projects as it does sometimes suffer in these departments. None of the fight scenes are particularly well shot and the spatial awareness of such battles feels hard to follow. The best fight scene of the show is Vader vs. Reva, perhaps due to the intimacy of their movements it was easier to understand the choreography of the fight, but you could feel the weight of every move which can’t be said for all the other fights.
The show overall as well just felt a little flat visually, which could be due to the Volume still being a new technology, but it didn’t feel as polished as it could’ve been. And to put it bluntly it looked cheap, the production quality just wasn’t there at all. The world’s felt incredibly empty and lacked any sort of tangibility. There’s some good visuals hidden in the show but it’s overall visual palette was bland and lifeless.
Star Wars is also known for having iconic scores that always elevate its projects, and sadly Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t have the grand score you’d want from it. Granted the score does pick up in the last 2 episodes, but unfortunately there’s no real musical identity for the show. The big moments often feel less grand as its not accompanied by a score that reflects what’s on screen. It sadly doesn’t use the scores and themes associated with the iconic characters to its advantage, nor does it try to do something completely different like The Mandalorian.
Ultimately, I don’t think this show is awful, far from it, there’s stuff in here that is enjoyable and satisfying. But the show as a whole feels completely pointless and inconsequential as it doesn’t really inform us of anything new about any of the characters we already knew. It was just disappointing as it doesn’t really feel like a necessary addition to the Star Wars canon. It feels like Star Wars is relying on callbacks and fan service to create success instead of trying to make something original and unique, like The Mandalorian, to garner people’s interests. And when there’s other great projects out there that have added to pre-established characters, like the animated shows, Obi-Wan Kenobi pales in comparison.
★★★
