Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the most beloved characters in “Star Wars”. His story during the Clone Wars leading up to his famous duel with Anakin Skywalker, is one of the best storylines in the Star Wars universe! He has always been a tragic figure, but his story has always seemed incomplete. What did he do during the 19 years between Revenge of the Sithand A New Hope?? This is why we needed an Obi-Wan Kenobi storyline that details that time period. It’s easy to think that having an Obi-Wan Kenobi story is purely for nostalgia’s sake.  But it’s more than that. What made him into the character that we came to love in Episode 4! That is the man who would sacrifice himself and help Luke Skywalker on his hero’s journey. How did Obi-Wan Kenobi deal with the pain of his best friend and former student going to the dark side? And then having to kill him?! So many stories are unfinished in the Star Wars universe, but I think sometimes it’s necessary to revisit these main characters and see who they become later in life. With the creation of Disney +, Lucas film is able to tell more of these stories, especially what happened with characters at the fall of the Republic and the Rise of the Empire.

The six-part Obi-Wan Kenobi story is not perfect. I wish I could say that there aren’t any flaws, but that would not be true. That isn’t to say that I didn’t love it. I like it for what it is…. something that’s not as good as the original trilogy, (maybe not even as good as the prequel trilogy), but a good story that helps bridge the gap between episode 3 and episode 4. There’s been a lot of descriptions about this limited series, but perhaps we should look at it as a six-part epilogue to Episode 3 or a six-part prologue to the beginning of the rebellion. I find it interesting that we are setting this story exactly halfway between episode 3 and episode 4–so a lot is happening in the Star Wars timeline. But I think this particular point is important because you’re seeing the Empire become the “Empire” that we knew in series like Star Wars Rebels and then the original trilogy. However, you’re also seeing the beginning of what would become the “rebellion”. We get to see various groups become the underground resistance towards the empire with the simple task of helping to rescue Jedis who escaped Order 66. The Solo movie is set 10 years after Episode 3, but you don’t really get a clear understanding of what the world was like, except through the crime syndicates. The Obi-Wan story gives us a clearer picture of what it was like under the Empire’s rule at that time.

What If We Didn’t Get the Obi-Wan Kenobi Series?

Maybe we didn’t “need” the series, but you have to admit that it’s a great connection between the prequels and the original trilogy. For years LucasFilm talked about doing an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie because fans wanted to know what he did in the 19 years between episode 3 and episode 4. Did Obi- Wan really just hang out in the desert and watch Luke Skywalker grow up, having no connection to the rise of the Empire, or even see other Jedi who survived Order 66? Of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi had other adventures, his story didn’t end with Episode 3 and his famous duel with Anakin, and then just pick right back up with Luke in episode 4. We know that he has a connection to Star Wars Rebels and that Ezra Bridger found him, leading Darth Maul to Kenobi so they could finish their story arc. That was a great episode but there’s so much more to Obi-Wan Kenobi than what we saw in Episode 3 and Episode 4. I think the best part about this series is we get to see a very different Obi-Wan Kenobi than what we saw at the end of episode 3. He’s a Jedi living with PSTD. Yes, he is supposed to watch over Luke and even tries to get Owen Lars to let him train Luke as a Jedi. But we’re also seeing a great Jedi Master having to live with his past. He killed his best friend (or so he thought). He’s essentially a man on the run and living in the Shadows of the Empire. What’s great about this series is another hero’s journey presents itself to Obi-Wan Kenobi. We tend to think that heroes only have one journey, especially Jedi, and that’s simply not true. The hero’s journey is a continuous thing, and it doesn’t happen just once. At this point Obi-Wan Kenobi is kind of pathetic; wallowing in self-pity and regret until he is called back into action with the rescue of none other than Princess Leia.

Some Star Wars fans might disagree that we didn’t need this storyline because originally there was no connection between Obi-Wan and Leia except that she was seeking him out for help, which sets off the main story for Episode 4. But I think it lends more to his story that he has a connection to both children. Yes, his adventure with Luke hasn’t come yet, but in going off to rescue Princess Leia, he becomes a Jedi again!  He is given purpose and finds his strength in the Force again and that is brilliant storytelling. It’s laughable to think that Jedi can’t fall on hard times or have self-doubt. I think that’s why a lot of people hated the movie, The Last Jedi, because they didn’t want to believe that Luke could become that kind of Jedi exile himself. He’s supposed to turn into a great Jedi Master and here we see him in exile living with self-pity and depression.

The truth is it’s not the first time that’s ever happened to a Jedi and that story kind of mirrors Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jedis are at their best when they find a purpose or are inspired back into action. Obi-Wan Kenobi is inspired to go and rescue Princess Leia. Rey inspires Luke to become the Jedi Master that she always heard about and he sacrifices himself for the new rebellion. It’s a beautiful story, just like Obi-Wan’s adventure in this series. But at the same time, they’re both rooted in the same theme— someone who is one with the Force and overcomes their difficult past. And for Obi-Wan, it’s a huge past, full of regret, to overcome. Especially when he learns that Anakin did survive and has become the man in the dark suit known as Darth Vader. Some fans might criticize how Obi-Wan Kenobi found out that Vader survived and how he wouldn’t have figured it out after 10 years in exile. It doesn’t really matter, it’s minor nitpicking because the way they presented it in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is more dramatic and shows a man who is heartbroken that he left his friend to die. Then to learn that instead he survived and became this mechanical monster that strikes fear throughout the Galaxy, was truly horrifying for Obi-Wan.  We needed an Obi-Wan Kenobi series to see who Obi-Wan had become after Episode 3 and the adventure he went on that turns him into the Jedi Master we know in the Original Trilogy.

I’m not going to say that the Obi-Wan series was perfect and didn’t have problems. There’s a lot to criticize, but overall, it was a great series, especially having him reconnect with Anakin who has become Darth Vader. To have them face off against each other not only once, but twice and then have both of them reconcile what had happened in the past, that’s what great storytelling does! It adds a deeper narrative to both characters. As an audience, we connect to both of them, but it also makes each character sympathetic. Even Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader because he’s a tragic figure. We get to see him beneath the mask, the burnt shell of the man he used to be. More importantly, I think it was necessary to tell the story to help solidify some of the things that we may not have quite understood in Episode 4: A New Hope. There’s a lot of history that we didn’t really know when we first saw Episode 4 and the Prequel Trilogy was able to tell that history, but there was still a lot of story left untold. We didn’t really know what happened with these characters between Episode 3 and Episode 4. We didn’t understand the meaning behind certain phrases. This six-part series helps the audience understand a little bit better how old the characters in Episode 4 are truly connected.

How did the Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Make Episode 4 Better? 

Some fans might ask, did we really need a series to add more backstory to Episode 4? Instead of asking that question, what about asking, “Why Not?” This series helps to explain some of the things that didn’t make sense in Episode 4. How did Obi-Wan Kenobi come to what he called “a certain point of view?” He explains in Episode 6 when talking to Luke about how Darth Vader used to be Anakin Skywalker and how Anakin was seduced by the dark side and then ceased being Anakin Skywalker thus becoming Darth Vader. Or as he puts it in an Episode 4 “betrayed and murdered your father.” It makes more sense now when Anakin at the end of their final fight in Part 6 of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, tells his former master, “I am not your failure.” You did not kill Anakin, I did.” Darth Vader is telling him, right there, that Anakin was murdered by Darth Vader, he killed that part of himself that used to be Anakin Skywalker. And now Obi-Wan can walk away after saying that “his friend is truly gone.” I loved this scene because not only has Obi-Wan found his strength in the Force and weakened Darth Vader, but he doesn’t have to feel guilty anymore, he didn’t kill Anakin, Darth Vader did that. He can live with the fact, knowing that his friend is truly gone. This is the part where Obi-Wan Kenobi has reconciled and overcome his past and now he will become the Jedi Masterthat Luke Skywalker will need in Episode 4. It was a beautiful scene seeing the face of Anakin beneath the cracked mask and hearing him talk in a mixture of Anakin’s old voice, but with Darth Vader’s voice now. It was hauntingly poignant.

Another criticism is why should Obi-Wan meet Leia and help rescue her? They didn’t need to know each other and if you watch Episode 4, she makes you think that she’s never met him. Yes, you could have a story where they’ve never met and they wouldn’t change the original trilogy, but it also lends a little bit more weight to her desperation to find Obi-Wan on behalf of her father because she knows what he’s capable of and she has a connection to him. If you watch the scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi plays the message in his hut, Leia is saying very specific lines. “General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in The clone Wars, now he begs you to help him in his struggle with the empire.” After she explains how she put the Death Star plans in the Droid then she says, “this is our most desperate hour, help me Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope.” She starts off by saying this is our most desperate hour and then she makes it more personal by saying help “me” Obi-Wan Kenobi you’re “my” only hope. Why would she say it like that if she didn’t have a personal connection to Obi-Wan Kenobi? It’s true that you can attribute it to a screw-up in how Carrie Fisher delivered the dialogue. And it’s not like George Lucas had a clear plan about where he was going at the time of making the first movie because he didn’t know he was going to get to make the next three. Things certainly changed, but I do find it interesting that Princess Leia does say “help me obi-wan, you’re my only hope!” The writing for Obi-Wan Kenobi has already been criticized by some Star Wars fans. They compare it to the original trilogy or the Mandalorian and think that it’s lazy writing and treading more on nostalgia than actual storytelling. That’s not true. Perhaps the writers understood based on that line that she might have had a connection to Obi-Wan and this is that story. The six-part series solidifies that particular statement and she understands why she must go and get him even if it’s a request of her father. Of course, it’s also a great line at the end of Part 6 that if she ever needs help from a tired old man, all she has to do is call or come find him. Another thing, when Vader uses the line right before he’s about to face off with Obi-Wan in episode 4, “you should not have come back,” couldn’t that mean they had met at some point between Episode 3 and episode 4. Again, this is that story. The basis of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is about him finding out that Anakin is still alive and facing him as Darth Vader. Everything else are minor stories. They may be good stories, but they’re minor to what the overall is. It was about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin facing each other again and reconciling their past. Some might criticize we didn’t need a six-part series just for that to happen, a movie would have been fine. Maybe, but there’s a lot more that happens in a 6-part story. We get to see how Obi-Wan watches over Luke from afar and how he interacts with Owen and BeruLars. We see Obi-Wan being connected with what essentially is the resistance that will turn into the Rebellion. It starts with helping Jedi escape. Not only that, this is Leia’s first encounter with the Rebellion. As I said before, you can look at this story as a great epilogue Episode 3 or a really good prologue to a series like Star Wars Rebels and the Original Trilogy. Too much time passes between Episode 3 and Episode 4, 19 years is a long time so of course, there’s a lot going on and we need those storiesthat connect the Prequels to the Original Trilogy. It’s true that if you want to tell a story about the rebellion, Star Wars Rebels is probably the best series for that, but the Obi-Wan Kenobi story is just as important as a connection to the past and to the future which will become the original trilogy.

Some Parts of Obi-Wan Kenobi Could Have Been Better….

Not every part of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is great. Sure, 10-year-old feisty and fearless Leia is cute. She has some wonderful moments. Criticizing a 10-year-old Leia at this point is probably unnecessary as well. But one storyline that could have been better is with one of the Inquisitors. Star Wars fans got introduced to Inquisitors through Star Wars rebels. They’re basically Darth Vader’s henchmen who hunt down Jedi. It’s also the first time we got to see the Grand Inquisitor in live-action and Rupert Friend did a great job as short-lived as his story was in Obi-Wan Kenobi. For Star Wars fans that were worried his story would be retconned after the second episode, don’t worry he’s still alive and you will see him in Star Wars Rebels, fans worried for nothing.  However, fans were introduced to a new character by the name of Reva. The Third Sister Inquisitor who is looked down upon by the other Inquisitors. She’s important because she is the one that hatches a plan to draw Kenobi out. She wants to capture Obi-Wan Kenobi because he’s the big prize and it will incur favor with Lord Vader. She’s an interesting character, dedicated, maniacal, powerful, and has all the makings to be a Sith Lord. Sadly, her story could have been delivered better, and unfortunately, it takes a back seat to the overall story of Obi-Wan Kenobi having to face Darth Vader. There’s nothing wrong with having a villain experience a redemption Arc. It’s obvious from the first episode that her character will have some kind of redemption because she is so devoted to hunting down Jedi. It’s a weak narrative because there’s no mystery surrounding her redemption story. And, then you find out that she was once a former Padawan who barely escaped Anakin’s wrath at the Jedi Temple. No one is really surprised that this is her past. So now her entire story is about revenge, she wants to get revenge on Darth Vader. She wants to be the one to kill Darth Vader, even to the point of drawing down on him when his back is turned as if he couldn’t feel the danger or see through her obvious plan. Unfortunately, it was telegraphed and everybody knew what was going to happen, no surprises that she was not going to win. And even when she somehow survives, after hearing the message left for Obi-Wan from Bail Organa that mentions Luke on Tatooine, her first instinct is to hunt and kill the child out of revenge as if Darth Vader even knows about Luke.

It’s lazy writing because someone who we are supposed to believe is still a Jedi but was only infiltrating the inquisitors to kill Vader, she turns to revenge and is willing to kill a child only to complete her redemption Arc by not doing it at the last minute and realizing that she is becoming the dark side version of Anakin Skywalker who killed children. While these scenes provide nice moments on Tatooine and give us some great moments with Owen and Beru Lars, all of this could have been done better. Why couldn’t this part of the story be one of the other Inquisitors who hates her, hearing this message about a force-sensitive child and they go to Tatooine to hunt him down, then she arrives and saves the day. And to make that story even better, Owen Lars still finds out that she is looking for him and doesn’t know who she really is, so he prepares to defend the homestead against her while not realizing that the other Inquisitors have come to harm Luke. If Reva shows up, kills the other Inquisitors, and then saves Luke, isn’t that a much better Redemption Arc. Obi-Wan Kenobi can still feel Luke through the force and arrive on time only to find her battling the Inquisitors and sees Reva saving Luke. That’s when he recognizes her redemption and with some clever dialogue, it makes it more emotional. The real problem about Reva’s story is six episodes isn’t enough time to really develop her story arc, it’s done too quickly and we don’t have time to emotionally connect to her and feel sympathetic to her past.   If the Obi-Wan Kenobi series had been 8 to 10 full-hour episodes, even one episode could have been about her backstory becoming an Inquisitor thus showing her true intentions, this would have made her character better

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is a good chapter in Star Wars, sure it has its problems. It’s certainly not perfect and I don’t think we as fans should have expected it to be. But most of the criticisms are unwarranted. Unfortunately, fans still expect too much from Star Wars. Fans expected to be just as good as the Original Trilogy and every show to live up to their memory as a child when they first fell in love with Star Wars. We’ve talked about this before at That Nerd Show, nothing will ever be as good as the original trilogy and if you really look at those three movies, they’re kind of silly in their own way. Yes, Empire Strikes Back is a Masterpiece, but it’s not perfect. All we can really get from Star Wars is hopefully good stories that entertain us. They don’t have to be as good as the Original Trilogy. Some may disagree but even the Mandalorian series is not as good. No matter how much we like any series that Dave Filoni has done from the Clone Wars to Star Wars Rebels, they’re still not as good. Everything else is good enough. If we are entertained, then Star Wars has done its job. But to expect any Star Wars series to be perfect or just as good as the Star Wars from our childhood, it’s just wishful thinking. What the Obi-Wan Kenobi series did was connect us from the Prequel Trilogy to the Original Trilogy and gave us a deeper story about iconic characters such as Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, even Bail Organa. We understand these characters better during the rise of the Empire which will explain them better in Episode 4. And if you really think of it, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series sells a lot of mysteries in episode 4 in New Hope and even Episode 6. After seeing the final fight between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, we now know how Vader got the scar on top of his head. Obi-Wan cracks the left side of his helmet with his lightsaber and the cut was clearly so deep that not only did it crack the helmet, but it left a scar on the top of Vader’s head. Maybe it didn’t need an explanation, but how he got it is more interesting now making it a better narrative. As I explained before, we now know Leia’s true connection to Ben or Obi-Wan Kenobi and why it’s more personal and that’s not a bad thing.

We find out how Luke ends up with the little toy ship that he’s flying in episode 4 when he’s cleaning up the droids, that’s a nice callback. But there are other mysteries that add different layers to the story in Episode 4. When Grand Moff Tarkin blew up the planet Alderaan even after Leia told him the truth, all we see the first time we watch episode 4 is that he’s a sadistic Imperial Officer. But there’s meaning to why he does it and shows his power over Princess Leia. We know that Bail Organa will be instrumental in the rebellion, it’s easy to see how he is pulling the strings when it comes to things like stealing the Death Star plans, his own connection to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and why he trusts Leia so much with those stolen plans and why it’s important to find Obi-Wan Kenobi again. There’s a reason that Tarkin blows up Alderaan, strategically it’s the right thing to do to help quell the rebellion with the Empire’s new All-Powerful weapon. One of my favorite little nods to the original trilogy and Prequel trilogy is the gift that Obi-Wan Kenobi gives layout, the holster. Not only does it show where Leia will eventually learn her skills with a blaster, but it’s also similar to The holster that her mother wore during the Clone Wars. It’s a nice call back to how Leia is like Padme and then I’ll be one explains how she is the best of both her mother and father. Another great explanation is how Luke knows of Ben Kenobi even if he doesn’t know that he is a Jedi or his true connection to his father, but they have met before. Even though Obi-Wan Kenobi has a series is not perfect, it does make Episode 4 better. I will always love Episode 4 as a movie, it’s my favorite right after Empire Strikes Back, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a very short movie. It’s three short acts that allow the central characters of the original trilogy to meet each other and go off on their adventure, but there are a lot of unanswered questions.

If you watch it for the first time you have to take things with a grain of salt because there’s a lot of history that isn’t truly explained. Yes, the Prequel Trilogy and the Clone Wars explain a lot of it, but those are stories that simply tell the story of Obi-Wan and Anakin as great Jedi knights fighting during the Clone Wars and who Luke and Leia’s mother really was with that story ending with Anakin’s fault at the dark side. The first time you watch Episode 4, you’re not exactly clear what Obi-Wan Kenobi is talking about when it comes to Vader betraying and murdering Luke’s father, he’s essentially talking in hyperbole. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series clears up a lot of mysteries that I think makes Episode 4 and the original trilogy a better story, even more than the Prequel Trilogy or the Clone Wars series ever did. But more importantly, we see two things that truly connected to the characters of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader in episode 4. We see how Obi-Wan will become the Jedi that directs Luke on his hero’s journey. We also see how the final remnants of Anakin Skywalker are gone and he has truly become Darth Vader. Both characters reconcile their past and become the characters we come to know.

Their final confrontation is important for shredding the skin of who they used to be in order to become who they will be by the time we get toEpisode 4. Obi-Wan Kenobi has as a series could have been done better, there could have been more episodes to add more layers to the story, and there’s many different directions that the writers could have taken, but the truth is every story could be done differently. Maybe there’s things that make it better or there’s things that make it worse. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is good for what it is and adds a lot of emotional connection to the characters that we have grown up with in Star Wars. If nothing else that’s why it was necessary to make this series and the Star Wars universe is better because we have this series. Of course, we are left to wonder what the series would have truly been if Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni had made it…. we like to think that it would have been better, but there’s always the possibility that it could have been worse. Star Wars fans should enjoy this series for what it is because minor nitpicking doesn’t make anything better. Maybe as a Star Wars fan, you’ll never watch it again, but you have toadmit, there are some really great scenes that have a fantastic connection to the Original Trilogy. Perhaps that’s good enough! However, if that’s not good enough to make you enjoy the series or watch it again then how about that awesome cameo with Qui-Gon Jen. The Force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn is one of the best things to ever happen in the Star Wars universe, am I wrong? It was great to see Liam Neeson suit up as the old Jedi again, even if it was just for nostalgia. Sometimes we just need that in the Star Wars universe. But it’s also time to start exploring different stories like ones from the Old Republic or even the high Republic. As good as the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is, we don’t need a season 2. We should say goodbye to Obi-Wan Kenobi and move on to other characters. And if you’re not ready to say goodbye to Obi-Wan Kenobi, you can always go back and watch this series on Disney + as well as The Clone Wars, the Prequel Trilogy, and his fantastic episode in Star Wars Rebels. We have plenty of great Obi-Wan Kenobi stories without having to make more. His story is over and that is where LucasFilm should leave it.  But for this 6 Part Series, if I have to give it a grade, it’s a solid 8, Yes,  it’s that good!