Here is our review of Episodes 1 & 2 of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new event series in the Star Wars universe
TITLE: Obi-Wan Kenobi. GENDER: action, science fiction. COUNTRY: USA. REGIA: Deborah Chow. CAST: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Rupert Friend, Sung Kang, Joel Edgerton, Indira Varma, Kumail Nanjiani, Bennie Safdie, Jimmy Smits. time: 6 episodes, 41-55 minutes. PRODUCTION: Lucasfilm. ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Disney+. EXIT: May 27 – June 24.
The time has come. 17 years after Revenge of the Sith debut, Ewan McGregor return to take on the role of the legendary Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the miniseries of the same name. Launched on Disney + last 27 maggio with the first two episodes, the series is directed by Deborah Chow, former director of some episodes of The Mandalorian. This is the third live action series taken from the Star Wars universe after the aforementioned The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. However, we find ourselves in a new time window: the series is in fact set approx ten years after the prequel trilogy and ten years before the original trilogy. Let’s go into the review of Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes 1 & 2 now. Let’s start with the trailer!
The plot | Obi-Wan Kenobi Episodes 1 & 2 review
Ten years after the tragic events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the SithObi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) watches over young Luke Skywalker on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan suffered the most tragic defeat: his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, has succumbed to the dark side of the force and became the lord of the Sith, Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen). After the execution of theorder 66, which has exterminated almost all the Jedi, the imperial forces search the galaxy in search of the last ones left. The Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend), the Third Sister (Moses Ingram) and the Fifth Brother (Sung Kang |) are looking for Jedi right on the planet Tatooine. It is at this very moment that Obi-Wan is contacted by his old friend Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), senator of Aldeeran as well as adoptive father of Leia, twin sister of Luke Skywalker. She is kidnapped by bounty hunters and it will be Obi-Wan’s job to save her.
Disney +: a new hope for the franchise
We are in one of the best times ever to be a Star Wars fan. Just yesterday it ended the Star Wars Celebration, an annual gathering of fans and insiders whose purpose is, precisely, to celebrate the franchise. Over the course of these four days there were announcements about future projects, interviews with the protagonists, including Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, and exclusive clips. The future of the franchise looks bright. Yet, in recent years the success and especially the love for the franchise seemed to have waned. After the critical failure of the prequel trilogy there has been a partial recovery with the animated series The Clone Wars e Rebels. Later there was Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and the creation of the new canon. From here we got it the sequel trilogy that, despite the incredible results at the box office, it has failed in its original intent: capture a new generation of fans. In the midst of this hustle and bustle, a light at the end of the tunnel: in November 2019, The Mandalorian debuts on the newborn Disney + streaming service. It didn’t take much to rekindle the enthusiasm of Star Wars fans, but most of all it took one thing: a good story. This seems to be the direction that the creators of the new series have taken. After the overwhelming success of The Mandalorian (whose third season was announced, which will arrive at the beginning of 2023), it was decided to tell another, great, new story: that of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
A blast from the past | Obi-Wan Kenobi Episodes 1 & 2 review
What Obi-Wan Kenobi represents the most is just this: A jump into the past. For the first time ever we have a series on Disney + starring one of the founding characters of the franchise. After the memorable performance of Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and the freshness brought by Ewan McGregor in the prequels, it is the latter who must once again take on the role of the jedi. Be careful though, however, we are not faced with the same Obi-Wan as the prequel trilogy. As the series itself points out several times, the jedi master is a man who has lost everything, who for ten years has lived hidden and tormented by nightmares, by his mistakes. He failed as a teacher and failed as a Jedi, failing to save his peers during Palpatine’s rise. The Obi-Wan of the first two episodes is strongly marked by all this and Ewan McGregor himself characterizes the character very differently from how we saw it in the prequels. The nostalgia effect would stop at the figure of him for now, if it were not for the soundtrack, signed by the legendary John Williamswho has worked on all the films in the saga.
The story that was missing
The question that was circulating the most on the internet before the debut of the series was: what happened to Obi-Wan between Episodes III and IV? Wasn’t it always about Tatooine twisting his thumbs? The answer seems to be no, as the first mission that Kenobi has to face is not about Luke, but about Leia, kidnapped by the bounty hunters on Aldeeran. This piece seems obvious and easily predictable, but it goes to explain why at the beginning of Episode IV the two know each other and are in contact. But there is also another missing piece in the great mosaic of the Star Wars universe. At the beginning of the miniseries, Obi-Wan does not know that Anakin Skywalker survived the duel on Mustafar and became Darth Vader. This does nothing but fuel the hype in the expectation, or rather in the hope, of a rematch between two.
Style
We are literally in a galaxy far away from The Mandalorian. The western vibes of the latter give way to Obi-Wan’s pain and loneliness, and the approach to the story is also different. For the first time Lucasfilm returns to face a beloved and well-known character within the saga, of which every possible story has been told before the new canon imposed by Disney. Fall into the trap of nostalgiaas happened in the films of the sequel trilogy, it is the easiest mistake to make. At the moment Obi-Wan Kenobi lives by its own lightobviously supported by the story already told in the prequels, but to which Debora Chow, Ewan McGregor and all the production have added new shades, which fans immediately understood and accepted. The series is not (for now) as spectacular as The Mandalorian, which, however, had the surprise factor and the possibility of exploring a completely new character and corner of the galaxy. In Obi-Wan Kenobi we perceive more i limits imposed from abovebut that gives the series its own unmistakable identitymaking it one of the coolest Star Wars themed products on Disney +.
Conclusions
Obi-Wan Kenobi made a perfect debut. It brought longtime fans back to a beloved character and new fans to learning about a new story with the quality expected from the franchise today. Obi-Wan’s pain emerges from the first moment and finally we can witness the cruelty of the Galactic Empire in all its might. After the glories of The Mandalorian, the miniseries directed by Deborah Chow represents a new challenge for the saga and also the need to coherently link the prequel trilogy and the original one. Ewan McGregor gives us a great interpretation and conveys the emotions that everyone expects from his Obi-Wan: disappointment, fear, resignation. The hype for this series was skyrocketing and these first two episodes traveled at light speed to get us to catch up. We hope the quality remains that way until the end!
And you, what do you think of our review of Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes 1 & 2? Have you already seen them? Let us know your opinion in the comments! Keep following us for the review of the next episodes!
Points in favor
- The approach to already known characters
- Ewan McGregor’s performance
Points against
- Less convincing CGI than in The Mandalorian
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