Obi-Wan Kenobi

Starring: Ewan McGregor (6 episodes), Moses Ingram (6 episodes), Vivien Lyra Blair (6 episodes), Hayden Christensen (6 episodes), Sung Kang (4 episodes), Rupert Friend (4 episodes), James Earl Jones (voice) (4 episodes), Jonathan Ho (4 episodes), Kumail Nanjiani (3 episodes), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (3 episodes), Indira Varma (3 episodes), Marise Alvarez (3 episodes), Maya Erskine (3 episodes), Jimmy Smits (3 episodes), Joel Edgerton (2 episodes), Simone Kessell (2 episodes), Benny Safdie (1 episode), Zach Braff (1 episode), Temuera Morrison (1 episode), Ian McDiarmid (1 episode), Ming Qiu (1 episode), Anthony Daniels (1 episode), Liam Neeson (uncredited) (1 episode)
Directed by: Deborah Chow (6 episodes)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2022

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) reluctantly leaves his self-isolation when Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) is kidnapped.

Review:
Tim: It feels like such an unexpected bonus to get an Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries. Disney+ has pros and cons, but it's definitely opened up opportunities for us to spend more time with characters we otherwise might never have been able to. They probably weren't going to make an Obi-Wan movie, so we're fortunate to be able to revisit these characters across six episodes. That's really the big attraction here- the chance to spend more time with these characters. The other positive is that the world of Star Wars gets a little bit bigger. This miniseries doesn't change anything about the franchise as a whole, but it fills in some additional details in the timeline. For that reason, it's well worth our time.

I was genuinely excited to see Ewan McGregor reprise his role as Kenobi. McGregor was so terrific in the role and I loved getting the chance to see him play him again, this time, a bit older. It's hard to believe McGregor hasn't played this role in 17 years. He's only gotten better since then and he's so good in the role. He makes Obi-Wan feel even more complex and multilayered than in previous entries. I just love that we got to spend this extra time with the character. You could say the same thing about Hayden Christensen. His path has been significantly less glamorous than McGregor's. It's hard not to look at Christensen's career and feel like it's anything other than a failure. To give him the chance to play this role again (even though he's mostly masked up) felt like a chance for him to redeem himself. It's one of the wonderful aspects of modern entertainment that we're able to see these two men get additional scenes together and play these roles again. Although it's to a lesser extent, I loved seeing Jimmy Smits and Joel Edgerton reprise their smaller supporting roles again, too. It just further helps the worldbuilding of Star Wars.

As far as the new characters and actors, the miniseries does a great job. I thought Moses Ingram was excellent as Inquisitor Reva. Ingram is menacing and interesting and makes her presence felt throughout the six episodes. Her performance might have been my favorite of the entire miniseries. I hope we get to see her character again someday. Vivien Lyra Blair was solid as a young Princess Leia. She's young and some of her scenes felt forced and a bit cringeworthy. In others, though, she' quite incredible. As a whole, I thought her performance worked more often than it didn't. It was fun seeing O'Shea Jackson Jr. in his smaller supporting role. I thought Kumail Nanjiani was a great addition to the cast and brought great energy to his performance. As a whole, the cast works quite well.

I thought the story worked well within the larger Star Wars mythos. We pick up several years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan is watching over Luke. Leia is growing up with the Organas. Obi-Wan is reluctantly pulled from his posting when Leia is kidnapped. I thought this was quite interesting. It gives us a totally different perspective on the original film. When Leia is grown up and she desperately needs help, she reaches out to Kenobi. Why? Because she has some memory of him saving her in her youth. It felt like a clever way to weave this miniseries into establish canon, while also shifting our perspective on a film that's now almost 50 years old. There's some very cool sequences throughout the film. Seeing Darth Vader at his prime, including the extent of his awesome powers, is quite amazing. Outside of a few scenes in Rogue One, we've never really seen this. And, getting to see Obi-Wan face off against Darth Vader years before their final showdown was a wonderful highlight as well. I still think about Vader force grabbing that accelerating spaceship. Very cool stuff.

I enjoyed Obi-Wan Kenobi. It's not exactly "must see" television viewing, but for Star Wars fans, it further builds out the world, allows us to reconnect with characters and actors who we connected with. It's a fun, well-made miniseries with strong direction by Deborah Chow. It's definitely one about looking back, but that can be really fun in small doses. I actually do wish they extended this to a second season. Who knows, someday it may happen. However, this was billed as a miniseries and if this is all we get, there's so much to be thankful for.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett