Entertainment
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ threaded the needle between ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope’
Such debate is inevitable, however hardly something right here offset the pleasures of seeing Ewan McGregor again and utterly proudly owning the title position, and a light-saber rematch with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) that delivered spectacularly on that promise.
In a manner, the present’s actual triumph was its preliminary, very intelligent ruse in focusing not on a younger Luke however slightly a pint-sized Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair), establishing a bond between Kenobi and the princess whereas making a rousing excuse to carry him out of hiding and again into the world of journey and heroism.
That was solely the tip of the challenge’s inventiveness, which included cleverly using a flashback to offer Christensen precise display time with out being buried below that Darth Vader armor or completely ceding his voice to the good James Earl Jones.
The inventive spark prolonged to the finale, and provides huge credit score to the writing workforce (Joby Harold, Andrew Stanton and Hossein Amini collaborated on the script) and director Deborah Chow, who — having additionally labored on “The Mandalorian” — has greater than earned the precise to play a significant position in Lucasfilm’s plans ought to she select to proceed working on this a part of the cinematic galaxy.
Even anticipating a few of the thrives, it was nonetheless thrilling — and for some maybe chill-inducing — to listen to Kenobi echo his earlier phrases to Anakin by saying “I’ll do what I need to” earlier than their muscular duel, or to see Obi-Wan reunited with the ghostly specter of his grasp, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), a gathering foreshadowed because the finish of “Sith.”
Ditto for Vader telling his former grasp, “You did not kill Anakin Skywalker. I did,” a line that feeds instantly into Kenobi’s rationalization to a extra grown-up Luke about his father’s destiny in “A New Hope.”
Though the ending definitely felt neat and conclusive, it is not exhausting to think about a state of affairs the place Disney and Lucasfilm plot a return to Tatooine if McGregor’s keen. As a result of whereas followers may need their very own concepts about when it is time to trip into the dual sundown, after a challenge as polished and commercially marketable as this one, effectively, studios will do what they have to, too.