Well, we’ve reached the midway point of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and things are already starting to ramp up for the final showdown (or, rather, this final showdown – since we all know that actual final showdown will happen in about nine years) between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Now that we’ve seen just how determined Anakin remains at finding and killing his former mentor (that would be incredibly determined and hyper-focused), it’s clear that he will stop at nothing to get one last shot at taking him down. The only real question remaining is how Obi-Wan is going to get out of this alive (and, to a lesser extent, how Leia is going to make it back home now that she’s firmly in the clutches of Reva).
The problem with prequels is that we know the ultimate fates of some characters going in. And in this case, between the Rebels series and the six final films, we know just what happens to pretty much everyone in this series. That is, except for Reva/Third Sister. She’s the only truly original character in the central character mix in the series. Which means the series needs to turn her into the character we’re most intrigued with – the one we want to know more about. Which is why it was a bit disappointing not to get some more reveals this week. I think we’ve all deduced that Reva is likely one of the younglings from the Order 66 purge we saw at the beginning of the series, but just what made her join up with Vader and the Dark Side? And how is she in Vader’s good graces? Last week, I posited that perhaps she sees a lot of herself in Anakin’s own journey – taken in by the Jedi, disillusioned with their teaching when she realized that they couldn’t protect her and those she loved, and then her anger and hatred bubbled up to allow her to become an Inquisitor. We know she’s not as Force strong as others in their ranks (as shown by the force immobilization when she tried to take the wrong seat), but she has a cleverness and ingenuity that they lack. She can see just what is really going on beyond the flashes and bluster. She has, twice, captured Leia.
We know who Obi-Wan was and who he will become. Same with Anakin, Leia, Luke, Owen, etc. We know that the Grand Inquisitor has to recover in some fashion, as he’s still alive and well in Rebels. But we don’t know what will become of Reva. Will she follow Anakin’s path to her death? Will she realize that this mission isn’t all she thinks it is and turn back to the light? Frankly, it’s a more interesting story if she does and there’s more to her tale in the future. But the writers need to take stock of the fact that while sure, we’d love to see more lightsaber fights between Obi-Wan and Anakin, the real story is Reva. We know all the rest – this is just filling in some minor plot points on the road to a greater, more epic story. I’m hopeful next week will prove to be the episode that unlocks something new with Reva – and pushes her in one direction or another.
As for the rest of the goings on, well, they served their purpose. We saw Anakin and Obi-Wan meet and fight a bit. We had more sassy Leia (who shows a host of good qualities that we know will serve her well in the future, along with a penchant for speaking before she probably should, which is another trait she will carry with her). And we know the crux of the series’ plot: Anakin wants Obi-Wan, while Obi-Wan really just wants to wallow in his self-pity and sense of blame for all that has happened within the universe. It’s a pretty heavy load he’s carrying and we know he won’t lay it down for years to come. With three more episodes remaining in the series, I’m not sure there’s enough forward momentum to truly propel the story, but I suspect that won’t matter all that much in the end. This is a story fans have wanted for years. And we’ve got it.
-
Acting
-
Writing
-
Direction
