When Obi-Wan Kenobi was about to be released, much was made in the TV critic sector over claims from star Ewan McGregor that the series would be a “six-hour movie.” Now, for TV critics, hearing a star or a showrunner make such a proclamation is hardly new – it is a constant refrain, especially when folks from the realm of film grace the TV landscape with their presence. However, it’s rarely a welcome statement. If you wanted to make a movie, make a damn movie. This is a television series. While it’s still a filmed performance, it’s a very different medium than film, with different requirements to success. That being said, I have to say, episode four in this six episode miniseries certainly felt like an excerpt from a film rather than an episode of television. And that’s not a compliment.
This wasn’t a “bad episode” in so much as it was an untethered one. Yes, we have Obi-Wan reunited with Leia and there’s a hidden tracker in the cute droid (a recurring theme in Star Wars: The droid is hiding something crucial that will trip up some character down the line, whether it’s the Death Star plans or a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi himself), which sets up one final confrontation between Kenobi and Anakin (which we all knew was going to be the centerpiece of the final moments of the series). But this episode didn’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Rather, it just plodded along (with excitement at times, but still without much story structure) and once again had Obi-Wan rescuing Leia and getting away. Yes, he did learn that The Inquisitors have been torturing the Force sensitive captives and leaving their bodies suspended in a corridor (I’m sure someone more well versed in this universe than I will break down just who those individuals were and what specifically happened to them*), but that’s just a small piece of the Empire’s puzzle that I’m not sure how much it matters with a mere two episodes remaining in the series. I guess it’s a potential jumping off point for another series? A clear link to Rebels (which I haven’t watched all of yet)?
*The small child could have been one of the four children from the flashback to Order 66 at the start of the series (as he was wearing the helmet the children were wearing). Perhaps he was captured with a young Vera and he was killed since she was deemed better suited for their mission? Either way, that was particularly harrowing to see.
Upon finishing the episode, my general reaction was of ambivalence. I was intrigued with what we learned of the Third Sister – her resourcefulness and ability to plan for contingencies is something her fellow Inquisitors don’t seem to be able to do. And I suspect she figured out that Leia is Force sensitive, which puts her in more danger than I suspect we all realized back in Episode IV. But this just felt like filler in many ways. Now that Leia knows Obi-Wan is Obi-Wan (that’s what Third Sister called him right to Leia’s face), how does that square with her actions in A New Hope? I’m guess she’ll be mind-wiped through a Jedi Mind Trick at the close of the series? Why didn’t the other Inquisitors know how crucial finding Obi-Wan was to Vader? Why was only Third Sister aware of this? Does she have a special relationship with Vader we’ve yet to see? He certainly seemed to be willing to punish her failure without much remorse.
There’s a lot of questions remaining and very little time to answer them – and the series is much more concerned with the continued Obi-Wan/Anakin relationship (the dual Bacta Tanks was a really nice directorial touch from Deborah Chow) than much else. My worry at this stage of the game is that the series doesn’t have enough runway to really land things – to give us a deeper understanding of Third Sister (barring a future series that digs into her more), to get Leia home with no knowledge of what has happened, to give us a meaningful meeting between Anakin and Obi-Wan that isn’t just another lightsaber batter where they rehash the past. We need Obi-Wan to escape and hide away on Tatooine with Vader none the wiser, ready to age a ton in nine years before that final confrontation with his former student. I’m not sure we have the time to get where we need to go in a narratively satisfyingly manner. But I’m still willing to watch and see them try.
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