Obi-Run

[setsuled]

Last night's third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi persisted in the qualities established in the first two episodes--good performances and bad writing. This week also had some disappointments relating to music and location shots, though. But it was at least heartening that Disney didn't seem to be forcing anyone to hold back in terms of action and violence.

I was happy the hear James Earl Jones voicing Darth Vader. Disney was oddly coy about it, refraining from announcing him in any press leading up to the show. Even stranger is that no-one in the regular entertainment press seemed to be asking, which I guess is kind of a tell for how many of these outlets are in Disney's pocket. But now we have Hayden Christensen in the suit and it does feel different to having a massive body builder like David Prowse in there. Especially when he was sitting on that throne, it kind of seemed more like the suit was wearing him.



The absence of "The Imperial March" was sorely felt in this episode, too. John Williams wrote the new theme for Obi-Wan, is there some reason the show can't use the old theme universally associated with Darth Vader? Is John Williams charging a million dollars a note? Vader lacked a lot of his usual presence and his theme would have certainly helped. But when he was walking down the street, choking civilians, he seemed to have a bit of that magic he had in Rogue One. I think at this point it's just about indisputable that Rogue One is the best thing Disney has made for Star Wars since they bought it. I have high hopes for the Andor series, not the least because it seems to actually have decent writers. I hope Vader makes an appearance or two on that show.



But back to Obi-Wan. I have no problem with the idea of Leia being assertive and intuitive, I don't mind her being more resourceful than a kid her age normally is. But they shouldn't have to make Obi-Wan act like an idiot just to make her look smart. If it weren't for McGregor's performance, Obi-Wan would be, by far, the least impressive thing about this show. I know he's out of practice but a Jedi Master should be able to handle three stormtroopers. Is this the guy who just jumped into the midst of a droid army to say, "Hello there" to General Grievous?



I would have hoped for a more interesting location for Obi-Wan and Vader's reunion, too. It looked like eastern Californian desert or even Albuquerque, reminding me that Deborah Chow worked on Better Call Saul. Too bad she didn't bring any writers from that show.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is available on Disney+.

Comments

[sparkythegeek]

Is this the guy who just jumped into the midst of a droid army to say, "Hello there" to General Grievous?

No, not anymore -- and I think that's the point they're trying to make with his failings and interactions on this show. He's fallen in his own way and without the tether of "You are a Jedi and this is the way to be one," he doesn't know how to be.

[astromech1138]

yes, exactly this. The huge shift in his character in response to the events of the past 10 years is one of the strengths of the show (and Ewan does a wonderful job performing it).

[yourlibrarian]

God yes, why is it so awful? Back in New Hope Vader can sense Obi-Wan somewhere on an entire space station. Now he can't tell when he's fifty feet away -- even though Obi-Wan seems unable to do much with the Force in most other ways. And the "Leia" slip, you'd think he'd never done undercover work before. Why do people have to keep being dumb or incompetent to move the story forward?

Agreed about Rogue One.

I thought the best part of the episode was when Vader drags Obi-Wan through fire. Now there was a callback that made sense and had a real impact. Also nice to see consistency in how the Empire underestimates droids.

[insaneladybug]

I really wanted to like this series. The first two episodes felt more epic. This one ... just kind of falls flat. The "Leia" mistake seems pretty inexcusable WTH writing, and I wasn't impressed with the location of the Vader and Obi-Wan match, or their dialogue. I thought they'd meet later on and it would feel more epic, even with Obi-Wan out of practice. This was just ... pathetic.

Also, I have to say I'm really disappointed in the music too. Nothing stands out to me. With the prequels, I was humming the big themes after one viewing. I can barely remember two notes of any song here.