It’s been seventeen years since we last saw Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen take up the mantles of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Sith Lord Darth Vader, respectively. In the interim, much has changed for Star Wars. Several animated shows have come and gone, an entire new trilogy made it to the big screen, and, most surprisingly, the oft-maligned prequel films where we first met McGregor and Christensen’s iterations of these characters have gone through a popular re-evaluation. A whole generation of fans who experienced the prequel films as their introduction to the Star Wars universe have not found them as anathema as longtime viewers did back in the late ’90s/early aughts; sand and Anakin’s aversion to it were not yet memes ready to be shared by legions of ironic Twitter accounts.
Today, we are in a new era, where television is the bold frontier of Star Wars live-action content. And no Star Wars TV show has been as ambitious as Obi-Wan Kenobi, a six-part adventure that brings McGregor, Christensen, and a whole host of legacy and new characters back together. Heavily anticipated and now recently completed, Obi-Wan Kenobi is certainly a bold entry into the expansive canon of Disney’s streamed content.
But, did The Mouse succeed here? And did the Star Wars brain trust create something worthwhile? Did Obi-Wan Kenobi give fans a satisfying story? With its sprawling and rollicking under its belt, now is the time to go back and look at Kenobi with a fresh eye and measure its successes and misses. Members of The Beat team–all fans of various Star Wars media–came together to process this season of Obi-Wan Kenobi to see if the show lived up to the hype.
AJ Frost: Hello there, everyone! Thank you for joining me for a round table for the just-completed series (or perhaps, season?) of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the long-awaited standalone series that recently wrapped on Disney+. It’s been a thrilling ride across the Star Wars galaxy over these last several weeks. But has it been an emotionally effective one? I wanted to start by asking what everyone’s impressions of Obi-Wan Kenobi were, and if the show was successful in giving viewers/fans a satisfying tale of a Jedi master looking for redemption.
Billy Henehan: I was satisfied with the first two episodes, but liked the series more after each passing episode. Kenobi was a rollercoaster from the fourth episode onward.
Therese Lacson: I kept waiting for the season to fall into a slump as so many of the previous MCU shows did, but [series director] Deborah Chow did me proud; each episode was stronger than the last. I think they told an effective story.
Taimur Dar: They definitely had their work cut out for them since they had to keep within defined continuity but still tell a worthwhile and endearing story. I think it succeeds for the most part. When they first announced it years back, I just assumed it would be entirely set on Tatooine. I was skeptical of another Kenobi/Vader fight, but the one in the season finale was more emotional than I expected.
Therese Lacson: Oh my god, when Obi-Wan left Tatooine and I realized we were going to get as little of Luke as possible? That made me incredibly excited for the show. Leia never really has a strong arc in the original trilogy and it totally makes sense after this experience why she would name her son Ben.
Billy Henehan: That’s a really good point about the origin of Kylo Ren’s birth name, Therese.
AJ Frost: I have to start by saying how much I enjoyed Obi-Wan. Ever since consuming the originals as a kid, waiting impatiently for each prequel, and loving the animated shows, this series was obviously a no-brainer for me to absorb. But, I’ve had to keep my expectations tempered based on some, let’s say, disappointments in Star Wars land as of late. Yet, with each new episode, I got more engrossed with the characters, with the spiritual power of the Force, and with the ability of this creative team to tell a poignant story. I thought it was great that the show had an anchor in Tatooine, but it was forward-thinking enough to set the main action off-planet. We don’t need to be on Tatooine so much anymore. It’s getting too predictable there.
Therese Lacson: Yeah, I was a prequel baby so the first Star Wars movie I ever saw was The Phantom Menace and I did watch them all in story order. I have a huge bond to those prequels and, for a long time, I was pretty ashamed to say I liked them since any time I did, I immediately got shut down or invalidated. It feels good to have a renaissance.
Billy Henehan: As I was watching the finale, I was thinking about how much I’ve missed Ewan McGregor in the role of Obi-Wan. No offense at all meant to [Obi-Wan’s The Clone Wars voice actor] James Arnold Taylor…
AJ Frost: A metatextual read of this whole series could be seen as a redemption of the prequels as necessary for understanding the arc of the saga and the tragedy at its center.
Therese Lacson: For sure, AJ. I went to Star Wars Celebration this year where they showed the first two episodes to the fans and introduced Ewan and Hayden. The room was so excited! You could definitely see the expressions of emotion on Hayden’s face. And hearing the two of them talk about fans speaking up about liking the prequels is always nice.
Billy Henehan: As someone who treats the Revenge of the Sith novelization as a religious text, I was excited for both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to come back into their prequel roles. When Obi-Wan sliced Vader’s helmet and we heard both Anakin and Vader’s voices? So good.
Taimur Dar: What I loved about that scene is, we now understand why Obi-Wan only refers to Anakin as Darth and never by his real name during their duel in A New Hope.
Therese Lacson: Don’t talk to me about “Twilight of the Apprentice” [the second season finale of Rebels], I’ll start crying again
Billy Henehan: When is our roundtable on Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization by the way?
Dean Simons: What made the novelization good, Billy?
AJ Frost: I can’t speak for Billy, but the novel is great because it takes us into the headspace of the characters in really unique ways. And yes, that was a powerful moment, Billy, and a reminder that this Obi-Wan series was not produced in a vacuum. There are moments of significance found all over. I was especially taken with the nods to dialogue found in both the PT and OT (Leia echoing Anakin’s “Will I ever see you again?”, Luke telling Owen and Beru “I’m not afraid.”). These nods show the strength and care that the creative team took in the small details, wouldn’t you all agree?
Therese Lacson: You can definitely tell that they were drawing inspiration from many sources, including the TV shows. That duel and the shattering of the helmet was word-for-word a reflection of Ahsoka’s duel with Anakin where he also tells her he’s destroyed Anakin.
AJ Frost: Yes! And Obi-Wan strikes the opposite side of Vader’s helmet, creating a dark symmetry.
Dean Simons: They were mainlining a lot of nostalgia and references to all parts of the franchise from all parts of the series.
Therese Lacson: I will say I am sad they didn’t bring in Natalie Portman for a flashback or something. That would have made this show a 100% for me.
AJ Frost: I was actually hoping Jar Jar would make a cameo, that’s how invigorating this show was for prequel nostalgia for me.
Dean Simons: [Portman] probably thought it was beneath her. She didn’t exactly get great dialogue in the prequels and for ages she was against showing up in the MCU again.
Therese Lacson: I mean, I don’t think that’s fair, Dean. It might not have worked out for the story. She clearly went back to Thor even when she said she wouldn’t before. There’s more going on behind the scenes.
Dean Simons: True, though I think it would have also overcomplicated the flashbacks.
Therese Lacson: I mean, truly no one got good dialogue in the prequels.
AJ Frost: Ewan McGregor was the only one who could convey that dialogue in a moderately serious way.
Therese Lacson: I mean, if they DID do a Season 2, I would be demanding way more. I want to see Maul; I want to see Ahsoka; I want to see flashbacks of Obi-Wan’s time with Duchess Satine.
Billy Henehan: I really liked Obi-Wan and Owen’s conversation at the end of the sixth episode. It really opened things up for The Further Adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan trusts the Lars’ to guard Luke and says he’ll keep his distance. To me, this says while he will still be in hiding, he won’t just be a hermit in a cave.
Therese Lacson: Well, we do know that in the timeline he will eventually have to kill Maul at some point in the future. I think the way they structured the story around Leia this season was perfect.
Dean Simons: Yes, that was perfect because that was the focal point of the plot. She was in trouble. And he had to get on her radar as her only hope!
AJ Frost: What were some other strengths of this show that should be highlighted (I swear that we will move on to legitimate criticisms shortly!).
Therese Lacson: [Leia actor] Vivian Lyra Blair!
Dean Simons: I really like how they weaved that plus gave little Leia PLENTY of solid characterization.
AJ Frost: Yes! She was fantastic as Leia.
Dean Simons: Agreed.
Therese Lacson: Honestly, I was so immediately enchanted with young Leia and [her droid] LOLA. The backlash from people who said her scenes were a “retcon” had me up in arms.
Dean Simons: I liked how they did a bait and switch between Luke and Leia.
Taimur Dar: I think after Grogu and Omega in Bad Batch, I have a soft spot for kid sidekicks in Star Wars. I definitely enjoyed Leia’s optimism that contrasted with Obi-Wan’s cynicism during this time in his life.
Therese Lacson: [Laughs] Oh yeah, Star Wars tripled down on father/child dynamics. Though this one hit really hard because in another timeline, Obi-Wan could have been her actual uncle and watched her grow up.
Billy Henehan: I really loved Third Sister’s [aka Reva, played by Moses Ingram] character arc, and the big reveal about her past connection to Vader being her primary motivation.
Therese Lacson: Yes, Billy! Moses Ingram was so good, and that final scene of her breaking down had me in complete shambles. I just want Reva to be okay!
Dean Simons: I was kind of confused by it: hadn’t Reva already murdered loads of people, tortured kids etc by that point? Why now? What about the confrontation with Vader made her find a conscience?
Therese Lacson: I think it was her killing a child that she knew was Vader’s? Also the fact that she tried to kill him and failed. This was a last ditch effort. She’s already had the hatred consume her and it hasn’t given her what she wants.
Dean Simons: I don’t think she is redeemed yet. It would be cool–if we get more–to explore her journey back though.
AJ Frost: Related to Reva’s story, I’ve never seen a Star Wars show open with trigger warnings before. Beneath the wizardry and the magic of the Force, the Star Wars universe can be a dark place.
Therese Lacson: They did that because there was criticism after the first episode dropped and there was a school shooting only days before.
Taimur Dar: This and Stranger Things Season 4 as well
Therese Lacson: People said that the scenes from Order 66 were disturbing, so they added those content warnings.
Dean Simons: That seems to be a US Disney+ thing. I wonder if there were trigger warnings in other countries though.
AJ Frost: School shootings are an American problem, Dean. Sadly. Let’s talk more about Reva, and some of the other new characters. Did they work for you? Did you find them interesting?
Dean Simons: Reva was interesting until the last episode.
Taimur Dar: I felt the opposite. Reva became interesting to me in the last episode.
Therese Lacson: Agreed, Taimur. I actually thought she was far too wooden in the beginning. But the more we learned about her, the more I enjoyed the performance.
AJ Frost: I definitely had my issues with her portrayal. I think there were some illogical directing considerations for her, including wooden line readings.
Dean Simons: I liked how she was really fighting to rise through the ranks and prove herself, that it was part of her survival. When she realized she was useless against Vader, that conceit shattered.
AJ Frost: I can’t say that I want to learn that much more about her moving forward. But I do want to know her story between the Revenge of the Sith-era and the beginning of Obi-Wan.
Therese Lacson: Given how few neutral and powerful force users there are in this in-between time, I would be interested to see where Reva goes and if she encounters others.
AJ Frost: Vader is a total monster in this show. I’m happy that Disney decided to not sugarcoat his sadism.
Therese Lacson: Vader’s trophy room was incredibly dark. I like that they leaned into how vicious he could be. I don’t think I’ve ever found a good reason to be scared of Vader until this show. Of course, seeing Hayden behind the mask then immediately made me sad for him.
AJ Frost: How does everyone feel about Hayden’s performance? Did he bring some magic that maybe was absent during the prequels?
Dean Simons: I loved that moment where Obi-Wan stops and sees Anakin again. And then you have Anakin/Vader say – with his own voice and face, that Anakin is gone and that he probably died on the planet Mustafar. I was puzzled about when he would actually show up. We got a flashback, the bacta tank, and the final episode. I wondered if he would show as Vader proper and was glad for the finale. That final fight was certainly one of the most intense since Revenge of the Sith. I loved that. It mirrored Revenge of the Sith but also completed the arc of Obi-Wan in this series. He was without hope and confidence, until he found it again.
Therese Lacson: Kenobi and Vader aside though, I did like the other supporting characters we met, like Roken (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Tala (Indira Varma), and Haja (Kumail Nanjiani). I always like when they add a bit of Rebel flavor to the shows.
Dean Simons: RIP Tala!
AJ Frost: If only those characters were a little more developed. Roken was a bit of a character of convenience. He wasn’t allowed to do much, and his motivations could be contradictory.
Therese Lacson: I think it leaves room for him to be developed; Star Wars does this a lot. They introduce side characters and kind of test the waters to see how people feel about them. I liked that even though Haja was kind of a scam artist, he wasn’t ultimately doing it to screw over innocent people.
Dean Simons: He was helping AND making a profit. A true visionary!
Taimur Dar: As much as I love Kumail Nanjiani, I didn’t think he was used well in Eternals. Loved him as Haja in Kenobi. Really funny and charming.
Therese Lacson: Okay, but they did mention Kingo in Ms. Marvel, so if he shows up I’m cool with it.
Dean Simons: When he faced Reva that was both heroic and stupid – and hilarious.
AJ Frost: I was intrigued by Haja. I wanted to know more about how the galaxy views Jedi after the Empire has risen. And if people usually fake being Jedi in certain situations. There are a lot of unanswered questions here. That was quite the encounter.
Therese Lacson: I think between him and Roken, he has better potential? Maybe it was also because Kumail had good comedic chemistry with Ewan.
Dean Simons: I was quite interested in the market for Jedi or Force-sensitive children. Was The Path formed just to safeguard them or something else? Is the Empire just killing them?
AJ Frost: There are tidbits of information, but it is a mystery. The reference to Quinlan Voss was nerdy to the extreme in its minutia.
Dean Simons: But Voss exists and might be alive. I really enjoy the Dark Times as a period in the Star Wars universe
Therese Lacson: Excuse me, Quinlan Vos is the best and I will not have his name besmirched!
AJ Frost: What flat-out didn’t work here? Where did the series go astray?
Dean Simons: The massive plot holes!
Taimur Dar: Ok, we need to talk about the Obi-Wan Vincent Adultman moment…
AJ Frost: Yes, Taimur! Let’s get to that in a moment. Dean, can you elaborate on the plot holes?
Dean Simons: What’s a Vincent Adultman?
AJ Frost: “Vincent Adultman” is three kids stacked up on top of each other in a trenchcoat. It’s a reference to a Bojack Horseman character.
Dean Simons: That is definitely one of those plot holes: the entire getting into the facility and out again.
Therese Lacson: I didn’t think that scene was as ridiculous as people made it seem? I mean if they’re with an officer, it’s not that outlandish to me. It’s silly, but also this universe is completely silly.
Dean Simons: The last episode was funny: you had Obi-Wan volunteer to divert attention away from Vader’s Star Destroyer, but surely you needed to take down a shield to leave the ship. And once Obi-Wan was out then the ship lost its usefulness. The Empire could have blown the thing up and then gone after Obi-Wan. Then you have Obi-Wan walking away from this enormous source of evil and Vader seemingly let him, then somehow getting off-planet undetected and getting to Tatooine super-fast when Luke was in trouble.
AJ Frost: And, of course, we have Reva’s parkour and other moments of sudden transportation.
Therese Lacson: Well, wasn’t the point of Obi-Wan diverting attention proof that Vader was emotionally invested in hunting him and not in the Path?
Dean Simons: Let’s not forget treating the Third Sister with enormous compassion so quickly and Reva’s sudden break to the light. It was too fast. It needed time to be earned.
Therese Lacson: The Empire knew that they could attack and Vader didn’t care. Those are just emotional beats that work in respect to the characters. The parkour was absurd though. I agree with that.
Dean Simons: So you would have the Inquisitor going: “What about The Path people?” We could end it. Proton torpedos. Done. Now onto Obi-Wan. When was the parkour scene?
AJ Frost: Dean, the parkour sequence was during the second episode. I wonder if what brought down the emotional stakes throughout the show is the fact that we all knew that Obi-Wan, Vader, Luke, and Leia would all survive to the end of the series.
Taimur Dar: Does getting stabbed in the stomach by a lightsaber even do anything at this point? Kept wondering how Reva survived and managed to make it to Tatooine
AJ Frost: “The Dark Side is a pathway to many abilities that some consider to be unnatural,” Taimur. Naturally.
Therese Lacson: I was also wondering how she healed up. There were less stakes for her and the Grand Inquisitor, but I was on the edge of my seat during Obi-Wan and Vader’s fight.
Dean Simons: A thirst for revenge is the ultimate remedy!
AJ Frost: The stomach stabbing… Qui-Gon standing on the sidelines this whole series just watching and wondering why that wound killed him and no one else.
Dean Simons: I wanted Vader to say: “So, who has the high ground now, sleemo?”
AJ Frost: He was probably thinking about it.
Therese Lacson: [Laughs] Qui-Gon ascended to the top level of Jedi afterlife, but couldn’t even survive a measly lightsaber to the stomach. Actually… even Maul survived being chopped in half and turned into a trash spider for a bit. So I bet Qui-Gon has been pretty pissed.
AJ Frost: That’s a great point.
Dean Simons: I just reached that episode of The Clone Wars…
Therese Lacson: The Clone Wars and Rebels are required watching.
Dean Simons: I have seen all of Rebels, but I found The Clone Wars rather meh and hard to find for years. Disney+ was the first place I could properly watch it here in the UK.
AJ Frost: So do you all think that Obi-Wan could be enjoyed on its own without having to go through all of the animated series?
Therese Lacson: Yeah, but I don’t think you could watch it without watching the prequels.
AJ Frost: I think we can agree that Obi-Wan has its flaws. But it also has many strengths that make it engaging. Where does the show fit inside the wider Star Wars pantheon? Does it redeem the prequels? Does it work in tandem with The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian as the next phase of Star Wars media?
Dean Simons: I don’t think it fits into those, but helps bridge prequels with the main trilogy somewhat. It might fit more with the upcoming Andor series.
Therese Lacson: I think it fills in the blanks for sure, Leia’s past for example. But yeah, I agree. We might see more of The Path in Andor when it comes out later this year.
Taimur Dar: I think the prequels were redeemed already in large part to the work of Dave Filoni and others on Star Wars animated projects.
Dean Simons: Filoni for sure.
Therese Lacson: I think maybe people who don’t want to watch all of those episodes, it is a nice redemption.
AJ Frost: Do you all feel that this show felt more coherent than The Book of Boba Fett? Do you think it ranks higher in terms of quality than it?
Dean Simons: I think it had a better sense of direction and was less distracted. Flaws of logic and plot holes aside, it felt like a focused story.
Taimur Dar: Without a doubt, Obi-Wan Kenobi is on a technical level much better than The Book of Boba Fett. Boba Fett felt a bit rushed to me. Look no further than that infamous Vespa chase scene.
Therese Lacson: Much like the prequels, I think you can see a clear roadmap with Obi-Wan. I don’t think that really exists for Boba Fett or The Mandalorian.
Billy Henehan: I was never glowering at my TV wishing Obi-Wan would just put his damn helmet on, so that’s one point for Kenobi over The Book of Boba Fett.
Dean Simons: Although, in the case of The Mandalorian, the focus was clearly on his and Grogu’s story. Obi-Wan was mainly about his (and to a degree Leia’s) story. Boba Fett was…. a bit of a lot of things such that it felt like an event show without really feeling fully about Boba Fett because they ran out of ideas.
AJ Frost: It seemed that The Book of Boba Fett wasn’t really meant to be its own separate thing at all in the first place. It played more like The Mandalorian season 2.5, which I think detracted from it in the end. It clearly had a purpose (to reunite Mando and Grogu), and the titular character was seemingly an afterthought. Here though, Obi-Wan is the center of all the action.
Taimur Dar: Echoing what Therese said, Boba Fett definitely felt all over the place. It only got better when Mando and Grogu popped up. This Jhonen Vasquez tweet hits nail on the head.
Dean Simons: The Sand People flashbacks were the most interesting part about Fett’s story.
AJ Frost: I felt that the flashbacks in Obi-Wan were quite well done.
Dean Simons: I thought the CGI was odd and unsettling when it de-aged them but it really served the episode really well.
Therese Lacson: I mean, I might be the only person here who actually enjoyed The Book of Boba Fett. I liked the chase scenes and I enjoyed his flashbacks and meetings with the Sand People. But I also didn’t go in with any expectations of seeing a badass bounty hunter when the original trilogy offers us nothing for him and in the prequels he’s just a dad.
Dean Simons: Kid…
Therese Lacson: Oh true.
Dean Simons: He was the clone child kept by Jango.
Therese Lacson: Yep, Boba and Omega are unique from the other clones, I believe. He has a pretty metal story as a kid in The Clone Wars but this Boba Fett is older and wiser.
Billy Henehan: I think Kenobi is on almost or equal footing with The Mandalorian, and both are better than The Book of Boba Fett. People got excited when Mando showed up in The Book of Boba Fett. Kenobi didn’t need that kind of bump.
Dean Simons: It was neat seeing a clone veteran in Obi-Wan, though.
AJ Frost: Yes, that was a nice nod and good indication that the SW TV shows like to have little Easter Eggs to all eras of the saga.
Dean Simons: I haven’t seen The Bad Batch… do they explain what happened to the clones after the Clone Wars?
Therese Lacson: I’ve got a big aversion to seeing any more Luke because fanboys start frothing at the mouth when he appears, so when he appeared at the end of Mando I just kind of sighed. And Dean, yes, they go into what it takes to survive as a clone, but also what happened to them in the transition period going into the Empire.
Dean Simons: I thought that was cool but I prefer more Ahsoka, to be honest. I am slightly gutted that the Ahsoka show will not be animated but glad we will find out what happened to Ezra Bridger and the other characters from Rebels post-Return of the Jedi.
Therese Lacson: Yeah, my feelings for Ahsoka are conflicted. I LOVE the character and I love Sabine Wren. But the Rosario Dawson casting still doesn’t sit well with me.
Dean Simons: One interesting thing occurred to me: did anyone else slightly think that Obi-Wan gave up on Luke because he saw Leia as the true hope for the Jedi and the galaxy? He went from fixated on wanting to train Luke to not, then seeing Leia and that meaningful conversation in the last episode made me think of a What If…
AJ Frost: I don’t quite think so. He was not allowed to know Luke, whereas here he gets quite a lot of time with Leia. But your hypothetical is interesting.
Therese Lacson: I don’t think he was fixated on that, I think he wanted human connection after the trauma of losing essentially everything he knew. He wanted to give Luke toys, and he was using The Force as an excuse to stay close.
Taimur Dar: Yeah, I think seeing Luke was a reminder to him of the Anakin he loved and remembered.
AJ Frost: The same toy that Luke has in A New Hope I should add!
Dean Simons: Obi-Wan saw her potential and her natural leadership. And he knew that there was hope for at least one of the Skywalker kids. So the necessity of needing to train Luke lessened. I liked the idea. (Also want to see a Leia series now!)
Therese Lacson: I like the idea that he knew more of Leia and her abilities, but I think he has love for both of the kids because he loved Anakin. Like I said, in another universe where Anakin doesn’t fall, he would have watched them grow up.
Taimur Dar: I do appreciate they didn’t go over the top with Leia’s Force abilities. Just subtle hints.
Dean Simons: Her casting was excellent. I wasn’t expecting much but they cast young Leia fantastically
Therese Lacson: She was the highlight of the show, and it immediately brought a spark and light to the series which was starting off quite depressing.
AJ Frost: What were other callbacks that you enjoyed? I feel that there were some definite meme-worthy pieces of dialogue.
Dean Simons: QUINLAN VOS (obviously)!
Therese Lacson: I really liked that moment in the end when Obi-Wan was talking about how Leia has the best of both of her parents. They never said Padme’s name but that had me crying because it really is true!
Dean Simons: Also in one of the early episodes, where he stops and looks at Leia and says “You remind me of someone…”
Billy Henehan: Obi-Wan slicing Vader’s helmet in their end of season duel, and giving Vader the head scar we see at the end of Return of the Jedi.
Dean Simons: “I am sorry Anakin. For all of it” was kind of an apology on two levels: that Obi-Wan wasn’t the teacher he tried to be and was thus guilty about his responsibility for the destruction of the republic, the fall of the Jedi and the ruining of the life of Anakin….and also on the uneven quality of the prequels.
Therese Lacson: The “I will do what I must” is also a repeat of the line from before the Mustafar duel.
Taimur Dar: There’s a moment in the second episode where Kenobi tells Leia: “That’s not how the Force works.” Han Solo said the same thing in The Force Awakens.
AJ Frost: Wow. Didn’t catch that the first time around. Admittedly, I haven’t seen the sequel trilogy all that much.
Therese Lacson: I think what Deborah Chow and the gang did well was incorporating and utilizing nostalgia in a way that wasn’t just trying to speak to long-time fans. Not knowing those were callbacks didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the series.
Dean Simons: It definitely helped me enjoy it more despite its flaws. I was watching one of those YouTube videos on all the Easter Eggs and when it hit the weird plot holes and went, “Why?” the host says “Because Star Wars.” Oh, was the ghost sighting of Anakin a callback to Episode I and Maul?
AJ Frost: Perhaps it was!
Therese Lacson: I feel like when it comes to Maul, Obi-Wan is like Don Draper to Ginsberg: “I don’t think about you at all.” At least not until Maul starts messing with him. Like Maul is constantly thirsting after revenge and wanting to go after Kenobi, but I don’t think that same level of hate is reciprocated.
AJ Frost: And that is where true power lies.
Taimur Dar: There’s a piece of dialogue where Kenobi hints at possibly having a brother. Has me wondering if a future project may explore Kenobi’s family before becoming a Jedi.
Therese Lacson: Ohhhhh true! I forgot about that.
Dean Simons: I read the Young Kenobi books as a kid…was he picked up late? I forget.
AJ Frost: Those aren’t canon anymore, I believe.
Dean Simons: They are Schroedinger’s Canon. Filoni might will canon. Going back to being annoyed about having Boba without his helmet, I think one of the reasons John Wagner had fun with the Fett comics back in the day was because Dredd NEVER takes off his helmet and so he can write characterization around it. Or rather, that it isn’t Boba that is interesting but the scenarios and the world around him. Same goes for Dredd.
AJ Frost: Right. I think it goes back to the axiom that the straightedge characters are the least interesting.
Therese Lacson: I think that argument is the same as people who had gripes over Master Chief removing his helmet in Halo. But the reality is that it’s not that easy to convey emotion with a helmet on. And not everyone has Grogu as their ringer.
Dean Simons: I thought Master Chief was a robot but I only played one game and Paramount + only became available in the UK this week!
Therese Lacson: What!? He’s a super soldier!
Billy Henehan: Darth Vader shows plenty of emotion with his helmet on. Get Fett back in the helmet! I don’t want to see Temuera Morrison’s overly white teeth any more!
Therese Lacson: Boo! I love Temuera!
Billy Henehan: Having the helmet off totally ruins the mystique of the character for me. And he looks cooler in the helmet.
Therese Lacson: We are clearly from different generations of the fandom. [Laughs]
Dean Simons: I don’t think the problem with Fett was the helmet or Temuera, just bad writing. Not having the helmet served well in the flashbacks as it indicated that he was stripped of everything: his power, his weapons, his armor, and identity. It was well-written. His not having the helmet in present day indicated the writers hadn’t figured out what they wanted to do with him (or as present day as you can get in that era of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away).
Therese Lacson: Yeah, I’m going to have to disagree. I get why Mando needs to keep his helmet on, but whenever an actor can fully emote without a helmet, I’d rather it not be there. I don’t think that takes away from his badassery at all. I think not having a fully formulated plot was the problem. I wish they’d gone further into the crime aspect of things, but they kind of dabbled.
AJ Frost: What do you all think of the possibility of a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Dean Simons: I have mixed feelings. I would like it but if you overcrowd the era in between the prequels with pivotal characters, and not side stories, you diminish the mystique and power of the source material. Or run close to it.
Therese Lacson: Same. I don’t think there needs to be more story, and I’m terrified of the whole “too much of a good thing”. But… I also really liked this season. I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Obi-Wan again in other shows.
Dean Simons: I want more miserable dark times stories.
Therese Lacson: You’ll get that with Andor, I think.
Billy Henehan: I might have said this already but I like the idea of now that Obi-Wan telling Owen Lars that he trusts him to protect Luke, this opens up Obi-Wan to not just being a hermit in a cave for the next decade
Taimur Dar: I think a second season is unnecessary. However! If they perhaps wanted to do something like explore Kenobi’s early years before The Phantom Menace and just call it season two, I wouldn’t be opposed.
Therese Lacson: Oh my god YES. Cast Satine Kryze!!
AJ Frost: A prequel to the prequel. That’s some Inception level Star Wars content.
Therese Lacson: I’ve talked about this before, but I like that the Star Wars universe is unique in how it deliberately doesn’t have a chronological order when it comes to planning shows. They can and do jump around the timelines.
Dean Simons: They did that like crazy in The Clone Wars and that was ONE series. If they did season 2 of Obi-Wan, what would you guys want to see?
AJ Frost: More Qui-Gon and perhaps a reunion with Yoda? I’d think it would be neat if each episode was almost like a standalone, with Obi-Wan helping strangers and being somewhat eccentric so no one actually takes him seriously.
Therese Lacson: I would like to see more of the characters from the Clone Wars pop up. Give me Ventress, Savage Opress. Maybe I just like Dathomirians.
Dean Simons: Do they survive the Clone Wars?
AJ Frost: Quinlan Vos, perhaps, eh Dean?
Therese Lacson: I think they’re both dead but no one REALLY dies in the Star Wars universe.
Dean Simons: No. I would rather Quinlan show up in something else.
Therese Lacson: I think they’re rumored to do a Cal Kestis [the protagonist of the Jedi: Fallen Order video game] show, if somehow he meets Obi-Wan that would be amazing..
AJ Frost: Well, there is a new Jedi Survivor game that takes place during the same years as Obi-Wan…
Dean Simons: Whatever they do, I hope Obi-Wan stays on Tatooine. If he can come and go at whim, things get a bit silly. If they do a second season, I hope it explores his special training with Qui-Gon. and maybe explains why on earth he wrote journals. You could do inner world stuff and flashbacks maybe. But that seems too boring
AJ Frost: Alright team. I think this is as good a time as any to wrap up this fascinating conversation. What are your departing thoughts about Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Taimur Dar: Perfect!
Billy Henehan: More like Ob-I-Want More Kenobi!
Dean Simons: It had its flaws but it had many great moments. It was fun.
Therese Lacson: Departing thought is that the final episode hit me so hard, that Obi-Wan now ranks as my favorite Disney+ live-action show.
AJ Frost: Thank you everyone for a great conversation!
All six parts of Obi-Wan Kenobi are now streaming on Disney+.
