Villain Profile: The Inventor

I mean, did the original Edison build giant robots? Score 1 for Bird-Man Edison.

Sigh, I wish these Disney+ shows could do seven episodes instead of six. That would fit my format of a week of posts so much better. But alas, they don’t, so I need to think of a seventh thing to talk about. Because I’m kind of tired, I’ll do an easy but memorable character. The Inventor! The Inventor was the original antagonist of Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Kahn. He’s not in the new series because… he’s… a bit weird. But I’ll get to that in a second. Let’s get to it.

 

Imagine being one of the most world
renouned geniuses, ever, but also
being a bird.

In the mid-2010s, for reasons never really explained beyond “why the hell not,” geneticist Gregory Knox cloned famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Unfortunately, Knox was a bit of an idiot and didn’t wash out his petri dishes. The sample was contaminated with DNA from his pet cockatiel. The result was a human-bird hybrid with Edison’s intellect but an extreme hate for most everything because he’s a God Damned Bird. Now being in the current marvel universe, Edison quickly mastered advanced robotics and bioengineering. Edison and Knox set up shop in a decommissioned factory in New Jersey and got to inventing. Deciding that the modern adolescent isn’t good for much of anything besides providing energy, Edison decided to use them as a power source. He would take volunteer runaways and a few kidnapped kids to power a small army of advanced robots.

 

The Inventor got on fledging superhero Ms. Marvel’s radar when the younger brother of her bff Bruno, Vick, tried to hold up the Circle Q to pay the Inventor. He ended up shooting Kamala, which helped her learn about her regeneration powers. The Inventor later took Vick, most likely to use him in another of his machines. Ms. Marvel tracked Vick down, though, and freed him… after some trial and error.

 

Over the next few weeks, The Inventor tried ever increasing attempts to kill or capture Ms. Marvel. The closest to being successful was trapping her in a sewer complex he rigged together. It might have worked… if the X-Men’s Wolverine hadn’t been in town looking for a runaway student that the Inventor had taken to use as a battery. Kamala and Logan dispatch the Inventor’s various devices, including a giant crocodile, and free the Mutant being used as the area’s battery. Later, Kamala and her new assistant, the Inhuman dog Lockjaw, were able to track one of the missing kids to an abandoned power plant that the Inventor had been using for experiments. They were attacked by a robot, which them broke, to find another kid inside. They took him to the hospital.

 

You literally are.

The Inventor had slipped robot tracers on Kamala during this incident and sent a heavy mech to her school to try to finish her off. She and the robot wrecked have the school during their brawl, one that went on a bit longer than it could have due to Ms. Marvel’s strength having been pretty much depleted from the near constant fighting. She was saved from being squished by Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans, stepping in and teleporting them to New Attilan, the Inhuman capital.

 

The Inventor and Kamala faced off one more time as she and Lockjaw, with the guide of Vick, attacked his lair. She discovered that the Inventor had been using that shitty teenager feeling of worthlessness and depression common to teenagers to convince them to willingly power his machines. He drops in with another army off mechs and the two face off. His robot has a bowler hat for some reason. She ends up capturing Kamala and revealing that he has a ton of students that he kidnapped to continue his experiments, that includes Kamala’s friend Nakia. Kamala, Lockjaw, and the now motivated teens area able to stop the last of the Inventor’s robots. Kamala shrank down and broke much of its inner machinery. The police arrive, Kamala had called Bruno to call the cops earlier, and arrest Knox. They try to arrest the Inventor too, but he escaped and tried to reactivate his mech. It ended up exploding and he was seemingly killed.

 

And that’s the last we’ve seen of him.

 

I wonder what the actual Edison would be able to
do with modern tech. ... He'd probably be pissed
Tesla has better name recognition.

The Inventor is a mutant clone of famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Edison is a gifted inventor and scientist. He specializes in robots of varying sizes, and bioelectricity. I enjoy the implication that if he was born a little later in history, Edison would have been able to build giant robots. He also has a cockatiel’s large beak and claws.

 

The Inventor has never been used outside of the comics. It’s not too surprising, as even as introductory villains go, he’s a very bonkers concept. I mean, Thomas Edison, but he’s also a bird. Weird. The Ms. Marvel show seems t o be making its own canon for Kamala, creating a new otherworldly origin for her powers and focusing on a known as the Clandestine to antagonize her. And in all other appearances, Ms. Marvel is an established hero, guest spotting on other series. No real reason to show Kamala’s original baddy.

 

The Inventor is a visually interesting villain with a unique means of terrifying and using children for his evil machinations. I mean, you must be extremely evil to prey on the insecurities and depression of teenagers to make his giant robots. Also, just a dick move in general. Pretty much the only reason that I remember him is because he is Ms. Marvel’s original baddy and because of his giant ass bird head. So yeah, a visually memorable villain if nothing else. If he’d made another appearance in the future I wouldn’t complain, but I think Kamala has kind of graduated beyond crazed mutant historical figure. Just saying. Next time, we’ll cover Ms. Marvel the show and discuss what does and doesn’t work with this adaptation.  See you then. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: Obi-Wan Kenobi ep 6

Master and Apprentice face off one more time. 

Last time on Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Empire used a controlled Lola to lock Obi-Wan and the Path people in their facility. A battle begins as the Empire begins trying to bust the bunker. To try to stall for time, Obi-Wan spoke with Reva, the new Grand Inquisitor. He deduced that she’s a former Jedi Youngling, and that she’s planning to get close to and kill Vader in retribution for her slaughtered friends. She says she doesn’t need him and cuts the door open, starting the attack. The Path people and Obi-Wan are able to hold them back, thanks in no small part to the sacrifice of Tala, who after being fatally injured sets off a grenade. Obi-Wan surrenders himself to the Empire, revealing to Reva that he’s attempting to lure Vader in for her as a sign of good will. Reva sends him back into the facility, allowing him to escape. Leia gets the door open. Vader comes in and stops the ship from taking off and ripping the door off. It’s revealed that the ship is empty, it was piloted remotely. The real ship takes off while Vader was distracted. Reva makes her assassination attempt, but Vader saw it coming. He easily overpowers and wounds her. It’s revealed that the original Grand Inquisitor is still alive, and that this was a plan to reveal her loyalties. They leave her for dead. Reva finds Obi-Wan’s communicator, it was dropped in the confusion of take-off, and that someone important to Vader is on Tatooine. Uh-ho. Enough recap. Let’s get to it.

 

Episode 6: Part 6

 

Maybe should have changed out of the Inquisitor
armor, Reva.

We open on Tatooine. Seems like a typical day, Jawas walking around, crimes being committed. That is until Reva shows up and starts demanding to know where a farmer named Owen lives. Huh… Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and co are still being chased by the empire. I assume it’s been at least a day, which still seems nuts. Vader orders they increase firepower.

 

On the ship, everyone is nervous as the ship rocks with explosions. Roken says the Hyperdrive is almost ready, and that they’ll jump to Tessen and drop Obi-Wan off there. Obi—Wan pulls Roken aside and learns that Roken was putting on a brave face. There are more damages that they need to deal with and no time to do it. Leia comes over and gives Obi-Wan a pep talk.

 

We cut over to Tatooine, where Owen and Luke are out part shopping. Luke, in classic Skywalker fashion, broke something in it. While looking for parts, one of the humans from the previous scene arrives and says he has something to tell Owen.

 

During the scene change, Obi-Wan told Leia that he’s going to try to lead Vader away. She, and everyone else, don’t take that idea super well. Obi-Wan knows Vader wants him, and that drawing him away will buy them the time they need to escape. He says they all are the future, and that they’re the ones that need to survive. Leia doesn’t want him to go and storms off. Obi-Wan tries to go after her, but Haja advises giving her space. Obi-Wan asks him to look after Leia and get her home. Haja gives him his word. He admits the word of a conman might not mean much, but Obi-Wan trusts him. He leaves to prepare.

 

Back on the farm, Owen orders Luke into the house and then grabs Beru to tell what’s happening. In a twist I never saw coming, it turns out Beru and Owen were prepared for this kind of situation, having a lot of blasters stashed around their house. Owen wants to leave, but Beru wants to hold up and fortify. Beru knows that Reva will attack at dark, so they need to get in position now.

 

Gotta be hard when you know your very scary boss
is wrong but can't say it.

On the ship, Haja spoke with Leia and got her to speak to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan tells her to tell Bail he tried to get her home. He gives Leia Tala’s holster, saying she’d want her to have it. Leia points out it’s empty, but Obi-Wan counters that he’s not giving a ten-year-old a blaster. She hugs him and asks him to come back. He promises. In the cargo hold, Obi-Wan holds his lightsaber and speaks to Qui-Gon again. He claims that this’ll end today. One shall stand, one shall fall. Sorry, that’s Transformers. Roken tells Obi-Wan that the drop ship ready. He tries one more time to convince Obi-Wan to stay, but he has got to do it. He tells Roken there’s a shortage of leaders in the universe and that Roken can’t stop. Roken says he’s just getting started. The Empire detect Obi-Wan flying off, and despite the Grand Inquisitor’s protests, orders they follow Kenobi.

 

On Tatooine, Beru and Owen get Luke down into the lowest level of their house. They lie to him and say that the Tusken Raiders are coming through. They tell him to stay in that room, and if they get in, he knows what to do.

 

Vader orders his ship prepared and that he’ll face Obi-Wan alone. Obi-Wan lands and mentally prepares himself for what’s to come. He finds that Leia slipped Lola in his pocket earlier, as a good luck charm and a guilt trip to make sure he comes back, I’d wager. He sets her on the dash and heads out.

 

Meanwhile, Reva trips the perimeter alter. Owen and Beru get into position.

 

High guard, ho!

Vader lands and disembarks. He finds Obi-Wan waiting for him. He asks if Obi-Wan has come to destroy him. Obi-Wan says he’ll do what he must and gets into his iconic high guard stance. They start dueling. Their lightsabers clash, but this time, Obi-Wan isn’t going down easy.

 

Reva enters the house and ignites her saber. Owen and Beru open fire when her back is turned. They do their best to distract her, throwing debris at her and shooting repeatedly.

 

The duel is still going on. Obi-Wan is able to force Vader back on several strikes. He tries to crush Vader with a bunch of rock, but Vader blocks it. He is impressed his former master’s strength has returned. He believe that the weakness is still there, though, and that’s why he’ll still lose. To prove this, he uses the Force to shatter the ground and bury Obi-Wan in a sinkhole. He buries Obi-Wan, and then asks if he truly thought Obi-Wan could defeat him. He leaves Obi-Wan for death.

 

Owen tries to hold Reva off, impressing her slightly. She seems impressed that he’s protecting Luke like this, like he’s one of Owen’s own. Owen says Luke IS his own and tries to impale her on a spike. He asks what she wants, and she says Justice. Seeing her injured side, Owen punches it, causing her to scream and throw him aside. Beru holds her back just long enough for Luke to get out and run across the desert.

 

One shall Stand, One shall Fall.

Back on the nameless rock, Obi-Wan is keeping himself from being completely buried by sheer force of will. He remembers all the conversations that he’d had with Anakin and Vader and that seems to break him a little, but then he remembers Leia and that gives him the power to free himself. He runs at Vader and the two clash again. Obi-Wan attacks savagely, using saber and Force to great effect. He lifts tons of rubble and hurls it at Vader. They clash again.

 

Reva chases Luke into the nearby rock formation. Luke stays out of sight, clambering over the rocks.

 

Obi-Wan gets several hard hits in, damaging Vader’s breathing system. He gets another hard hit in, cutting through Vader’s helmet and revealing the left side of his face. Obi-Wan speaks to Anakin. Vader tells him Anakin is gone, and that he is what remains. Obi-Wan apologizes for failing Anakin. Vader tells him that he isn’t his failure. “You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker. I did.” Obi-Wan says that his friend is truly dead and he just… leaves. Vader, too injured to follow just ends up screaming Obi-Wan’s name into the void. Obi-Wan boards his ship and flies for Tatooine.

 

Luke has avoided Reva thus far, but she closes in. She pulls him over the side of the rock formation he’s running across. Obi-Wan senses his danger though the Force. Luke is on the ground, unconscious but alive. Reva turns on her lightsaber and prepares to kill him. She sees herself in Luke, though, and remembers the two times Vader ran her though. Obi-Wan lands and hears Owen and Beru screaming for Luke. He finds them and asks where he is. He prepares to search the Dune sea, but they see Reva walking towards them holding Luke. She gives Luke to his guardians. They take him back to the house. Reva starts sobbing. She tells Obi-Wan she couldn’t do it, that she failed her friends. Obi-Wan thinks that showing mercy has given her friends peace. He tells her that she chose to not be like Vader and who she becomes now is up to her. She takes out her lightsaber and drops it on the ground. Obi-Wan says they’re both free. … I hope they moved the lightsaber or Luke is going to find it.

 

On Mustafar, Vader is communicating with the Emperor. He has probes searching every system, swearing that Obi-Wan won’t evade him again. Palpatine implies that this obsession with Kenobi is a weakness, and Vader swears that Obi-Wan means nothing to him and he only lives to serve.

 

On Alderaan, Leia gets ready for a function, which now includes her new holster. Her mom is shocked for a sec but then says she loves it. They head out to meet Bail as a shuttle lands. Obi-Wan and Lola step out. He goes and greets the Organa’s while Leia reconnects with Lola. Obi-Wan swears that he’ll be there if Bail needs his help again. Obi-Wan goes back to Leia, when he asks her what she thinks he should do now, she says sleep. Obi-Wan crouches down and tells Leia the truth. He tells her she is wise, discerning, and kindhearted, like her mother. And that she’s passionate, fearless, and forthright, like her father. He wishes he could tell her more, but that is enough. He warns her that while they might meet again, that they’ll have to be careful, or they’ll endanger them both. They say goodbye and Obi-Wan says may the Force be with her. He takes off.

 

Obi-Wan returns to Tatooine. He packs up his little cave, including the toy he meant to give Luke, leaving only his big trunk. He stops by Owen’s farm. He and Owen chat, Obi-Wan telling Owen he will keep his distance. And that Owen was right, that Luke needs to just be a boy and the future will work itself out. He says that Beru and Owen are all he needs for protection and that they should take care of him. As he almost leaves, Owen asks if he wants to meet Luke. He obviously does. He brings Luke the toy and introduces himself to his friend’s son.

 

Hi Qui-Gon!

We cut to Obi-Wan traveling across the Dune Sea. He comes up to a canyon where Qui-Gon Jinn’s force ghost manifests. He chastises his student for taking so long. He says he’d been with Obi-Wan this whole time, he just wasn’t ready to see. They set out for the valley, parts, and adventures unknown. Hell of an ending.

 

Since Disney+ shows began, there’s been a habit of having less than stellar finales. For me, Obi-Wan Kenobi breaks that trend. It had a little of everything. Action with the duel between Obi-Wan and Vader, suspense with Reva chasing Luke, and a bit of closure for both. I must say, Vader trailing off when he said “A presence I have not felt since…” in a New Hope is the storytelling gift that keeps on giving, since it allowed for them to write this encounter years after Revenge of the Sith that still doesn’t go against canon. The bits from Vader talking about Anakin Skywalker being dead and how he killed him was also nice. Since it made it feel less like Obi-Wan lied to Luke in the future when he said Vader killed Anakin Skywalker. He was just repeating what Vader said. I think that line also gave Obi-Wan a bit of closure too. It let him mourn his friend in a way that he couldn’t if he felt like there was something left of Anakin in there. Loved the bit where he started using the Force to help him in the battle. Combat Force use is great to show that he’s moving forward. Reva’s revelation about how killing Luke and how it’d just continue the cycle of violence was well done, I think. A bit dramatic with her flashes of her younger self and her stroking out but it got the point across. I’d be happy to see more of Reva in the future. And the last-minute Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn was just fun. I like the implication that Obi-Wan isn’t going to be alone anymore, regardless of if they do another season. So, yea, I had fun with this one. Have a good night. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: Obi-Wan Kenobi ep 5

Vader and Anakin are intertwined, and that can be useful. 

Last time on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia was being held at Fortress Inquisitorous on the moon Nur in the Mustifar system. Obi-Wan, injured but at least not on death’s door after his fight with Darth Vader, insists they go save her. The Path agents are less than thrilled to help, but Tala volunteers to help. They make it to Nur just as Reva begins interrogating Leia. Thankfully, she takes after her bio parents in terms of being obstinate and in resisting Force Mind delves. Tala used her Imperial clearance to break into the facility and help Obi-Wan through. In the bowels of the facility, Obi-Wan finds that the Inquisitors are housing the bodies of Force users in amber cells. Obi-Wan freed Leia before she was really tortured. This was possible in no small part thanks to Tala outing herself to Reva and giving her fake intel on the Path. Obi-Wan, Tala and Leia escape, Obi-Wan using the Force to hold back water from a busted observation window to help them escape. This was the biggest thing he’d moved in years. They escape into the hanger and get away thanks to a pair of Path pilots flying in to save their asses. One of them is killed and everyone is broken up about it who knew him. Vader upon hearing this is, well, Vader pissed and starts choking out Reva, but Reva reveals she has a tracker on Obi-Wan that he won’t get rid of. The tracker having been implanted in Leia’s LOLA droid. Damn. Well, that’s enough recap. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

Episode 5: Part 5

 

Okay, he can't pass for 20 anymore, but you're on
something if you don't think Hayden looks good
for his age.

We open on a flashback to Obi-Wan and Anakin on Coruscant sometime between Episode 2 and 3, before Anakin’s promotion to full Jedi. They have a friendly training duel with their lightsabers. As their lightsabers touch, we jump forward to Vader looking out on space. The Third Sister arrives and lets him know that Obi-Wan is on Jabiim. He tells her she did well and tells her to kneel. He dubs her the Grand Inquisitor and has his captain put the little pin on her. Then orders they head toward Jabiim.

 

The Path ship lands on Jabiim. The assembled fugitives watch as Obi-Wan and crew disembark. Obi-Wan sees Haja in the crowd. Turns out, after standing up to Reva, he’s now a wanted fugitive… so he had no choice but to come here. He’s keeping chipper about it though, saying this is a great business opportunity for him. I guess he left Jayco? Dick. Obi-Wan asks to use their ship to get Leia to Alderaan. Roken agrees, but after they get the refugees out. The people they’ve gathered have been waiting for months and they’re on a very tight schedule. Obi-Wan agrees that’s the right call. Roken tells his people to get ready.

 

So sad to see the thing he has become.

Vader watches out the window as they fly through Hyperspace. Reva tells him they’re almost there. He says to lock down the facility. Reva points out that giving them time to prepare would make them hard to break, Vader claims that they aren’t the ones they need to break.

 

Lola comes online and flies off, her evil red eye glowing. She flies into a hatch and starts looking around. Obi-Wan sees a wall of signatures of people that had been through the Path. The note The light will fade, but is never forgotten, sticks out to him. He sees a pile of lightsabers and other Jedi gear by the wall. As he looks at them, Lola shorts out the hatch, sealing it. They realize that the controls aren’t responding at the same time a Star Destroyer warps in. Obi-Wan, knowing the man behind the mask, says that Vader will attack next, as he has no patience for a siege. Roken asks how he knows.

 

Obi-Wan flashes back to his duel. Anakin fights his master doggedly, with Obi-Wan telling him that he grows too aggressive. Anakin claims mercy never defeated the enemy and keeps attacking. And that’s why he’s going to lose

 

Vader in space orders the attack to begin.

 

Obi-Wan gives a speech to the crowd. He tells them they don’t have to beat the Empire, who is better equipped, armed and trained, but just hold out until they can escape. Obi-Wan tells Roken to get the door open in one hour, Roken said it’d take 3, and to everyone else to lock down remote access to the facility.  

 

Dropships start their approach as we see a quick montage of the Path refugees quickly locking down the facility ant turning it into a war bunker. They finish as the Stormtroopers land and load up some sort of large cannon. Reva lands and order them to fire on the door. Meanwhile, Roken hasn’t gotten the doors open. Haja sarcastically asks if he’s tried climbing into the vents to see what’s happening. Leia hears this suggestion and volunteers to do it. Roken is skeptical, but Obi-Wan vouches for her and says to get her the ladder she asks for. Obi-Wan asks Haja to look after her as his communicator starts going off. Leia gets into the vent and starts working. Obi-Wan turns on his communicator. Bail left him a message saying that he’s worried and that if he doesn’t hear from Obi-Wan soon he’ll assume the worst and head to Tatooine to look after the boy. Tala joins him. She tells him her “I was just following orders” story. Basically, on a planet called Garel, she helped gather up four families of Force Sensitives and watched as 14 people (six of them kids) die. It’s because of that moment that she turned against the empire. She says that there are some things that they can’t forget, but they can fight to make them better. Roken comes in and tells them they’re in trouble. He also has a bowcaster? Huh. That’s cool. The doors won’t hold much longer, so Obi-Wan tells them he wants to speak to the Inquisitor.

 

Bet you that Obi-Wan really misses the days when
the guys in white armor were on his side.

Upon hearing he wants to negotiate, Reva bites and goes to the door to speak with him. Through the heavy door they speak. Reva says this stalling tactic won’t work because Vader wants him at all costs. Obi-Wan asks her how she knew the Vader = Anakin Skywalker, as obviously few people knew what Anakin’s Sith name was when he still had 3/4ths of his limbs. Obi-Wan realizes that she was a Youngling on the night of Order 66. We flashback to the opening scene of the series. A young Reva watched as Anakin cut down her friends. She played dead and hid amongst the bodies until everyone left. Obi-Wan realizes that Reva isn’t serving Vader, but is hunting him, doing her best to get close enough to him to kill him. He offers to help him, but she’s not sure she can believe him. She asks why he didn’t stop him, his padawan. Reva says she doesn’t need his help. When Obi-wan says she won’t stop him alone, she says “You have no idea what I’ve done alone,” and lightsabers the door open. Obi-Wan throws her back and the fight begins.

 

Definitely, definitely misses them.

Obi-Wan does his best to take out Stormtroopers while the others shoot who they can. They’re forced back into tighter confines, which kind o f works for them. Haja, nervous, yells at Leia to hurry and find the red breaker. The Path folks fall back, Tala and NED-B being at the front as they move. When they get in real close, NED-B starts throwing people about. Tala takes a gut injury, and NED-B is killed protecting her. Obi-Wan tries to reach her but the Stormtroopers hold him back. Tala tells him to go, shoots the door controls to close them and tells Obi-Wan “May the Force be with you,” as she holds up a grenade. She set it off, presumably forcing the Empire back for a while. They fall back to the hanger, where Leia is still working on getting the doors open.

 

On his ship, Vader is told that Reva is through the doors. He orders her to stand down, as he feels that Kenobi is already theirs.

 

We cut back to the duel, Anakin gets Obi-Wan down to the ground and tells him to surrender. Obi-Wan in the hanger says that they’ve lost and goes to face Vader. Roken and Haja are against this, but Obi-Wan insists it’s the only way. He knows Vader and knows he won’t stop until he has Obi-Wan. He also knows Vader knows he’ll do anything to help these people but is expecting him to surrender. He’s going to fight instead. He hands over his lightsaber, blaster, and communicator to Haja, telling him to look after Leia. Roken asks how he can fight without weapons, and Obi-Wan says there are other ways to fight. He goes outside and is seized. Leia is still looking for the switch and doesn’t see evil Lola floating.

 

Reva orders they inform Vader that Kenobi is theirs. When Reva gloats that he’ll die soon, Obi-Wan tells her that they aren’t bringing him to Vader, he’s bringing Vader to her. He pokes at Reva’s psychological damage and ask if she’ll really let Vader slaughter innocent families again just to get what she wants. She whispers to him and asks how he knows Vader won’t see it coming, to which Obi-Wan claims, all he’ll see is me. Reva walks back and orders they bring Obi-Wan back inside.

 

During the duel in the past, Obi-Wan gets back up and the fight continues. Anakin disarms him. He claims victory. Obi-Wan tells him that his need for victory blinds him.

 

Vader lands and marches through troops. Reva tells him that Obi-Wan is secure inside. Inside, Obi-Wan frees himself and kills the guards. Leia, meanwhile, has found the right wire and begins to fix it. Lola attacks her… sort of. Imagine if someone’s pet pigeon started flying at their head, a bit shocking but, like, not even a little dangerous. She grabs Lola, sees she has a restraining bolt in her wing and removes it. Lola goes back to normal instantly. Vader walks in and sees his men dead and just keeps walking. Leia gets the doors open and the Path people load up as Obi-Wan joins them. He congradulates Leia and gives her the bad news about Tala. During the shuffle, Haja accidentally drops Obi-Wan’s communicator. They head for the ship.

 

Light, Vader is a badass.

Vader stalks in. The ship takes off, he catches it with the Force, though, and pulls it back down. He rips it apart to get to Obi-Wan… only to discover the ship empty. No, they were on the other ship, farther back in frame. I guess they were controlling this one remotely. While Vader was distracted, they power on their engines and fly away. Need for victory blinds him, indeed.

 

In the flashback, Obi-Wan gets around Anakin and uses the Force to disarm him. He tells his student that he is a great warrior, but his need to prove himself is his undoing. He tells him he needs to overcome it, and he’ll be a padawan until he does.

 

In the present, while Vader (I assume) angrily looks up at the escaped ship, Reva tries to kill him. But he stops her saber with the Force. He turns and tells her that Obi-Wan was wise to use her against Vader. Reva keeps trying to attack him, but Vader blocks with the Force. He completely owns the fight, stealing her doubleblade saber and splitting it in two to allow her to defend herself. He ends up with both Sabers again shortly, though. He runs her through and lets her drop to the ground. He asks her if she really believed that he didn’t recognize her. The Stormtroopers come in, lead by the OG Grand Inquisitor. He takes his little pin back. He claims that her rage was useful, for a while, but it grew tiresome. He tells her they’re leaving her in the gutter where she belongs before they leave.

 

Meanwhile, the ship leaves the atmosphere and flies off. Roken tells Obi-Wan that the hyperdrive is down and the Empire is in pursuit. On the ground, Reva gets her saber back, and notices the communicator a few feet away. It was smashed into the ground during the retreat. On the ship, Obi-Wan starts zoning out, sensing the immense danger. Reva gets the communicator working just well enough to hear that there’s a boy on Tatooine that is important. Well… shit. Obi-Wan tells Roken not to worry. The episode ends on a young Luke sleeping at home. Crap.

 

This is a great penultimate episode. This episode really played with the most underutilized aspect of the Star Wars mythos, at least since the duel on Mustifar, the connection between Obi-Wan and Vader. We got to see both sides react and counter each other based on what they know of each other. The line from Obi-Wan about Vader not having the patience for a siege and Vader knowing that Obi-Wan is the one they need to crack were two of the best ones. I liked the flashback duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. I’ll say it, Hayden Christensen has aged amazingly well. Like, I don’t believe he’s 18-20, but I won’t guess he’s 41. Using the duel as the framing device of how Obi-Wan knows the best way to mislead Vader is great. A good way to highlight how, despite Anakin becoming Vader and “moving past” Obi-Wan, he’s still that boy Obi-Wan beat. The reveal of Reva’s plan was pretty good. I almost had forgotten about the children in the beginning, so the reveal that that was young Reva is crazy. The duel between her and Vader is great. You see all her rage and hate, but also Vader’s complete and total indifference to her. Like, half the fight he was basically saying “nope” and willing her lightsaber away. I am a little fuzzy how she survived a gut wound, but what you going to do. I totally saw the Grand Inquisitor still being alive, though. Why? Because I saw Star Wars: Rebels, where he’s the first season antagonist, and saw him die there. Rebels happens about five or so years after this. Tala's sacrifice was extremely well done. I got choked up a bit as she pulled the May the Force be With You before her death got me chocked up a bit. The foreshadowing that Luke is going to be in trouble while Obi-Wan can’t get away from Darth Vader is terrifying. Like, I know Luke is fine, both for the movie and how I also have already seen the next episode, but I’m still scared. Reva might mess him up. But we’ll see tomorrow. Have a good night. 

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Viewer Log: Obi-Wan Kenobi ep 4

 Into the Bowels of the Beast.

Last time on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan and Leia made it to the planet Mapuzo. When their promised pick up doesn’t arrive, they hoof it for a bit and are picked up by a trucker. They’re taken to a checkpoint where Obi-Wan is made by an Imperial Probe. Obi-Wan kills all the Stormtroopers but surrenders when another group arrives. Their office, Tala Durith, kills them and reveals to be their contact. She takes them to a safehouse in a nearby town and prepare to be taken off planet. Their escape is complicated by the arrival of the Inquisitors and their master, Darth Vader. Obi-Wan sends Tala and Leia again and tries to lead Darth Vader away. This works because Darth Vader is kind of obsessed with killing his former master. Obi-Wan, out of practice from a decade in the desert plus his PTSD, is easily overpowered by Vader in a one-on-one fight. Because Vader is Drama King, he attempts to horribly burn Obi-Wan as payback. He’s saved by Tala, who came back to free him. Unfortunately, while Tala was going to save Obi-Wan, Leia was found by Reva. Damn. Enough recap let’s get to it.

 

Episode 4: Part 4

 

Bacta tanks look so weird.

We open with Obi-Wan waking up on a starship. Tala tells him he’s going to be okay. As Obi-Wan drifts in and out, they seem to land on Jabiim, and take him to their bacta tank. For those who don’t know, the bacta tanks are tubes of a special liquid that’s designed to accelerate healing and/or work as a painkiller for the patient. As Obi-Wan is submerged, we’re also shown Vader in his own tank. The two seem to be reacting to the memory of their fight. Obi-Wan wakes up and tries to get out of the tank, but Tala explained what happened. He asks where Leia is.

 

We cut to Leia being held hostage at the Inquisitor Stronghold. She tries to put on a brave front, but Reva comes in and tells her Obi-Wan is dead and no one is coming for her.

 

Let's make a plan.

Back on Jabiim, Obi-Wan and Tala try to get the help Roken, the man in charge of this leg of the path. Roken wants Obi-Wan off the planet and away from his underground, but as Obi-Wan and Tala point out, they need to get Leia back as she’s aware of a fair number of Path secrets right now. When Obi-Wan tries to pull the ol’ “You don’t know what the Empire is capable of,” card, Roken counters by relaying his own backstory. His wife was Force Sensitive, they tried to hide her for as long as they could, but eventually the Inquisitors found her and took her away. Roken agrees to help after that outburst. We get a quick overview of what they know about the Inquisitor base, Fortress Inquisitorious, as one guy puts it. It’s on Nur, a water moon in the Mustafar system. While they know that it’s Vader’s system, Vader himself isn’t home, according to their intel. They don’t know how deep the spire goes down. The fortress is pretty much impenetrable, Obi-Wan wants to go but the others are hesitant. Until Tala volunteers. If her clearance is still intact, she has the credentials to get them inside. They hope on Tala’s ship and head out.

 

On the flight over, Obi-Wan tries to manipulate a pin with the Force but is having trouble still. Tala sees and tells him that it’s not just his body that needs to heal but his mind too, that the past is hard to forget. He’s not sure he can forget, but Tala reminds him that if he wants to save Leia he’ll probably have to.

 

Reva interviews Leia. I must assume even the Empire would take issue with interrogating a minor but we’re glossing over that. She tells Leia they intercepted a transmission from Balnab last year, information of the secret Path network. She wants Leia to tell her what she knows of it. Leia how Obi-Wan died. Reva tells her that he was burned on Mapuza and claims that the Path folks left him to die, to get an emotional reaction for Leia, but she doesn’t bite.

 

Obi-Wan and Tala land on the fortress. Tala goes in alone to check if her clearance still works. She has clearance to go through, but as this isn’t her sector, the guard says he can’t let her through. Tala rolls a nat 20 on her intimidation check and gets through. She gets to the command post and tells Obi-Wan that she opened the underwater entry port for him to enter. Obi-Wan swims up and in. Inside, he kills the guard guarding the port and throws the body in the water.

 

Meanwhile, Reva tries to probe Leia’s mind, but as it turns out Leia’s extremely resistant to the mind trick. Who’d have guessed? Reva grabs Lola and threatens the little droid to intimidate Leia.

 

Tala leads Obi-Wan through the fortress… no one questioning who she’s talking to on her com link. One officer finally calls her over to see her id, right when Obi-Wan could use help avoiding a probe droid. He slips into a hall to avoid it. Tala meanwhile beats the officer to death and get’s back to Obi-Wan… right as some Stormtroopers were passing. He uses the force to move something and distract the, before continuing.

 

Master Senube, no!

Reva keeps trying to break Leia’s spirt by telling her Obi-Wan is dead and no one is coming for her. Leia finally says okay. She says she must tell her Dad first. Reva realizes that Leia is just trying to get to her dad and orders her taken for interrogation. She’s taken to a torture chair and strapped in. She screams for help but obviously no one is there. Obi-Wan enters the secure sector. Inside he finds dozens if not hundreds of individuals in some type of Amber casing. He claims that this place isn’t a fortress, but a tomb. Reva demands Leia reveal her secrets, but she remains tightlipped. Reva powers up the chair as Obi-Wan gets close. He asks Tala for a distraction. An officer slips into the room and tells Reva that there’s news for her that can’t wait.

 

Reva meets Tala in the Inquisitor meeting room. She tells Reva her military history and tells her the Path runs out of the planet Florrum in the Sertar sector. She does tell Reva how the operation works, using salvage business to launder money and resources to give people new identities. Reva says that’s impressive work… unless she’s lying. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan cuts the Stormtroopers down and cuts Leia free. Leia says she didn’t say anything and Obi-Wan knows and promises to get her home. Reva points out that an old man and little girl shouldn’t have gotten through a checkpoint on their own. Tala bluffs, saying she’s a double agent infiltrating the Path.

 

Damn, Obi.

Obi-Wan and Leia get out of the detention area, but a drone spots them and sounds the alarm. Tala pulls a blaster on the two Stormtroopers that were going to take her to interrogation on Reva’s orders and runs to meet them. Obi-Wan starts cutting through Stormtroopers as they come at them. He ends up cracking some underwater glass as he deflects blaster fire. He finally seals the door with other deflection, but then is stuck trying to keep the glass from cracking. Tala joins them and Obi-Wan tells her to take Leia. He strains to hold the water back as they back off and block blaster fire. He ultimately divers the water, drowning the troopers as he runs through the door Tala kept open for him.

 

Obi-Wan and co make it to the top level as the other Inquisitors arrive, Fifth Brother swearing Third Siter will pay for this. They make it to the hangar as Reva catches up to them. She asks Tala if betraying the Empire is worth it for an old man and a little girl, to which Tala says this was never who she was. Two fighters fly in, distracting Reva long enough for to pick up the crew. One of the two pilots, Wade, is killed by Reva as they escape.

 

So close and yet so far.

Vader arrives and starts choking Reva out via the Force. He says he’ll tolerate her weakness no longer. Reva reveals that she let them get away through choking breaths, saying they’ll now have the Path and Kenobi. Vader says there can be no mistakes and asks if she’s sure the tracker is with them. Reva says yes.

 

They link up with Roken, who was piloting their freighter. They tell him Wade is dead, which seems to bum everyone who knew him out. Sad for them. Leia holds Obi-Wan’s hand as they fly, looking for and to give comfort. We’re shown Lola in her coat, her eye glowing red as the credits roll. Damn.

 

This was another good episode. I think that makes this one of the better runs for Disney+, as most of their shows have at least one true dud by this point. I like prison break stories. Reva interrogating Leia is an intense couple of scenes. It takes a really deranged mind to be willing to torture a child to get what she wants. Obi-wan finding the Jedi tomb was kind of jarring. Like, I assumed there’d be some sort of holding cell or Jedi prison of some kind, but a bunch of corpses in amber was not something I expected. I guess they are about 15 years out from figuring out freezing someone in Carbonite, but still, odd. Obi-Wan going from barely moving a pin to holding back a metric ton of water seems fitting. What? Most of his weakness is in his head, so obviously he could do more in a life-or-death situation than he could just puttsing. I think the only real negative of this episode was treating Wade as a character that had been in more than one scene before his death. Like, I get it, people that know him are mourning, but *I* don’t know him so I don’t know why we’re focusing on it. Lola having a tracker in her feels a bit obvious, but I’ll let Obi-Wan off for not checking Leia for trackers. All I’m saying. So yeah, good episode. Have a good night. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: Obi-Wan Kenobi ep 3

Obi-Wan's past comes back to haunt him. 

Last time on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan left Tatooine for the first time in a decade to seek out the kidnapped Princess Leia. He arrived on the plant Daiyu, which is like if you vacuumed up all the sand on Tatooine and got to looking. He met and forced a con artist posing as a Jedi named Haja Estree to help him track down the safehouse Leia was being held in. He freed the girl, just as Reva and the other Inquisitors landed on the planet and locked down the port. Leia, upon realizing that she was kidnapped to get to Obi-Wan tries to make a run for it and almost falls to her death. Obi-Wan, though, was able to call upon his Force powers for the first time in ages and saved her. With Haja’s help, they got onboard an automated freighter to a world called Mapuzo. At the dock, Obi-Wan is briefly held up by Reva, who reveals to the old Hermit that his former apprentice, Darth Vader, is still alive and looking for him. The Grand Inquisitor steps in to take Obi-Wan himself, but he’s stabbed through the gut by Reva. The confusion lets Obi-Wan link up with Leia again and they just barely escape Reva. In the final moments of the episode, we saw a badly scared Darth Vader floating in a bacta-tank, his iconic breathing playing. Enough recap let’s get to it.

 

Episode 3: Part 3

 

We open on Obi-Wan meditating in the cargo hold, trying to reach Qui-Gon. His thoughts are troubled by the news of Darth Vader’s continued existence. As he remembers some of the key moments of the previous series, we see Darth Vader pulled from his tank and being outfitted in his armor. Obi-Wan thinks “He’s coming, Master.”

 

You'll never guess who is going to show up in 
this pre-Star Wars 4 show. Never in a million years.

On Vader’s fortress on Mustafar (seriously, bro, you can leave that planet) he gets the report on the situation from Reva. Guess she claims that Obi-Wan killed the Grand Inquisitor, but Vader gives no shits about that. He promises her the position of Grand Inquisitor if she can succeed here. He gets up… to watch the volcanos… I guess.

 

Leia, like any child on a long trip, is bored and starts pestering Obi-Wan about how long it’s taking and what the force “feels” like. He explains that it’s like turning on a light when one is afraid of the dark, it feels safe. He then hands her Lola, whom he’d been fixing. Their freighter gives them the alert they’re approaching the planet and they get ready to disembark. They slip out while the droids unload.

 

Mapuzo seems to be a planet of rolling plains and mountains. Obi-Wan tells Leia it’s a mining colony, and that their meeting point is slightly farther to the north. They’re hoofing it. Obi-Wan explains the planet was once a place of farms and families but the Empire has since reworked it into a mining operation and kicked the people off. He’s interrupted by a vision of Anakin Skywalker, back when he still had 3/4ths of this limbs, watching him from a distance. He’s pulled out of it by Leia and the two get back to walking.

 

Just walking down the street with your insane BFF's
daughter.

We jump over to Reva’s ship landing on the Inquisitor fortress in the middle of a water world. She enters the lower level, which is filled with Stormtroopers and guards, and finally into a meeting room with the other Inquisitors. She tries to take command but the Fifth Brother reminds her he’s next in line after the Grand Inquisitor’s death. She counters by saying Vader gave her the go ahead to lead this mission. She orders they release the probs to the mining colonies that the freighter might have gone to. Fifth Brother swears t hat he’ll get what’s coming to him, as will Reva. Reva, when alone, says she certainly hopes so.

 

Obi-Wan and Leia reach the spot Haja told them to go to and find an empty field. Obi-Wan is dejected, but Leia refuses to just wallow in misery and flags down a passing space truck. The truck is driven by Freck, an alien mole thing. Leia introduces herself as Luma and Obi-Wan as Orden. She charms Freck to giving them a ride to the nearest port. As Obi-Wan hops in, he sees an Imperial crest on the back of the truck. Freck is obviously an Imperial sympathizer, and that’s before he picks up several Stormtroopers to also give a ride to. The troopers reveal they’re looking for a Jedi, promising they’ll find them. Leia improvises a story about the two of them being on Mapuzo because “Orden” is showing “Luma” where he met her late mother. The troopers seem to buy it but ask Obi-Wan if he knows anything about the Jedi. Obi-Wan slips and calls Leia by her real name, but Obi-Wan plays up confusing “Luma” with her mother. They again buy it and get off the truck. Leia, being perceptive, realizes Obi-Wan knew her bio-mother. She asks if he’s her “real” father, to which he says he “Wish he was, but no.” He reveals that he gets wondering about a family he’ll never see and explains the kind of screwed up tradition of the Jedi taking children as a young age. He says that he only remembers a little off his bio family, his father’s hands, mother’s shawl, and possibly a baby brother. I need no more information on younger Kenobi, let him have lived a normal life.

 

Freck pulls up to an outpost. He claims it’s a standard inspection but reveals to the troopers he brought them specifically. Guess he wasn’t as fooled as everyone. Obi-Wan tells the Tawl story and they’re told to step out of the vehicle. A probe flies in and Obi-Wan is told to raise his head. The droid detects him, but Obi-Wan pulls his blaster and kills all the troopers save one. That one has Leia. Obi-Wan pretends to put the gun down but shoots him. They try to run through the checkpoint, but more troopers arrive. Their commanding officer, shockingly, pulls a blaster and kills the troopers. She tells them the have to hurry, more troopers are on the way.

 

The Inquisitors traced the signal to Mapuzo and are preparing to move out. They order all the ports closed.

Hi Tala!

 

The officer, Tala Durith, explains that she was going to meet them but had been delayed by the probe’s arrival and by the time she got to the rendezvous point they were already gone. She’d found someone to take them, but the Empire is on high alert. She needs to hide them for a few hours until their transport is ready to go. She sneaks into a safehouse to check it. After encouraging Leia that she’ll be home soon, they follow Tala. The safehouse is a fully automated warehouse. The only one inside is a droid that works for her group, NED-B. Leia introduces herself and Lola to NED-B, who then lets them into the back room. Tala reveals that her group has safehouses across the galaxy, informally dubbed The Path, that takes people (Jedi included) to the planet Jabiim, where they’re given new identities and places to live. Tala also reveals that the empire is hunting any Force Sensitives of any age, children included, these days and no one knows what happens to them. Obi-Wan notes a signature on the wall of someone named Quinlan, I assume a friend of his from the animated series. He helps the Path from time to time. His note is “Only when the eyes are closed can you truly see.”   

 

They’re interrupted by Stormtroopers arriving to search the building. NED-B lets them in, but since he doesn’t talk, he can’t give anything away. NED-B has a hammer ready to use, but the Stormtroopers also assume a Loader droid is too stupid to understand and they walk off. Tala calls into her contact and tells him they’re moving up the timeline. She changes her outfit, Leia asking Tala if she could teach her how to shoot. Obi-Wan asks her why she’s doing this. Tala says she joined up when she believed the empire stood for something, but it was too late to backdown when she realized how oppressive it was. She’s helping to right some of the wrongs she’s committed as an Imperial Officer. Tala reveals a secret tunnel, but as she does so Obi-Wan is hit with… something, an intense sense of vertigo it seems. What is revealed a moment later. Outside, night has fallen, troopers have gathered, and we hear the iconic deep breathing of Darth Vader’s respirator. Shit.

 

Vader walks into frame, crossing the street towards them. I assume while the distance off space can mask it, when Obi-Wan and Darth Vader are on the same planet they’re basically drawn to each other. Vader starts randomly killing civilians to try to force Obi-Wan out. Obi-Wan tells Tala and Leia to run. Once they’re away, Obi-wan sneaks out the back door to hopefully draw Vader away. It seems to work, Vader following down an alley he slipped down. The Inquisitors begin searching the town while their master works.

 

Obi-Wan leads his former student to the outskirts of the village, but he someone gets around him and activates his lightsaber. Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber, but then changes his mind and runs. Vader, somehow clearly pissed out despite his emotionless mask, follows. Vader tells him he cannot run, and Obi-Wan flicks on his lightsaber. They square off again, Obi-Wan asking him what he’s become, and Vader answering, “I am what you made me.” Obi-Wan runs off again.

 

In town, Reva enters the warehouse. In the tunnel, Leia tries to convince Tala to run back and help Kenobi.  

 

Vader catches up to Obi-Wan again and they clash. Vader attacks with powerful strikes, Obi-Wan barely able to defend.

 

Leia convinces Tala to go after Obi-Wan. She tells Leia where to go to meet the pilot, just as Reva finds the entrance.

 

Vader dominates the dule with Obi-Wan, throwing him aside with the Force. Obi-Wan distracts him for a moment by creating a smokescreen.

 

As Leia runs deeper through the tunnels, Reva finds that entrance ad gives chase. I guess Tala took a different path back.

 

One handed fighting Obi-Wan would be more 
impressive if I didn't know he had robot arms.

Vader, clearly tired of the case, pulls over a canister, scattering some sort of crystal on the ground. He lifts-up Obi-Wan, saying now he will suffer, then ignites the crystals. He pulls Obi-Wan onto the fire and holds him there with the Force, dragging him across the ground. Tala arrives as some Stormtroopers do. Vader puts out the fire and orders Obi-Wan be brought to him. Tala shoots the trooper that was sent to grab him, then causes an explosion to reignite the flames. NED-8 then saunters over and pulls Obi-Wan away.

 

In the village, the Inquisitors believe they’ve lost Kenobi again. Tala orders NED-8 to prep the shuttle and tells the injure Obi-Wan he’ll be okay. And Leia makes it to the shuttle, to find the pilot dead and Reva waiting. Well, crap.

 

I liked this episode too. The assembling of Vader scene while Obi-Wan tries to commune with Qui-Gon was chilling. A “I need help, but here’s more things you need to worry about,” kind of moment for Obi-Wan. That combined with Obi-Wan seeing a vision of pre-suit Anakin was great foreshadowing that Obi-Wan was going to face off against his former student again. Some folks didn’t love the line about Obi-Wan wanting to be able to tell Leia was her father, but I think they’re misinterpreting what he said. They took the line to mean that Obi-Wan had romantic feelings for Padme. But consider this… Leia is the daughter of the one politician that he respected, whom was ultimately killed by her father, his former student and best friend. If I in the that situation, I 100% wish I could tell the child in question the easy answer that I’m their dad. All I’m saying. Indira Varma was great as Tala. I was legit surprised when she pulled a gun on the troopers and saved Obi-Wan and Leia. I like her backstory as an Imperial Officer that realized she’s on the wrong side and trying to do better. The original movie and a lot of the stuff that comes after seems to prefer showing the villains as irredeemable, so seeing someone who sees past the propaganda is nice. Obi-Wan running from Vader is kind of perfect, as Obi-Wan is out of practice, exhausted and Vader is a damn cyborg. Vader trying to light Obi-Wan on fire as a “you burn me, I burn you,” is perfect for the Drama king that is Lord Vader. Leia getting kidnapped by Reva is… not good but more on that later. Have a good night. 

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Viewer Log: Obi-Wan Kenobi ep 2

 Obi-Wan always finds his way to the worst planets.

Last time on Obi-Wan Kenobi, we got caught up on the state of a galaxy far far away. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master and war hero is living a life of isolation on Tatooine. He spends his days processing meat and days off watching over Luke Skywalker from a far. A pair of Inquisitors, the Empire’s Jedi hunters, arrive on the Tatooine in pursuit of another Jedi. The Fifth Brother is looking specifically for the other Jedi, but his partner The Third Sister aka Reva is hell pent on finding Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi, Nari, finds Obi-Wan and asks for help, but the emotionally broken Obi-Wan tells him that their era is over and to hide and move on. Meanwhile, young Leia Organa is doing her best to have fun while being an Alderaan princess, running away from a party to go play in the woods, and is kidnapped by bounty hunters. It’s revealed that Reva hired them to capture the girl, planning to use the Organa’s history with Obi-Wan to smoke him out. And this plan works, as the Organa’s immediately go to Obi-Wan for help. They’re doing their damnedest to not draw attention to the situation as they don’t want people questioning where Leia comes from. Obi-Wan initially says no, but Bail Organa makes a plea in person and ultimately Obi-Wan agrees. He’s off to find Leia. Enough recapping let’s get to it.

 

Episode 2: Part 2

 

The episode begins with Obi-Wan’s transport landing on Daiyu. It’s pretty much not desert Tatooine, as it’s full of crime smuggling and so on. He asks a worker if he can be pointed to the ship that he’d been tracking but is informed that signals are blocked on Daiyu, because people like their secrets. Obi-Wan starts looking around the city planet, seeing a lot of fighting, gambling, and so on. He asks Qui-Gon for guidance and is drawn to a Clone Trooper asking for credits so he can eat. Obi-Wan gives him the credits and gets back to searching. He passes Stormtroopers. He asks a spice dealer for information, saying Leia was his daughter and he’s looking for her. She tells him that if his daughter is on the planet, he'll never see her again, and gives him a free hit of her spice to help him forget her. As he leaves, a boy, Jayco, comes up to him and says a Jedi is on Daiyu and is willing to help people. While skeptical, Obi-Wan follows the kid.

 

I can't stay mad at him.

We’re shown a Jedi leading a mother and child into his underground lair. He shows off force powers, lifting several grates and pulling a communicator to him. It’s when he uses the mind trick that things start seeming fishy, with him seemingly manipulating a gate guard into allowing the mother and child pass him without question. The Jedi, Haja, tells them to go through gate 3-C and gets paid for his service. He tells them to “forget” him, for Haja’s safety. Once alone, it’s revealed to all be a con. Haja uses magnets to simulate force powers and the guard is his accomplice. Or at least taking bribes to allow the force sensitives and their families through. Obi-Wan confronts him, playing along long enough to learn that Haja would help in exchange for 800 credits. He pulls a blaster on Haja, revealing his tricks, and demands information. Haja agrees. He tells him about a special market, the “sewer” Obi-Wan needs to find the girl.

 

I never watched the show, so I have to ask, is this
a Breaking Bad reference?

Obi-Wan finds the place, some sort of drug lab that has holding cells in the back. He uses his powers to cause some chemicals to react and slips into the back holding cells in the commotion. Some guards see him, and Obi-Wan fights the two. A Jedi fighting with his fists is weird, but Obi-Wan still overpowers them and learns where Leia is. He enters the room, seeing her with a bag on her head, he pulls it off and finds out she’s a decoy. Goons grab him and the lead thug comes to gloat. He takes Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. He tells Obi-Wan the Inquisitor is on her way and they’re going to hand him over to her and be rich. Obi-Wan asks again where Leia is, and when they don’t answer, throws down a cannister of red dust that causes them all to choke. Except Obi-Wan, he smuggles a gas mask in. He runs out and seals them inside.

 

Reva enters the drug lab as Obi-Wan makes it to actual Leia’s door. I assume he sensed her. She hits him and tries to run away, but he grabs her and explains he’s there to help her. With no better options, she follows him out. Reva finds the goons in the cell “tripping balls,” and clearly is pissed.

 

Obi-Wan and Leia change into different clothes, Leia seeing Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. He keeps her from asking questions by pointing out how dangerous things are here and the two set off.

 

Reva pretending she's Batman.

The other Inquisitors meet with Reva, chastising her for kidnapping an Imperial Senator’s daughter without authorization. Reva reveals her plan, to use the connection between Kenobi and Organa and how she hoped to use that to flush him out. The Grand Inquisitor chastises her further, saying nothing she does will earn her their respect, as she’ll always be the least among the Inquisitors. He reveals she was an urchin the Inquisitors found and trained, that her power earned her station, but her circumstances will keep her from raising higher. Shock of shocks, there’s classism in an elite fighting force. The Grand Inquisitor orders they lock the city down and that he’ll bring Kenobi in himself. Reva is ordered to stand down and that she’ll be dealt with later. Reva sends out a message to the bounty hunters, ordering them to reveal Kenobi is on the planet and that they’re to report his whereabouts directly to her. She knows they won’t catch him, but they’ll leave a trail.

 

Leia and Obi-Wan slip through the city, getting Leia a less conspicuous outfit as they go. He tells Leia their cover story, they’re farmers, father, and daughter, from Tawl. As they walk, more mercs get the alert about them, including Jayco. Leia keeps pestering Obi-Wan about not being a “real” Jedi as they walk because, you know, child. He tells her his name is “Ben,” and she obviously doesn’t buy it. Leia was pretty intuitive at ten, telling Obi-Wan that the less he says the more he gives away. They slip around more bounty hunters, I guess Daiyu has a ton.

 

Jayco returns to Haja, revealing the notice about Obi-Wan. He grabs his gun and the two head out to quote ‘find them first.’

 

Obi-Wan knocks out a bounty hunter that almost cornered them as the Grand Inquisitor orders the port locked down. He says that Obi-Wan is no ordinary Jedi, he’s “the last ember of a dying age” and they need to extinguish him. He’s pissed when another Inquisitor reveals Reva’s all Bounty Hunter alert. Reva, meanwhile, is watching the city from the rooftops much like an evil Batman.

 

"Just on an alien planet with my dead friend's
daughter, nothing to see here," Ben Kenobi.

Obi-Wan and Leia set up in an alley, planning to hide out for a bit. Leia pulls out her broken Lola and after Obi-Wan callously saying it’s ‘good’ she’s broken because she won’t draw attention to them, explains some of their situation to Leia. That he called her parents and let them know she’s safe. He hopes to get her back home by nightfall, which Leia isn’t super jazzed by. Obi-Wan hears a beeping from the Merc he took out earlier, grabbing his intercom for information, Leia sees Obi-Wan’s picture on the alert and pieces together she was kidnapped to get to Obi-Wan. She freaks out and runs off, not trusting him. Obi-Wan follows, doing his best to not cause too much commotion as he does. A bounty hunter almost grabs Leia, but Obi-Wan shoots him. She tries to keep running from him. As this chase is going on, the Stormtroopers arrive. Leia climbs to the rooftops with Obi-Wan in pursuit. She is cornered by another bounty hunter who starts taking shots at Obi-Wan, getting a nearby Reva’s attention. She fore leaps to them as the shoot out continues. Leia tries to run while Obi-Wan shoots.  She makes it to a big building gap and looks to try to get around. Haja arrives and watches the fire fight. Leia runs, but can’t make the jump, she catches a line as she falls. Obi-Wan makes it over and sees her lose her grip. He uses his powers for the firsts time this series and slows her fall, letting her drop to the ground harmlessly. He’s able to slip down after her, and she now trusts he’s a Jedi.

 

They make it to the port, seeing that it’s locked down. One of the bounty hunter’s almost gets the drop on them but is shot by Haja. Haja tells them that the city is on lockdown, so they need to find another way out. He tells them to go to an automated transport port, and take the ship headed for Mapuzo, and that someone will be waiting for him there. Haja basically tells Obi-Wan that, yes, he’s a criminal but he helps people and he wants to make amends. He gives Obi-Wan a pass of some kind and tells them he’ll buy them time.

 

The lead bounty hunter from earlier is killed by the Grand Inquisitor when he can’t tell the Grand Inquisitor where Reva is. Haja runs into Reva and does his best Jedi impression to try to distract her. She doesn’t buy it, throwing him to a wall when he tries to keep bluffing. He tries to keep the information from him, but her telepathy overpowers him, and she goes after Obi-Wan.

The Grand Inquisitor is intimidating as hell.

 

At the port, Obi-Wan is still skeptical about trusting Haja, but Leia is of the “if someone is helping us after the day I’ve had, we should just trust him,” reminding Obi-Wan of Padme. He describes them both as Stubborn and Fearless, much to Leia’s annoyance. They head for the port, but hear Reva enter after them. Reva turns on her lightsaber and calls out to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan sends Leia ahead and promises to follow. He gets out his lightsaber and prepares. Reva promises that he won’t die, today, revealing to Obi-Wan that she’ll take him to Vader. Sensing his reaction, it’s revealed that Obi-Wan had no idea Vader was still alive. She says he’s been looking for Obi-Wan for a long time. She almost has him, but the Grand Inquisitor arrives telling her to stand down. He tries to force pull Obi-Wan, but Reva stabs him in the gut, saying that she won’t let him take all the credit. She chases after Obi-Wan, making it to the freighter as it takes off, vowing they will find and destroy him. On the ship, Obi-Wan is having a bit of a break, realizing Anakin is alive. We then cut to the man who was Anakin Skywalker, floating in a Bacta-Tank, and hear his iconic breathing. Damn.

 

This was a solid follow up to the last episode. Obi-Wan is not doing well, still suffering from Trauma. I think it was implied last time, but it’s revealed here that Obi-Wan’s powers have all but left him. Him catching Leia was the first time he’d truly used the force in a decade. Kumail Nanjiani as Haja Estree was delightful. I think they were trying to get us to believe that Haja was going to try to collect the bounty but, come on, no one could believe Kumail could do something so wrong. Reva was unhinged in this one and I kind of loved it. She’s clearly obsessed with getting Vader’s favor and is willing to do anything to get it. Going so far as to attack her boss was a bit of a shock. I was a little skeptical when I heard that Obi-Wan is just finding out Vader is alive, but it made sense after thinking about it. He’s been living in isolation for years, the Inquisitors were the ones doing the heavy Jedi hunting lifting, obviously he wouldn’t know Darth Vader was running about. Obviously, Obi-Wan is going to be going through some stuff, learning that the friend he thought was dead is back and still evil. But more on that later. Have a good night. 

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