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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