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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