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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