TL;DR: I had it right in broad strokes, but tripped over some of the details. Spoilers ahead.
Episode 4
What I said
Obi-Wan will come to grips with his hiding from the force and his defeat at Vader’s hand. He might even look into a mirror as he realizes how he’s been approaching this all wrong and resolves to try a new way – which I predict will be embracing the old ways of the Jedi, rather than someone who’s trying to hide what they are from the universe.
This would also be a good time for Qui-Gon to finally show up when Obi-Wan calls out and drop some wise words on his former padawan.
I expect that we’ll also find out the Grand Inquisitor isn’t really dead, and we’ll get more insight into Reva’s background before she became the third sister, and her beef with Obi-Wan.
Followed by:
Obi-Wan will begin to trust in the force again and risk more exposure. He’s in a pretty deep hole, having lost Leia again and nursing injuries from his duel with Vader, so he’ll have to overcome some more obstacles and trust in his allies along the way. I predict he will confront the inquisitors directly as he rescues Leia and will also strengthen his ties with the fledgling rebellion and help them where he can.
What Really Happened
We didn’t get a mirror scene, a visit from Qui-Gon, or direct confrontation with the inquisitors. Obi-Wan did get back into the groove with the force, deflecting blaster bolts with his lightsaber, distracting guards with mind tricks, and holding an ocean deluge back long enough for Leia to escape. He also couldn’t have done it without Tala helping, and the proto-rebellion providing transport.
We got some hints about Reva’s background, but the her backstory and the Grand Inquisitor’s “I’m not dead” scenes were placed in Episode 5 to support Reva’s plot twist.
Episode 4’s focus wasn’t so much about Obi-Wan wrestling with what went wrong as how he moves forward and gets better with his Force powers. It also appeared to be about re-creating moments from the Star Wars movies and video games. In other words, giving a little bit of fan service.
Episode 5
What I said
Episode 5 usually ends with a build up to the final battle. Either a grand plan will come together to solve an almost impossible problem, or we’ll have an “all is lost” moment at 5’s end that will require Obi-Wan to launch a desperate plan.
What Really Happened
Reva gets her big reveal, showing that she is indeed a former youngling, and blames Obi-Wan for not properly training Anakin/Vader and for not being there in the Jedi Temple to save her from Order 66. She gives us a little plot twist when Obi-Wan realizes that he’s not her primary focus, she’s really out to kill Vader.
In a sense, episode 5 centers around Reva as the anti-hero. She’s the one to confront Vader after Obi-Wan’s ship escapes. She loses the battle, discovers the old Grand Inquisitor is still alive, and is left mortally wounded. It’s Reva experiencing the the “all is lost” moment and she’ll have to launch a desperate plan to get what she wants.
Episode 6
What I said
If he hasn’t already, Obi-wan will help a Jedi escape from the inquisitors. I get the feeling Reva, the third sister, is a former Jedi youngling that escaped Order 66 and he will reach out to her and apologize for leaving her to fend for herself, though I doubt she will forgive him. He will also confront Vader again at the end and come out victorious by using his insight from episode 4.
and
Upon returning the princess to Alderaan, Obi-wan will receive great praise from all involved, and if it hasn’t happened already, a visit from Qui-Gon’s Force ghost. Obi-Wan will return to Tatooine and negotiate a truce with Uncle Owen if this is a single-season series, otherwise this will be the focus of season two.
What Really Happened
We didn’t get a another Jedi, but we got one that does a good imitation in Haja, evidence of former Jedis moving through the area (discarded lightsabers, robes, and etched messages in on the crater walls) in episode 5 which serves the same purpose when we’re talking about Obi-Wan’s character. His internal struggle is reconciling his guilt over being Anakin’s master, the fall of the Republic, and failing to prevent the Jedi slaughter during Order 66. Other characters constantly remind him of his failure (Owen, Reva) and we see him lingering over the things Jedis have left behind.
Of course, if you’re willing to be generous, the Jedi Obi-Wan saves from the inquisitors is Reva herself. He planted the seeds of her redemption in episode 5 and when combined with the repeated trauma of getting a lightsaber to the gut, twice, by Vader/Anakin she comes to a crisis point when faced with killing Luke on Tatooine. She rejects her vendetta and returns Luke to Lars and Beru, and throws her lightsaber to the ground. Obi-Wan then literally tells her she’s free. He doesn’t explicitly say he’s sorry because of the events with Vader. (TV hates to repeat lines if it doesn’t have to.)
Obi-Wan’s duel with Vader is the mirror image of their clash in Episode 3. Kenobi has renewed his relationship with the Force and does some pretty amazing things with throwing rocks around and Force-pushing Vader around. He has Vader at his mercy, and then gives the apology he’s been withholding this entire series.
Obi-Wan didn’t return Leia to Alderaan directly, but he did make it possible for her and the refugees to get away from Vader’s star destroyer. He makes the trip at the story’s end so he can return LO-LA59 (funny how it fits perfectly in Leia’s new holster huh?) and have a few moments with the relieved family. Leia and Obi-Wan’s send-off leaves something of a plot hole when it comes to Leia’s message to him in A New Hope but with all the possible plot holes this series could have left in Star Wars canon, it’s a minor niggle at best.
Back on Tatooine, Obi-Wan and Uncle Owen come to a new understanding — a new normal — and as a reward, Owen allows Kenobi to actually meet Luke and give him the T-16 model Owen rejected in Episode 1 (the same model we see Luke fidgeting with in A New Hope 10 years later). And of course, Qui-Gon makes an appearance at the very end of the show, re-affirming that Obi-Wan has achieved a new level of understanding with himself and the Force.
In Summary
From a storytelling standpoint, Obi-Wan follows the Hero’s Journey mono-myth structure we’ve come to expect from Star Wars. When I’m looking at it as a writer I see all the signposts and the future character and plot developments they hint at, but I don’t expect to get it 100 percent right. In this case, I thought the Journey steps would be evenly divided between episodes but I can see why the series put things where they did for making the episodes work. Stories are flexible like that, and all the more more fun for it.
The standout joy in this series for me was Reva’s journey from villain to reformed anti-hero. Moses Ingram knows how to steal a scene and I really appreciated her character’s choices and history led to inevitably to her big change at the end. For all the ham-handed and coincidental plot points in the series’ middle, I enjoyed how it began and how it ended.
What did you think of Obi-Wan Kenobi? Let me know in the comments and we can geek out together!
