The long awaited Obi-Wan Kenobi is FINALLY streaming its first 2 episodes on Disney+ so here is a spoiler recap of what went down. Warning – HUGE spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi Episodes 1 and 2.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR OBI-WAN KENOBI EPISODES 1 & 2
Starting with Episode 1, we begin the show with an absolutely chilling flashback of Order 66. I think this will have something to do with the Third Sister down the line and why she has such a obsession with Obi-Wan. With that being said, we see Obi-Wan’s regular life, about 10 years after he leaves the Jedi way of life.
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1 starts with small moments like him trying to talk to the force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn, watching Luke from afar, and having flashbacks of his duel with Anakin, that show how lonely and sad his life has become.
Then as Obi-Wan is in the desert we see a random Jedi, from earlier in the episode, come forward and deliver him his lightsaber. Here we get a lot of development for Obi-Wan in a really small time. He talks about his failures and why he never wants to be a Jedi again. Then Obi-Wan watches Luke. Heading into town, Uncle Owen confronts him about leaving a gift for Luke.
Basically saying that he needs to leave Luke alone, and let him raise him, so he doesn’t end up like his father. This moment was gut-wrenching as we just saw how lonely Obi-Wan was and this was all he really had left. Then the Inquistors show up and we get this insanely high tension scene where the Third Sister is about to kill Uncle Owen. He says he doesn’t know where the Jedi is and she threatens his family.
In all honesty – I am not the biggest fan of the acting from any of the Inquistors. All of their characters are great, I actually think the Third Sister’s backstory is really cool but the acting really pulled me out from the story.
Moving on we get introduced to a young, ten year old Leia. I was NOT expecting that at all. As she was introduced I was expecting her to maybe be a small part of the show but she ended up basically driving the entire plot. That is one of my biggest issues with the show but I’ll get into that later. We eventually see her get kidnapped and her parents call on Obi-Wan to go save her.
This is where I was once again, heartbroken. Obi-Wan declines because he thinks his whole life revolves around watching over Luke, kind of like a guardian angle, but eventually he comes to terms with his priorities and understands that he has to leave and find Leia. The episode ends with Obi-Wan accepting the mission.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2
And that is where episode 2 starts. Episode 2 as a whole was good but personally I still prefer episode 1.
We start with seeing Obi-Wan on the planet where Leia is being held. He goes ahead and meets Kumail Nanjiani’s character, a fake Jedi. This entire scene was super funny, but also heartbreaking at the same time, as he just pretended to be a Jedi and took money from a poor family. He takes Obi-Wan to where they are “holding” the girl but it ends up being a decoy and the mercenaries capture him. Quickly Obi-Wan escapes, finds the actual Leia, and they are now on the run.
Of course Leia doesn’t know who Obi-Wan is so she doubts that he is a Jedi, since he doesn’t use his lightsaber or the force (yet). Leia ends up running from Obi-Wan and this is where the chase begins. Now for the rest of the episode we are on one big chase, this includes bounty hunters and inquisitors but this is my biggest issue with this episode specifically, the action.
To me the action felt very very lackluster. You could tell when there were stand-ins, and though the visuals looked great, the story felt so halted. Most of the fight had the Third Sister running across roof tops and Obi-Wan getting shot by bounty hunters. But, that did lead to my favorite scene in the show thus far where Leia was falling and Obi-Wan finally channeled back the force to save her.
After that we had more action, more running, and then we got the most heartbreaking moment of both episodes combined. As Obi-Wan and Leia make a run for the ship Third Sister catches up to them and senses fear in him.
She reveals that Darth Vader wants to see him and in that she says, “Anakin Skywalker is alive”. I had CHILLS. We see the fear rush through Obi-Wan’s face but before we get too much further the Grand Inquisitor finds them and Third Sister stabs him through the gut with her lightsaber. Obi-Wan takes his chance to escape, and in the ship he feels something of a connection and we see a maskless Darth Vader.
Overall Thoughts on Obi-Wan Kenobi Episodes 1 & 2
Overall I thought episodes 1 and 2 of Obi-Wan Kenobi were good but there is a lot to improve on. I am excited for the coming episodes but still very cautious as they could easily mess stuff up. For me if they don’t give us some Darth Vader and Obi-Wan in the next episode, the last 2 will be rushed and the show will end up average as can be.
Episode 1 Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Episode 2 Rating: 3.5 out of 5
NEXT: Obi-Wan Kenobi Tells A Dark Story About A Broken Obi-Wan
About Obi-Wan Kenobi
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” begins 10 years after the dramatic events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney+!
Aryan is an aspiring content creator and journalist who loves all genres of movies. He is passionate about discussing and having conversations about anything and everything pop culture related.