Spoiler Warning: Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3
After releasing the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi last Friday for Memorial Day weekend, Disney+ adjusted the schedule for a Wednesday release of the remaining episodes. This allows Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3 to stand on its own for a full week after Star Wars fans consumed Parts I and II of the new series and all the news from Star Wars Celebration.
In this third installment, we are not disappointed. The tease of Anakin/Vader at the end of episode two paid off almost immediately, but something was off. Hayden Christensen under the helmet — check. James Earl Jones is voicing the Dark Lord of the Sith. Check. A lightsaber duel between old frenemies — check! No Imperial March (Darth Vader’s theme) during his introduction? Check, Please. The third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi had all the right ingredients, but the feast set before us was not a complete meal.
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3 opens with Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) in meditation. His decade of persistence does not wane, but he is faced with silence once again when reaching out to his old master, Qui-Gon Jinn. His call through the Force instead reaches a darker connection. His mind is muddled with distractions. The voice of Reva (Moses Ingram) reminds him of his new discovery: “He’s alive, Obi-Wan.” Yoda’s voice echoes, “Only pain will you find,” as Obi-Wan goes deeper into his vision.
The destroyed relationship with his Padawan, Anakin (Hayden Christensen), torments his thoughts as Anakin is transformed into Darth Vader, perhaps at that very moment. The daily transition is necessary to keep Anakin’s flesh alive enough to allow the “more machine than man” body to perform his tasks as Vader. Pain drives the Sith Lord, and Obi-Wan can now feel it too. “Obi-Wan, promise me you will train the boy,” the voice of his former master pleads. The virtuous Obi-Wan’s recent refusal to make promises and answer the call are his internal struggles against himself. Look what’s become of all that he’s touched. “Don’t make me kill you,” Anakin’s voice echoes. Obi-Wan knows he’s failed Anakin. He takes responsibility for what Anakin has become. He takes it all on himself but asks Qui-Gon for strength.
The short montage is powerful, and Ewan McGregor plays it like a star deserving of awards. As Anakin’s helmet clicks into place with a hiss, Reva’s voice reminds Obi-Wan, “Anakin Skywalker is alive. He’s been looking for you for a long time.” Obi-Wan is frightened and saddened at once. “He’s coming, Master,” he tells his still-unresponsive old master, Qui-Gon. The season’s climax is already beckoning. A Liam Neeson cameo is not only foreshadowed but a requirement. It’s the only thing that will give Obi-Wan the strength he needs to properly face Vader. It’s the only way Obi-Wan will learn what he needs to continue a posthumous relationship with Anakin’s offspring. He will learn what he must do to correct what happened to Anakin. The opening scene in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3 spells it out like a road sign — danger ahead.
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The camera takes us to Vader’s castle on Mustafar. James Earl Jones’ voice sounds much better here than the tremulous voice he recorded for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. He’s speaking directly to the Inquisitor, Reva, and he promises her either promotion to Grand Inquisitor or death. The official story is that Obi-Wan impaled the Grand Inquisitor. Listen carefully. Reva is cut short of finishing, “He will pay for the Grand Inquisitor’s…” Death? Audiences can assume.
Canonically, his death here is premature. Later in the timeline, Kanan Jarrus will defeat him in a lightsaber duel (Rebels). What is the plan here? It’s likely artistic plot license to make space for Reva’s arc. “The Grand Inquisitor means nothing. Kenobi is all that matters,” Vader tells her. I get the sense he’s telling us, too. He’s telling us to watch the show and trust the process, though it’s been difficult to trust how Disney handles Star Wars. By the time this episode is over, you’ll wonder why it’s Leia consoling Luke after Ben Kenobi’s sacrifice on the Death Star.
Leia’s (Vivien Lyra Blair) inquisitive nature frustrates and titillates Obi-Wan. On the cargo ship, she asks him what the Force feels like. This should have been green flag number eleven to tell him Leia might be the one to train, but he sees her as a child. When he later explains that he was taken at an early age for Jedi training, you can understand why he is reluctant to subject the girl to the same thing. He believes Luke should be older when the time comes. Perhaps he’s not underestimating Leia but allowing the Force to dictate the timing. Then why does he describe the Force as something that makes him feel safe? There’s something in Obi-Wan’s torment that won’t allow younglings to bear the pain it takes to live in the dark in order to appreciate the safety of the light.
Fixing her toy droid, Lola allows Leia the appreciation a child might have, and that’s enough for him. The gentle scene is broken by the cargo ship’s approach to the mining planet Mapuzo. After sneaking past a loading droid (and an R5 unit), Obi-Wan and Leia descend the landing plateau to head to their rendezvous point. On the path, Obi-Wan witnesses a vision. In the distance is a cloaked Anakin. He disappears quickly, but it’s apparently a visual manifestation brought forth through the Force to warn him.
Reva enters the Fortress Inquisitorius to inform the others of Obi-Wan’s location. The Fifth Brother challenges her new authority by showing her he is powerful enough in the Force to control her, but her new authority comes from Vader himself. He stands down, and probes are sent to the Mapuzo system. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Leia have reached their meeting point and realize they are on their own. Leia takes it upon herself to hitch a ride with a local transport driver, Freck (voiced by Zach Braff). They introduce themselves as Luma and Ordin, farmers from Tawl. Freck grants them passage but soon picks up a garrison of stormtroopers.
Obi-Wan makes a rookie mistake, addressing his “daughter, Luma,” as Leia and the troopers are suspicious. Obi-Wan quickly recovers by mentioning that Luma’s mother is named Leia. Leia is perceptive enough to understand that the best lies contain emotional truth. She knows Obi-Wan knew her biological mother. After the troopers get off the transport, she even suggests he might be her real father (something that would make for a nice twist and a reason for Anakin to hate Obi-Wan).
Vivien Lyra Blair’s face acting in this scene is way too good for someone her age. You can see her thoughts. Some of that credit might need to go to director Deborah Chow. When Leia confronts “Ben” with this question, he tells her his own story, revealing that he may have a younger brother (initially noted in Revenge of the Sith). The story group obviously has an ace up their sleeve. Is it wasted dialogue here? Another red herring? Probably. This reminder tease will pay off at a later time.
They reach an inspection point, and Freck suggests the stormtroopers check out the strays he found. Finally, the tension leads to some action. One of the Inquisitors’ probe droids is summoned, and Obi-Wan sees no alternatives. Obi-Wan takes out the droid and the entire garrison when his hand is forced, but another transport shows up. Luckily, Tarla (Indira Varma), an ally, is onboard, the person they were supposed to meet earlier. She’s dressed as an imperial officer. She takes them to safety in a droid maintenance shack, a secret safe house for Jedi on the run. Even Quinlan Vos from The Clone Wars has passed through. When the group begins heading out through the tunnels to escape, Obi-Wan senses he must stay to face their predators… or, more accurately, Vader. Leia and Tarla leave while Obi-Wan goes outside into the night.
Darth Vader marches up the street toward the maintenance shack. Along the way, he purposefully executes bystanders to prove he’s evil. It seems slightly out of character to waste lives without some intent, but he might be so furious about what he’s sensing that he’s doing it to quiet his mind. His lightsaber ignites, and Obi-Wan retreats. It’s too dark to see much, so Obi-Wan ignites his own lightsaber for illumination and defense. “I am what you made me,” Vader accuses, pressing into Obi-Wan’s internal guilt. And the duel finally begins.
Reva, meanwhile, investigates the area from which Obi-Wan emerged. She discovers the safe house and follows her own contingency plan. Tarla implies concern for Obi-Wan, and Leia urges her to go. Leia is on her own, which is convenient for the Inquisitor on her heels. When Reva sees the Jedi emblem scrawled on the wall, you can see longing, anger, and a sense of betrayal on her face. More solid acting from Moses Ingram this time. Sometimes, the best writing is in the expressions of the actors.
The lightsaber duel continues, and Vader toys with his out-of-practice, old master. The match we hoped for leaves us somewhat disappointed, not in the execution of the story-telling but in Obi-Wan’s abilities. He is not a challenger. His pathetic fight isn’t even half as good as Luke’s will be in The Empire Strikes Back. From this, we can probably expect a Rocky-like rematch that puts Obi-Wan on top. In the original Star Wars, Vader’s line, “When I left you, I was but the learner,” has to mean something. In this bout, Obi-Wan is nothing more than a rag doll. Here, Vader ignites the ground around Obi-Wan with the intent to begin his suffering, a punishment Vader is unaware of, which started a decade ago. “Your pain has just begun” is perhaps a line Vader wanted to say for a long time. He’s blinded by revenge and is unaware of Tarla, who begins firing from a nearby outcropping.
The distraction is enough for a loader droid to take Obi-Wan to safety. Vader watches from beyond the fire, almost helpless. It was the same way he watched the Millennium Falcon take off from the first Death Star. “They let us leave,” the older Leia would say to an overconfident Han Solo. It’s how they tracked them to the rebel base on Yavin IV. Maybe Vader knows what he’s doing here. Let them go. Pain and suffering can be much more unbearable when one thinks there’s hope. Darth Vader knows there’s more to this story.
And Reva may be on to the secret. One more valuable to Vader than he can know. A secret he won’t understand until his son refuses to turn. “You have a sister” was the line that inspired Luke to take care of business. But Vader doesn’t even know he has a son yet. There’s a chance Reva’s going to figure it all out. Her fate is the key to this story. Reva finds Leia on her own. And like a classic villain, she beckons to the girl gently, “Don’t be afraid. Come closer.” Leia is too savvy to believe it, but it may be too late. Reva has her.
Reva is an ambitious one. We won’t know what she plans to do with her for another week. Let’s remember Orson Krennic and what Darth Vader does to those who reach too high in his presence. “Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, (Reva).”
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3 is now streaming on Disney+.
