Ah, Obi-Wan Kenobi. A series that received so much hate, it was cringe. The Star Wars fandom really let loose on this show, and I still find some of it ridiculous, even today. I don’t know what we expect from a Star Wars show anymore. As a critic, I go into a foetal position any time Disney releases a Star Wars project because it just gets blasted, even if it’s unwarranted.
Moses Ingram even received death threats. Literally. Just for simply being cast as Reva in the series.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to sit here and write about how every project Disney has put out has been a magical rainbow. It hasn’t. There’s been flops, on the big screen and the little screen. I think the Obi-Wan Kenobi series wasn’t one of those that was as bad as some made it out to be. What it suffered from more than anything was timing; releasing after years of heightened fan divisiveness meant people were ready to tear it apart before it even premiered.
Understandably, this article is going to rattle cages even further, but I’ve been doing that for years on this website anyway.
People wanted this show to be a movie-level production and scaled with Clone Wars action. Kenobi was never going to have that big movie-esque feel to it. Kenobi’s character was never going to allow for that. Even in spite of that, I think Disney did incredibly well in some areas. The scene before we got Vader vs Reva, Vader on Tatooine, Kenobi vs Vader 2, and more. We got some solid action sequences that felt just as good as the movies, in my opinion.
And honestly, if people rewatched those scenes today without the release-day negativity in their heads, they’d realise how strong the choreography and tension actually are.
It was always designed to be a character-driven story. Obi-Wan is broken, traumatised, and disconnected from the Force. It wouldn’t be good storytelling at all to be like, “yeah, Kenobi’s absolutely fine after 10 years, let’s go and smash Palpatine”. It was never going to happen like that.
We see him slowly rebuild. We see him forge a connection with Leia. We got a realistic exploration of guilt and failure. It’s a show that builds on all of this and gives us a finale that pays off this entire emotional journey.
I’d like to give a special shoutout to young Leia as well; she was absolutely fantastic from the start. Her dynamic with Obi-Wan added a warmth and humanity that grounded the entire series, something fans didn’t truly appreciate until later rewatches.
Can we take a moment to discuss Darth Vader? This is a character that we’ve never truly seen in his prime. I don’t mean Anakin Skywalker prime. I mean, Darth Vader Prime. Most Star Wars fans understand how powerful Vader truly is. The only time we’ve seen this shown in a live-action setting is in a small scene in Rogue One.
Kenobi does a perfect job in displaying how powerful Vader is. The fight against Reva. It was effortless for him; it was like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He literally walked through Tatooine, snapping people’s necks randomly without even looking at them. He almost did a Starkiller-level pull on a ship, managing to pull it down with the Force. This is the Vader legends readers have known for decades, unstoppable, cold, and terrifyingly efficient, finally brought properly into live action.
All of this is a testament to the show itself. I’ve been calling for a Vader show for as long as I can remember. He has such a rich history with pages and pages about him. I’m happy the show managed to give us more than what Rogue One did. If anything, Kenobi proved that a Vader-led series would work; the appetite for that darker, more ruthless era of his life is absolutely there.
We talk about Vader and Kenobi, but they both lead into one of the best duels in Star Wars. The duel between them was arguably better than Revenge of the Sith. It felt more emotional and carried so much more weight. It wasn’t about them trying to kill each other. Vader still wanted to prove he could beat Kenobi, and Kenobi wanted to connect back with the Force. This moment was everything. The apology, the mask, and the emotional weight are massive. This fight alone justifies the entire series’ existence. It’s the kind of scene that gets better every single time you watch it, because you catch more of the pain and history behind every line.
Reva. Let’s discuss Reva for a moment. She’s a character I felt was a bit much. Her story didn’t ruin the show. Not for me, anyway. I like the idea of having the Inquisitors involved. The only complaint I understand is changing how the Grand Inquisitor looked compared to what we saw previously. That wasn’t enough to ruin the show for me. Neither was Reva.
Her arc parallels Anakin’s. Same pain. Different choices. She doesn’t overshadow the story. It’s a nice twist once we realize that everything has been a coup for her. I’d love to see what happens to Reva after the events of the show. She deserves redemption.
A lot of the backlash towards her came from misplaced expectations. People assumed she was meant to be the “main character,” when in reality her arc was designed to reflect the consequences of Anakin’s fall.
All in all, here, the show strengthens A New Hope’s duel between Vader and Kenobi. “I am the master” line has a richer context. We always believed that it was from Revenge of the Sith; it makes sense. It also makes sense that they’d face again, and Kenobi would win the duel once more. It adds emotional clarity to lines we’ve heard for decades, making the Original Trilogy feel more cohesive with the prequels than it ever did before.
I’ve gone through and praised the show to the highest hills. It’s not perfect, but it’s enough for me. I feel like, as time has gone on, the scenes that mattered are being held in higher regard. It’s always the same with any Star Wars project. It releases, it gets hate, then slowly as the years go by, they become liked and loved. You just need to look at the Prequels here.
Kenobi is already going through that same re-evaluation cycle, and in a few more years, I think it’ll be seen as one of the most important character pieces Disney has produced.
