Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 episodes 1 and 2 recaps & review

The Disney+ series ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ revolves around the titular Jedi as he lives his life in exile and watches over Luke Skywalker during the reign of the Galactic Empire. The first two episodes are streaming now.

Episode 1 recap (Part I):

The series opens with the execution of Order 66 as the clone troopers attack the Jedi Temple. A group of younglings are caught in the middle of the carnage and are forced to run away.

Ten years later, a trio of Inquisitors arrive at Tattooine in search of a rogue Jedi. The Grand Inquisitor, Reva, the Third Sister and the Fifth Brother enter a bar and threaten the owner to bring out the Jedi.

He reveals himself but Reva turns out to be a little too impulsive and Jedi takes advantage of some friction between her and the Grand Inquisitor to escape.

Obi-Wan is shown doing some menial labour to keep a low profile. He lives in a cave as a hermit and gets visits from a Jawa for any spare parts he might need.

Obi-Wan is not able to sleep properly because he’s haunted by his past. The next day, he keeps a watchful eye over Luke from afar. That night as he is headed home, the Jedi from earlier shows up but Obi-Wan tells him that he cannot be of any help and to let the past go.

In Alderaan, Leia Organa is a curious and rambunctious child who makes her mother’s life more difficult. She’d rather be out and about than go to social gatherings and fulfil her royal duties.

Obi-Wan had dropped off some parts at Luke’s house but Owen gives them back as he just wants Luke to stick to the farm life for his safety.

Reva and the Fifth Brother show up right then and threaten the locals with punishment unless they reveal the location of the Jedi. Reva continues to show her ambitious side, which borders on disobedience as her obsession to find Kenobi grows.

Leia attends a fancy gathering with her parents but when she says a few rude words to her cousin, her parents try and have a talk with her about rising above others’ ridicule.

Leia runs off into the forest once again but this time she is captured by some goons and taken away. Bail Organa and his wife contact Obi-Wan and ask him to rescue her as they trust only him.

He’s reluctant to help as he still feels the weight of his guilt. The next day he walks into town and finds the young Jedi hung up as a message. When he gets back to his cave, he sees that Bail has come to visit.

Bail tells him that he shouldn’t be too hard on himself for the mistakes of the past because it was not entirely in his control. He also claims that Leia is just as important as Luke, and Obi-Wan is the only one who can bring her back safely.

Obi-Wan is finally convinced to do the job, so he retrieves his lightsaber from the desert and heads out to Daiyu to find Leia.

Episode 2 recap (Part II):

Obi-Wan arrives at Daiyu, which appears to be a planet built for rogues. Everything illegal and shady goes on here. He tries to get information and a small boy approaches him claiming that there is a Jedi that can help.

Obi-Wan tracks down this Jedi, Haja, and looks straight through his deceiving tricks and calls him out for pretending to be a Jedi to scam people of their money. He asks Haja for information which he gets quite easily.

Obi-Wan finds the building where Leia is hidden but the goons he kidnapped her set a trap for him. He is able to escape from them and eventually finds Leia. Meanwhile, Reva has already been informed of Obi-Wan’s arrival.

She was the one who use Leia as bait to bring out the Jedi Master. The Grand Inquisito arrives soon after and reprimands her for acting against orders. He then takes control of the situation and states that he will bring in Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan is trying to get Leia to safety but Leia is being very stubborn and putting them both at risk. Reva puts out a bounty on Obi-Wan and shares it with every hunter in the sector so that she can flush him out.

Leia sees Obi-Wan’s picture on one of the hunters’ wrist and begins to doubt that he’s there to help. She tries to run away from him and climbs up a building.

Obi-Wan chases after her and as she jumps across rooftops. She tries to cross a longer gap but doesn’t make it, falling down towards the ground. Just at the last moment, Obi-Wan is able to hold her using the force and he saves her.

They reach the port but its all blocked. Haja shows up and offers them an alternate route to escape. He says that he’s trying to make amends for his misdeeds and that’s why he wants to help.

They go up to the cargo port to get onto an automated ship but Reva is hot on their heels. She is interrupted by Haja who tries to buy them some time but she overpowers him and looks into his mind to find out where they are.

She arrives at the port and orders Obi-Wan to surrender so that she can take him to Darth Vader. She confirms that his old Padawan is stil alive, now as a sith lord. The Grand Inquisitor shows up and has a go at Reva for her constant disobedience.

She drives her saber through him and says that she will not let him have the credit for bringing in Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan sneaks away along with Leia while this happens and Reva is left to rue her missed chance.

A final shot of Darth Vader is in a medical tank concludes the episode, promising a thrilling continuation.

Review

  • The episodes are really well written and have the right balance of tone throughout. There is a mixture of humour and emotional intensity in the right amounts.
  • There is a litany of interesting characters that have been introduced so far, with Kumail Nanjiani’s ‘Haja’ offering fun comic relief and Reva coming across as a determined zealot who will stop at nothing to catch her prey.
  • Vivien Lyra Blair is absolutely brilliant as a young Leia, doing justice to the character with a performance that would make the late Carrie Fisher proud. She shows alot of spunk and maturity that are key traits of the character.
  • The background score of the Disney Star Wars series have all been of the highest quality and ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ continues the trend with a stellar track.

Rating: 4/5


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