MLGG: Pop Culture News, Reviews and Interviews

Spoilers follow for the Disney Plus show – you have been warned. I mean, Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes 1 and 2 are right there – so if you haven’t seen them already, go watch them now!

As a Star Wars fan from the very beginning who had some serious issues with the prequels, I didn’t expect to enjoy the new Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi as much as I have so far.

Yet this tonally edgy, brilliantly written show is a superb slice of Star Wars so far – and it feels like it’s in very safe hands with director Deborah Chow.

Following on from the end of the first episode, Obi-Wan arrives on a dark, grimy and crime-ridden world to rescue the young Leia. After being directed to contact someone posing as a Jedi, he gets the information he needs to track down the Princess – but, having set this trap in the first place, Inquisitor Reva isn’t far behind.

Despite suffering a little from the standard prequel problem of knowing which characters survive the story, there’s plenty of peripheral characters here whose fates are unknown – and this is taken advantage of more than once, with some genuinely surprising story beats.

The action scenes are brilliantly shot and choreographed – we’re moving on from the Unforgiven-esque first episode and into the realms of geri-action in movies such as Taken and John Wick; it’s an evolution of the Kenobi character that Ewan McGregor is absolutely knocking out of the park. The old Jedi, rusty from years of hiding his abilities, makes mistakes but still clearly knows how to kick ass. It’s awesome.

Shorn of the smirk and one-liners that characterised Kenobi back in the Prequel era, McGregor seems far more comfortable as the aging warrior brought out of hiding for what is intended to be one final mission.

Though we know his fate, it’s nonetheless a great redemption for McGregor’s version of Kenobi, which was rendered a little flat by poor direction, as well as having to deal with still-developing, isolating technology back in the older films (he wasn’t alone in this – plenty of brilliant actors struggled in the Prequel Trilogy).

No such issues exist here, either with the performance or the effects work, which is fantastic. The story itself is great too – though the destination is known, it’s shaping up to be a great journey to follow so far – especially with a surprising cameo or two, as well as a seriously brilliant cliffhanger. Next week’s episode can’t come soon enough.

Enjoyed what you’ve read? Want to support my blog? There’s no pressure of course, but every penny helps to keep this site running, as I earn no income from my writing here (though I may earn small fees from affiliate links posted on my pages).

However, I’d be truly grateful for any support that you could offer – and it’s easy to do so at either of these links: Ko-Fi.com/geekmid or PayPal.

Any donations are truly appreciated – and I also appreciate you taking the time to read my articles. Thank you so much!

Help support me here!

All donations are gratefully received and will help me keep the lights on here – as well as help to keep my writing dream alive! Please be aware though: there’s no pressure. I just hope you’ve enjoyed reading my article!

£1.00