Entertaining filler between Episodes III and IV where Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi face off again. Unfortunately, the series does not live up to expectations and had more potential. When the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was announced, I was immediately excited, especially since the original cast of the films would return. For example, Obi-Wan Kenobi is again played by Ewan McGregor (Fargo) and Darth Vader by Hayden Christensen (Higher Ground). And Darth Vader's voice has been voiced once again by James Earl Jones (Star Wars: Rebels), about forty-five years after he first did so. It was immediately clear that the series was being tackled in a big way. Nevertheless, I felt that the series remained quite flat and did not meet my (perhaps too high) expectations.
This miniseries would further shed light on what happened between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader between Episodes III and IV, which ultimately turned out to be minimal. Set ten years after Episode III, The Empire is still hunting down the surviving Jedis. So-called “Inquisitors” are used to hunt down the Jedi, individuals who, like the Jedi, can also use The Force. That brings an interesting dynamic to the series. In addition, you soon find out that Obi-Wan Kenobi is hiding on Tatooine where he (behind the scenes) watches over little Luke Skywalker. He's also completely cut himself off from The Force to make him harder to track down. Incidentally, it quickly becomes clear that mainly Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair: Waco) and not Luke (Grant Freely: Creepshow) will have a major role in the season.
Spectacular lightsaber battles, Stormtroopers and much of the original cast of the films make it a very entertaining series.
The series consists of six episodes that you get through very quickly. There is a lot of action, and a lot of nostalgia because of the references to the movies and several planets are visited again. In addition, there are of course several lightsaber battles that are always a pleasure for the eye. For fans of the Star Wars universe, it is therefore worth watching the series alone.
In terms of depth, I didn't find the series that strong. The story remained fairly flat and the relationship between the characters was not really explored further. As a result, I felt that the cast (many of whom had already played essential roles in the Star Wars films) were underused. Even though the series is referred to as a miniseries, I do hope that there will be a sequel that can further deepen the relationship between the characters.
The series is full of nostalgia and it's always a pleasure to dive back into the Star Wars universe. Spectacular lightsaber battles, Stormtroopers and much of the original cast of the films make it a very entertaining series. Unfortunately, the series remains quite flat in terms of depth and it comes across as a bit of a missed opportunity. There were no major surprises or plot twists in my opinion. Hopefully, the series will be further developed at a later time (whether or not through a sequel).
Based on what is mentioned above, Obi-Wan Kenobi gets a meagre 7.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
