Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi (COURTESY: Lucasfilm Ltd.)įollowing this conversation, the Inquisitors arrive on the spot, looking for the Jedi who asked Obi-Wan for help. This line introduces the fact that neither Owen nor Obi-Wan know Anakin is alive, much less that he’s Darth Vader. “Anakin is dead, Ben, and I won’t let you make the same mistake twice,” he says. Owen even reminds him of his failure to properly train Anakin. Obi-Wan wants to train Luke eventually, but Owen wants him to have no part in the boy’s life. This young version of Leia not only elevates the character, but helps infuse the show with a sense of energy that contrasts the world-weary moodiness of Obi-Wan.īack on Tatooine, we see evidence of Owen’s distaste for Obi-Wan when he confronts him in town after the latter leaves a toy for Luke at the farm.

Blair gives a splendid performance as the young princess, locating a sharp and strong note on the same frequency as Carrie Fisher’s original portrayal. She’s joined by her small, floating droid Lola as they watch ships pass by in the skies of Alderaan. We first find Leia running through the woods after she has just pulled a prank on her mother. The real heart of the episode for me comes with the introduction of the young Leia ( Vivien Lyra Blair). Later in the episode, Obi-Wan goes into town and finds the Jedi dead, strung up for his crime of simply existing. Obi-Wan tells him to go into the desert, bury his lightsaber, and pursue a normal life. The Jedi Nari turns up to beg Obi-Wan for help, but he only finds warning. (Yes, I was one of the people hoping Rey would end up being a Kenobi, so I’m happy to get any parallels I can.) Interestingly, Obi-Wan’s routine of work, return, and dinner prep reminded me of Rey’s from The Force Awakens. Speaking of our title hero, ten years after the events of RotS, the series finds him living in a cave, working a laborious job, and keeping an eye on Luke ( Grant Feely) despite his uncle Owen’s ( Joel Edgerton) distrust. It also sets up her burning hatred for Obi-Wan and her insistence on finding him. The Grand Inquisitor chastises the Third Sister for her impetuousness, but the show has established her methods as unfortunately successful. She’s right it works–the Jedi named Nari ( Benny Safdie) uses the Force to stop the weapon. When the Grand Inquisitor tries a dramatic-yet-controlled monologue to root out a Jedi, Reva snaps, throwing a knife at a barkeeper in order to find the Jedi present. His presence on-screen offers a sense of stillness that contrasts well against Reva’s impulsive approach. Joel Edgerton as Owen and Moses Ingram as Reva (COURTESY: Lucasfilm Ltd.)Īlthough there was some fan backlash to the Grand Inquisitor’s design when images of him were first released, Rupert Friend does not falter. They arrive with a threatening presence on Tatooine to harass the locals into revealing the location of a Jedi. We quickly meet the Grand Inquisitor ( Rupert Friend) and his supporting inquisitors, Third Sister (aka Reva, played with contrasting rage and gracefulness by Moses Ingram) and Fifth Brother ( Sung Kang). The episode may not be the most exciting opening, but it does a good job of (re)introducing many of the major players involved in the series and the conflicts they’ll create or work to overcome. Let’s dive into what the premiere holds in store for us. Although the Star Wars prequels garnered quite an infamous reputation as bad films, for many of us kids sitting in theaters in 2005, RotS was a cultural moment and the experience of seeing Anakin ( Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan’s climactic battle was unforgettable.įans have been looking forward to an Obi-Wan Kenobi series for a long time, and now it’s finally here. It’s been 17 years since Ewan McGregor last played Obi-Wan Kenobi on-screen in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith ( RotS).

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