Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 Review: Continues To Offer Measured Action, Perhaps Far From What Some Fans Expected
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Moses Ingram, Vivien Lyra Blair, Hayden Christensen
Director: Deborah Chow
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
We come to the halfway point of Obi-Wan Kenobi with the third episode of the Star Wars series. Let’s see what the new adventure of the veteran Jedi has given us. After its double premiere, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new Disney Plus Star Wars series, returns on Wednesdays to premiere the rest of its episodes. Today the third part of the series has arrived, and like the rest of the episodes, Deborah Chow oversees directing the chapter. The first two episodes have sowed division among Star Wars fans, some going to unnecessary lengths. It remains to be seen if this new fix that problem.
Starting from a spectacular premise, Obi-Wan Kenobi ends up showing in the third episode how much time has damaged him on his journey. The former Jedi Master hasn’t dueled with his lightsaber in a decade, nor is he participating in a more complex mission. However, the arrival of little Leia changed things a bit, especially when the entire Empire is after him. If the Inquisitors behind the protagonist weren’t enough, now Darth Vader himself is on his quest. Or rather, Anakin Skywalker. One of the coolest things about Star Wars is how easy it is to identify “who is in control” and not even all the villain pose hides the emotions and hatred that Hayden Christensen carries. We’ve already seen him in action, but here things turn out a little different.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 Review: The Story
After the opening act of the first two parts of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series dives into its central act. The cards are on the table and many of the main characters have already revealed their purpose. The episode is going to focus on a new location in the Star Wars planetary fabric, which we’ll cover in the spoiler section. Occasionally, we will jump to other more well-known locations.
Obi-Wan and Leia’s father-daughter dynamic continues, this time more than ever. However, this time it will introduce new characters who will help (or not) the protagonists. The background will begin to be given to several of the newly arrived characters, although it is done at the cost of perpetuating the great unknown that the second part left in its final bars. The third part of Obi-Wan Kenobi will continue to lead us by the hand in many aspects. We tend to forget that despite being a series with three main characters in the saga, its objective is to add depth to the Star Wars imaginary.
A part of the plot will show how the Empire has dug its claws, for better and for worse, into galactic society. The Mandalorian left a good portion in that regard. However, there are some flaws that we are going to point out. The first is a sound slip in a conversation, where one of the most iconic sounds of the saga has been ignored. The second is an old Star Wars problem: some characters have powers so varied that it’s absurd, here and in any movie, for them not to use them. They are script requirements, yes, but perhaps, that final moment is one of the most obvious. It is possible that they could have solved it in another way. It is not a bad episode, it has very worthwhile moments, and a set of lights that, although some may find it annoying, is very cool.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 Review and Analysis
Since the production’s announcement, Obi-Wan Kenobi promised a great encounter and confrontation between master and apprentice. Namely, our hero facing off against Darth Vader, both in all his glory. However, the show’s protagonist is no longer in this position and, as fans, we must accept this truth. The ten years he’s lived in hiding haven’t helped him at all, and not even when he needs it most will he use all the skills he’s been known for in the past.
It’s very delicate to see this on screen, with him making simple mistakes that put the whole objective at risk at certain moments. Not even Leia, at the height of her childhood, is tricked by the Jedi and ends up confronting him. To be quite honest, I must say that Owen McGregor is more than to be congratulated for his performance because you can see in his eyes the fatigue of the character and how much he is no longer used to that kind of life.
Completely shaken by the knowledge that Anakin still lives, his not knowing how to deal with this information sends them into a spiral of trouble from beginning to end of the chapter. The subtleties here are even impressive, and at one point they come across a droid that ends up defining well what we’ve already noticed since the first episode: if words are missing, actions have an equivalent weight. And the way they act and react seems like there isn’t a script there, the situations are so fluid.
Seeing these heroes and villains, winning and losing in Obi-Wan Kenobi, gave me this strange feeling that there’s a big mess and that they’re all improvising with what they’ve got. Not in a bad way, quite the opposite. Not being sure where the plot will take everything is what gives the whole thing the thrill. At one point, I even wondered how they would get the protagonist out of a completely dead-end situation. You take it yourself and say “it’s the end”, but there’s always a card up your sleeve in Star Wars, isn’t there?
The same goes for the core of the Empire, which continues without conquering what it seeks so much: the hero’s head served on a platter. While there is no in-depth development, chapter three shows us more of them and their relationships outside of the hunt. Even though the Grand Inquisitor is dead, there is no feeling of friendship and unity between the villains and they make a point of showing their disagreements. There is a unique moment that made me question all the depth that could mean. One of the Inquisitors yells at Reva that she would get what she deserved in a threatening tone. As she leaves the scene, she says lowly, “I sincerely hope so”. The relentless character has something hidden, that’s for sure. But to the point of wanting to be annihilated? I’m looking forward to seeing where this leads, as it raised a major flashback alert that will be shown in the second half of the season.
And I know what you’re here for the great Darth Vader. With more screen presence this week, he resolves to spring into action and lead the search for his former master. Although everyone expects a great match between him and Obi-Wan Kenobi, I would say to lower your expectations a little. If the advice is worth it, not everything we want is nice to receive when it comes to us. Think about it carefully before playing the platform.
Coming midway through the series, it’s still unclear where this will all lead. We know where the hero and Darth Vader end up from there. Little Leia, despite being one of the great charms, also has her future defined. The Inquisitors, poor people, don’t even appear in the movies to have their importance imposed. If all this has already been established, what is the story they are trying to tell us here? Anyway, we just have to watch the next ones find out.
Obi-Wan Kenobi plunges us into Mapuzo, a new mining planet that, not to clash with 90% of the planets in the saga, has four counted settlements. The rest, as grandparents say, “is the field “Frenk‘s character is cool, the alien that picks up Obi-Wan and Leia in the Mapuzo wasteland. His Imperial loyalty to him is striking, considering the Empire’s traditional dislike for aliens. Even the stormtroopers are friendly to him. This delves into how the Empire and its propaganda have become entrenched in galactic society. It may seem silly, but on a narrative level, it explains many situations that we see and will see in Star Wars.
Tala, the character played by Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), is introduced. The nature of the character makes it possible for her to have a recurring presence in this and other series, as an imperial officer who has changed sides. Indeed, her presence in Andor has been rumored. In the first swings of the episode, during Reva’s conversation with Vader, we found the sound problem that we mentioned, and it is not the first time that Star Wars fails in this. Vader’s breathing disappears for most of the dialogue.
This is a recurring bug that we didn’t have in the original trilogy, where breathing was heard in the background. One does not stop breathing while there are pauses in the conversation. The episode is not cut short by showing some level of graphic violence. Splitting a stormtrooper in half with the beam barrier or a defenseless civilian’s neck-snapping like a shrimp with Vader’s choke are the two clearest examples.
Vader and Obi-Wan’s final face-off is one of the most anticipated aspects of the series. He has transported us to the burning ashes of Mustafar. The light plays off the sequence, using the almost total darkness to contrast with the illumination of the lightsabers, which works very well on screen. However, you will see how someone comes out to complain in the next few days about that scene. We did not expect a great martial display in this meeting. Obi-Wan hasn’t fought in 10 years and the best he can do is run, things as they are. Of course, the blaster is scary.
Where the script error lies is at the rescue moment. After Vader can put out the flames with the Force, Tala lights them again for NED-B to rescue the Jedi. The Sith Lord is unable to put out the flames again, or Force dismantles the droid. The detractors of the series will say that it is a problem with the script of the series, and it is, but not of this series, but all Star Wars. On more than one occasion we have seen that having the opportunity to use powers that we know the characters have, they are not used. They are script requirements, friends, although we agree that they spoil the plot by not providing credibility.
Well, mention the return of Hayden Christensen. It is the first time that he plays Vader for “so much” time (with the suit), and we can say that he delivers. In Spanish, we still miss Constantino Romero, but Pedro Tena leaves the flag high with his interpretation of such a mythical character, as he has been doing for several years. Now we must wait a week to see the continuation of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which will already pass the equator on Disney Plus.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 Review: The Last Words
The Obi-Wan Kenobi series continues to offer measured action, perhaps far from what some fans expected. New characters arrive as a long-awaited moment for the fandom approaches. However, it presents some recurring problems in Star Wars productions. A long-awaited moment for fans of the series. Delve into the social influence of the Empire.
