Ewan McGregor’s hair was perfect, though.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for all ofObi-Wan Kenobi.
You know, it was nice to seeHayden Christensenagain.
Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen).Lucasfilm Ltd.
That looming costume offers zero chance at physical expression.
Based on the braid, 41-year-old Christensen was playing his post-teen Jedi self.
I likeRevenge of the Sith, though, and respect the moral purpose Christensen’s blandness serves.
Anakin Skywalkershouldcome off like an embarrassing idiot out of his depth.
True believers groove onto his tragedy, and I worry they’re missing the prequels' dark comedy.
Truly, a proud boy.
Now Disney trots Vader out for maximum pwnage neck-snap, Force-toss, saber-stab!
but Lucas was eccentric enough to make his lunchbox baddie a kid-killing wife-choker.
It’s supposed to be the big moment for Kenobi.
“I’m sorry, Anakin,” says Obi-Wan, “For all of it!”
He’s has been visibly haunted by past mistakes all season long.
And true, you could argue he raised a school shooter slash an Antichrist.
But the circumstances were galactically extreme There was a Clone War!
They were soldiers in a cult of techno-magical government monastics!
and McGregor has always played Kenobi as a generous fellow.
So it’s bracing how his former apprentice throws the whole self-flagellating conceit into the hero’s face.
“Anakin’s gone,” says Vader, “I am what remains.”
His voice trips between tremulous Christensen and baritone Jones.
“I am not your failure, Obi-Wan.
You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker.Idid.”
That smile, man: Holy wow.
You feel Darth Vader as a persona that killed the person: Tyler Durden, Mr.
Robot, a Twitter feed that was once a man.
Simple rules of spatial logic went out the window.
Main characters keptalmostkilling each other, and then walking away long enough for their wounded opponent could recover.
Leia started out as a bold freethinker with ultra-supportive parents, and ended the same with a cool holster.
Two other characters had more potential.
Tala was a complicated nobody, an Imperial officer who grew a conscience post-massacre.
Third Sister, born Reva, exuded deeper disillusionment.
The show opened on the night her entire Jedi generation got brutally murdered.
She incinerated her conscience, working towards dish-served-cold Vader vengeance.
Ingram was the breakout presence, but Reva’s lack of an actual plan reduced the character.
You kept waiting for her to do something truly shocking.
You may note we’ve come a long way from 1977’sStar Wars.
Upon rewatch, the defining Empire-Rebel rift reads a bit vague: black-uniformed white guys versus orange-uniformed white guys.
It’s a clear schism monolithic uniformity vs. the omniculture butObi-Wan Kenobisorta tried to interrogate franchise history.
“You are all the future!”
“She’sas important asheis.”
The same old characters got promoted to new positions of prominence.
And I choose to be haunted byObi-Wan’s delirious misuse of Maya Erskine.
The multi-hyphenate just finishedPEN15, an astounding TV masterwork which she co-created and co-starred in.
when he offers to sacrifice himself heroically.
The deferenceObi-Wanexpected from its own supporting cast was asphyxiating.
Obi-Wan Kenobiended with a much-teased appearance byLiam Neeson, beamed in with all the grandeur of a Zoom session.
