Categories
Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part I

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiTen years after the fall of the Republic and the birth of the Skywalker twins, exiled Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi ekes out a minimal existence on Tatooine under the assumed name of Ben, working an ordinary job and keeping as low a profile as possible. When Imperial Inquisitors land in Mos Eisley in search of any Jedi Knights who survived the Empire’s purge of the Jedi order, they immediately finds not Kenobi, but a former youngling who has been using his abilities with the Force to aid a local saloon owner in exchange for shelter. The young Jedi seeks out Obi-Wan to ask for assistance, but Kenobi’s advice is to forget the Jedi order and survive by leading a normal life. The young Jedi does not heed this advice, and is killed by the Inquisitors in a grisly public display. The Inquisitors continue their search, with the Third Sister, Reva, threatening to kill moisture farmer Owen Lars if the whereabouts of other Jedi are not revealed. Owen doesn’t divulge Kenobi’s presence, though he harbors little affection for the Jedi. Reva, obsessed with finding Kenobi, is brought to heel by the Grand Inquisitor, but she simply changes her tactics. Reva hires a bounty hunter to abduct the young princess of Alderaan, Leia Organa, whose father is a known associate of Kenobi from the days of the Republic. Bail Organa pays Obi-Wan a visit to ask for the Jedi’s help to recover his daughter, leaving Obi-Wan little choice but to reluctantly resume his role as a guardian of peace and justice from a more civilized age.

teleplay by Joby Harold and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie
story by Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Moses Ingram (Reva), Benny Safdie (Nari), Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), Simone Kessell (Breha Organa), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Flea (Vect Nokru), Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Ming Qiu (Jedi Master Minas Velti), Aiden Arnold (Jedi Youngling), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Yonas Asuncion Kibreab (Jedi Youngling), Mila Lavin (Jedi Youngling), Ayaamii Sledge (Jedi Youngling), Derek Basco (saloon Owner), Kingsley Hao (Local Mos Eisley Boy), Heath McGough (Foreman Groff Ditcher), Chad Parker (Worker Padu Chend), Leilani Shiu (Teeka), Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker), Molly Miller (Handmaiden Agira), Hossein Mardani (Dardin Shull), Karen Constantine (Local Anchorhead Woman), Gabe Fonesca (Duke Kayo Organa), Roberta Sparta (Duchess Celly Organa), Ian Inigo (Cousin Niano Organa), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Aviel Ayoung (Mercenary #1), Amy Sturdivant (Mercenary #2), Sonia Jackson (Attendant)

Obi-Wan KenobiNotes: Based on, and expanded from, what was originally intended to be a future entry in the curtailed series of self-contained Star Wars “anthology” films, this series brought back numerous familiar faces from the prequel trilogy, most notably star and executive producer Ewan McGregor, Jimmy Smits, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Simone Kessell, and – in later episodes – Hayden Christensen. The ties to the prequel trilogy are strong with this one, including a flashback to younglings attempting to escape from the Order 66 purge of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but the ties to the animated series Rebels are also numerous, including the first live-action Inquisitors.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part II

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan arrives on Daiyu, searching for the kidnapped young Princess Leia Organa. He learns on the street of a Jedi who helps those in need, but, following that lead, finds a con man named Haja posing as a Jedi, his help to the downtrodden costing his marks everything they have. Obi-Wan turns the tables on Haja to get his help at a substantial discount. This leads him to a building where illegal substances are prepared for sale on the street – and, in a secluded room within, he finds two things: the missing Princess, and bounty hunter Vect Nokru and his thugs. Leia doesn’t know or trust Obi-Wan, and runs from him – and runs face-first into trouble, until Obi-Wan proves that he truly is a Jedi Knight. But this only brings more attention to him, and reveals to the Grand Inquisitor that Reva is pulling the strings to draw Kenobi out for reasons of her own. With an entire city of stormtroopers bearing down on them, Obi-Wan and Leia are unexpectedly given a new escape route by Haja, but Reva is waiting to try to cut off their escape – and reveals to Obi-Wan that Anakin Skywalker still lives, though not in a form that his old teacher would recognize.

teleplay by Joby Harold
story by Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja Estree), Marisé Álvarez (Nyche), Flea (Vect Nokru), Moses Ingram (Reva), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Rya Kihlstedt (Fourth Sister), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), Dan Considine (Deck Officer Densin Clord), Temuera Morrison (Veteran Clone Trooper), Esther-Rose McGregor (Tetha Grig), Jecobi Swain (Jayco), Indie Desroches (Corran), Tom O’Connell (Spice Den Guard #1), Cha-Leen Yoon (Spice Den Guard #2), Aviel Ayoung (Mercenary #1), Amy Sturdivant (Mercenary #2), Mackensi Emory (Spice Runner #1), Phong Giang (Spice Runner #2), Mario Filippi (Spice Runner #3)

Notes: The young woman who tries to sell Obi-Wan spice – who was “someone’s daughter once too” – is in fact played by Ewan McGregor’s daughter.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part III

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiFleeing from Daiyu aboard an automated cargo freighter, Obi-Wan finds himself on the receiving end of questions from Leia about the Force. They arrive on a planet in the Mapuzo system, heavily mined by the Empire, where Haja said help would be waiting, though the exact coordinates are behind an Imperial checkpoint, and Obi-Wan’s furtive behavior is enough to raise suspicion and start a firefight. When a second contingent of stormtroopers arrives, they are cut down by blaster fire from their own commanding officer, Tala, who is the contact Obi-Wan and Leia have been looking for. Tala introduces them to the Path, a clandestine network of waypoints and safe houses that have been used to conceal surviving members of the Jedi order. But before they can leave, a new Imperial presence arrives – the Inquisitors and Darth Vader himself, making a spectacle of tormenting to locals in order to draw Obi-Wan out. He tells Leia to go to the next transport on her own, and charges Tala with ensuring the girl’s safety. Obi-Wan sets out to distract Vader from the girl, but even with that as his only goal, the confrontation does not go well for the out-of-practice Jedi. Reva, in the meantime, having engineered her ascension within the ranks of the Inquisitors, finds that her “sisters” and “brothers” are not as accepting of her tactics.

written by by Joby Harold & Hannah Friedman and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Moses Ingram (Reva), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Rya Kihlstedt (Fourth Sister), Zach Braff (Freck), Indira Varma (Tala Durith), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), A.J. Troup (Stormtrooper #1), Shane Hartline (Stormtrooper #2), Ardeshir Radpour (Checkpoint Stormtrooper), Melanie Mosley (Safehouse Stormtrooper #1), Will Westwater (Safehouse Stormtrooper #2), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist), John Rosengrant (Freck performance artist), Dustin Ceithamer (NED-B performance artist)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part IV

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiSmuggled away from Mapuzo by Tala and her reprogrammed mining droid, Obi-Wan awakens in a bacta tank on Jabiim, at one of the safehouses on the Path. But Leia has been taken to an Imperial complex on Nur, an ocean moon of Mustafar, where Reva shows little restraint in interrogating her, despite the fact that her prisoner is a ten-year-old girl. Obi-Wan tries to convince Tala and a pilot named Roken to assist him in recovering Leia, with Tala noting that Leia knows enough about the Path to destroy the entire underground operation keeping the last few Jedi alive. A small rescue mission is approved, but the entire plan depends on Tala’s cover as an Imperial officer still being intact, and Obi-Wan being able to muster enough of his former prowess with the Force to keep both of them, and Leia, alive long enough to escape.

written by by Joby Harold & Hannah Friedman
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Indira Varma (Tala Durith), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Moses Ingram (Reva), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Roken), Maya Erskine (Sully), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Rya Kihlstedt (Fourth Sister), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), Ryder McLaughlin (Wade Resselian), Joss Glennie-Smith (Fortress Inquisitorius Security Guard), David Will No (Fortress Inquisitorius Terminal Officer), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Oliver Ho (Jedi Youngling), Helen Day (Fortress Inquisitorius Officer), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist)

Notes: The disturbing sight of various captured Jedi – including younglings – being kept in the bowels of Fortress Inquisitorius like biological specimens may hint at the Empire’s secret project to harvest midichlorians, which continues as far in the future as The Mandalorian and Moff Gideon’s repeated attempts to capture Grogu, Obi-Wan Kenobiand possibly as far forward as the creation of Snoke and the rebirth of Emperor Palpatine in the sequel trilogy. The vehicles that have been known for over 40 years as Rebel snowspeeders may have been incorrectly identified, as we see them operating in a decidedly non-winter-weather environment here.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part V

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan, Tala, and Roken arrive back on Jabiim with Leia, unaware that Reva has planted a tracking device on Leia’s droid, L0-LA. Vader and Reva are already en route to Jabiim, and this particular safehouse on the Path will need to be evacuated in short order…except that Obi-Wan’s pursuers have already anticipated that. L0-LA, under Reva’s control, seals the launch doors, leaving the transports unable to lift off, and trapping countless civilian refugees in the middle of what seems like an ensuing battle between Vader and Kenobi. Leia works to undo L0-LA’s damage, while Obi-Wan finally realizes that Reva herself was a Jedi padawan who survived Order 66; her grudge is not just with him, but with Vader. In order to use Vader’s impatience against him, Obi-Wan plans to give everyone time to escape, while also evading a confrontation with Vader himself. But the cost of this plan, for many, will be very high.

written by by Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Moses Ingram (Reva), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Roken), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Maya Erskine (Sully), Indira Varma (Tala Durith), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja Estree), Marisé Álvarez (Nyche), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader), Crispian Belfrage (Devastator Captain), Indie Desroches (Corran), Aiden Arnold (Jedi Youngling), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Oliver Ho (Jedi Youngling), Yonas Ascuncion Kibreab (Jedi Youngling), Mila Lanin (Jedi Youngling), Ayaamii Sledge (Jedi Youngling), Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist), Dustin Ceithamer (NED-B performance artist)

Obi-Wan KenobiNotes: Apparently, surviving being run through with a lightsaber, without any apparent immediate medical attention, is a thing that can be done now. It may or may not depend on damage done to major organs. This episode contains flashbacks both to Vader’s assault on the Jedi Temple in Revenge Of The Sith as well as sparring matches between Anakin and Obi-Wan that most likely happen shortly before Attack Of The Clones.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part VI

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiHaving narrowly escaped Jabiim, the transport ship of refugees is trailed closely by Vader in the Devastator. But there is a further wild card in the situation – Reva has barely survived her fight with Vader and has discovered the locations and identities of Vader’s children. Having lost Leia, Reva now goes to Tatooine to find young Luke Skywalker. Her unsubtle questioning of the locals gives Owen and Beru time to prepare to fight her when she arrives. Obi-Wan leaves the transport in a dropship, certain that Vader will break off his pursuit to follow him rather than the refugees. A furious lightsaber battle ensues, during which Obi-Wan is able to do critical damage to Vader’s life support suit. Perhaps realizing that, while Vader is dangerous, he remains vulnerable to his feelings and capable of major tactical errors as a result, Obi-Wan leaves him alive but unable to fight. The Jedi then races to the aid of Luke, whose peril he senses through the Force, but it is Reva who brings the boy back to Owen and Beru of her own accord. Ben tries to absolve her of her past, and tells her that her future is for her to decide now; her inability to kill a child as casually as Vader once did is a strength rather than a weakness. After ensuring that Leia has been returned to Alderaan, Obi-Wan returns to Tatooine, agreeing to keep his distance from the Lars homestead, but is surprised when Owen introduces him to ten-year-old Luke despite that promise. And with the recent reawakening of his mastery of the Force, Obi-Wan has one further surprise waiting for him as he goes back into exile.

teleplay by by Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton and Hossein Amini
story by Stuart Beattie and Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Moses Ingram (Reva), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja Estree), Marisé Álvarez (Nyche), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Roken), Maya Erskine (Sully), Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), Simone Kessell (Breha Organa), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), Hossein Mardani (Dardin Shull), Heath McGough (Foreman Groff Ditcher), Indie Desroches (Corran), Crispian Belfrage (Devastator Captain), Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker), Aiden Arnold (Jedi Youngling), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Oliver Ho (Jedi Youngling), Yonas Ascuncion Kibreab (Jedi Youngling), Mila Lanin (Jedi Youngling), Ayaamii Sledge (Jedi Youngling), David St. Pierre (Supply Store Clerk performance artist), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist), Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn)

Obi-Wan KenobiNotes: The “unmasking of Vader” scene is very similar to a scene that occurs in the Star Wars: Rebels episode Twilight Of The Apprentice Part 2 (2016), in which it is Anakin Skywalker’s former padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who destroys half of Vader’s mask in a lightsaber duel. (At least each of Anakin’s old friends destroyed different sides of the helmet.) The original storyline for Obi-Wan Kenobi featured Darth Maul, not Darth Vader, though it fell to Dave Filoni to point out that a final duel between Kenobi and Maul had already been depicted in the Rebels episode Twin Suns (2017), and there was therefore no need to depict it again (or create a conflicting version of events, something that happened frequently in the early days of the Clone Wars animated series and the related publishing program). Twin Suns, as with most of Rebels, occurs much closer to the events of Rogue One and Star Wars than those of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

LogBook entry by Earl Green