SPOILER Obi-Wan Kenobi Ep. 3 Discussion

Dreadful, simply dreadful

I knew this would happen but still

Completely ruins the impact of watching Episode 3 and then straight to 4

 

I do not agree with this.

The way I see it, there is no conflict....

We have no way of quantifying what it is that Vader gets out being, well.... Vader. If a masked-man in a respirator-suit can look like he's having a good time while torturing his old step dad, Darth just did it.

Vader's arrival was like a force punch to Ben's gut but it was the torture of innocents that stirred his soul to such a point, that he had to act. This cemented my POV that Vader is all in on being a Dark Lord of the Sith and is not looking back.

This would be more funny if I was talking about Kenobi as The Mentor, there. Still, plus one for the chuckle.


AND speaking of hunches.... yes, we should all run out and buy a ticket to the Belmont, Rich Strike will will again.


Don't do it, I just love racing ponies.

For my next PREDICTION: Obi Wan kicks the snot of Vader in their series re-match.

 

This also crossed my mind when watching Episode 3 for the first time.

 

the way I currently view that is Vader relishing in the suffering of Kenobi. Obi-wan is the Jedi he probably hates and blames the most, and he even commented on how Kenobi’s suffering is just beginning. He wants a slow, painful death for Kenobi right now, and now that they got that close to him, my speculation is the thought that Vader will now be close behind him, haunting him, at the very least. The mere sight of Vader and what he’s become is probably gonna mess with Obi-wan…..once his head clears from the pain of the burn.

 

Personally I think that’s fans trying to crow bar a reason in there to justify a bit a lacklustre writing.

Vader had spent years looking for him had just choked out a village to bring him out, then just turn around and walks away when he is 10 feet away. If he wanted to tourture him he’s 10 feet away, he could have captured him take him to Mustufar or anything, just letting him go for the vague reason maybe he might suffer more that way makes no sense.
It makes f at more sense that the writers just wrote themselves into a corner and didn’t really have an out and just hoped the audience wouldn’t notice too much.

 

Vader could have easily opened the door in the Death Star hangar. Thus preventing the Falcon from escaping and so on and so on....

These kind of "escapes" are a staple of melodramatic thrillers. Star Wars is no exception.

I totally dig Vader's reluctance to kill Obi-Wan just because someone has come to his aid. He said out loud that he wished to see Obi-Wan suffer like he did. He's not about to snuff Obi-Wan out and end his suffering prematurely just because someone interfered.

Vader recongised that Obi-Wan was no match for him and figures it's just a matter of time before he has his old master at his mercy again. In the meantime there is a network of traitors trafficking refugees and enemies of the Emperor which can be exposed by tracking Obi-Wan. It resonates with Vader's plan aboard the death star to allow the Falco to escape, but by that time Vader sensed that Obi-Wan was prepared to meet his destiny in order for the rebels to escape and Vader was more than happy to oblige him this time.

The indiscriminate violence that Vader commits as he's flushing Kenobi out seems to be his way of depriving his old master of any hope that he can be redeemed or turned back, as much as it is a way to make Kenobi compromise himself or whomever he is protecting.

Tantalising escapes/close shaves like this are always awkward. But there's ample history, past and future, to appreciate that Vader's behaviour around Obi Wan is going to be enigmatic.

 

Maybe he got a bit caught out by the second fire starting? Maybe he was thinking of the times he’d helped Obi-Wan out of a situation, seeing the droid lift him. Or maybe he thought he was dead, he’d done his part?

Other than those theories, you would kind have expect him to have thrown his lightsaber or force grip/push the droid? Jump the fire maybe?

What makes less sense, is how Reva got ahead of Leia in the tunnel.

 

when it comes to letting heroes suffer, villains don’t often make sense. It’s possible we get more info, but that’s what I’m currently viewing it as. The shot lingers on Vader staring over the flames and watching them. He’s already demonstrated that he could grab them, he’s deliberately choosing not to. Why? Well, we look at what info we have. Obi-wan is clearly not himself, Vader wants him to suffer, he’s going to draw it out as he said it was just the start of something new. They’ll be on his heels now.

But this is also the same guy that..let Luke try and plummet to his death when he’s like…5 feet away instead of using the Force.

it’s not a new thing in Star Wars that fans need to deal with moments like this. Should they have to? Debatable.

 

Really? Seemed like she correctly assumed that the tunnel came out somewhere there was an opportunity to escape, off world. Like from a landing pad/docking bay or whatever. So she found the nearby pad and went to head the escapees off.

 

There is one thing to watching him suffer and another just letting him go and walking away after years of hunting for him. Sorry i don't think that makes sense I think you're just trying to create a justification for a bit of sloppy writing. The writers needed Obi Wan to escape and just couldn't come up with a good reason for it.

But yes your right, it isn't the first time in star wars, looking back on Empire with all the force powers we know about now why didn't Vader pull luke towards him? At the end of the revenge of the SIth, I still can't figure out why Yoda ran away? So you can have these bits that are a bit lazy in films.

I guess what makes this a bit worse is in the shot you can literally see Obi about 10 feet away struggling, then Vader just turns away just took me out of the episode and felt jarring. Still really enjoyed the episode but yeah thought that bit was poorly written/executed.

 

Kenobi is like a mouse caught in a maze. Vader knows he's not going anywhere. He realizes he's clearly superior (he thinks) to his old master and is content to toy with him and savor his revenge.

 

I’d say this is more shabby staging than sloppy writing. Like Nari giving the Inquisitors the slip by bringing down a couple shades they could have easily walked around. Or Leia evading those goons by ducking under branches they could have easily walked around. Or Obi-Wan making a point to disable a gate he could have easily walked around. Vader is stopped by a wall of fire he could have easily walked around. I imagine the way we wound up seeing it wasn’t exactly the way the writer had envisioned it.

The context of the scene is that the fire is impassable, but Vader is willing to relent in the moment certain he’ll be able to capture him later. But really it’s the presentation that lets this concept down and makes it awkward. Which is something this series has demonstrated a noticeable trend of doing.

Personally, I don’t mind. I get what they were going for and am willing to forgive that sort of shabbiness in favor of the character work that I feel they’re totally nailing.

 

He was further than 10 feet away. This was my take when I watched the first time, but after rewatching, Tala causes an explosion that would keep Vader from simply putting the fire out again. It's also clear Vader could have killed Obi-Wan, but his overconfidence and desire to torture and terrorize his former master was the priority.

 

To be fair to the director, these weren't examples of 'sloppy staging' any more than it was sloppy writing.

With the dropped shades, that was never meant to imply a blockade or impassable barrior. The Grand Inquisitor was simply taking a visual approach to saying "NO" rather than stating it. The implication was clear and effective -- which is why they stopped.

With the branches, the thug was following little Leia down an incline, it wasn't all that clever, but it worked. It was akin to Gandalf bumping his head against the ceiling in Bag End in Jackson's LOTR. It wasn't his best work but nevertheless, he won a best director Oscar.

With the gate, it was designed to stop vehicle traffic -- as is the case with most gates. But given Leia height, Obi-wan disabled it rather than take a any chance of either of them losing a limb.

Which, IMHO, is the way Chow filmed it with Vader standing there with the glow of the flames in his 'eyes.' He knows he has Obi-wan trapped.

 

The Fifth Brother proceeds to pursue Nari (with no success we find out). The context of the scene is that Nari’s delay tactic is successful in allowing his escape. But logically, with how it’s presented, it really shouldn’t have been. It was a couple rickety wooden frames covering a third of an open-air entrance. Easily avoidable. Again, I’m OK with this because I get what they’re going for. I don’t need to make head-canon excuses. It is what it is.

This happens twice in that sequence. A physical impediment, that logically we know shouldn’t really be an obstacle for a grown person, halts the pursuer. Again, I’m OK with this because I get what they’re going for. I don’t need to make head-canon excuses. It is what it is.

There’s a guard post with zero obstruction on the opposite side of the gate that’s clearly visible. He wouldn’t need to take her anywhere near the gate, let alone firing a f**king gun at it while she’s right next to him. Again, I’m OK with this because I get what they’re going for. I don’t need to make head-canon excuses. It is what it is.

And awkwardly his band of troopers fire away at the very slow moving target that’s just yards in front of them and totally miss. Now I get the joke that storm troopers can’t aim, but that’s pretty silly looking. To me, I feel that wall of fire was probably intended to appear far more insurmountable than it came off.

Giving us a classic ‘you can run but you can’t hide’ sense that Vader would rather capture OB right there, but the situation doesn’t allow for it. Even though logically, based on presentation, that really shouldn’t be the case. Again, I’m OK with this because I get what they’re going for. I don’t need to make head-canon excuses. It is what it is.

 

The more I think and the more we talk about the show, the weaker I find it.
Yeah, it's cool cause it's Star Wars, it's far better than BOBF, we see ships, stormtroopers and well-known characters, this and that. But I am starting to think that this is another big missed oportunity to make great things.
All the canon that has to be reinterpreted, poor script parts (not the best writers for this project) and little details and inconsistencies, minimize the quality of the show.
Obviosuly I can't wait for the next episodes cause there is always time to be surprised. Hope they worth it.

 

Sorry to hear that. That's a shame.

I would suspect the OB forum ratchets up the enthusiasm and excitement for what's still to come for most SW fans here. But allI can say for sure is that it certainly gets me pumped up for tomorrow's next installment.

 

Yeah yeah me too . Am always excited to see new SW content on a screen. And tomorrow i can watch it early in the morning and I will be there for sure.

Cya in new episode 4 thread!

 

Better to deal with the obstacle you know, than the clear path you do not? I learned to ask what could this mean, instead of writing off something as stupid in Star Wars. There are a lot of dreamlike scenes in SW, such as when they break the laws of physics dropping spacebombs without gravity. It's a reminder that we're not in outer space, but in inner space, where rules are broken.
The roadblock may be a symbol of overcoming obstacles and tearing down psychological barriers, not merely physical ones. Not only does the drone identify him, he is starting to remember who he is himself. The episode is about facing his fears. At least we can hope it's something worthwhile like that. Our Friend Freck was a fence sitter, friendly to people one second, turning them in as suspect in the next. Stormtrooper showed there's no fence sitting in that galaxy. It'll cut you in two.
We're halfway through. There has to be a turnaround soon, where he connects fully with the force, and makes a comeback as the powerful master Obi-Wan we remember.

 

i don't want to see anything that alters THIS moment.





That is all I ask.