SPOILER Obi-Wan Kenobi Ep. 6 Discussion

It's simple. They expected Obi Wan to take up his laser sword and fearlessly take down all comers. And maybe bed a comely woman or two in the process. Essentially they wanted a fan insert with an action figure. Not a real life flesh and blood human being.

Also elements of Mythos Obi-Wan statue in his final costume was a nice touch.

I wonder if this applies in some cases...

 

Yeah, that was weird indeed.
The only thing I can think of is that somehow she knew Vader had a child (perhaps at one point she picked up on Vader's thoughts dwelling on his pregnant wife, while he was sitting in his Pod, pondering) and upon seeing the message from Senator Organa, she realised that they were hiding Vader's son, a boy named Luke...
Still full of resentment towards Vader, she went to Tatooine to kill Vader's son, but when her moment came, she recognized that she was about to become Vader herself and couldn't do it!

 

She did not know Luke was Vader's son. After being wounded and abandoned again, thwarting the scheme to make Anakin and Obi-Wan pay which had given her purposes all these years, she just wanted to hurt someone. The child that Obi-Wan and that lying farmer have been protecting was her last shot. But all she did was finally realise that she is not like him. Like Anakin. This is never who she was.

 

Another EPIV when Leia screams "Ben Kenobi?! Where is he?!" She likely hasn't seen him since she was a kid. So, that was probably her inner child coming out for a second. The chance to see Ben again.

 

I don't think that was like him consciously doing it. I assume whatever his voice immodulator/rebreather thing is was damaged by the slash.

Plus, notice how it seemed to physically affect him, too. The fight was pretty much over. My guess is dude wasn't breathing so well after that.

Spoiler: rebels spoiler

A similar thing happens during a scene of Rebels, in the sith temple.

 

Haven't read a single Episode 6 post, have only watched it one time all the way through and all that I'd like to say at this point is how remarkable Ewan & Hayden are in their respective roles, together. Obi Wan's pain /regret along with Vader's hate /obsession and everything in-between, were perfectly balanced.... down to the last nuance. They were something special to behold, once again....


That said, I don't need another KENOBI series and neither do these characters.

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 23, 2022, Original Post Date: Jun 23, 2022 ---

THIS. It was clearly shorting out.

The one time I'm hoping for a recycled line and don't get it.

 

As far as we saw, all Reva knows is what the bit she heard in the message say. “If he's found you, if he's learned of the children...I'll head to Tatooine...Owen...Help the boy.”

I feel like we’re supposed to infer that Reva infers that this “boy” is somehow important to Vader. And so killing him would somehow be evening the score? ‘Well, if I can’t get my revenge on Vader directly, then this is the next best thing. I’ll make him suffer like I did’. But that requires the character make a MASSIVE leap in logic that isn’t really supported by the narrative. And then it asks us to go along with it.

It’s such a major aspect to the story and to this character’s arc, that it’s strange to be presented so nebulously. That could have benefitted from some more liberal massaging, I feel.

 

Yeah I suspected this was going to feature as part of a reason for confronting Vader again - especially when the PT recap before the first episode specifically has the line from Padme saying "There is still good in him". Usually recaps on shows include the parts that are pertinent to upcoming events (to the point of almost being like spoilers sometimes!), so it's curious that it's there considering it wasn't pursued in the story.

 

Kenobi's tearful & sincere apology "for all of it" is the certain gravitas; the je ne sais quoi, that "Obi-wan once thought as you do...." has always lacked.

The evil smirk on Hayden's face, behind the cracked & broken mask.... was something so sinister, it really drove the separation of the two, home.

 

This is the best explanation I've read here regarding Reva's motivations.

 

That’s a perfectly valid take.

And here’s another: could be Reva believes she was too weak to defeat Vader because her hatred wasn’t strong enough - that she’s too conflicted. Making it akin to Vader’s perspective in ESB “Release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me” and Kylo’s perspective in TFA where he justifies killing his father as a way of killing his pull to the light. “I'm being torn apart.”

It’s the revenge trope of ‘only a monster can kill a monster’. To slay a beast, you must become a beast. Killing this innocent child, like Anakin killed those children, will give her the strength and resolve she needs to finally get her “justice”.

Anyway, my point was just that it isn’t totally clear to me why she’s going after kid Luke. And maybe that’s also the point? Reva doesn’t exactly know why she’s targeted him either? It’s a fuzzy element to the story that didn’t really need to be. And because of that, it comes off a touch like a contrivance. They needed to bring Luke back into the story and this was a manufactured threat to justify it. Even though it’s totally pertinent to the larger theme of the series.

 

The problem for me is basically that it cheapens ANH. Obi-wan and Anakin’s duel in ROTS was so powerful and emotional that I think it was brilliant to have 20 years of suspense building before their reunion and final showdown.

But if they just knock each other around every few years, it undermines the significance of their final duel.

 

"I am not your failure, Obi Wan." - was not a form of absolution, it was a declaration of ownership. He cannot be Darth Vader without believing that....


Only Luke can reach the remnant of Anakin Skywalker.

 

Idk if I agree, as the beauty in that last duel is mainly Obi-wan’s sacrifice to me. But thanks for explaining

 

I would strongly argue the exact opposite -- IMHO, it significantly enhances their meeting in ANH.

By confronting each other again in the Obi-wan Kenobi show ten years after their climatic ROTS duel, we got to witness the full raw, emotional impact of their reunion. Without it, one could argue that their final confrontation in ANH - in the wake of what we saw in ROTS - was weirdly devoid of the emotion you would've expected from the reunion of these two 'brothers.'

This show beautifully set the stage for Obi-wan's final confrontation with 'Darth' to play out as it did because Obi-wan in ANH had a previous experience that allowed him to come to terms with the fact that his former padawan, Anakin, is dead and gone.

 

Unless you consider what the significance of each duel is. The first is between brothers where Obi-Wan believes he took the life of someone he’d failed. The second is Obi-Wan being confronted with that failure and his fear of facing it. The third is his resolve to meet that trauma and recognize Anakin’s own role in that failure. The fourth (as of now) is him having made his peace with that past and moving on (literally) to a higher plane.

It isn’t just that they’re fighting each other. It’s why they’re fighting each other. It’s what each is bringing to that confrontation and where they’re left afterward. There were more steps along that journey than previously thought. For me, that enhances rather than undermines. But I appreciate the sentiment. I was apprehensive at first too.

I love how effective and evocative the lighting was in that exchange. Blue light dominates when Vader processes Obi’s apology, giving a brief glimmer of hope. Then subtly lowers to raise the red as he dashes that hope. Totally captures externally what the characters are experiencing internally. Really lovely.

EDIT

Oh, and I totally forgot the ‘audible metaphor’ of his voice. Anakin and Vader’s voices literally competing with each other for control. Man versus machine. And the weird metatextual implication of using an AI to emulate James Earl Jones. A real world human being replaced by a machine in service of a character whose humanity is being lost to unfeeling mechanization.

So many layers in this simple moment, all working together for a united success. A lot of the petty technical issues of this show are just so unimportant when it can deliver so thoroughly on the parts that really matter.

 

Yep, I'm too busy being geeked about the performances & execution of the finale to dish on any of the creative decisions that I have issues with.


I'm sure after my 43rd viewing, I'll have a few more bones to pick but today, is NOT.... that day.