SPOILER Official Obi-Wan Disney+ Series - Discussion

I think I began to find the Jedi and their ways a bit disturbing waaaay back in ESB when Obi Wan said:
'That boy is our last hope' and Yoda said: 'No, there is another.'

In short, if he gets killed, we can always fall back on Plan B.

But there again, I have never been fond of rigid religious sects!

 

Just like RJ's depiction of Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan is a recluse feeling the guilt and shame of his own failure in his responsibility for losing a pupil to the dark side.

 

Exactly. It's funny but I have been watching some old clips from the OT, and what stood out to me, is when Luke tried and failed, to raise his X Wing from the swamp in ESB. Yoda then said to him 'that is why you fail' after he said: 'I don't believe it ' when Yoda raised it.

Faith is a funny thing, the best of us can lose it, and frankly I think TLJ Luke was completely believable...he had become jaded in his old age, especially after losing Ben. And unlike many, I do not see him as written out of character when he drew his lightsabre. on a sleeping Ben. Luke was always a flesh and blood, flawed character - a human being - and we make mistakes. He said himself that the moment passed almost immediately; he never would have killed his nephew but a frightened Ben panicked and attacked him before he had a chance to explain. In any case, it was due to Snoke's manipulation - he wanted Ben to leave Luke and come to him.

The OT characters were wonderfully flawed, from Leia expecting Han and Luke to do as they were told, from Luke's impulsive and reckless behaviour, to Han's selfishness, and it was what made them so relatable. I'm pleased that they are depicting Obi Wan like this, especially after how they deified Rey ion TROS.

 

For the record, Obi-wan's actual advise to Nori, the Jedi who tracked him down, was: Take this (referring to Nori's lightsaber) Bury it in the ground. Stay hidden. Live a normal life.

Say what?!? He is looking after Luke for the sake of everybody else.

 

This series starts off with Bail Organa having to fly across the galaxy for a house-call to give Obi-Wan Kenobi a swift kick in his ass precisely because he’s shirking his responsibility.

“This isn't about the boy, and you know it! You've made mistakes. We all did. It's the past. Move on. Be done with it. You couldn't save Anakin, but you can save her.”

OB is hiding behind his noble purpose because he’s scared he’ll fail again. He doesn’t trust himself. Luke, in TLJ, is secluding himself (he believes) for the noble purpose of keeping himself from screwing things up again. But that’s also just an excuse for him to stew in his regret. “I was wrong. It was fear that kept me here.”

OBI-WAN TO BAIL: I’m not the man you remember.

LUKE TO YODA: I can't be what she needs me to be.

Both are debilitated by their well-earned fear and doubt and are hiding behind a lofty rationale in order to remain inert and unengaged. And both eventually accept the call that they initially refused.

The scenarios aren’t explicitly identical, but they’re certainly thematically linked. Or . . . <sigh> . . . they ‘rhyme’ with each other.

 

YIKES! Talk about a swift kick in the ass --- You just gave me one!!!

You make a strong case, eeprom. My only defense is that we saw Obi-wan checking on Luke in Episode 1 so it's not like he's shurked all of his responsibilites. But that said, I surrender.

 

So if the grand inquisitors species has two stomachs and he lost one when almost getting killed wouldn't it be logical that he is much thinner in rebels?

 

He just thinks he's thinner in Rebels.

 

So we've just had Obi-Wan "Episode 5". So if each of the episodes has parallels with the original films, can we draw some with "Episode V: Empire Strikes Back"?

I think we can.

There may be no AT-ATs, but certainly the Empire's approach and attack on the rebel hideout on Jabiim has similarities with the approach and attack on the rebel base on Hoth. Leia/Chewie works on fixing a thing, and our heroes escape at the last moment in the transport/Millenium Falcon, as Vader can only watch them leave. Oh, and the respective ships they are one? The hyperdrive doesn't work.

ESB is the one with that heritage twist. Is there a twist here? Could we say what we learn about Reva is that twist? Being impaled by a lightsaber is the equivalent of Luke losing his hand? Maybe that's not a 'perfect' mirroring...

Anyone else see any other correlations?

 

The GI stepping out from behind Vader like Boba Fett did on Cloud City.

Reva using Obi-Wan to bait Vader. Like Vader used Han and Leia to bait Luke. (This has been a progression through the series. Reva using Leia to bait Obi-Wan to bait Vader. There's always a bigger fish I wonder how that's going to proceed. Maybe Reva using Bail's transmission to try again.)

 

There are some parallels that can be drawn in the Sequel Trilogy again too.

That aforementioned attack on the base also has shades of the attack on the resistance hideout in TLJ, that other middle episode (which itself is a call back to ESB so it's kind of inevitable!).

It's like a reimagining played out in miniature - the 'big gun'/'Death Star tech' pointed and firing at the base, with the troopers/AT-ATs poised to attack, and their 'dark side' leader Reva/Kylo-Ren in the middle of it all.

Then out walks 'the Jedi', with a plan that doesn't involve fighting.

Then there's that thing where a powerful Force user pulls at a ship as it's taking off and it gets destroyed? And then it turns out there was ANOTHER ship? That is very reminiscent of the moment Rey 'discovers' her dark powers in TROS. So much so that I even knew what was going to happen before it happened!

 

This was another thing I could help but laugh at. ‘Remember that shuttle fake out scene in TROS that everyone universally beloved and never found a single fault with? Yep, we’re doin’ it again, everybody! You’re welcome.’ Gotta respect that moxy.

 

Yeah... maybe we're meant to laugh! Perhaps they put it in as a joke, like their own Robot Chicken skit. All that's missing is Vader dropping his head and breathing out a deflated sigh.

 

I feel it works well enough on its own terms. Vader was narrowly focused on what was in front of him and didn’t perceive the larger deception at play - like in their duel. It’s organic to the situation and representative of the character and theme. But also, yeah, those huge space ships are just so darn sneaky. Peek-a-boo!

 

Oh yeah absolutely. They played Vader in that moment exactly right. I'm joking about it intending to be a joke scene.

 

Kenobi's offer to Reva was very similar to Vader's to Luke in TESB (though obviously a reverse).

Also, his sensing of the danger in Reva finding the comlink reminded me a bit of Vader's and Luke's final moment of "contact" via the force in TESB.

Jimbam reminded me a bit of the halls of Echo Base, and it's probably a bit of a reach but it's kinda neat how the red dirt there looks a bit like the earth under Crait's Salt... itself a planet that superficially was meant to invoke Hoth.

 

Yeah I followed up with a comment about comparing it to the scene in TLJ too - I'd not noticed the sand though. And Obi-Wan coming out to face the attackers just like Luke out of TLJ too.