Review: Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Part V"
Flashbacks reveal the dimensions of a story that remains sadly muddled by wonky execution
It’s pretty obvious why this show is called Obi-Wan Kenobi: its ostensible purpose from the time it was originally a theatrical project was to bring back Ewan McGregor and create a bridge between the end of the prequel trilogy and the beginning of the original one.
And yet it is in many ways a misleading title for a show that clearly has aspirations beyond Obi-Wan’s character. Although the show only has six episodes to work with, the addition of Vader into the story naturally necessitates a consideration of where Anakin is emotionally at this stage, and bringing in a young Leia technically serves both of their stories but also becomes its own thing. And by choosing to introduce Reva as a secondary antagonist—or, as we learn here, protagonist?—the show risks overloading the time available, not to mention the need to build meaningful connections to characters like Tala so they have someone to make a noble sacrifice in the siege of the Path base on Jablim.