Okay the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is actually pretty great.

I'm going to talk about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney +, and there are spoilers ahead. This is your warning. 

I just finished up the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney +. Despite my reservations earlier in the series (and Andrew calling me out on being a bit on the harsh side), this series did satisfy me a lot. The final battle between Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi was really good (as good as the Darth Maul fight in Phantom Menace). And I just gotta say...Vader is so powerful, but he's also a bitch. I loved seeing how destructive and impulsive a character he actually is. We didn't get to see a lot of that in the original trilogy, but now that I can see just how much of a whiny and angry kid Anakin was, Darth Vader makes even more sense to me as a villain.

All of us...the Star Wars nerds of this world...live in an incredible time when we can get treated to series like Obi-Wan Kenobi and (for lack of a better explanation) feel like a kid again. It still transports me back to that galaxy far, far away. Five minutes in and I'm in that place again, consuming an incredible blend of science fiction and fantasy. Ewan McGregor does an incredible job playing Obi-Wan. He's had this journey from a clean-shaven padawan to a tormented and broken protector to a Jedi that wields power every bit as powerful as that of Mace Windu and Yoda. The levitating boulders scene gave me chills. Darth Vader and Obi-Wan fighting is an epic clash of two powerful masters of the force that is rare to see in these shows.

And now, with the end of this series, I have questions. What is to become of Reva now? She's a former youngling turned into a killing machine for the empire, she was Grand Inquisitor for a while, Vader failed to see her dead, and now she's on some redemption arc? I'm intrigued by this new character, and I wonder if it will feed into the Ahsoka show that is supposed to be launching next year. Also, the fact that she survived being impaled by Vader's lightsaber and Qui-Gon somehow could not survive Darth Maul's is weird. I chalk it up to something said in the show about "revenge and hate keeping someone alive." Maybe Qui-Gon was just too at piece for him to be able to sustain his own lifeforce once his body had been impaled. The Force works in mysterious ways, but that's just nitpicking.

Another question? Where is Obi-Wan going? It didn't seem like (to me) that he was just moving a little farther away from where Luke was living to build his house. But maybe he was. There was a sense though that he might be off to help the Rebellion just a little bit more before he becomes the old man that leads Luke on his first adventure to the Death Star to save a Princess who just happens to be his sister. There probably isn't going to be a season two of this show, but I'd like it very much if there was. From the looks of things, they've got about six years or so before they catch up to "A New Hope." That leaves plenty of time for some good storytelling.

Anyone else finish watching this series and enjoy it overall?

In the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series the powerful jedi master we all knew is just a shell of his former self.

What can we say about Obi-Wan Kenobi? First, there is a spoiler warning, as I'm going to talk about Obi-Wan here in this blog and air some of my feelings about the show.

I really don't know what I expected from this series. It's more Star Wars which (in my opinion) is always good. But did I expect that Obi-Wan was going to be so weak? So unsure of himself? So...not the Jedi Master I remember. I watched Obi-Wan (just like legions of other fans) secure his place in Star Wars history by being a blazing lightsaber that never waned. He took down Anakin Skywalker, who had chosen to join the emperor...uncompromisingly so...and on his way there a thousand stories were told by Dave Filoni in Clone Wars. Obi-Wan was a badass. In every scene he was a titanic figure that meant business everytime he appeared.

So...why didn't I expect him to be broken the same as Luke Skywalker was broken in The Last Jedi? Why had I deluded myself that...yes...he would be on Tatooine watching Luke but that his entire outlook on life had left him with feebleness and uncertainty? He buried his lightsaber in the desert, he was working in a meat packing plant, and he was a lonely and obviously smelly hermit. It was obvious that he hadn't used the Force in years. He was so completely broken that he refused to help a force-sensitive Jedi to escape the Inquisition, gave that Jedi incredibly bad advice, and then he had to literally be dragged kicking and screaming to save Leia. This was not an Obi-Wan that could ever have protected Luke, which is what he had been tasked to do. So what was he even doing there? The Inquisitors could have run him over at any time...easy.

In this timeline running up to A New Hope, the 1977 release of Star Wars, I had previously thought that the most powerful "Jedi" left in the galaxy were Yoda and Obi-Wan. But that is completely untrue. The most powerful "Jedi" left were Yoda and Ahsoka Tano, even though Ahsoka walked away from an appointment within their ranks. She had the title, she just refused to take it (but that still counts in my book). Obi-Wan (at this time) was nothing but a broken foolish man who could maybe do some parlor tricks if he concentrated hard enough. When Vader appeared on the mining colony striding in at the peak of his deadly powers, Obi-Wan cowered in fear of him. All he wanted to do was run. And he could barely hold his lightsaber, because his hands were shaking so much. What the hell? Look...I get it. We're supposed to get from the Obi-Wan that killed Darth Maul in his youth to the old man who can barely do anything in A New Hope. That is the final destination for this train. However, I wasn't expecting Obi-Wan to fall off the horse quite so fast or with the lack of grace that (I guess) comes with the knowledge that you raised a psychopathic murderer and unleashed him on your entire civilization.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still watching the show. I know that there will never be another blazing lightsaber battle between a Sith Lord and Obi-Wan Kenobi that harkens to bygone days, where I'm like, "Yeah...that's the hero I remember." And that just makes me a little sad for this character, which is (I suppose) how all of us are supposed to feel. He failed in a huge way, and he's obviously never going to forgive himself. So, he's going to go down with the ship. It's a good thing that Dave Filoni has created some characters we can really sink our teeth into and cheer for as the old guard has its sun set upon it forever.

Anyone else out there watching Obi-Wan Kenobi? Am I being a bit harsh here? Let me know in the comments.

What is there for Obi-Wan Kenobi to do in his own series eight years after Revenge of the Sith?

There's a lot of people who think that the Disney + streaming service is going to save Star Wars. It seems like a bit of an overreaction given that there seems to be an insatiable appetite for all things Star Wars. I guess when movies like Solo and The Last Jedi fail to hit certain expectations, despite it still making buttloads of money, the general "overreaction" seems to be to panic and then claim that the whole thing is now destined to go straight down the toilet.

I (among many) am looking forward to the streaming service's launch in November, not just for original series like The Mandalorian and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series (starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan), but for the other Marvel series that have been announced. However, I've got to say that after my initial joy of hearing that Obi-Wan was getting his own television series post Revenge of the Sith, I started to wonder what that might look like. And given what I know of what happens, it's actually starting to sound a bit boring.

From what I know, Obi-Wan basically watches over Luke on Tattooine until he's an old man, occasionally going into Mos Eisley for supplies and a drink and to rough some people up, but he's essentially retired. I mean...there's some obvious drama that could happen between Uncle Owen and Obi-Wan...the comics have hinted at this much in panels like the one below:

But how could stuff like that fill a series? The above conflict would be a single episode that I'd watch. And we know what happened...Luke Skywalker by the time of A New Hope barely knew Ben Kenobi. So he spent zero time around him (his uncle having won the argument against Ben training him).

I'm also hoping that it's not a whole series of things like a young Luke bullseyeing a womprat in his T-16 while Obi-Wan watches from the bluffs, using the Force to freeze them in place before each shot. That would just be silly. I'm hoping there's more to Obi-Wan than just hanging out on Tattooine. But with Darth Vader on the loose and the Emperor hunting down all of the remaining Jedi, it seems to me that hiding in one place might be the only thing he does for sixteen years. So what do you think? What is there for Obi-Wan Kenobi to do in his own series eight years after Revenge of the Sith? Any ideas? I look forward to your comments.

Queen Miraj Scintel

Queen Miraj Scintel was a villain in Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' fourth season. She appears in episode twelve called "Slaves of the Republic."

The theme of slavery is nothing new to the Star Wars canon. Anakin was a slave at one time, and his mother remained a slave for the majority of her life. In "Slaves of the Republic" Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka go undercover to infiltrate the slavers on the planet Zygerria in order to find colonists (members of Ahsoka's people) who have been kidnapped from Kiros and forced into slavery. In the slave markets near the palace, Ahsoka draws unwelcome attention when she prevents a slaver from whipping one of his slaves. Anakin slyly gets them out of the mess and gets an invite to the palace by order of the queen herself.

Anakin force-choking the queen. I guess she was a villain, so this kind
of behavior is acceptable, right? Or is it foreshadowing to come?

Posing as a slaver, Anakin is quick to win the queen's favor. He claims he killed a guy named Bruno Denturri and seized Ahsoka from his abode. He also flirts with the Queen. While Anakin is conversing thus, one of the Queen's slaves attempts to stab her and Anakin intervenes. As a result, the slave throws herself to her death. The queen needing a replacement, takes Ahsoka as her new slave. Having won her heart, the queen invites Anakin to the slave auction that night (you get the impression that this is kind of a first date thing).

I love the ancient Egyptian feel of this episode. 

While Anakin is keeping the queen busy, Obi-Wan rescues the captured governor of Kiros from the slave pits. But the governor doesn't know where all of his people are. Helping the governor to escape, Obi-Wan is captured and of course, tortured. All slave masters torture you know? And Obi-Wan being a famous Jedi does not go unnoticed by the queen.

So you can see where this is going. At the auction that night, the Queen announces a special entertainment and invites Anakin to whip Obi-Wan. Anyway, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka are soon exposed for what they are (the queen is no fool!) and she forces Anakin to be her sex slave saying that she'll hurt his friends if he doesn't pleasure her.

And the same emotional blackmail is used against Obi-Wan and Ahsoka by holding hostage innocent people who will be tortured and killed if they rebel against her.

Anyway, this episode is a great example of where you start to see Anakin's moral compass fray around the edges. It's really quite terrible that Jedi who experience intense emotions and act upon them are basically embracing the dark side. It seems only human to want to protect your own from being hurt. Yet to do just that is oftentimes what separates the Sith from the Jedi.

Have a great Friday :)

Obi-Wan Kenobi would have left the Jedi Order for Duchess Satine

A collage of many scenes involving Duchess Satine and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Duchess Satine before she died, "Had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order." After he said that, it was hard not to burst into tears. Oy...what a heart wrenching scene.

After Satine's death, he was asked, "Did you love Satine?"

Obi-Wan replied, "As a Jedi, I'm not to form emotional attachments. But, yes. I did."

In a way, I'm glad that they canceled The Clone Wars cartoon series. The death of Duchess Satine really put a cap on it. She was Obi-Wan's greatest and probably only love in his life, and arguably one of the most influential figures in the canon (mostly because I think Obi-Wan Kenobi was the greatest hero of the Old Republic).

In the clip below, I've embedded the only scene in which I can recall where Obi-Wan Kenobi fights with a red lightsaber. He does joke to Asajj Ventress that "It's not my color." Setup: Darth Maul and his apprentice Savage Oppress are about to kill Obi-Wan when Asajj Ventress (a Sith who is a recurring character and not entirely bad) comes to the rescue. I really got to where I liked Ventress. Sure, she hated the Jedi but she had her reasons. She always fought with two lightsabers and because Obi-Wan doesn't have one (and they're about to be attacked) he borrows one of hers. It's an awesome fight scene.

And yeah for those of you who don't know, Darth Maul didn't die in episode 1: The Phantom Menace. He just got cut in half, abandoned by Palpatine, and pieced together with artificial legs.

The Mandalore Plot

The soldiers of "Death Watch." They are dressed in Mandalorian armor,
which should remind you of Boba Fett.  Click to embiggen. Yes, this is
an actual screenshot from the Clone Wars and not a painting. The
animation is really THAT good. NOTE: this is not from the episode I'm
talking about. It's just a really cool screen grab. Dude on the throne is
Darth Maul (this is from season 5) Guy without a helmet in front of Maul
is the Governor of Concordia (moon of Mandalore).

"The Mandalore Plot" is the twelfth episode in Season Two of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, and I think, stands out as a pinnacle of good storytelling. Here's why in a nutshell:

1) Mandalore is a world behaving similar to the nation of Switzerland on Earth. It's neutral. It wants to stay out of the conflict going on between the Separatists (the droid armies and Count Dooku) and the galactic government.

2) Mandalorian armor is the stuff that Boba Fett wears. It's the really cool tight-fitting combat armor that you now see everywhere from G.I. Joe, to first-person shooters, to Iron-Man, to my own books, etc. Just think "athletic young guys wearing sexy battle armor" and you got the picture.

Duchess Satine. The headress she wears smacks of Queen Amidala
in episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Anyway, I really got to like her (more so
than Amidala). I think it had to do with the fact that her love to Obi-Wan
never seemed forced because let's face it, Lucas had to get Anakin and
Amidala together in like the screen time of two hours flat.

3) Mandalore is ruled by a woman by the name of Duchess Satine. Satine is beautiful, smart, bold, and a really charismatic character. And she becomes a staple in the series, appearing in many episodes because Obi-Wan Kenobi ends up falling in love with her. Yes, the Clone Wars cartoon series is the only place we actually see what Obi-Wan's life could have been because it's never revealed in the movies that he loved a woman.

4) "The Mandalore Plot" is a mystery/thriller that unfolds intricately and weaves its way into other storylines that pass from episode to episode. I like that. We also get a recurring villain in the Governor of Concordia (moon of Mandalore).

Here's a summary for you on what happens in the episode:

Obi-Wan arrives on Mandalore and meets Duchess Satine (of course he thinks she's pretty groovy looking). Satine tells Obi-Wan of a rogue group of Mandalorians called Death Watch who may be responsible for terrorist attacks on a Republic cruiser. They are criminals hiding out on the moon Concordia.

Death Watch launches a terrorist attack on Mandalore and both Obi-Wan and Satine chase down a man responsible who tries to jump to his death rather than be interrogated. A few seconds before he bites it, he whispers some last words to the Duchess in the dialect of Concordia.

Below is the short video clip wherein you see the explosion done by the terrorist group, Death Watch, and a conversation between Obi-Wan and Duchess Satine. Again, the animation is amazing.

So Satine and Obi-Wan pay a visit to Concordia. She goes to dinner with the Governor of the moon wearing a wire in her ear through which she can hear Obi-Wan (women are so duplicitous). Meanwhile he goes to investigate a "non-operational" mine. Obi-Wan gets captured by Death Watch, Satine hears it, and goes off to save him! It turns out that the Governor is the leader of Death Watch and he and Obi-Wan battle lightsaber vs. darksaber in a duel (of course Obi-Wan wins). The Governor escapes though and orders his Death Watch to kill them both. Obi-Wan and Satine escape Concordia to Mandalore safely, and despite the evidence that the Separatists are aiding Death Watch, Satine insists on Mandalore staying neutral.

Obi-Wan protecting his babe, Satine, who's hiding up on the rocks behind
him. He's facing off against the Governor wielding a darksaber pictured
below.

The Governor of Concordia. In his hands is the afore-mentioned darksaber.
I've no idea how it's different than a lightsaber. Maybe Andrew will stop
by and let us all know in a comment. I do kind of dig the Gov's mohawk.