Friday, June 3, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Part II”, Review!

Last ep, re:run: Again, there is the same scene at the factory and hovertrain, a solemn crowd sees a man hung from an arch.  Obi-Wan sees that it is the young Jedi, Nari.  He returns to his cave, but the droid has a red warning light.  He sees a hooded figure, it is Bail, who says that Leia was taken to Daiyu.  Obi-Wan says he can’t leave Luke.  Bail gives his friend harsh truths that Anakin couldn’t be saved.  In the holding cell, Leia is bound, but manages to activate Lola.  Nokru sees Lola and smashes her on the floor!  Obi-Wan travels out to the desert to dig.  Nokru activates a communications channel.  Obi-Wan uncovers a box with two lightsabers.  The hologram of Third Sister says Kenobi will come for Leia.  Obi-Wan walks to a spaceport to travel to Daiyu.  This episode, the transport heads to the side of the greenish planet lit by cities on its dark side.  

It pierces green clouds to reach the spaceport of the megapolis, Daiyu City, with its various city folk and aliens of strange types.  Walking out into the city streets at night, it resembles a Blade Runner (1982) city; brightly lit by signs in Galactic Basic and neon-like red.  We see a Clone Trooper (Temuera Morrison) veteran, bearded with a cloak, asking for credits with his helmet.  He has armor with a blue pauldron, a lieutenant, and the armor is unlike the ones seen in the Star Wars: Rebels episode, “The Lost Commanders” (2015).  Obi-Wan gives him a few credits.  This is more a commentary on military veterans after a war than an important cameo.  Stormtroopers, has him move out of the way, we get the Chow overhead shot.  A female spice dealer, Tetha Grig, with pink hair (Esther-Rose McGregor) offers him several varieties.  Um, Obi-Wan says he’s looking for his daughter, IRL he is doing so.  She places a free sample to his cloak. 


This gets the attention of a kid, Jayco (Jecobi Swain), offers to bring Obi-Wan to a Jedi.  A hooded man (Kumail Nanjiani) brings in a woman (Marise Alvarez) and her boy, Corran (Indie Desroches).  Nanjiani of course was Kingo in The Eternals (2021).  He closes the grilled windows of his office and takes off his hood revealing the face of Haja Estree. A communicator leaps to his hand and he contacts a spaceport using a Jedi Mind Trick, pointing to his forehead.  Haja has given them passage to Corellia to protect the boy.  There was a Corran Horn, a Rogue Squadron pilot, and later a Jedi.  He was in the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (1996) novel that is now Legends.  Haja takes credits from them before sending the family to the spaceport.  He sees Obi-Wan and introduces himself.  Obi-Wan wants to find Leia and knows Haja is pulling a scam with magnets and remotes holding a blaster to him.     



Obi-Wan walks to the location and sees an alien leave, he wears a green cloak, googles, and mask to walk into a drug lab.  He causes a flash to explode using the Force and ducks into a formerly guarded door.  Two workers stop him, Obi-Wan knocks out the Zabrak, a pale version of Maul, and has the other in a throat lock to ask him about the girl.  The fighting may be Jedi training, but is it in the Teras Kasi style from the Legends novel, Shadows of the Empire (1996).  Obi-Wan opens a cell door and sees a cloaked figure.  It is just a droid, it’s a trap!, and the two guards throw him against the wall.  Nokru gut punches Obi-Wan and his lightsaber is taken away.  He mentions the Inquisitor looking for him.  Obi-Wan smashes the vial sending up a spice cloud that chokes the others while he wears his mask.  Reva walks into the facility.  Obi-Wan enters another cell door and is struck.  Leia starts to run out, but she is caught.  


Obi-Wan says he was sent by her father and takes out the suspicious Leia.  They reach the street in disguise.  The gang is tripping on the spice when Reva enters.  Obi-Wan takes off the cloak and Leia sees his lightsaber.  He tells her that they have to reach the spaceport across the city.  Leia is about to rush towards it, but a massive, furry alien walks past her.  He tells the frightened princess to follow his orders.  Reva walks out to meet the Grand Inquisitor, Fifth Brother, and Fourth Sister (Rya Kihlstedt).  She explains that she found the connection with Bail Organa and used his daughter to bring in Kenobi.  Grand Inquisitor calls her “the least of us” from “the gutter.”  He has Fifth Brother to “secrue the city” and orders Third Sister to stand down.  Reva wants Nokru to send out Obi-Wan’s profile to send out across Daiyu City to get bounty hunters to find him so they will lead Obi-Wan to her.  


Obi-Wan walks to the location and sees an alien leave, he wears a green cloak, googles, and mask to walk into a drug lab.  His detective work is a bit like in Attack of the Clones (2002).  He causes a flash to explode using the Force and ducks into a formerly guarded door.  Two workers stop him, Obi-Wan knocks out the Zabrak, a pale version of Maul, and has the other in a throat lock to ask him about the girl.  The fighting may be Jedi training, but is it in the Teras Kasi style from the Legends novel, Shadows of the Empire (1996).  Obi-Wan opens a cell door and sees a cloaked figure.  It is just a droid, it’s a trap!, and the two guards throw him against the wall.  Nokru gut punches Obi-Wan and his lightsaber is taken away.  He mentions the Inquisitor looking for him.  Obi-Wan smashes the vial sending up a spice cloud that chokes the others while he wears his mask.  Reva walks into the facility.  Obi-Wan enters another cell door and is struck.  Leia starts to run out, but she is caught.  



Obi-Wan says he was sent by her father and takes out the suspicious Leia.  They reach the street in disguise.  The gang is tripping on the spice when Reva enters.  Obi-Wan takes off the cloak and Leia sees his lightsaber.  He tells her that they have to reach the spaceport across the city.  Leia is about to rush towards it, but a massive, furry alien walks past her.  He tells the frightened princess to follow his orders.  Reva walks out to meet the Grand Inquisitor, Fifth Brother, and Fourth Sister (Rya Kihlstedt).  She explains that she found the connection with Bail Organa and used his daughter to bring in Kenobi.  Grand Inquisitor calls her “the least of us” from “the gutter.”  He has Fifth Brother to “secrue the city” and orders Third Sister to stand down.  Reva wants Nokru to send out Obi-Wan’s profile to send out across Daiyu City to get bounty hunters to find him so they will lead Obi-Wan to her.  


The holo of Obi-Wan is seen by gamblers and a dinosaur-like bounty hunter.  Obi-Wan sees his face on datapads everywhere. He has Leia put on a green cape, she puts on gloves, and Obi-Wan pays for those too.  Obi-Wan tells her the cover story that they are farmers from Tawl with Leia playing his daughter.  She is still wary that Obi-Wan is a Jedi and wants to see his powers.  He says his name is Ben.  The music by Natalie Holt is tense in this escape scene. Jayco shows Haja the wanted holo on his datapad and mentions the reward. Haja takes his blaster to go with Jayco to find him.  Fourth Sister brings a bounty hunter to the Grand Inquisitor to show him the holo bounty.   Reva scans the rooftops.  Leia takes a rest and shows the damaged Lola.  Obi-Wan is gruff and then shows some kindness about Lola.  Obi-Wan checks on the holo from the knocked out bounty hunter.  Leia thinks that she was the lure to Obi-Wan and starts to run!


An overhead shot as Leia runs through the crowds.  Leia runs under the tall, white furry legs of a Gigoran seen in Rogue One (2016).  She passes some tanks of strange creatures, but then is caught by a bounty hunter!  Obi-Wan blasts him and then takes down another bounty hunter before chasing Leia again.  Fifth Brother marches with Stormtroopers behind him.  Leia climbs up a ladder in an alley.  Obi-Wan follows her.  She reaches the end of a rooftop and sees the Dino bounty hunter who blasts at Obi-Wan!  Reva notices the blaster sounds.  The blaster battle continues.  Reva falls from the rooftop, Spidey style, and then races across the rooftops.  Leia has reached another rooftop edge.  Obi-Wan is caught between the one bounty hunter and another insectoid droid assassin.  Leia tries to make it across in a run, but falls, and catches a cable in time.  Then, she falls crying his name, Obi-Wan reaches out with the Force!  



He struggles, but then Leia is held and slowly lowered to the ground. Obi-Wan catches up to her and she is amazed that he is a Jedi. At the spaceport, Stormtroopers march around it.   Leia wonders about the Inquisitors seeing Fourth Sister and Fifth Brother.  Obi-Wan explains that they were former Jedi.  They were first mentioned in the roleplaying book The Star Wars Sourcebook (1987).  The droid assassin is behind them, but is blasted by Haja.  Obi-Wan just wants Leia to go free.  Haja tells Obi-Wan that the spaceport is locked down and points out they may be able to escape at the automated cargo port.  He directs them to transport eight to Mapuzo.  I wonder if his character will later show up.  Haja only wants to help refugees.  He gives Obi-Wan a chip with coordinates.  Haja puts up his hood to try to delay his pursuers. Nokru is pushed forward towards the Grand Inquisitors spinning lightsaber to find Kenobi.  Then, he screams.  The cat and mouse chase in this episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi is tense, picks up the pace, and introduces great characters!  


Four Lightsabers out of Five! 


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