The finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi wraps up the series with two confrontations with great resolutions! Spoilers ahead as we conclude season one! Re:wind to the end of “Part V”, Obi-Wan is going to surrender at the Attack on Jabiim, giving his equipment to Haja. I get turning over his weapons, which should be to Roken, but equipment? Obi-Wan says to Reva, “I’m bringing him to you.” Obi-Wan whispers that Vader’s focus will be on him so she can strike! Reva nods that Stormtroopers should take him back to the base. Flashback: the last part of the duel, Anakin bats away Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, and he smiles. Obi-Wan tells him that he is overconfident. Darth Vader walks up to Reva and then heads to the base. Leia is attacked by Lola, she is able to take out its control chip, and the evil, red light is turned blue.
Vader sees the fallen Stormtroopers. Leia opens the access door. Sully gets everyone on the ship, Leia hugs Ob-Wan, and Haja scrambling to get on the ship drops the imagecaster! Darth Vader enters as the cargo ship lifts off, but he drags it down using the Force, and rips away its hull. Then, he finds the actual ship takes off, the old Rope-a-dope! Back to the duel, Obi-Wan spins away as Anakin tries to strike him, he elbows Anakin and then uses the Force to pull away his lightsaber! Obi-Wan says he is a “great warrior”, but unless he develops from his need to prove himself, he will always be a Padawan! This absolutely explains the scene in Star Wars where Vader says, “When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master.” My favorite scene with Anakin Skywalker and Hayden Christensen! Vader contemplates as he sees his failure.
Reva brings her lightsaber down on Vader, but it is held back with the Force. He turns saying Obi-Wan used her, she screams, powerful acting by Moses Ingram! She uses her lightsaber, but it is dodged and held back with the Force. A very martial arts scene. Reva activates her double blades and then the spins the blades. It is slowed by Vader and he pulls it with the Force! He breaks the lightsaber and tosses her one part. In a way, Sith vs. Sith (in a way) like Maul vs. Dooku in the comic book, Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir (2014). Reva takes up the lightsaber, she is quick, dodging around Vader, and he throws his lightsaber! She bats it away and moves in, Vader strikes her and now has two lightsabers! The same move as when he faced Count Dooku in RoTS! He walks towards her and she sees Anakin killing at the Jedi Temple. Vader skewers her and Reva falls. Darth Vader says he remembers her as a youngling! Then, the Grand Inquisitor enters.
He says revenge had kept him alive. It is never explained how he survived, a cyborg patch like Fennec, or a portable bacta treatment? A lightsaber destroys the organs and tissue it pierces so they would need to be replaced. The same with Reva. GI takes her badge and says they will leave her in the gutter. On the transport, Roken tells Obi-Wan that the hyperdrive failed. Reva strains to reach her lightsaber. Then, she sees the imagecaster! Obi-Wan senses the disturbance in the Force. Reva sees the distorted message from Bail about the children, going to Tatooine, and the boy! Obi-Wan looks at Leia. Then, we move to the sunset moisture farm of Owen Lars and then a closeup of a sleeping Luke Skywalker! It should be noted that one of the co-writers of Episode V and VI is Andrew Stanton! He is of course the writer and director of John Carter (2012). I hope that he directs an episode of two for a season two! I also need to point out that the last episodes had tension and drama from the score by Natalie Holt, it puts the show on my soundtrack list. The finale begins with a pan up to Mos Eisley.
The bully foreman, Groff (Heath McGough), cuts into a queue to take some water from the vendor, Dardin (Hossein Mardani). We saw both characters in Episode 1. He is interrupted by Reva in a hooded cloak! She says she is looking for Owen! Then, we see the freighter flying before the Devastator, almost a parallel to Star Wars (1977). Vader walks to the bridge and orders heavy fire. How strong are tractor beams? All you have to do is keep ahead of a Star Destroyer? The Millennium Falcon could do so only for a short time. Inside the freighter’s hull, we have the refugees, this is Leia with Haja and Obi-Wan. Corran and his mother are also there. Roken tries to reassure them and also tells Sully that they are headed to Tessen, an unknown planet. Obi-Wan asks about the real situation with Roken. They won’t last long. Leia shows Lola to young Corran and he says he might need Lola too. Owen Lars and Luke enter a parts shop and the owner, a new alien, asks what they need. Luke says a new speeder belt. Dardin enters to warn Owen. Leia is angry that Ben is leaving.
Obi-Wan tells them that he needs to help the Path for all of the work they did for the Jedi. Roken and Sully disagree. Also, Leia runs off and Haja says she needs some alone time. Obi-Wan has him promise to take Leia home and he gives his word. Beru is working on some equipment when Owen and Luke arrive at the farm. He tells her inside that Reva is coming, Ben is gone, and she comes back with asking who is at fault there. He wants to run and hide in the desert. Beru doesn’t want to leave her home and pulls out some blaster rifles, she’s a Whitesun, tough as they come. Also, this is the most we have seen of Bonnie Piesse play the character. She expects Reva by sundown. Haja tried to talk to Leia and then Ben gives it a try. She brings up his promise. Ben gives her Tala’s holster found by Roken. She hugs Ben and him promise to return. Alone, Obi-Wan contemplates his lightsaber, and tells Qui-Gon that he must face the former Anakin for the last time. Roken tells Obi-Wan that the dropship is ready, dropship?, I was expecting an escape pod.
Roken realizes that Obi-Wan wants to confront Vader. Obi-Wan tells him to continue to be a leader. Roken replies, “I’m just getting started.” The freighter drops a ramp and the dropship pulls away from it. The Grand Inquisitor wants to hunt the “insurgents.” Darth Vader orders the pursuit of Obi-Wan. We see the purplish sunset of the moisture farm. Owen tells Luke to stay in a room and run if asked. Beru hugs and reassures young Luke. The dropship veers away from the Star Destroyer and heads for an unknown planet. Vader orders his ship to be ready so he can pursue him alone. Obi-Wan lands the dropship on the world of rocky spires and green skies. The Devastator heads towards the planet and Vader takes a Lambda-class shuttle down. Maybe he didn’t have his TIE Advanced X1, but I think Vader would at least fly a TIE fighter. Obi-Wan gets ready and then sees Lola, Leia thought he needed some comfort.
It is dark when Reva, still wounded, staggers to the moisture farm. All of the farm lights are red, Owen and Beru get the intruder alarm, Reva takes out her lightsaber. The Imperial shuttle lands at the planet. Vader descends the ramp to face Obi-Wan. He walks toward his rival, it feels like a Western gunfight, rocky spires on Obi-Wan’s side and a half moon above Vader. Obi-Wan goes into the same lightsaber stance facing Grievous in RoTS! I love their back to back dueling! Plus, the "Duel of the Fates"-like music. Reva walks into the homestead and then is fired upon by Owen and Beru! We know Reva is a threat even when wounded, but we also know that Beru and Owen survive. The duel has moved towards the spires with lightsabers shattering rock in the close quarters. Obi-Wan strikes Vader’s hand and then tries to bring down a spire using the Force. He is impressed with Obi-Wan at full strength. I love Obi-Wan’s behind the back block! Vader hits the ground with his lightsaber and then causes a crack to envelop his opponent and drop him down!
Vader drops down more heavy rocks down with the Force, Obi-Wan doesn’t use the Force jump? He says his master has failed and leaves the rubble. Reva has Owen cornered on a rampart, she tosses a container that strikes away his rifle, she is impressed that Owen loves Luke. He hits her with a pole like the one from the Death Star trash compactor and injures Reva’s side! Owen strikes her side, more pain, and she severs his pole before knocking him to the floor. He has injured his leg and screams a warning to Beru. She enters a room and just gets a smack from Beru! Again, an action scene for Piesse! Luke climbs out on a ladder and then runs. Reva chases after him screaming in rage and pain! Within the landslide, Obi-Wan is trying to hold it back with the Force, and he hears the voices of Anakin and Darth Vader from the past. Then, he has vision of Luke and Leia that gives him the strength to break free!
Vader drops down more heavy rocks down with the Force, Obi-Wan doesn’t use the Force jump? He says his master has failed and leaves the rubble. Reva has Owen cornered on a rampart, she tosses a container that strikes away his rifle, she is impressed that Owen loves Luke. He hits her with a pole like the one from the Death Star trash compactor and injures Reva’s side! Owen strikes her side, more pain, and she severs his pole before knocking him to the floor. He has injured his leg and screams a warning to Beru. She enters a room and just gets a smack from Beru! Again, an action scene for Piesse! Luke climbs out on a ladder and then runs. Reva chases after him screaming in rage and pain! Within the landslide, Obi-Wan is trying to hold it back with the Force, and he hears the voices of Anakin and Darth Vader from the past. Then, he has vision of Leia that gives him the strength to break free!
Obi-Wan, tearful, admits to failing Anakin. The Dark Lord of the Sith replies in a voice wavering between Anakin and Darth Vader that he killed Anakin Skywalker. He leaves saying his friend has died and says goodbye to Darth. Obi-Wan couldn’t turn Anakin to the light side, only a Skywalker could do so. He has left his rival behind because he is defeated. Darth Vader screams his name. Luke tries to run quietly on the ledge, Reva uses the Force to pull Luke down, and Obi-Wan senses his danger. He takes the ship to lightspeed, a dropship with lightspeed capabilities?, this is like the Defiant in DS9. Reva moves towards the unconscious Luke and activates her lightsaber! She sees herself as a youngling in Luke’s place, flashes back to her traumatic experience at the Jedi Temple, and raises her lightsaber! The dropship heads to Tatooine. It lands next to the moisture farm as Owen and Beru call out his name. Then, Beru gets Ben’s attention, a figure is carrying Luke. This is Reva who has made the choice to not inflict the same pain as Anakin to his son. It doesn’t redeem her, but she doesn’t follow the path of Darth Vader.
Reva is exhausted and lays down Luke. The young Skywalker sighs, Beru and Owen take him away, Reva tearfully says she couldn’t do it, take her revenge for her fellow younglings. She is distraught since she failed them, but Obi-Wan says her mercy gave them peace. A powerful, emotional moment. She drops her lightsaber and Obi-Wan says she is free. Reva is not on the path of redemption, she was part of the Jedi killing at the beginning, inflicted pain and injury to countless people. Her path is like Asaaj Ventress, see Dark Disciple (2015). Fortress Vader on Mustafar, in his throne room, Darth Vader (with new helmet) speaks to the hologram of the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid)! It is great to see again McDiarmid as the Emperor. He reports that every probe is scanning the last location of Obi-Wan. The Emperor says his apprentice’s thoughts of Obi-Wan has made him weak. Vader says, “Kenobi means nothing.” His revenge is over, we get the Imperial March, and of course the Lords of the Sith novel is not canon now.
We have the forests panning up to the city of Aldera and the snowy mountains. Closeups of Leia getting ready with her new holster. Her mother, Breha, sees her and loves the holster, Leia smiles. We don’t see the reunion when Leia returns, but we don’t need it. A transport lands as Leia’s family is there. Leia tells her father, Bail, that she will need to change things, and he says they will change things together. Family moment. Leia expects more cousins, but of course it is Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lola. Bail worries about her future and Obi-Wan says he will return when needed. He sees Leia who tells him he should sleep, a hearty laugh, he tells Princess Leia Organa about her parents. Her wisdom and kind like her mother. She has the passion and fearless qualities of her father. Leia looks to her parents and says she doesn’t need to know more. Ben says he will be there for her, but it must be kept a secret. We hear the Force theme as he leaves. Obi-Wan packs up, he has to leave his cave, and go out into the world. He sees a bag with the T-16 toy. Owen sees Obi-Wan ride up on Akkani, ha!, now I know its name!
His tunic is not tan, but white, the cloak is not heavy, but light at his sides, plus goggles, this is the look of Obi-Wan in Star Wars #15 (2015). Obi-Wan says to Owen he now agrees with him that Luke needs to be a boy. As he is about to return to his eopie, Owen asks if he wants to meet Luke, this might be a break with canon. I hoped he would have his cloak on so he could be remembered as “Old Ben who lives beyond the Dune Sea.” He already met Luke as an infant. He rides on Akkani to a canyon, waiting there is a Force ghost. Qui-Gon Jinn turns and says, “Well, it took you long enough.” Liam Neeson makes his return after The Phantom Menace (1999), 23 years ago, he voiced the character in special episodes of Clone Wars. He says he was always there, but Obi-Wan was not ready. He says “We have a ways to go.” Obi-Wan smiles. There are unanswered questions: What happened to the Path? Where is Quinlan Vos? What happens to Reva? I will wait patiently for season two. Great work by Deborah Chow who directed all of the episodes, plus Ewan McGregor, Vivien Lyra Blair, Moses Ingram, the cast and crew! Obi-Wan Kenobi’s finale, “Part VI”, fulfills the Jedi’s journey concluding a defining duel with Darth Vader, and gives hope that not everyone falls to the Dark Side.
Five Lightsabers out of Five!
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