Who watched Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+? I did, and every week it seemed like less of a fun ride and more of a hatewatch. Why? Because it turns out this series is completely unnecessary. So much so that I think the whole Star Wars Universe is better without it. The SWU is getting very convoluted, much like the MCU before it, and the real culprit is of course corporate parent Disney. Now that it’s been a few weeks, and we’ve all got some perspective, it’s time for some truths.
It’s getting very messed up over here
Once upon a time, there were three Star Wars films. We, as young geeks, were left to wonder what the promised episodes 1-3 and 7-9 would look like, and it turns out that to quote a Star Trek episode, it turns out that having a thing is not so pleasing as wanting it. I personally had no real issue with the prequel series, but it’s hard to avoid the fact that the sequel series was a mess. Marked by stark differences in tone and hampered by the lack of an overall plan, episodes 7-9 had something to anger everyone.
And perhaps the worst part of it all is that in order to make those three movies, a lot of good stories got flushed away. A lot of content had been written about the years after Return of the Jedi. In these books and comics, Luke got married, Leia and Han had twins, and the whole New Republic was formed. Most of this content was separated from the SWU and branded as “Star Wars Legacy,” meaning that they were no longer to be considered “canon.” This was done so that new stories could be created. What followed… wasn’t as good as the material it replaced.
The weight of too many tie-ins
I’ve complained lately that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is rapidly collapsing under its own weight. With so many movies and TV shows, it’s impossible to keep all the connections straight. And, for the most part, people don’t want to. It’s reached the point of overload.
The SWU is heading down that same road. What we’re seeing is retcon after retcon that step all over each other and require you to know or care about an increasingly burdensome number of characters to get it all straight. Take, for example, the character “Cad Bane” who appeared in The Book of Boba Fett. You could be forgiven for thinking he’s just some random baddie, but the way he’s introduced it’s clear he’s not. It turns out he’s a fairly important character in Clone Wars, one of an increasing number of tie-in TV series.
Or look at how the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith rather neatly ties into the beginning of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Except then they went and shoehorned in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which literally ends moments before Episode 4 begins. It makes Episode 3 seem less connected.
And now, Obi-Wan
I’ve been largely disappointed by Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s not at all the show I was hoping for, and it too seems to suffer from tie-ins that the average person won’t understand. There is one tie-in that does bring up confusion, though, and it’s the clear fact that Obi-Wan and Leia knew each other before Episode 4. You can wave a little bit of that away by saying Leia was a little girl, Obi-Wan only calls himself Ben, and his appearance changes quite a bit. (Yes, that’s because he was played by two different actors but let’s assume in-universe that he just aged a lot in the desert.)
My point though is that the Leia-Ben relationship doesn’t help to improve Episode 4 at all. That relationship didn’t need improvement. Having Leia there is just so Obi-Wan can have an off-world story for a good reason. It doesn’t serve the overall universe, it just makes it more confusing.
Another big issue for me is the lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan and Vader in the new series. We have always been led to believe that the last time these two saw each other was in their climactic fight on Mustafar. And that’s a much more dramatic way to end the relationship. It also makes the line “When I left you I was but a learner. Now I am the master.” Sticking in another meeting between these two doesn’t serve the story. It weakens the overall dramatic structure. It also requires a lot of mental gymnastics to help the viewer interpret the “but a learner” line.
Star Wars: Mouse Droid Tales?
The MCU has resorted to more and more stories with less and less important characters. I expect the SWU will do the same. The Mandalorian tried to do a unique story that didn’t tie to the Skywalkers. They gave up. It seems if there’s no Skywalker connection, there’s no show. That limits the number of good stories you can tell and strains the connections between them.
I’m largely joking about the idea that they could do a series about the mouse droids. Don’t remember them? They were the little droids that ran across the floor in Episode 4, but don’t put it past them. It seems like the rule is, every character has to run into Luke Skywalker at some point. With that, they’re going to run out of good stuff soon. I’d say, they already have.
