Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season Finale Review

The sixth episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi can be seen on Disney+. The Obi-Wan Kenobi: Episode 5 Review is a good place to start.

The best is yet to come from Obi-Wan Kenobi. A fantastic season finale that delivers on both action and emotion is what makes stories come to an end. In an episode that is a near-essential piece of Star Wars viewing, Ewan McGregor delivered some of his best moments as Obi Wan.

With the A New Hope-inspired freighter chase, Obi-Wan gives us a heavy dose of nostalgia, with Leia on board pursued by a Darth Vader Star Destroyer. The princess isn't his target this time.

There are great moments in Star Wars.

We have come to expect leadership from Obi-Wan, but also a softer side from him, and that is what he has delivered through the course of the series. The crux of earlier episodes was his relationship with Leia but was neglected in recent episodes. It's great to see them get a dedicated moment to say their farewell for now and wrap a bow on a story that has really enhanced our understanding of the characters and their connection to one another.

That's right.

The show focuses on Vader and his former master. When Obi-Wan silently equips his lightsaber, we are in for a good time. It is an exciting battle that shows Obi-Wan's strength has returned, as he throws boulders at Vader like he is taking on an Elden Ring boss.

The moonlit planet provides a cinematic backdrop for the occasion, once again proving every lightsaber battle is enhanced by taking place in darkness, so red and blue can flood the screen with every swing. Natalie Holt's reworked themes swell in the big moments, even if a small part of me wanted Duel of the Fates to drop in all its glory. A combination of swordplay and force powers is embraced in the choreography.

The words spoken between the two old friends after Vader's helmet is cut open is the most effective part of the battle. For a moment in time, this all-Consuming darkness retreats to reveal that a part of Anakin still exists. You really feel the sadness in Obi-Wan, his regret is mirrored by Anakin's anger. The fight between the dark side and the light side is definitely winning, at least for now, thanks to Vader's voice slipping in and out. Obi-Wan considers his fight to be with the former Jedi, not his new Sith form, despite the fact that Vader considers him dead. You can't help but think that finishing him off would have saved the universe a lot of trouble.

That's right.

When we know that every main character is going to survive, the finale does a good job of increasing the stakes. Reva is a hobbling husk of her former self after she was humiliated by Vader. She stalks the homestead like something out of a horror movie, looking for avenging her loss. This plotline serves its purpose in giving Reva a satisfactory, if not predictable, end to her story, but in truth you can't help but let out a small sigh every time we cut back Tatooine.

The whole show feels caught between telling an Obi-Wan story and one about the Inquisition. You can't help but wonder if there are two great individual seriestussling within Obi-Wan Kenobi that have been meshed together to create one often unfocussed one. It doesn't do much to take away from the excitement of the show. We finally got a burst of the Imperial Theme and a repeat of the line we have been waiting for. Good things happen to those who wait.