First Impressions - Obi Wan Kenobi (2022) 

Today is the day, after a really long wait Obi-Wan Kenobi has finally come to Disney+. The first two episodes are now streaming and I watched it as soon as I could and here are my first impressions of the episodes. There will be spoilers here for the episodes so read on with caution. 

There was another Jedi on Tatooine  

At the beginning of the show, we see the Inquisitors arrive on Tatooine. But they are not there for Kenobi, another Jedi has been hiding there too and they have been worse at hiding then Obi-wan. By the end of the episode this Jedi is killed and it really shows how the Jedi Order is dying. 

Reva wants to find Kenobi

Though they aren't there for him, one of the inquisitors is hunting Kenobi specifically. Reeva makes it clear that she wants to find Kenobi, it seems that she wants to gain favour with Darth Vader by doing this but I wonder if they are going to reveal a more personal reason for her hunt for him. 

Owen Lars protects Kenobi

A big sequence sees Reeva & The Fifth Brother hunting for the Jedi. Reeva threatens to kill Owen Lars if he doesn't give up the location of the Jedi. Owen refuses and only escapes death due to the 5th brother stopping Reva. It shows that though they disagree, Owen has respect for Obi-Wan and that he knows one day Luke might need training to defend himself. 

Leia Organa is kidnapped

It has been reported for a while that the reason Obi-Wan leaves Tatooine is to rescue Leia Organa and that was confirmed here. Firstly, I think the young actress they got to play Leia is fantastic and feels like a younger version of this iconic character. But she gets herself kidnapped by mercenary's who Reeva has hired to draw out Obi-Wan. 

Bail Organa recruits Obi-Wan

It was great to see Jimmy Smitts back as Bail Organa and him travelling to Tatooine to recruit Obi-Wan made it feel like a big moment. For him to leave Luke in order to try and save Leia was an emotion inducing moment and made it seem realistic that he would go on this mission. 

Obi-Wan rescues Leia and reconnects with the force

So Kenobi eventually finds and rescues Leia, the dynamic between the two of them is fantastic and it is great to see the two of them having fun. Ewan McGregor really does a great job of showing this character grow in confidence and then the drama by the end of the episode. He also saves Leia using the force, it is clear he hasn't used the force in a long time and this is a big moment for his character. 

Temuera Morrison makes a cameo as a clone trooper

Probably the biggest surprise is the scene where Obi-wan sees a homeless clone trooper begging played by Temuera Morrison. It's a great fan service moment, but I thought it was really effective in showing how the Empire dumped the clones once they started training there own troops for the Empire. Hopefully, this can lead to Morrison getting the chance to play more clones in live action. 

Kumail Nanjiani helps Obi-Wan

The great Kumail Najiani makes an appearance here as a conman pretending to be a Jedi. Obviously this upsets Kenobi but by the end of the episode he ends up helping Obi-Wan & Leia showing a small redemptive arc. He then has a confrontation with Reva, we don't know what happens to his character but hopefully this isn't the last of him. 

Reva Possibly kills the Grand Inquisitor

Throughout the first two episodes we see Reva clashing with both the Fifth Brother & The Grand Inquisitor and this reaches its conclusion in the 2nd episode. After finding Kenobi, the Grand Inquisitor wants to fight him, Reeva stabs him with her Lightsaber in order for her to take on the Jedi Master. Now it would seem that The Grand Inquisitor is dead but I don't buy it unless they are changing Canon. The Grand Inquisitor is the main villain of the first season of Star Wars Rebels which is set after this show. So either he survives this, which I think is likely or Rebels is being wrote out of canon which I doubt. 

Obi-Wan finds out Anakin is still alive

Throughout the episodes. Obi-Wan is clearly still grieving over Anakin and his failure. At the end of the 2nd episode Reva reveals to Kenobi that Anakin Skywaker is alive as Darth Vader, though it does beg to wonder how she knows Vader's true identity. The final shot of the episode shows Vader in his bacta tank and it is clear that the showdown is coming 

Overall

Overall the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi was fantastic and is a dream for all fans of Star Wars. I can't wait to see how it goes with the majority of trailer footage in these two episodes it is likely to continue with the surprises.