TV Series Review: Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) Disney+ *Spoiler Section*

TV Series Review: Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) Disney+ Spoiler Section

While I do consider myself a Star Wars fan my fandom is limited to the live action shows and movies. Even though I've watched almost all of The Clone Wars animated series I never really connected with the ongoing stories of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

Though I did like the first prequel, The Phantom Menace, the two subsequent prequels I've always found to be difficult watches. Largely because we get too much in the way of Jedi. They no longer feel special or formidable. In fact with so many youngling Jedi, in addition to all the adult Jedi, being a Jedi seems more like a trade that anyone could study.

I mention all of this to say, as much as I do like Ewan McGregor, a series or movie about Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't anything I was hoping to see but it's live action Star Wars so of course I'm going to watch.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is set a few years after the last prequel, Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan, now going by the name Ben, has made something of a despondent life for himself on Tatooine as he watches over Luke Skywalker from afar.

As the Empire hunts down the few remaining Jedi, Ben is forced to come out of hiding to help an old ally.

As a series Obi-Wan Kenobi falls under the same category as The Book of Boba Fett in that, like that series, this isn't what fans of Kenobi had in mind when they pitched their ideas for a show. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you deliver something even more inspired that the fans embrace.

Unfortunately that hasn't been the case here with the reception being very mixed, much like the show.

The story itself is pretty strong as it unfolds, with an unexpected direction early on that totally makes sense, albeit executed in a very clunky manor. It's not totally clear why a washed up Jedi is the only option for this particular rescue mission given how well resourced Kenobi's ally is but you have to just run with it.

Early on the series has some obviously cringe worthy moments that are as unlikely as a Stormtrooper with any kind of accuracy with a blaster but, if you stick with it, later episodes feature some of the best live action Star Wars you'll see anywhere. Plus this is the most peak Darth Vader we've seen outside of the original movies, in live action, to date.

As I said, this isn't really the show fans were expecting. Kenobi, like Boba Fett in his show, is in a very different place to how he is remembered. He's a broken man going through the motions, only because he was charged with keeping an eye on Luke. That guy isn't going on any 'damn fool idealistic crusade'.

Fortunately, where the character ends up, could lead to a second series more inline with what the fans had in mind. Though at the time of writing no second series had been confirmed.

Kenobi is fine for what it is. It definitely has some strong ideas and makes some really strong contributions to bridging the gap between the prequels and the original trilogy. However it really didn't need to be that.

It could have easily been Obi-Wan going off on a series of damn fool idealistic crusades because, as the show notes, Jedi can't help wanting to help.

As it stands, I did enjoy watching it week to week despite some very questionable, eye rolling moments. However it's not something I'd rewatch with any great enthusiasm. Though I'm down for watching a collection of highlights any day.

Spoiler Section

I just wanted to comment on the final episode and its 15 to 20 ending scenes (well alright, maybe it's not quite that many but there was a lot of ends being tied up in the last 5 minutes).

Reva returns carrying young Luke having just crashed through Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's home looking to take down the kid. Neither Owen nor Beru say anything at all to Reva as Luke is returned. Not so much as a "If you've hurt him..." angry word or even a harsh stare.
Obi-Wan flies all the way to Alderan to say a few words to young Leia then immediately jumps back on his ship and flies off. Leia's parents don't invite him in for a catch up, drinks, or a meal? Does Obi-Wan have some place he has to be? Does he need to get home before the tradies he's booked to renovate his new 'crazy old man' pad show up?
Qui-Gon Jinn shows up just in time to help Obi-Wan renovate his new pad. Can other people see blue force ghosts or is this how Ben gets a reputation for being a 'crazy old man' who talks to himself? It's cool that Jinn shows up but he's kind of late to the party at this point because Kenobi has already resolved his uncertainty and is focused on setting up his new digs.

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of this kind of multiple endings to tie threads up with a series of disjointed scenes. Especially if they don't really leave you with any kind of hook to keep you engaged in any way. Just one ending where everyone gets a medal (even the Wookie) is fine with me.

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

Can You Learn Skateboarding Basics on a Cheap Skateboard?

$20, Mambo 31" x 8", Department Store Skateboard. Over the years I've watched many high profile YouTube skateboarders repeatedly create videos where they purchase a cheap, department store skateboard, ride it like they would their regular professional skateboard, until it breaks (usually within an hour or so), and claim that as a reason for steering clear of these products. Inadvertently what they're doing is creating less demand for cheap skateboards, meaning it's less likely department stores will stock them, resulting in no easy way for first time skaters to 'test the waters' to see if skating is really for them. Even worse, parents looking to get their children into a new sport, may not even see skateboarding as an option as they browse through the department store sports section. At the time of writing, Australian department stores have shelves filled with many different brands of scooters, alongside a small shelf or two of skateboards (and

Movie Review: Air (2023) Amazon Prime No Spoilers

I imagine the general story of how the world's greatest basketballer, Michael Jordan, was signed to Nike doesn't sound all that compelling on a surface level. From his point of view it was a few meetings and making the right choice of which shoe company to sign with. However Air fleshes the story out by finding the key players at Nike and showing the behind the scenes drama that enabled them to take a risk on, what was then an exciting, up and coming rookie, who already had a choice of two leading shoe companies to sign with. Matt Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, the visionary at Nike who saw the future potential of Michael Jordan as a sure thing. He knew Michael wasn't just a great basket ball player but had to find a way to convince his CEO, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), to make a winning pitch to the Jordan family, and particularly Jordan's mother (Viola Davis), that Nike had their son's best interests at heart. From what I understand both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon did

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023) No Spoilers

If you've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and Volume 2 then Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 will not disappoint. I would almost go so far as to call it the best in the series... except seeing the first movie for the first time is still one of my best memories of the MCU. While it's not essential to the story if you didn't see the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ it does kind of lead into and set up where the Guardians are at in Volume 3 quite nicely. In this installment Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not coping with the loss of his timeline's Gamora (Zoe Saldada) when suddenly the team is attacked leaving Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in a very bad way. From then on it's a race to save Rocket as we learn quite a bit about his origin in the process. This movie is slightly darker than the first two and, if you're concerned about the animal cruelty that is causing some people to not want to see the film again, keep in mind, it's j

How I Lost Rock-to-Fakies (and Tried to Get Them Back) - A Skateboard Story

TET, Rock-to-Fakie attempt No# 43 (maybe?) Rock-to-Fakies, the act of riding your skateboard up a ramp, hanging half your board over the lip, then lifting your board back into the ramp, and riding out backwards, is one of the most basic ramp tricks. Bored Monkey Classic Popsicle Skateboard . See more deck shapes . Yet I can't do them anymore. At one time I could, without giving it any thought - even on my home 5' high mini ramp with an extra foot of vert extension added to the top of the transition. But as my skating got less, and skateboard spots with ramps diminished through the mid to late 1990s, I got out of practice. I did have a two foot tall, driveway mini, quarter pipe (with coping) I used to practice my mini ramp tricks on. Then one fateful day (I say that because this is scarred into my brain) I tried a rock-to-fakie and the tail of my skateboard dug into the pave stones at the base of the ramp as I came down, throwing me, hard, back into the ground

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog