‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Episode 1 and 2 Recap: All the Easter Eggs You Could Escape

The creators of this news Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries have done a clever job of creating and A fast, impressive and above all character driven adventure. At least in the first two episodes. So let’s dive into the (very spoiler) in-depth recap of Episodes 1 and 2, including the characters and Easter eggs (and that dramatic Star Wars portrait).

Ewan McGregor plays a Jedi general, no longer a heartless young man from prequel movies, but not quite an old man with a gray beard, played by Alec Guinness in the original 1977 film. With references to the prequel and the original trilogy, the show is rich in both the continuity of Star Wars and interesting new elements.

The first two of the show’s six episodes are now available, with more to follow every Wednesday from June 1 to June 22. If you haven’t seen the show yet, we warn you that the first episode begins with scenes of attacked children, which may be upset for viewers due to Shooting at a school in Texas.

When was the last time we saw Obi-Wan Kenobi?

The series begins with a recap of the prequels, which will save you six hours of life (I’m kidding, they are not so bad). Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi master and enemy of the evil Galactic Empire, began in the prequel as an apprentice to the unfortunate Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn Liam Neeson, who discovered the very young Anakin Skywalker in the desert world of Tatooine. After Qui-Gon’s death, Kenobi tried to train Anakin, but failed to prevent his troubled young protégé from falling under the influence of the evil Emperor Palpatine. Eventually, Anakin succumbed to the Dark Side, especially after the death of his love Padmé Amidala.

The last time they met was on an elevated spot, where Obi-Wan cut off Anakin’s legs and let him melt in the volcano. Anakin’s last words to Obi-Wan were “I hate you!” to which Obi-Wan replied sadly, “You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.”

These moments, these deaths, haunt Obi-Wan still in his nightmares. But episode 2 culminates in a touch of personal relationship. We know that Anakan was rebuilt as Darth Vader with a black helmet and asthma, more of a machine than a human. But Obi-Wan had no idea! Which greatly increases the stakes of his mission to protect the Anakin twins: young Leia, who was adopted by Galactic Senator Bail Organ on Alderaan, and young Luke, who was sent to live with Uncle Owen and Aunt Bera on Tatooine.

Ten years later, the miniseries begins…

What was Obi-Wan doing?

Hang out in the desert and watch over Luka. We begin 10 years after the Revenge of the Sith and nine years before the New Hope, after the Jedi Order was almost destroyed. Obi-Wan is hiding, Ben says to himself, living humbly like a meat packer in the carcass of a giant desert creature. He rejects even the desperate pleas of another staunch Jedi, young Nari (played by actor, writer and director Benny Safdie).

Although Luke is still a young man, in the first film he shows signs of unrest, which led him to embark on a new adventure. As he plays the pilot, a chill runs down his back as he watches young Anakin’s Hidden Threat as he watches Obi-Wan’s spine. And we know that foreshadows Luke’s later maturity as a pilot who destroyed the Death Star.

Speaking of the prototype, Luke is raised by Uncle Owen and Aunt Bera, who play as in the prequeles of Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse. VA New Hope is fair to say that it will set the unhappy couple on fire, which adds to Owen’s request to Obi-Wan to leave the boy alone. Edgerton is an award-winning Australian actor, writer and director known from Animal Kingdom, The Gift, Loving and The Great Gatsby.

Help me, Obi-Wan

But the show attracts something like a switcheroo when it turns out it’s not Luke who’s at risk. Echoing the beginning of New Hope, Obi-Wan receives a holographic message asking him to come to the aid of Princess Leia. This time it’s his old friend Bail Organ, played by Jimmy Smith, who also reprized his prequel role, and his wife Breha.

Enchanted by Vivien Lyra Blair, young Leia is a wild mopet who is more than interested in escaping into the woods to a spaceship with her droid Lola. Her relationship with Obi-Wan reminds us of the dynamics of a tough guy / cute kid Mandalorianbut more importantly, we are getting a strong vibe Leon: The Professional. Which can’t be a coincidence, as Natalie Portman starred in Luc Besson’s 1994 hit just a few years before playing Padmé Amidala (Luke and Leia’s mother and Anakin’s Great Love) in Star Wars prequels.

Who are the inquisitors?

The main step in Palpatine’s plan to establish his evil Empire was to exterminate the idealistic Jedi knights who might stand up to him. The series begins with Order 66, at a time when many Jedi were treacherously murdered by Palpatine’s clone soldiers in Revenge of the Sith. But enough survived for the emperor to create a death squad of Jedi hunters: the Inquisitors.

The Dark Side-dominating Inquisitors were previously seen in the CGI animated series Rebels and the video game Jedi: Fallen Order. Their strength from the game will also appear in the show, as seen in the trailer. Among the characters we’ve seen, Rupert Friend brings to life the Grand Inquisitor with a moon face, while Sung Kang plays the Fifth Brother.

Moses Ingram plays Revu, the inquisitor created for the Obi-Wan series. Her relationship with the Grand Inquisitor reflects the Jedi teaching style of assigning a Padawan disciple to a Jedi Master. Like Anakin and many young people, Reva is ambitious and impatient. It is also something of a loser whose forces of power are useful to imperial officers, who never allow her to forget her humble origins. Ingram brings the character to life, and yes, in case you don’t know, I’m a little fan of her. She is a sadistic fascist, but also a multi-layered figure. That’s clever writing.

New characters

Yes, he is the bassist of Red Hot Chilli Peppers Flea as the space hijacker of Vect. But the funniest new character is Kumail Nanjiani’s impostor, who pretends to be a Jedi. At least he’ll show he has a decent heart, no matter how good he does.

Obi-Wan quickly notices that Haja Estree is using magnets and remote controls to withdraw his Jedi cunning, but for a moment I wondered if Haja was really a real former Jedi. After all, when the young people disperse, not everyone will turn into wandering heroes of the oppressed as the unfortunate Nari. It is logical that some would come up with new and potentially shady ways to survive.

To cameo

When Obi-Wan arrives in the gloomy Daiyu area, he is shocked to encounter an impoverished war veteran begging for leftovers. He plays a dilapidated vet Bob Fett’s book star Temuera Morrison, who also played Bob’s dad Jango Fett in prequel. Jango provided a template for Palpatine’s army of clone soldiers, and Obi-Wan fought alongside many of these identical soldiers in the Clone Wars (as seen in the cartoons). No wonder he looks shocked. There’s also the bitter irony of a soldier forced by an indifferent regime to commit unspeakable acts, then thrown aside (and simply replaced by a fresh pile of undoubted triggers in the form of Stormtroopers pushing around in this scene).

When will the next episode be?

Disney dropped the first few episodes to coincide with the live event Star Wars celebrationbut future episodes are streamed on Wednesday. This means that you only have to wait a few days for episode 3, which will air on June 1. Here is a complete release schedule for the rest of the series.

If you want to fill even more gaps, or just can’t wait to fix Obi-Wan’s action, CNET’s Kenobi Guide contains a handy list of animated TV shows, novels, and comics with a man in a robe.

Random observation

• How come Reva could read Haja Estree’s mind, but not Owen’s?
• It remains unreal that Ewan McGregor, 51, who doesn’t look like it, will turn into the gray-haired Alec Guinness between the show and New Hope. Interestingly, Guinness was 62 when he created New Hope, only 10 years older than McGregor is now. Then again to paraphrase another character related to George Lucasit’s not years, but miles.
• VA New Hope is Uncle Owen, who introduces Obi-Wan and tries to discourage young Luke: “That wizard is just a crazy old man. Stay away from him, can you hear me? He’s dangerous.”
• In 1977, Uncle Owen was played by Phil Brown, an actor who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era and moved to the United Kingdom. He died in 2006. Aunt Beru was played by Shelagh Fraser, an English actor whose career lasted from the 1940s until the final television appearance in 2000. She died the same year.
• I have no idea if we’ll ever see the Aquilian Ranger hunting pirates, but that sounds great. Just one of the neat little details of worldbuilding in the show.
• See also: Spice is a drug in Star Wars, with variants including Kessel Pure, Glittertim and Felucian.
• How many of these recapitulations will I write before I stop typing “Oboi_Wan” every time … Stay tuned and you’ll find out.