let's break down OBI-WAN KENOBI

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Hello there! Patreon link: patreon.com/mylittlethoughttree Instagram link: instagram.com/little_thought_tree

[@wiocze89]

I have this feeling that if you gathered some random fans of SW and gave them a week, they would come up with something way more compelling... Being totally realistic there are probably comments on Reddit or some fan forums that could be adapted into something epic just lying around the Internet already. But nope, we have once again a save-the-kiddo thing but this time way more boring and generally flat.

[@zivo9453]

yeah i mean blame the president of star wars rn she blamed the actors in solo for the bad movie star wars know what they want a story an actual story about obi wan no matter his past future etc they want george lucas the movies were a bit cheesy but they told a story

[@killianmccluff36]

Facts

[@peshkybee7721]

The issue is they hire the lowest bidder writers who only care about getting "Star Wars" on their resume

[@renegonzalez6058]

This is SO true, some fan theories and story ideas are actually brilliant, and could be adapted to create such compelling writing in the SW universe... such a shame that it's become such a machine where good material just can't make it to the people in charge... it's like burocratic production hell, where there's no space for good intentions

[@realchiknuggets]

@@zivo9453 what

[@sfkeepay]

You’ve provided some very helpful observations as to what doesn’t work, and strongly plausible explanations for why. But there’s a much bigger “why” question that feels more urgent, though of course you probably can’t answer. Why does Disney keep screwing up Star Wars? The good stuff is the exception, while the bulk of Disney Star Wars continues to be, frankly, a third-rate, forgettable waste of time. How is it possible that they didn’t course correct immediately after Force Awakens, which had at least several strong ideas, but was already headed south? For that matter, why didn’t they do that after Rebels? Since The Disney purchase, we’ve had Rebels (on the cheap - thanks mouse) starting slowly but finding a way to tell some great, though somewhat compromised, stories. But starting in The Force Awakens and the weird, discordant tone with Finn (a kidnapped former child soldier who very quickly delights in killing other kidnapped former child soldiers, and whose character had deep promise) and then the Finn/Poe chemistry, which was obvious on screen, but was subsequently ignored (even as a meaningful friendship - all too rare - let alone a romantic plot, which could have been brilliant in many ways, and, I read, the actors themselves felt was almost self-evident) to killing off a legendary character without having the three main leads ever appear together again. And, of course, building a preposterously implausible, cartoonishly one-dimensional Empire stand-in with a preposterously implausible, genetically unlikely, horse-faced villain-boy and so on. But hey, live and learn…only Disney never did. We’ve had the return of one season of the animated Clone Wars, for twelve episodes, four of which were entertaining, four were among the worst from that series, and wrapping up with arguably the second best Star Wars story ever told. We’ve had Rogue One, which has to rank near the very best. Solo, which aside from the absurd levels of fan service and implausible, shoe-horned love story, was actually pretty good if you can get past the impossible task of re-casting Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams (if any experience has ever demonstrated what real charisma looks like, it would be comparing the original Han and Lando with their successors…great actors vs. legendary screen icons). And we’ve had The Mandalorian and some of Boba. So enough good stuff to keep us hopeful, but wedded to everything else…the stuff with the most hype, the biggest budgets (Solo aside) and worst outcomes. But why?

[@christophercoffey7055]

Totally agree! I don’t understand how such large company with so much funding could face plant so many times, it just doesn’t make sense.

[@sfkeepay]

@@christophercoffey7055, I think you’re right to ask. At this point, with so many projects turning out so poorly, maybe it’s time to focus more on your fundamental question rather than all the individual problems themselves. And like you said, with all the and skilled professionals money can buy, and some of deepest pockets of any entertainment company ever, what keeps going wrong? (Nice comment, btw, compared to my sprawling babblefest. I think yours really cuts to the chase.)

[@kaankaraca2001]

Everyone has different opinions on some of the things you’ve said (I for one love TFA and TLJ) but it’s clear that there is a recent disconnect between Disney and the audience, and I think it’s because of the approach they’ve taken lately. Say what you will about TLJ but that was one man’s vision and attempt to make a meaningful statement through a story. Even TFA had Abrams’ passion for the Original Trilogy through and through while TROS just felt like “aight let’s get this shit over with”. Although some of the seeds were planted in the compromised productions of the Anthology movies (which are still mostly decent) it was TROS that set a precedent for Disney to make predictable, by-the-numbers nostalgia bait with directors-for-hire, and now has become a factory churning out one mediocre story after another, just like the assembly line system of mid-20th century Hollywood, except this time even less creative freedom and more brand appeal. Regardless of what people think of TLJ, Lucasfilm learned the wrong lessons from the apparent failure of the movie with audiences. Jon Favreau creating The Mandalorian is really the only real outlier here (though that came out at the beginning of the end right before TROS came out so, last of its kind I suppose). Everything else from that point on, regardless of their quality, isn’t coming from a director’s inspiration and burning need to tell a story, but from Disney just hiring them to make more of the same.

[@sfkeepay]

@@kaankaraca2001 I loathed TLJ except for one element that I deeply respected: the concept that anyone can embody transformative heroism - that one’s parents or general ancestry ought not define one’s worth or potential contribution. There was a powerful nobility to that idea sadly and destructively discarded in Rise of Skywalker. I think you must be correct in your assessment of the root problems of so many of Disney’s more recent Star Wars releases. Great observations and insight.

[@violetlavi2207]

Andor is also phenomenal! It really is baffling how Disney/Lucasfilm can make some great stuff but also some bad stuff…all within the same Star Wars umbrella

[@toddhollen]

When they first announced an Obi Wan movie my reaction was "But why?" And then they changed it to a show and my reaction was "Ok, that might be more interesting, but why?" And after seeing it my reaction is "But why?" Other than it being horribly written it doesn't really seem to have any purpose. I really liked Rogue One, because it was as solid movie, but it also gave more weight to A New Hope by showing the broader conflict and the bravery and sacrifice of the people fighting in the rebellion. This series maybe could have given more depth to Obi Wan and Anikin and to the pain that they were in post Episode 3 or been a fun crime drama that dug into the Hutts and why Mos Eisely is such a hive of scum and villiany (which is kind of what Book of Boba Fett kind of tried to do, but badly), but it's just kinda there and I don't know why.

[@mcigloo]

I think when it comes to Star Wars that's not involving George Lucas people need to, for the most part, stay away from established characters. Outside of Lucas' films, the only SW content that I've personally enjoyed, other than animation, is Rogue One & The Mandalorian. Both of which, generally, involved new characters (I know The Mandalorian brought in some OG characters but that happened well into season two when the show was already good). It seems anytime someone other than Lucas tries to make content using his established characters they just have no feel for them and seem to always get them very wrong.

[@FS-qi1kj]

i agree with every point you made in this video. i swear the script of this show was written by a robot like not a single interaction feels natural and none of the possible relationships are fleshed out its so incredibly surface level. im so disappointed bc it had so much potential and definitely could have been a story worth telling.

[@agenteggboy9526]

Episode 4 disappointed me so much. I didn't like the first 3 but I thought he might have to slowly build himself back up after hitting rock bottom physically and mentally, and accept his trauma before returning to face Vader and rescue Leia. But then he rescues her within a half an hour without any issues really and escapes without having to improve or change himself.

[@soursugar4867]

Writing convincing characters is hard and people will continue paying for the subscription whether or not they do, so you can guess what Disney would prefer

[@Jordi7174]

The worst thing George Lucas could've done was to sell the franchise to Disney. They have milked this cow until it is bone dry.

[@slashtitan1035]

I completely agree. I was just fine with the Expanded Universe. But then you’ll have people who will say “BUT WE WOULDNT HAVE CLONE WARS AND MANDO!!!”

[@jellyhair8026]

This show really breaks Leia in A New Hope, who now lacks a sense of familiarity with Kenobi that should definitely be there in their mutual scenes after the events of this show. Not even talking about her hologram. She's really doesn't treat him like an old friend in their scenes together in A New Hope, and now she also lacks an appropriate display of remorse for his loss.

[@mcigloo]

Am I forgetting something here? When does Leia have any scenes with Obi-Wan in A New Hope? From my recollection, she only sends him a holographic message through R2 but they never actually had any scenes together so there was no opportunity for her to "treat him like an old friend".

[@violetlavi2207]

@@mcigloo yeah, in ANH, she mostly seems to know him through her dad…in the message, she draws repeated reference to Obi-Wan’s connection to Bail. Obi-Wan’s rescue of her in this show just adds a level of brief familiarity but doesn’t break how she would know him in ANH. And they address why she wouldn’t mention the kidnapping: that’s Obi-Wan’s last request to her in the show

[@Narfu1]

Obi-Wan Kenobi should've been a film, it was originally too

[@ten-xlegacy4033]

Something I noticed immediately when you brought it up, but no one else seems to be mentioning in the comments.. If they knew obi wan had relations with Leia.. then that sorta breaks cannon? Like, then Vader would have known she was his child? And that just.. doesn't make sense

[@renegonzalez6058]

Finally someone talking sensibly about this train wreck... without all the extreme hate a racism, but also without excusing the terrible writing and directing... huge disappointment this series is, especially because of the potential to be the absolute best in the franchise because of it's characters, the period it happens in and especially the actors... just waisted

[@nelisezpasce]

The consoomer lifestyle is designed to trap idiots Cut your ties with anyone who actually watches that crap

[@killianmccluff36]

Is there any actual proof of racism because I’ve seen none

[@renegonzalez6058]

@@killianmccluff36 that's a fair point actually, neither have I directly, I just keep hearing about extreme anti woke fans who go too far to the point where they're racist, but you're right, there might not be

[@killianmccluff36]

@@renegonzalez6058 I think this is the excuse Disney is using to scapegoat their bad casting choices

[@froniccruxis1049]

All the cries of racism seems like another smollett situation. I have only seen character criticisms and then have seen cries of racism but never racist remarks

[@theFLCLguy]

The only way this could be fixed is if Obi wan wakes up to find it was all a poorly written dream. Otherwise the show might as well be a fan series because it's doesn't fit star wars at all.

[@theFLCLguy]

Obi wan already knew Vader was Anakin. He saw Anakin become Vader from a recording in episode 3.

[@jasonvorhees1795]

I just wish they'd actually acknowledge the flaws of the writing instead of shunning every critic as a racist, because as such everyone is portrayed criticizing Moses character or the show in general. I love well written characters, I don't care about skin colour, Mr. Robot has a lot of diversity but is also an amazing show.

[@davidpaz9389]

If there is anything the Mouse has done right with Star Wars, which isn't much, it is to show how powerful and ruthless Vader can be. In the third episode of Kenobi is it downright terrifying when Vader is killing random people on a whim.

[@yu1zy]

The fight with Reva was sick too. He was basically playing with his food

[@nickgoehring8159]

They definitely could have gone with more darkness and hatred shown by Vader. In the time line the last we saw him he had fully become the sith, transformed by pure hatred for obiwan. You could assume his utter hatred toward the Jedi could have fueled him as the lead Jedi hunter, and (anti-Jedi) bringing fear and terror to the empire. Understaning this is geared towards children too but the darkness of Vader could have been played off of the conflict that obiwan is going through as well. And grabbing the space ship as it is taking off is bad ass! Playing on the trope of Luke lifting they jet of of the swap in dagoba.

[@austinquinn2201]

Thank you for this video. Star wars was one of the few things my father and I bonded over. With how bad the sequel trilogy was and with how much squandered potential this show has really hurts. Having a darker, grittier story focused on Obi-Wan and Anikan would have been amazing and felt unique to star wars.

[@jaybonn5973]

I think a character study for obo wan is going to be dull regardless because he has to be in hiding. I don't mind that kind of show. But, tattooine has a lot of smaller societies and life forms that are ignored in the ST and shows. Those could be interesting slice of life conflicts.

[@alexman378]

People keep forgetting, Tattooine is a planet, not a town, there’s a lot more to it. It’s like saying “there isn’t much you can do on Earth” because the character is in an African desert or something. There’s more places on it.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Honestly, though they are quite shallow, the touches like a clone trooper begging, the fake jedi, Freck liking the empire...if they compiled things like that all into one location, did more to build up a real sense of community, something contained to explore, I would've really been on board for that

[@Ruylopez778]

I think there are two issues here; firstly Disney Star Wars has put several desert planets on screen in recent years - Jakku, Pasana and Tatooine, and done absolutely NOTHING interesting with them, to the point that people groan at the thought of Tatooine. And secondly, if the show was a deep dive into the mind, failures and acceptance in Obi-Wan it doesn't have to be bleak sand and Tuskens/farmers. The show could also have begun in the Clone Wars era and then transitioned into a period after ROTS.

[@SyntheticReign]

All that I've learned recently is that Hollywood has NO idea how to write. Not sure how that's possible, but somehow, we've regressed to the most BARE BONES plots possible when it comes to major productions. All this money spent for IP rights and cg, with execs riding nostalgia coattails into the land of MoneyTM.

[@TheOneTrueDaedelus]

First off, love the video as always. I look forward to every one of your releases, even when they pertain to media I haven't directly experienced yet. Even when I disagree with your commentary it's engaging and lacks the malice that seems to underpin a lot of critiques these days. I think maybe I'm just wrong in general about Star Wars. I've been very much enjoying the Obi-Wan series, mostly due to character interactions. Character *development* feels very skipped over, and I do think that by and large Star Wars has struggled more and more as it has moved away from archetypes and tried for nuance that it is not willing to put in the time to earn. The dangers of plot armor are there in any prequel story and it's mithril in this one. Seeing Vader yank a ship down and tear it to pieces only to let a second, identical ship get away was frustrating, along with Leia's constant improbable escapes. No one's intelligence, power, or adaptability seems consistent. There are common-sense solutions to a number of problems the story presents. Expositional dialogue runs rampant, a problem that seems to plague modern screenwriting in general. But I've enjoyed Obi-Wan's wrestling with his mission and PTSD versus his general Jedi obligation. I like Little Leia, and how Obi-Wan is so emotionally injured by his interactions with her. I like Reva but I figured she was a youngling from the start and was looking forward to the reveal. I was hoping she'd be hunting Obi-Wan to punish him for not saving them, and for training Vader, after which she'd either die or leave the story to resurface elsewhere. Maybe she still will. And the performances have been fine to good to great, even when the famously ham-fisted Star Wars dialogue comes out. This show could be much, much better and there are other directions that would have been more compelling. But it need not be a masterpiece to be enjoyable, and it's no more nonsensical to me than the prequels. To my eyes it's miles better than The Last Jedi or Rise of Skywalker. Maybe I'm just old, and maybe Obi-Wan's introspective sense of failure and regret and obligation resonates a bit more for me. But there are things that are evocative here, things that do speak to the soul. But maybe that's just me.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

I'd definitely agree it's better than Rise of Skywalker and I do see some merit in the show however I think that's kind of what frustrates me most: there was potential for something really great but they let the very basics of writing ruin it

[@saiyuu182]

@@mylittlethoughttree I usually agree with your takes in most of your videos and am usually very glad to see and learn from them - this one, however, being your apparent main critique and claiming 'it doesn't work' while seeing that the suggestions you've made would have really turned the series not into necessarily a better version of what's being shown, but another product entirely from a plot-centric perspective, which really doesn't seems like it's the point here for Disney or the franchise's direction atm. Writing/narrative issues regarding SW (or their other IP) is nothing out of the ordinary coming from Disney for a long time now, and we only need to look at the entirety of the fleshed-out relationship between Obi-wan and Anakin that happens in Clone Wars being ignored when building a series which was supposed to center the complexity in this precise relationship. I mean really, they could have spliced the damn audios in those dream sequences or even the prequel Anakin x Kenobi fight sequence to build on Vader's side, c'mon now. I really agree with Phillip here - "it need not be a masterpiece to be enjoyable", and it is very clear Disney really isn't worried about providing more than that at this point.

[@TheOneTrueDaedelus]

@@mylittlethoughttree Oh, I agree that there is a better show buried here. I don't mean to suggest otherwise. Paradoxically it seems like the parallel threads of Reva (who lost all hope when she was betrayed, forgotten, and abandoned), Leia (who knows she was adopted and has been hidden, to the point that her secrecy interferes with a standard rescue operation and must feel like something of a betrayal), and Obi-Wan (who, despite his moral compass and skill has utterly failed in almost every respect) could use more room to breathe despite the fact that the show often feels very slow. The themes of how each character reacts to failures could be explored so much more fully in the hands of better writers. Reva was too young and weak to protect herself so she emulated the single-minded ruthlessness that destroyed her life. Leia, in the face of danger and seeming abandonment, naively holds onto faith, first in her father and then in her would-be rescuers. Obi-Wan responds to his failures by choosing a task and single-mindedly focusing on it, to the point of being willing to abandon the daughter of his supposedly dead best friend. If the maturation of these arcs were running in parallel we'd have a story for the ages. There's so much to chew on here. And I do agree that it's far more frustrating to see something with the potential for greatness fail, than to see something that is bad from the jump. Not that that has ever happened with Star Wars before, of course. :-P

[@justanotherredheadattheend955]

I was having an okay time with this show until they introduced Leia. Not only does it create plot holes I doubt they will address, but in their rush to deify the beloved Childe Leia, they make her...the most annoying kid character I've seen in years. The show trips over itself (almost to a cringe extent) trying to make her seem exceptional, but she ends up this erratic character who swings from hair-pullingly stubborn and oblivious, to only occasionally acting like a real kid would in her situation. They also made the REALLY strange choice to script this young child so she talks like the adult Leia we know, and rather than make her seem sharp and precocious, or create the sense of a set personality, it ends up making her feel... kind of inhuman, evoking more a pre-born from Dune or a child vampire. You done screwed up when I found myself cheering that Riva finally imprisoned this irritating child and ended this nightmare of an escort mission.

[@couchpotato3197]

If Star Wars had real child vampires it'd be so much better.

[@mrmoviemanic1]

I just hope that Hayden and Ewan can continue to play the characters in live action from now on cause to me they still are my favorite actors in Star Wars and for that alone I respect this series for bringing them back.

[@grifonecoronato]

Yeah, but at 27:02 the reason Reva explodes at Leia and demand that she "say something" is not really because she wants to be intimidating, and more because she's looking for excuses NOT to torture the child. In the end she tries to insulate herself from responsibility for this act by shifting the blame onto Leia (evidenced by her saying "you did this to yourself"). This is because Reva, despite being a heinous villain, doesn't actually want to hurt or kill children (evidenced by her refusal to kill Luke in Episode 6). Her goal here is to hasten what she hopes will be Leia's rescue (evidenced by her putting a tracking device on Leia's droid BEFORE the torture chair scene), so that she can follow Kenobi and apprehend not only the Jedi, but the whole underground network. This, in turn, will lead her closer to her main goal: to get close to Vader so she can kill him.

[@lukeluke333lukeluke]

Really dead on your with your thoughts. It it should have been an awesome show but its another what could have been (I hope I'm wrong but I have a feeling I will hate the last episode).

[@IonIsFalling7217]

I LOVED the kid’s show danger feel of it! It felt campy and fun, where a lot of modern Star Wars content is weirdly paced and super dark.

[@matthewclark7952]

I absolutely love the original Star Wars movies but honestly, by this point, I just feel they should let it go. Disney doesn’t seem able to do anything decent with it at all and is just bleeding it dry. My feeling is, do something else. Come up with new stories, worlds, characters etc but for god’s sake do something else, this is just dead. So much squandered potential… What a waste.

[@thomashoskins8817]

should give this over to the writers of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul - imagine what they could have done with all of this....

[@mario97br]

Great video, top points. I would like to add, that Leia is probably force sensitive and doesn’t know about it. She unconsciously uses mind reading and similar stuff and seems to have obtained a quite high level in it. What disappointed me with Reva was that it was foreseeable that she is not actually a bad guy. She seems so street smart, ruthless and capable, a real anti hero, but then waste it. She just gets used by old white men. First the first inquisitor wants to steal her credits, than Vader uses her like a hunting dog that gets replaced with the first inquisitor right away and finally she gets twisted by Obi and attacks Vader like a idiot. She feels a bit senseless in this series. And more stuff but I better stop here.

[@katthunter6561]

'just gets used by old white men'. And her being used by old black men would be better? What about going Asian men? Why did you feel the need to specify white men? Sounds pretty fucking racist.

[@suzannax]

Seems like a film with hardly any direction or depth. I like Ewan McGregor, his acting skills deserve better writing than that.

[@MarcoFAlfaro]

i really loved your into clip, the music was so calm and the logo matched the vibe perfectly

[@briansinger5258]

The Star Wars trilogy consists of three films released before 1984. Everything else is an indictment on our society: a culture of consumerist addiction. When escapism looks like Disney+ then it’s time to go play outside.

[@Sabundy]

100%

[@jims12321]

I think you shoulda redone this video after the series was done. So many of the comments you make just don't have any basis in reality after what we saw in Episode 5. Nothing in it was insane, but so much you complain about was addressed in episode 5. I get you can come up with some excuses by saying "well it should have been obvious from the start that this is what would happen, and waiting till episode 5 is too late," which is what you say, but I just get the feeling that if Reva's motivations were in there from the first episode you'd be complaining about the extreme lack of subtlety in the show. I have a lot of other problems with your analysis, but in general I just think your criticism would be a lot more valid if you actually bothered to fix the comments that were 100% explained by Episode 5, and then next week you'll almost certainly need to do a few corrections again.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

I entirely disagree. Even without my episode 5 corrections, I suspected Reva's motivations would be revealed at some point, I also mentioned how there's likely to be Anakin flashbacks at somepoint because interviews suggested as much. Whilst episode 5 did some things worthy of merit, that doesn't mean it's free from criticism, or fixes the overall structure of the show.

[@joesturn7740]

I mean this guy somehow missed the theme that was screamed by a character in the first episode, so I wouldn't put much stock in a channel fixing any oversight.

[@FlamezOfGamez]

Which theme was missed, exactly?

[@JonasGrumby-OO]

Leia looks like she’s about six. That only aggravates the illusion when they try and portray her as a mixture of an old wise woman and an electrical engineer

[@violetlavi2207]

She’s about 10, timeline-wise. She’s not a wise old woman, she’s very clearly still a child…but she’s had royal training, so she’s eloquent. As for “electrical engineer,” she has Lola and probably would’ve learned at least the basics of how to work with wires, so she could take care of Lola

[@mcigloo]

This has to be one of the better critiques I've ever seen on a show. Your analysis is clear, it's funny in parts, and it's fair. This is the first channel I've found that says what I've been thinking and failing to articulate about this show without being snotty & mean. This is the first time I've ever stumbled across your channel and I've subscribed and will be looking into your past content to see if there's anything else there that catches my eye. Thanks for posting this.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Thanks! I always try to be fair, glad you enjoyed it

[@katharineelizabeth7689]

Obi wan post order 66 should be a grief ridden man with varying levels of the grief cycle. A series that follows obi-wan experiencing grief and the grief cycle could be really interesting. Season 1 could explore elements of denial as he tries to save as many jedi as possible from order 66. Subsequent seasons could then explore the consequences of these actions that forces obiwan to actually come to terms with what has happened to him, those he loves, and reality of palpatine. Have a mid series shake up where obiwan discovers who darth vader is. Then have everything culminate to a final season where obiwan has to choose between Luke and his fellow jedi.

[@yentl]

I’d love to see character analyses on “HP” characters like: Malfoy, Snape, Umbridge etc…

[@thorinhannahs4614]

Lol I just realized how weak Reva was in episode 1. Grand Inquisitor stops her lightsaber with the force. Then Vader stops her the same way with zero effort. I really disliked the whole I am Vader but I can see the Matrix choreography of that sequence.

[@kevingipe8242]

I think the obi wan series would’ve been a cool place to use a bit of Star Wars legends content, maybe instead of reva we could have gotten a clone of star killer that remembered Juno eclipse but was biding his time and trying to earn favor with Vader to get close to him and try to kill him, he’s an established and powerful character and his flashbacks could have been a good vehicle to convey his motives earlier on in the story, also would’ve made starkiller canon

[@gracehaven5459]

“I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” Sometimes when I feel like torturing myself, I remind myself that somebody got paid more money than I will ever see in my life to write that dialogue lmfao 🤣

[@robertmatthews9650]

lol! 😂

[@nickgoehring8159]

Star Wars cannon is becoming sand

[@lukasgruber1280]

I think having the Order 66 opening sequence made sense after the 5th episode.

[@gracehaven5459]

I haven't seen this show yet. I've been very busy lately and haven't had as much time for long movies/shows (I really want to watch Stranger Things season 4 for instance but I know I'd binge it in 1 go) that said, it doesn't sound like the premise is void of narrative potential, it just missed the mark in practice. I really like your points on how this could be improved upon. It really shows your narrative and story telling strengths whenever this type of analysis comes up. Let me know when that novel of yours is available I will be happy to read it 📖 just make sure it's available on audio too so I could just listen lol

[@thenewdoc4599]

I don't think it's right to call a series a Trainwreck when it's not finished yet.

[@nelisezpasce]

Great example of a Lawful Stupid statement It's 5/6 done and we only hear atrocities That's enough evidence to foresee it

[@thenewdoc4599]

@@nelisezpasce wtf does lawful stupid mean? Who uses that insult?

[@jereXIX]

The original 1977 Star Wars was a groundbreaking sfx masterpiece and a fun space adventure with relatable characters. It was followed by an amazing sequel that upped the stakes in nearly every way. Since then the franchise is a mediocre and often braindead zombie lurching along on nostalgia, unfulfilled potential, and the collectibles obsession of Gen X who’ve seen that nostalgia weaponized against their wallets like no generation before. Outside of some great animated shows the ip eats itself alive and is nothing but the cheapest of fast food for the imagination.

[@nelisezpasce]

It's the boomers' fault

[@BY-bj6ic]

Gen X collectibles obsession... "elaborate you fiend" I'm Gen X and know not of what you speak

[@JonahNelson7]

I'd agree. We get moments of good Star Wars at least here and there lol

[@geekexmachina]

Two things i struggled with regarding the prequels are 1. In return of the jedi luke asks leia if he remembers her real mother which she replies a little which doesnt match episode 3. Secondly given the empire has control of clone technology then why is Vader a cyborg instead of having regrown body parts?

[@bowlerhatfilmsandreviews2778]

My head canon for that second point is I imagine Palpatine is the kind of person who doesn’t want his apprentice rising above his station. Perhaps he trapped Anakins husk in that clunky eco-suit instead of fully restoring him so that he could have the edge in an inevitable battle

[@geekexmachina]

@@bowlerhatfilmsandreviews2778 it is definitely confirmed that loosing body parts reduces force ability so that does track, also the pain would drive him mad and further to the dark side. An interesting series would be seeing Vader seeking healing or closure behind the emperors back in the early days. However its a testament to vaders power that even his smashed body is so powerful.

[@geekexmachina]

@@bowlerhatfilmsandreviews2778 I also seem to recall that there was lots of talk at the time of the original trilogy that the clones were the mandelorians and were at wars against the republic, and cloning was outlawed, so paRTLY EXPLAINING CYBER TECHNOLOGY, also the emperor was in a clone body and ws Palpatine III, using the force to body hop (which is the darth Plagueis backstory). this got changed up for the prequals.I was hoping that a good plot twist would be that Darth Sidious was an Evil clone of Palpatine who eventually kills and replaces him making the former less guilty.

[@brycemurrin5130]

I think that Reva can be redeemed if it is done well (obv). If an event happens where she realizes that she has wasted her time on revenge when she could have been helping others (like a Jedi) I think it could be effective character progression. This “returning from the dark side” has been done before, most iconically with Vader. But if it is done as something like a final sacrifice where instead of changing her perspective and growing her character it will feel unearned/wasted. For example, if she just throws herself btw kenobi and some evil force and then dies. We don’t know enough and we haven’t seen enough of Reva to have a sacrifice be meaningful (once again I’ll use Vader as an example) The redemption will need to be something other than a last minute reaction.

[@CielBlanche]

While others have focused on superficially dumb things about Kenobi, this video actually addresses how the show is fundamentally about nothing and fails at every opportunity to meaningfully explore any theme or character. What a tragically wasted opportunity.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Pretty much!😂 Which is such a shame because there's so much that could've been explored

[@lauramarschmallow2922]

I really like your new intro! :-)

[@collinwimbish4516]

It hasn’t even finished yet

[@jereXIX]

Oh, it’s finished.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Yeah, it's hard to explain why I ended up making this video now, rather then week 😅

[@r.t.hannah9575]

Before I watch, I’ll comment here and say I’ve really been enjoying Kenobi. Interested to watch this. Will post and edit with my thoughts after watching.

[@adityasinha2805]

its been 2 days..? still watching?

[@r.t.hannah9575]

@@adityasinha2805 help…! I’m stuck in a time loop!!!

[@MartiniBlankontherest]

Really glossed over a lot of this because of the fanservice, but i noticed so early especially with Leia and her parents that the dialogue sounds like the first draft from a children's middel school play. The line delivery in most of the show is so bad, i feel like i could mute it and put on a spanish soap drama and at least have some fun with it. Maybe a speech from a dictator🤔

[@MartiniBlankontherest]

Also! The tone is off. Mando was clear and knew it wanted to be a western, Boba Fett was sort of a sequel with western elements, but more of a character study personally for Boba. Obi Wan is so unsure of itself. Was Ben a confident fighter or a rusty and unsure older man? Are the inquisitors a deadly threat and competent fighters or are they just henchmen who bicker and make mistakes?

[@shuang7877]

My problem with Reva is that, as a padawan hiding her identity to work her up through the ranks, she's shouty, impulsive, disobeying orders and getting into fights with her colleagues. In any other organization, she would have been fired. In Empire, she should have been executed for the shit she pulled here. She would have been a lot more cautious, diplomatic, effective and calm. Her character traits do not fit her supposed background, and when I watched the interrogation scene, I was like "wow so you can't even handle child and you lose your temper left and right? That's not menacing at all." I think the actress is fine - it's not her fault the script is like this. The character can be a he or she, gay or straight, white or black, human or an insect. It just needs to make sense. The director Deborah Chow has been all exemplary works in previous shows - most "best episodes" from various shows were directed by her. I don't know what happened here. I tried my hardest to like the show and now it feels like doing laundry to get through.

[@50possumteeth86]

I’ve been enjoying the show but it does feel a little rushed

[@ShirDeutch]

The key word here is “unnecessary”. This show was doomed from the start because there’s no narrative justification for it. No matter how you feel about the prequels, they tie up all the threads at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Yoda goes to exile, Leia goes with the Organas, Obi-Wan takes Luke to Uncle Owen and the droids get their memories wiped so it doesn’t break canon when they don’t recognize Obi-Wan in A New Hope. Either way, it is abundantly clear George Lucas intended Obi-Wan’s story to end at this point. There was no more story to tell. Obi-Wan stays on Tatooine and his adventures are over until Luke comes into the picture. Therefore, any attempt to fill in the gaps between ROTS and ANH is futile, and this show’s only contribution is destabilizing the canon. Which, yeah, would be fine if the story they were telling was actual good, but it’s not.

[@kaloyanangelov8042]

I wanted a movie, instead of series, I wanted a movie about Obi-Wan searching himself and learning from Qui-Gon, something similar to Logan movie - slow, different type of superhero movie or in this case, a different type of Star Wars movie. Instead we got nothing.

[@RJ_Ehlert]

Meaningful prequels are tricky. This is an "inquel"? Constraint from both bookends robs the story of a lot of dramatic tension for the audience. The writers are handcuffed by trying to link the first and second trilogy together when they already had inconsistent plot holes.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Probably true

[@Ghoulstille]

It's strange how Vader can kill off extra's right and left but yet when he comes face to face with an attempted assassin all he does is run her through without finishing her off i'm sure some would try to defend this by saying she's not worth his effort to finish off but then why kill all the extra's? Vader is supposed to be a murderous dictator willing to mow anyone over to get what he and the emperor wants. It's just sloppy writing all around. I could go on with other character's but this show just isn't worth it.

[@image30p]

I thought maybe it was just me and didn't want to ruin it for anyone who might be having fun watching it. But they lost me when they had him working in a small spam factory. And the writers took a scene from Tarantino. Alec Guiness is a completely different personality than Ewan McGregor who is Scottish, happy and personable. Bad casting.

[@Eidlones]

Naw, Ewan McGregor is a fantastic casting choice. The issue's with the writing.

[@zakr7631]

So basically Obi-Wan has the plot of Mario bros, the princess getting captured over and over again.

[@TheMatureMango]

I didn't even know this existed

[@flayman22]

One thing I really didn't like in this series was Obi Wan's double cross of Reva. It felt wrong. It was wrong. He worked out that she was a traumatized victim who was on a revenge mission. He offered to stand with her and take on Vader together. She seemed to accept it. He then buggered off and left her in the lurch. Why? Obi Wan would not do that. It's bad faith. They could have faced Vader together and he could have at least stalled for time to allow the resistance to escape. Maybe they could have defeated Vader together. What, he didn't want to kill Vader? That's selfish. He lied and he saved his own skin. And when Reva met up with him again she wasn't even angry about it.

[@juanitajones6900]

He left her in the lurch because she had refused his help. She was too obsessed with her revenge. And Obi-Wan had Leia to think about. You couldn't realize this?

[@flayman22]

I don't believe that Obi Wan would have tricked someone like that and left them to take on Darth Vader alone and probably get killed. Especially someone who was damaged. A victim at the root of it. It did not feel authentic. It's ignoble. There's still the point that when Reva met up with him again she wasn't even angry about it. I'm afraid the writing is just not very good. I still believe that together the two of them could probably have defeated Vader. Imagine all the suffering that might have been avoided.

[@roegoleg]

I stopped watching SW many years ago after episode 6. But based on your thorough analysis of the opening episodes, it certainly looks like corporate meddling to appease focus groups and divvying up creative control per episode to meet contractual obligations. A. I. couldn’t do any worse.

[@barrysmith4610]

Great video you really hitted the nail on the head. This series has been a disappointment and a huge disservice to Hayden and Ewan

[@ZargX76]

Absolutely nailed many of my thoughts about the show. Thank you.

[@playamusa]

Omg you used Karl's headlines idea 😂 BONG! You get a like and sub just for that and I haven't even watched the video yet

[@kaankaraca2001]

Full Fat Videos’ latest vid summarizes my thoughts on current Disney Star Wars in regards to Obi-Wan, while this is the perfect analysis of why the show doesn’t work. None of the characters are tied or opposed to a main thematic principle. Obi-Wan has no arc, but the show presents it as if he has an arc: He gets over his grief and regains his faith, but unfortunately this is not by anything in the plot but because he has to become Alec Guiness by the end, so it all feels vague and disconnected. Neither Vader nor Reva represents any kind of thematic opposition to Obi-Wan in the show, nor does Leia support any kind of arc that Obi-Wan goes through. All because there is no theme, which means there’s no story. I will disagree that Reva doesn’t work, because I thought she was the best part of the show and loved Ingram’s performance. From the start Ingram plays Reva as a pretender, clearly not belonging with the Inquisitors, and the question of *why* she is adamant in proving herself and trying so hard keeps her interesting imo. On the other hand though it all amounts to nothing at least in regards to Obi-Wan himself so it also feels isolated and pointless, again because there’s no theme. Jeremy Jahns was right that it feels like her part is from an entirely different Inquisitors show and probably should have been its own thing instead of being squished in a mediocre Obi-Wan show.

[@jordanthompson5696]

A potential probably unintended message here is that the Jedi SUCK at dealing with emotions. They flat out reject them in fact. ‘Attachments’ and all that. I don’t think the writers were trying to subversively convey that fact but I definitely wonder if a sort of intuitive realization of it led to them struggling to round out a sympathetic yet dark tone.

[@guapocat203]

Y’all lose me with the “Vader watched Obi Wan escape” complaint. He literally says, “Your suffering has just begun.” How much more obvious does it need to be that he let him go because he wants to break him even more? I do agree about them adding the order 66 scene likely because of the slow pacing.

[@mattsmith1859]

Its funny how the same kind of bitching was being done years ago about episodes 1-3. Its almost like the current fandom can't stand additions to the product that don't fit their very specific idea of what it should be. I guess this should have been a 6 part series about Obi-Wan just sitting there not training Luke while never leaving the planet and doing absolutely nothing.

[@milkshakellie]

do you wanna let the show finish first?

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

What would you most like to see out of the next Star Wars show?

[@tomhowarth9287]

It feels like Disney have done to Star Wars what D&D did to GoT, they’ve taken over a story with an established sentiment behind it and have completely misunderstood and misrepresented it. Mark Hamill was right about the sequels, Luke never would’ve just given up, nor would he have disrespected a lightsaber like that. They’ve made the same mistake here, they haven’t written the actual character of Obi Wan, they e written a character who conveniently fits into their plot and just called him Obi Wan.

[@amondanomad9443]

100k!? Since when? Congrats 🎉

[@RussellB]

You talk about the prequels bringing nostalgia when to an older fan they just mean disappointment. Much like how you view this Obi-Wan series now. You will see how strange it becomes when in 15 years the internet is full of people having nostalgia for Obi Wan and this show being what got them into star wars, and how they loved Leia. At some point as you age, you will begin to realize maybe some content being released simply isn't for you, or it isn't meant to be dissected as if it were worthy of such criticism. It's just dumb content. It's filler for a streaming network. It's people wanting money and producing shows without real artistry because the effort of bothering with true creativity is not needed.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Yeah, I don't contest that. The clips of the prequels shown at the start of Kenobi do give me a sense of nostalgia for it, but those movies are deeply flawed in very similar ways to this show. In fact, I was planning a very in depth video on The Phantom Menace sometime. That said, the prequels did deliver worldbuilding, and was attempting to do something pretty interesting and unique... only all the potential was flattened by terrible writing and directing. More so, I think the reason the prequels will be remembered where this won't is a) the sheer sense of spectacle they had on the big screen compared to a disney plus release and b) they were made by George Lucas as a passion project, rather than a team hired to pump out one of many other star wars projects meant to keep people entertained...really, that difference amounts to very little objectively but I reckon it will affect people's feelings when they look back in 20 years

[@michaelsullivan7637]

The thing with Star Wars is more that’s it’s the one rare rare franchise that’s none to fave sub par writing but great story telling! And that’s been it’s heart and MO! At this point real ran look past the writing and more the story being told! That’s why rebels after a while got popular but last Jedi still stinks!

[@edwinreid8355]

At least the 1st series did try to focus on the main character as much as it could ( if not on every level ) unlike The Book Of Boba Fett. And whereas the Obi-Wan in the prequels may have put himself out there more, at least his dialogue & even delivery in the series is less lame than it was in Attack Of The Clones & especially Revenge Of The Sith. My only main criticism is the scenes & moments that either were never mentioned in a New Hope or just don't make any sense.

[@kamerondonaldson5976]

because obi wan is supposed to be about obi wan, not about reva. problem solved.

[@tschakatschada]

gz to 100k

[@JulieRoseCook]

I saw myself as a background extra.

[@humanbeing2420]

As an extremely detail-oriented person, I just couldn't deal with the number of problems in the script. As many problems as have been identified by the fan community (and there are tons of those), there are at least another 50% more that went unnoticed. The writing is remarkably lazy.

[@theboi5411]

Video posted on my birthday (At least me, I'm Australian). And I could not agree more, The Obi - Wan Kenobi film never seems to get it Right.

[@jasonsenter1646]

1:26 “the stories are fun, the characters are interesting and compelling, and there’s something real that you just can’t help be charmed by” *shows a scene from the phantom menace*

[@JcgLounge]

The show has been just….Average. And honestly, I don’t think I can defend it anymore. I tried giving episodes like 4 and 5 some love but, ya know this show hardly feels like it’s about Obi-Wan. It hardly feels like it’s the definitive Obi-Wan solo story after the events of ROTS. The hype isn’t there. I don’t feel excited every time we get a new episode. Which sucks. Because this is SW and I shouldn’t not be excited for it.

[@Blimpus]

I like to sit back and imagine the stories we could be getting if Lucasfilm wasn't being run by the libs of tik tok! and it was people who know and love SW, What we are getting feels very deliberate!

[@kestrel09]

Overall, it has a feel of not being there.

[@AdrianDoll]

Very good essay and congrats to 100000 subs!

[@HallyPorter]

This review reminds me of the first Plinkett reviews of the Phantom Menace- reviews which have their germination in the movies they disliked over 20 years ago, even if the reviews were produced years later. While there's no real issue with being an adult and finding fault with something which is supposed to be for children, one can take issue as well as an ax to the idea that the new movies are somehow worse than the old ones IF the reviewer, in this case You, admit a feeling of nostalgia for the old movies, in this case the Prequels. At one point in the Plinket review the people interviewed were asked to describe the classic characters. "Han Solo: Rogue, arrogant, charming, dashing, smarmy, cocksure, scoundrel, deep down a heart of gold. Quigon Ginn: He is.... stoic? I don't remember that character. He has a beard. Stern? C-3PO: Bumbling sidekick, afraid, scaredy-cat, anal retentive, prissy, comic relief, high strung. Queen Amadala: That is going to be impossible because she doesn't have a character. She is... um... she's Natalie Portman. Yeah she's kind of normal, I guess. Monotone." The comments about throwing Leah into the story as a kid-friendly thing is also similar to what Plinket said about the end of the Phantom Menace with its 4 converging story arcs, and the beginning of ROTS, with its going from slapstick involving R2 to the decapitation of Count Duko. The prequels also didn't know or Lucas didn't notice, what tone those movies should be going for. Without arguing for or excusing the Obi Wan series, it can be said that the difference and driving factor excusing the prequels is nothing more than nostalgia- growing up with those movies and thus looking past their faults. Source: RedLetterMedia Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review (Part 1 of 7), Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review (Part 7 of 7) Mr. Plinkett's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Review (11:00, 20:40) PS: What Reva represents to Kenobi seems to be a dark mirror of what Anakin represented- the "quick and easy path" and recklessness being effective in the short run, but defeating in the end. This is similar to Grevious being a mirror of what happens to Anakin- those 2 characters know each other somehow but interact beyond a few lines in ROTS. Also the same question of who the hero/main character is can be asked of the prequels as well.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Oh don't get me wrong. I have a great nostalgia for the prequels, due to my childhood, but I can also recognise the mess most of it is. Has some admirable qualities, very much like this show does. Both are also frustrating because of how they had real potential to do something great...I can't forget the childhood the prequels gave me, but recently rewatching The Phantom Menace left me incredibly bored

[@HallyPorter]

@@mylittlethoughttree Yeah, they have many of the same problems. We are much more forgiving of those things from our childhood because it's very important to a child to have something important they can culturally connect with.

[@Ruylopez778]

They've obviously decided for each 'part' to homage the corresponding 'episode' of the saga 1-6. I don't know why they decided to do that though, or make 4 so overtly a copy of A New Hope (considering it is the same characters in the same roles). Aside from that it is shallow garbage much like the sequels, full of references for some fans to squeal in joy over, plot contrivances from dumb decisions by rebels and empire, wasted "legacy" characters, bland new characters, and dull action. At least the sequels didn't **look** cheap...

[@chaz9808]

why does Reva run like she crapped her pants?

[@stonecoldprose]

I'll give this to Disney. They so lowered the bar with the sequel trilogy -- actually dropped the bar into the dirt -- that anything which doesn't look like complete rubbish gets lapped up by desperate fans. I went ahead and got Disney+ just for this (chump! nerf herder!), only to be rewarded with a slow, silly, poorly plotted, ineptly directed backdoor pilot for a show about a new character nobody cares about, whose main talent is getting impaled on Darth Vader's lightsaber. Disney is absolutely determined to kick this pinata until the very last candy has been expelled. "Star Wars" used to be art. Now it is content.

[@killianmccluff36]

I agree with your reasoning

[@Olderaccount17]

Man, this show was a disaster, and I'd only watched up to the 3rd episode! I quit after that; it was absolutely impossible for me to enjoy something this sloppily made. Watching that stupid scene of that woman slapping the helmets is *infuriating*

[@SithLadyDarhVamp]

It does work though...

[@rosumparat]

14:04 That moment was a canon breaking. Kenobi should know that Anakin is alive since the Empire took over most of the Galaxy for the past 10 damn years since Order 66 and everybody knows about the existence of Vader since he's the Empire's poster boy. That was so lazy coming from LucasFilms especially when the series writer admitted he didn't watch any of the prequels. Let's be serious here. Yoda told Kenobi - at the end of RotS - that he has more training for him to be able to Force contact Qui-Gon and also watch over Luke and what does Kenobi do? Notthing. He just wanders around, "watches" over Luke and cut all ties with the Force. Disney just deconstructed another character, just like they did with Luke in Last Jedi. Reva's revenge plot is not bad on paper but its execution is by far the most lame, like it is bellow average fan fiction writing. Her character is annoying as fuck and not in the good way and sadly the actress is as bad at acting too.

[@lukaleferink6547]

youre spitting facts keep going

[@giuliantoneIIi]

Yeah, but did Obi Wan know that Anakin's Sith name was Vader? If he did, then it wouldn't make sense. If he didn't, though, how can he imagine? Especially if he has cut ties with the Force

[@rosumparat]

@@giuliantoneIIi In case you didn't see Revenge of the Sith, after Order 66, Kenobi and Yoda watch a recording that shows Anakin killing padawans then another one in which he kneels in front of Palpatine who says "Rise Lord Vader". So he knew all along.

[@joshuachristian5443]

He didn't say she came from the gutter, he said she came from the ghetto.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Subtitles suggest gutter

[@joshuachristian5443]

@@mylittlethoughttree sigh...🙄

[@robweissman5952]

I hate this show... I'm only watching it so I can watch the KZbin videos on it... And if I had to pay to watch it, I would never watch it.

[@TheBirchView]

It does, cute vid though.

[@billyb6001]

It's a star destroyer wreck

[@billyb6001]

I thought baby Leia was great

[@peshkybee7721]

This show is basically The Last of Us Part: Kenobi lol

[@Hoolygamer]

This show was so uninspired. It only exists to make money for disney by selling nostalgia without any meaningful story telling. They really need to stop giving shitty directors jobs.

[@Kicksticks]

Urgh I found myself on this side of YT huh