Obi-Wan Kenobi: The show that brings back Star Wars magic

Falah Faisal

Growing up, Star Wars was like religion to me - I had action figures, limited edition sippers, a lightsaber and would endlessly look up the fanfiction online in between breaks of playing the video games on PS One.

Unlike most people I harbour no ill will for the prequel trilogy because that is the series I grew up with. The original trilogy in fact felt dated in comparison. And the best part of the prequels was clearly Obi Wan Kenobi. By the time the sequel trilogy rolled around in 2015, my enthusiasm for Star Wars was pretty much over.

I remember sleeping my way through The Force Awakens and Rogue One, The Last Jedi dragged on endlessly and I only watched The Rise of Skywalker out of obligation. They were just a farcical retelling of the story we had already seen twice before.

All that changed with the Mandalorian though, as the series returned the franchise to its Space Western roots by telling a good story with interesting characters.

So when I first heard that they were bringing back Ewan McGregor for a limited series on Obi-Wan Kenobi, I hoped it would go the Mandalorian route instead of the fan service of the sequel trilogy. The show tells the story of a Jedi who is called out of hiding to save Princess Leia and face off against his old apprentice Darth Vader.

Now, for an old school Star Wars buff it was really satisfying to see Vader back in action because despite the relentless teasing in the sequel trilogy’s villain Kylo Ren, felt tepid in comparison. The gaps in narrative between the trilogies, the ones I’d read fanfiction of where finally filled up by the show and the lightsaber battles don’t disappoint.

And despite the CGI deaging it was fun to see Hayden Christensen return from oblivion to reprise the role of Anakin Skywalker. The kid in me was extremely entertained. The series does have its shortcomings nonetheless, the writing at times feels flat and eons of space travel almost feel like teleportation with characters jumping at will all over the place.

But that doesn’t take away from the overall magic of seeing some of your favourite characters return on screen and do justice to the roles they essayed nearly two decades ago. Now, the only question that remains is where to find me some Jedi robes.