Every time an episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on the fourth episode of season one – Part 4. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Jen Sopchockchai Bankard
In Obi-Wan Kenobi Part IV, the rescue mission to get to Leia before Reva tortures her for information catalyzes two huge moments for the series’ title character: 1.) Going behind enemy lines compels (I was about to say “forces” but thought the pun, however unintentional, may be a bit too much, even for me.) Obi-Wan to reconnect with the Force and 2.) Leia reciprocates the love and care we have seen in Ewan McGregor’s eyes in past episodes, perhaps in the first found-family love he has felt since his brother, Anakin, fell to the Dark Side. The former was fan-affirmingly spectacular while the other hit hard on a deeply emotional level. Part IV very gradually and realistically shows Obi-Wan finding his way back to the Force. We see him trying to move a small non-descript object on Tala’s ship, still straining and able to move it, even a few inches. Tala says to him that he just needs time to heal, both physically and mentally. Only he has no time. Leia needs him now.
As such, this rescue really serves as a crucible Obi-Wan reforging his connection with the Force. Inside the Fortress, he uses a Jedi mind trick to redirect some stormtroopers who are dangerously close to discovering him. When he gets to Leia, he takes down the troopers guarding her with his lightsaber. All this paves the way for the epic hallway chase scene in which Obi-Wan approaches his former fighting form and, in a climactic moment, can use the Force to hold back a cracking window with an ocean’s worth of water bursting behind it.
Deborah Chow was so smart to withhold — until this climactic moment — the proper spin and other flourishes of movement that I associate with glory days General Kenobi. This return to form (or at least the start of it) was well worth the wait. McGregor’s skills as an actor once again come through here, as I believed it was excruciatingly difficult for Obi-Wan to hold the weight of all that water. At the same time, I believed that he was able to hold it for as long as he did not because of his Jedi fitness, but because of his sheer will and desire to protect Leia.
These fist-pump-inducing breakthroughs were only rivaled by the development of the Leia-Ben relationship, which continues to be a highlight of this series for me. The way she takes his hand and the looks they exchange with one another? I melted. McGregor goes from looking surprised and confused to touched in a matter of seconds. When Leia pulls Obi-Wan’s hand towards her and clasps, the corner of McGregor’s mouth goes up ever so slightly, but then disappears. It’s clear that he’s going through so many mixed emotions — love, pride, and comfort, but also fear and sadness.
Even though McGregor’s performance is phenomenal and does justice to his character more than any of us could have ever hoped for, Obi-Wan Kenobi still has a powerhouse ensemble cast, introducing new minor characters that I care about more than I expected. And they’re actually integral to the storyline. An alternate version of the series might have — in our darkest timeline — used fan service and nostalgia as a crutch and gotten away with one-dimensional archetypes in its supporting cast. What I’m trying to say here is that a series bringing Obi-Wan Kenobi back into our lives doesn’t necessarily need to have fully-formed supporting characters; fans will show up regardless. I’m so grateful that this series has produced not one but at least three or four characters that I’d like to see more of in other Disney Plus series.
Exhibit A: Moses Ingram. This episode was her and, by extension, Reva’s time to shine. The way she manipulates and tries to psych people out was charismatic in the way that only a really great villain can be. She twists the truth so much that it does at first blush kind of make sense. And she’s clearly using arguments that others have used on her (probably when she first became an Inquisitor): that the people who supposedly left Leia behind don’t deserve her protection. That the only person who can save Leia right now is herself. She even pulls this kind of mind game on Vader at the end of the episode when she says that she let Obi-Wan, Tala, and Leia go on purpose because she placed a tracker on their ship. The gaul! When she interrupts the Fifth Brother’s whining with “Kenobi is all that matters,” she’s playing Vader like a fiddle, and I have so much respect for her for it. She clearly understands what makes Vader tick and how to survive as his servant. but “little” Leia goes toe-to-toe with Reva, fooling both Reva and the audience (or at least me) into thinking she — very understandably — would crack under pressure because she’s a ten-year-old child. Vivian Lyra Blair continues to impress me, especially when she flashes from scared to defiant, saying, “I don’t know anything” or “I’ll never tell you where they are.” It’s actually kind of scary how she goes from terrified child to brave rebel so quickly.
Reva, of course, tries to capitalize on any potential similarities, trying to get Leia to think that she’s a friend rather than an enemy. Reva says that they’re both alone, and recalls that she too had to learn “the braver you seem the more afraid you are” at a young age. The way these two try to manipulate each other throughout the interrogation scenes made something click for me: could Leia and Reva be two Force sides of the same coin? Ultimately, though, neither can fool the other. Reva becomes wise to Leia’s attempt to contact her father (or just resentful of having the phrase “we’re all on the same side” thrown back in her face? I’m a fan of either interpretation.). And Leia never falls for Reva’s rhetoric. Tala, on the other hand, is actually able to fool Reva, even if only for a moment. She is magnetic as the double agent. Indira Varma plays her as bold and brave — she’s so convincing when she’s puffing herself up as an Imperial officer — but then also scared and nervous. Again, her character could have been flat and disposable, but between the significant role she plays in this rescue mission, her rapport with Obi-Wan, and Varma’s stellar performance, I am already attached to her and want her to have her own Disney Plus series.
Daniel Lo
Part IV of Obi-Wan Kenobi had several questionable elements that jumped out at me. The first is simply a matter of taste, but I’m growing a little tired of all the shaky cam. A jittery wide shot of our heroes going over Fortress Inquisitorius schematics felt like a particularly odd choice to me. Then there were a couple of scenes involving Tala that pulled me out of the show: openly communicating with Obi-Wan via comlink in a quiet room full of Imperial officers sitting well within earshot, and neutralizing a stormtrooper with a half-hearted slap to the helmet (might I suggest sweep the leg next time). Near the end of the episode, we saw a showdown between Reva and a T-47 airspeeder. Such an amazing concept on paper, but completely undermined by the choreography, compositions, and editing. Vader’s appearances in this show continue to feel slightly off to me, although I’m starting to wonder if this is simply how he behaved during this midpoint between Episode III and IV.
Having said all that, did these shortcomings put a damper on my overall viewing experience this week? Not really! I actually really liked it. Sure, there were definitely more flaws in addition to what I’ve already mentioned (hiding Leia under a trench coat??) but the fun factor more than tipped the scales. The opening scene alternating between Vader and Obi-Wan in their respective bacta tanks was actually pretty cool. We saw a return of the A99 aquata breather. I’ve always liked my Star Wars a little dark, and the discovery of the Jedi tomb was definitely dark. Leia’s rescue scene was an excellent nod to The Force Unleashed II, although its enactment wasn’t nearly as compelling as what we saw in the old game trailer. A lightsaber wielding Obi-Wan facing down stormtroopers instantly felt like Star Wars! Using the Force to hold back a cracking window was also cool, although it’s a shame that they couldn’t use The Force Theme for whatever reason. And perhaps most importantly, the Episode I-esque lightsaber twirl showed that Obi-Wan has started to get his mojo back.
One small but interesting observation about the series so far has been the contrast between two of their big name castings: Kumail Nanjiani and O’Shea Jackson Jr. They pulled a Ryan Reynolds with Kumail, in the sense that he sort of played himself whereas Ice Cube Jr. played a more immersive character within the Star Wars universe; An actor who looked like a Star Wars character vs a Star Wars character who looked like an actor.
Some random thoughts while watching: Imperial handcuffs apparently come in all sizes; first for Grogu, now for a 10-year old. How many new underwater species were introduced on Nur? Leia wins another staring contest. Unattended comlink somehow doesn’t attract more attention. First live action seeker droid. Jedi youngling helmets don’t fall off easily. Lightsaber blades bounce off stormtrooper armor? People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, or fire E-11 blaster rifles. Obi-Wan in Imperial disguise reminded me of Tobias Beckett. Ouch, mouse droid. How did they fit so many people inside a T-47? No one seems to miss the Grand Inquisitor. Where is Babu Frik when you need him?
Carl Bayliss
And so, having left on yet another cliffhanger (dontcha just LOVE episodic TV) we pick up with Leia having been captured by Reva, and Ben having been injured by Vader. Tala, the double agent from the previous episode, takes Obi-Wan to a base (presumably part of the pathway) where he is dropped into a bacta tank to heal the burns he sustained. A nice split sequence here between Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader in his bacta tank on Mustafar as Obi-Wan has more flashbacks and wakes again, panicked as to where Leia is (very much like Finn waking up in The Last Jedi and asking ‘Where’s Rey?’). And this is one of the first nods to other moments in previous stories and movies, which are very welcome, but as with some of the other shows are not shoehorned in at the expense of the story.
So we get the ‘break into Fortress Inquisitorius’ plotline, with Tala using her Imperial clearances to get in to the base. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is swimming down to get in via a submerged access hatch. A neatly sidestepped opportunity for him to don some trooper armour to get around the base and we’re off.
Leia is being interrogated by Reva, who tells her Obi-Wan is dead and that they heard of the pathway previously but thought they were being misled. She tries to get Leia to tell them where the pathway is by saying the ‘people she it protecting left Obi-Wan to die, and they’ll do the same to her’. Ben discovers a Jedi tomb where the Jedi captured by the inquisitors are being kept – although seemingly in some form of amber – perhaps being used to instigate some of the research into cloning and using force sensitive beings as templates, similar to that which the remnants were seeking Grogu for in The Mandalorian.
We then see another parallel to ‘A New Hope’, ’The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘The Force Awakens’ with Leia facing an interrogation/torture in a similar device to that used to torture Han and Poe, with the sound effects mirroring the ‘mind probe’ droid on the Death Star. Tala creates a diversion by giving Reva a version of the truth story saying she was undercover on Mapuzo but that the pathway leads to Florum which is where Obi-Wan is. Meanwhile Ben has rescued Leia but inadvertently triggered an alarm from a sweeper droid (think smaller probe) and the base is put on alert. In the ensuing chase (again similar to the escape from the Death Star) we see Obi-Wan seem to regain some of his fighting prowess, presumably as he is under pressure to get Leia out safely. During one exchange he deflects a blaster bolt into a window which cracks slightly and bearing in mind they are underwater following a few more seconds starts to crack further (end of The Bad Batch season two anyone?). Obi-Wan uses the force to hold back the window long enough for Tala and Leia to get out of the corridor and when a group of troopers (including a purge trooper?) break through the other door he releases the glass, flooding the corridor and just makes it out the other end where Tala closes the door behind him.
With them now trying to make their escape, Ben dons possibly the worst disguise in the history of Star Wars, an officer’s cap and a long coat, complete with Leia hidden underneath it. Reva catches up to them in the main hanger and just as the game seems up for them, two airspeeders (Hoth snowspeeders) show up and blast the troopers allowing Obi-Wan, Tala and Leia to escape on one of the speeders whilst the other holds Reva down with blaster fire. As this speeder makes it’s way out of the base Reva force throws a fuel cell at it causing it to explode and crash into the waters below.
We now see a very angry Vader marching to confront Reva, lifting her full off the floor and force choking her before she manages to get out that there is tracker aboard the ship (wonder if this was Vader’s inspiration for the Death Star escape?), as we cut back to the speeder making it’s way back to it’s parent ship, Leia’s droid Lola comes online but with an ominous red eye instead of the previous blue….
With more call backs than an accident claims helpline, this was again a great episode. So much in there for fans of all eras of Star Wars, but as I said previously, not to the detriment of of the story or the pacing. We get to see Reva trying to manipulate Leia, possibly giving us some of her own motivation and further insight into her character or this could all be just to get the answers she wants. We also see a partial ‘return to form’ for Obi-Wan as some of his skills are still not quite where they once were, but his lightsaber skills seem to be coming back.
Really loving where this series is taking us. And four episodes in and I haven’t even commented on the brilliant score by Natalie Holt – as with John Williams’ previous scores and indeed the main theme for ‘Benny’, Holt’s music heightens the tension where necessary and compliments Deborah Chow’s visual story perfectly.
Becca Benjamin
Part 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi closed on a cliffhanger with a badly burnt Ben and Leia cornered by the third sister, Reva. Thankfully, Part 4 picks up where Part 3 left off.
Tala is doing everything she can to keep Ben alert and not fall unconscious. Once they arrive at Jabiim, Ben is placed into a Bacta tank to heal his burns. But, it seems the Force has other plans for Ben. Ben slips into an unconscious state and finds his former apprentice through a Force connection that allows them to feel each other’s pain and emotional anguish in real-time. It’s so raw and terrifying that it wakes Ben up as he flees for the top of the tank, gasping for air.
Meanwhile, Reva is interrogating Leia at length, and Leia asserts herself well beyond her years as she states, “I’m the daughter of a Senator and a Princess of Alderaan!” But, there seems to be a brief moment of compassion for Leia from Reva in this scene. A connection to childhood? Perhaps. But that compassion quickly turns to frustration as Leia’s quick wit bests her elder opponent. Is that envy, Reva? I think it is, but only time will tell.
As Leia continues to be questioned and threatened with physical pain, Ben and Tala are figuring out a rescue plan to save Leia. A rescue plan that’s more like a suicide mission, but what is a Jedi to do?
Slowly, but surely we’re seeing a familiar Ben emerge from ten long years of Force hibernation, and that feeling of hope is rising. And it only nips at our heels as we watch Tala infiltrate the Inquisitor base on Nur. Again, Tala puts it “all on the line” and risks everything for the mission.
As Tala leads the charge from the inside, Ben is on the outside, or rather, underwater. Once inside, Tala navigates the base via com-link with Ben so that he can find where Reva is keeping Leia. This sequence almost foreshadows Leia’s future aboard the Death Star in A New Hope. Except for the Jedi Tomb Chamber, can we say creepy?
Once Ben recovers Leia and manages to meet up with Tala, the extract part of the plan starts to go to crap. Like, come on, hiding a ten-year-old under a trench coat is really going to work? Quirky? Yes. Star Warsy? Also, yes. I mean, you can’t have a proper Star War without a bit of cheese.
That said, seeing Darth Vader storm the corridors in a fit of rage is scary as hell. The closeups we’re getting of angry Vader is a gift. Truly. Also, the push and pull between Reva and Vader is ominously magical. You don’t know whether they want to kill or kiss each other, but it’s absolutely mesmerizing.
In closing, the final scene between Ben and Leia solidifies the sole purpose as to why Ben Solo is named Ben. Her reaching out to him and placing her hand on top of his rekindles that spark of hope. Hope, like love, is enough, and both can ignite the stars.
Eric Onkenhout
Obi-Wan Kenobi has been riding a high since it premiered on May 27th at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim. Every episode has been consistently top-notch; no complaints whatsoever until now. Part IV was a very good episode, just not as good as the previous three. It had some really touching moments and some head-scratching ones as well. Some might even argue that it was a repeat of Part II in a different location. All in all, I liked the episode; it was just a notch below the rest, and I’ll tell you why.
The episode opens with Tala flying a wounded Obi-Wan back to Jabiim, where he can be treated in a bacta tank. There was a cool back-and-forth montage of Vader and Obi-Wan in a bacta tank where Obi-Wan recalls what Vader said about him becoming weak over the years. I like to think this is symbolism that Obi-Wan is becoming more like Vader, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Obi-Wan finally wakes, and his first thought is about Leia. This reminded me of Finn waking up in the hospital in The Last Jedi, and his first thought was, “where’s Rey?”
It then cuts to the Fortress Inquisitorius on Nur, where Leia is being held captive. So when I said Part IV is Part II again, this is what I meant. In Part II, Leia is held captive on Daiyu, demanding to be released, only now Leia is on Nur. It can’t be said enough how good Vivien Lyra Blair is as Leia, and her scenes with Moses Ingram as the Third Sister (Reva) are some of the best in this episode. They have great chemistry and display emotion really well. How terrible must the Empire be for torturing a ten-year-old girl? The interrogation scene reminded me much of Leia and Tarkin in A New Hope. In both scenes, Leia tries to buy herself time but is unsuccessful both times.
On Jabiim at a secret Rebel base, Tala and Obi-Wan asked Roken (O’Shea Jackson) to help rescue Leia. After saying he can’t help and that Obi-Wan’s presence is threatening their base, Roken decides to help. He completely changed his mind in about 15 seconds. I get it; the show is only 36 minutes long. It just seemed very Monty Python, “I hate the Romans. Alright you’re in.” There’s a very Star Wars-like briefing to plan the attack on the Fortress.
Reva tells Leia that the Empire intercepted a transmission on Balnab about a Path. Balnab first appeared in The Clone Wars season 4, episode 6, Nomad Droids (2011), and the comic book Age of Rebellion: Han Solo (2019). In another head-scratching moment, as Tala and Ben approach the Fortress, Tala lands her craft, and Ben suddenly appears swimming in the ocean. When or how he got there is never shown. Apparently, Tala dropped him off at some point. And during the briefing, it’s clearly stated they are not sure how far it goes down, but Ben swims to its base and breaks in.
The bottom of the Fortress serves as a tomb for various Jedi and Rebels held in a block of something resembling amber. Looks like Master Tera Sinube is part of the group. Pretty gruesome. Indira Varma is great as Tala, who I thought would undoubtedly be killed in this episode. Ben rescues Leia and fights his way through stormtroopers, with Tala providing distractions. In a scene out of Austin Powers, Ben hides Leia underneath his cloak and escapes with Tala by T-47 (snowspeeder). Seems like Ben’s beard didn’t set any alarms off.
Vader learns of Reva’s blunder and isn’t happy. By the way, the shaky camera angle of an angry Vader was absolute brilliance. Reva tells Vader she’s tracking Ben’s ship, so no worries! During their escape from the Fortress, one of the Rebel pilots (wade) perished. Once things settle, Leia reaches out and holds Ben’s hand. This was the best scene in the entire episode and was so moving! Then the camera pans down and shows Lola awaken, and we know that is how Reva is tracking them.
Only two episodes left of the best Star Wars Disney Plus series! So much of the credit goes to Deborah Chow for her direction. In my book, Chow deserves to direct as much Star Wars as she wants. I also believe having one director instead of multiple visions keeps the focus tighter and the story more consistent. It’s something The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett lack.
Ross Hollebon
Connection is the descriptor that filled my mind while watching episode 4 (for a third time). It struck hard at the beginning as Kenobi and Darth Vader almost seemed linked during their intense, respective, bacta tank recovery baths. But it expanded as Kenobi learned Roken had a Force-sensitive wife who was taken by the Inquisitors, leading the smuggler and engineer to put himself at risk by helping orchestrate The Path for safe passage of Force wielders.
Then for the biggest moment—the reveal within Fortress Inquisitorius. There are Jedi and Younglings trapped in what Kenobi describes as a “tomb.” This also could connect to what we’ve seen regarding clone experiments in The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, and well after this series takes place in The Rise of Skywalker. And then there is the most important connection in the story: Leia holding Kenobi’s hand, aboard Roken’s ship, after being rescued. The wandering Jedi has not only been required to re-connect with the Force to rescue the young princess but has also learned hope from a 10-year-old and how important these relationships can be.
Mark Newbold
Where do you start with an episode as detail-packed and juicy as Part 4 of Obi-Wan Kenobi? Naturally, you start right at the end, as a young Leia Organa gently touches the hand of Ben Kenobi, a silent thanks that somehow creates the illusion of time travel by hurling us back 45 years to 1977, when a 19 year old Leia pleaded for Kenobi’s help. By then he felt he was ‘too old for that sort of thing‘ – clever on Ben’s part that he says this to a young Luke Skywalker, hungry to see what’s beyond the twins suns of his adopted planet and about to embark on his own galactic journey (one we now see Leia has clearly been living for many years already), unaware that the Princess in the secret hologram is in fact his twin sister. Fate, destiny, karma, lady luck, serendipity, they’re all at play on the sabacc table of life in the Star Wars galaxy, but that gentle touch adds so much, says so much.
It’s truly the biggest gem of this series so far, the layering on of emotion and intent to events we’ve lived with for most of our lives. Here, we see Ben get his mojo back in a monumental way, the beating heart of plucky young Leia metaphorically pumping the blood (and midichlorians) through his own veins as he holds back the river / Reva to escape Fortress Inquisitorious, dodging a furious Darth Vader and escaping in airspeeders with the timely help of a nascent cell of the future Rebel Alliance. The moment we realise that the Force is re-awakening isn’t his strained effort to hold back the water as the glass walls of the corridor threaten to crack, but when he dispatches stormtroopers and then twirls his lightsaber. It’s almost a throwaway moment, but knowing the indefatigable Obi-Wan Kenobi as we do, having watched countless hours of him heroically fighting during the Clone Wars, that unconscious action means everything.
You could really do some damage to your teeth and your waistline with all the easter eggs on display here, but chomp away as during its four episodes so far Obi-Wan Kenobi is balancing jump-out-of-your-seat-and-point-at-the-screen nostalgia with the very present peril, navigating long held understandings with logical reads of words said decades ago. Writer Toby Harold has promised that the ‘plot holes’ will be filled (how you can claim there are plot holes in a show only two-thirds of the way through is beyond me) and the steady, confident and satisfying manner in which the show has been executed so far leaves me in little doubt that will be the case….I say ‘little doubt’ rather than no doubt as Star Wars writing has always left holes in the plot for other media and creatives to fill, finding gold in the hills of the writing and delivering quality content while they do so. As far as this series goes, it’s been a very fruitful journey so far.
Mark Newbold and Mark Mulcaster discuss Part 4 on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: Obi-Wan Kenobi Part 4.
Brian Cameron and Mark Mulcaster discuss Part 4 on Good Morning Tatooine – Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 4 – A Reaction.
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