– Spoiler Review –
Obi-Wan’s scuffle with Darth Vader has left him scared in more ways than one, but he wastes no time in plotting the rescue of little Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi “Part IV,” a riveting, nail-biting dive into the belly of the beast(s) where Tala and Reva have some defining moments.
Obi-Wan Kenobi “Part IV” doesn’t fully unpack the quick and brutal battle between Ben and Darth Vader in “Part III,” as Ben is quick to jump back into action to save Leia and distract himself from dealing with what just happened. It’s an understandable move, as he’s spent 10 years with grief and self-doubt, so trying to process it now, knowing someone is in danger, is something he doesn’t have the time or patience to deal with. It’s also a dangerous move on his part, as his control of the Force still isn’t what it once was, as evident by how little he’s able to move a small object despite nearly being at the doorsteps of Fortress Inquisitorious, where Reva has taken little Leia. Tala, still with Obi-Wan after taking him to heal at the Path’s homebase on Jabiim, sees his lack of Force skills, while he tries to tell her he’ll be alright, she tells him his wounds aren’t the only thing that needs to heal, saying if he really cares for Leia he’ll have to forget the past if he’s to succeed. While he manages himself well enough in the moment, deflecting laser bolts and redirecting a flood towards troopers, breaking out Leia is a team effort, as he’s far from the confident old man skirting around the shadows of the Death Star on his own, but he’s definitely getting there after this. His self-doubts remain, but it’s not his sacred mission of watching over Luke that’s going to help him overcome it, but rather his time with Leia, as for her he puts his problems aside and is able to be a Jedi again, for a little bit. It’ll be interesting to see how this show’s story helps him make peace with the past, with his doubts in himself, and be okay with a life of solitude, as it means he’ll also have to let Leia go, aka be the Jedi he once was and let attachments go, despite their growing connection, his hand holding hers as the episode closes.
I’m beyond ecstatic Indira Varma got to stick around for more than one episode, as she was just digging into the compelling character of Tala in “Part III” and now she really is able to give it her all in the role for “Part IV,” carrying the stakes of the episode on her shoulders since we already know Obi-Wan and Leia’s fates. And carry it she damn well does, with a fantastic performance playing the undercover Imperial turned Path-spy with some real bite (like a proper Sand Snake mother, fellow Game of Thrones fans know!) and nuance, especially when she goes face to face with Reva. Having been an officer before leaving the Empire, it’s not hard for her to slip back into the role, dressing down insubordinates or sneering confidence in her words, though Varma sneaks in the doubts with little looks or grimaces, no longer comfortable with that old part of her life but glad to use it for good. When Ben needs a big distraction for breaking out Leia, she confronts Reva, claiming she is still an officer and has located the Path’s base, and the scene between these two women is as riveting as the action playing out as Ben escapes with Leia. Reva can smell the lies, but Tala keeps coming up with a reasonable answer, going so far as to admit she is a spy, just not the way Reva suspects. It’s a terrific scene and both actresses deliver the tension as they go back and forth over the truth. Tala’s quick thinking, while enough to spare her life, ends her up in interrogation on Reva’s orders, but Ben’s seen and the alarms pull Reva away, which is when Tala’s able to wrestle her way out of the stormtroopers holding her and still help him get out. Her earnestness and willingness to help others in need, no Force powers needed, already made her an interesting character, but Varma takes Tala to a whole other level in “Part IV” and hopefully more beyond, as she does escape alongside Ben and Leia with the help of others within the Path organization.
Little Leia is defiant as ever, even trying to intimidate her captors by telling them she’s a Senator’s daughter, and she also stands strong in the face of Reva’s attempts to break her. Moses Ingram in the scene with Reva and Tala is great, but her time against Vivien Lyra Blair’s little Leia is a chilling and insightful performance that’s probably my favorite of the episode. Reva tells Leia no one is coming for her, that Obi-Wan is dead, and while Leia might not believe it at first, the doubts sneak in but she won’t back down to Reva. In fact, she fakes it here and there, Blair’s performance really selling both the tears and defiance that comes after, Leia already on her way to standing in front of Vader in her ship and sassing him back when most would be too intimidated to speak. At first, Reva tries to use Ben’s apparent death against the Path, hoping that claiming they left Ben to die and won’t come for her will cause Leia to give them up, but Leia resists. Then Reva tries using the Force to pull the answers from her, but much like Rey against Kylo Ren’s attempts, she’s too strong, even asking if it’s supposed to be a staring contest. Leia sends little Lola after Reva, but the Force-user grabs it before it can do anything, though thanks to Leia’s actions gain some backstory here as she says she used to have a droid before it and how everything else was taken from her. Reva switches up tactics, trying to say they are both on the same side, they support the Empire, but Leia’s quick and sees the opportunity to challenge the Inquisitor, asking her to let her tell her dad the truth about the Path first, though this is the final straw for Reva, who takes her off to the interrogation chair. Leia’s saved by Tala’s distraction, and Ben’s able to grab her and fight through some troopers, eventually using a silly disguise of an officer’s long coat to hide her as they make their way to the exit. When they’re safe, after having to shoot their way out, Leia reaches out and takes Ben’s hand, a silent gesture of trust and comfort around him even if she knows he’s still not telling her everything. It’s a lovely scene the two actors convey more than enough through in just an exchange of looks and was a hopeful ending compared to the obviously big machine that is the Empire against them. But it’s not all happy, as it turns out Reva turned Lola from friend to foe, installing a tracker on the cute little droid.
“Part IV” teaches us a lot more about Reva than I initially imagined it could, as her tactics and admissions, especially once she takes Leia into the interrogation chamber, offer glimpses at who she really is and what she might want. While questioning Leia, Reva admits a little about herself and her past, and if she really is one of the younglings in the premiere’s opening scene, she seems to now view being taken away by the Jedi as a bad thing, as she talks about having a droid as a kid but it and everything else was taken away from her; Order 66 coming so early in her Jedi career would certainly make being a Jedi go from a dream to a curse. She even talks about being alone, the people who were supposed to look after her leaving her behind, which I’m also taking to mean the Jedi, that after she and the other younglings fled, no Jedi ever came to find her, hence eventually ending up with the Inquisitors; anger from being abandoned would be easy for Vader or another Inquisitor to tap into and use against her to turn to their side. If Vader told her about Obi-Wan, his version of how this is all his fault, hunting him down would be a priority, to make him pay for letting this happen, for abandoning her. But it’s not all dark, as while she has Leia strapped into the interrogation chair, the torture devices beginning their slow turn towards Leia, her shouts of fear are hard for Reva to ignore and some cracks begin to show. Ingram is such a talented actress and the way she lets pain in Reva’s eyes slip through here, her pleas with Leia to answer her, that she doesn’t want to do this, tune us into how this isn’t a show or a tactic, it’s the truth. The last thing Reva wants to do is hurt Leia, a surprising but important revelation that offers more questions than answers, but all of them have tons of story potential across the final two episodes. In my review of “Part III,” I theorized she was going down this road as an Inquisitor hoping to get to Vader and take him out, as she knew he was the real cause behind all her pain since, not Kenobi, and hunting down Kenobi would help her get there, to do what he couldn’t. That all depends on her knowing a lot, though since she knows who Vader really is, it’s not too far of a stretch for her to know some of this information. However, after “Part IV” I’m more inclined to think that little Jedi is still in there, somewhere, that hope’s inside her still, and regardless of what happens with Ben, with Vader, she might see the potential to take down the Sith, be a Jedi again for a little bit, and turn. No matter the outcome, no matter what happens with the character, Ingram’s made it compelling to watch unfold. Before the episode ends, she finds herself at the receiving end of Vader’s wrath, Obi-Wan, Tala, Leia, and Sully escaping (sorry Wade), but she reveals she has a tracker in place and he stays her execution…for now.
Ben looked a lot more like Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Clone Wars, though still rough around the edges and probably wouldn’t have lasted against Vader again or any of the Inquisitors, but he’s on the way there. Holding back the flood waters and then redirecting it to take out incoming troopers was a great step back to where he once was, so I’ll be curious how much further he regains his abilities before the series ends. Beyond sneaking around an Imperial facility, Ben also goes into detective mode again, albeit accidentally, when he uncovers a surprising section of the Fortress Inquisitorious we’ve yet to hear about. Obi-Wan finds a room full of entombed beings, in what looks like amber, being held in the depths of the Fortress…a tomb as it were. There’s a lot of unfamiliar faces, including a youngling, though some potentially familiar faces, but I can say for sure: Tera Sinube gets a big close-up! It was fun to see the old Jedi, who recently had a moment in The High Republic, but sad to see him dead, as I really enjoyed him in The Clone Wars. Is this part of the Inquisitor’s nasty trick with dead Jedi used in Star Wars Rebels? Is this related to the stuff in vats thing happening in The Mandalorian? Test runs for Palpatine’s attempts to secure himself a new body in case he dies? Something to do with The Bad Batch‘s season one finale and the secret project in mountains first seen in Grand Admiral Thrawn’s first Legends story? Regardless, will Obi-Wan try to do something about it or be content with returning Leia and finding a way to disappear again? If nothing happens with it besides this scene, when and where will we pick up the thread, because you know they didn’t show this without a reason…
Here are a few other things:
- It’s a little thing, but I really loved seeing characters like Roken and Sully, adding even more representation on screen for Star Wars, while having both a trope breaker (the woman, Sully, surviving and mourning the guy for once) and an interesting story about a Jedi who had a family before the Inquisitors found them.
- It’s funny to realize this is the second time someone broke into the Fortress Inquisitorious and from “Part IV” it wouldn’t appear like it happened before, so lax they are with security! The first time was in Jedi: Fallen Order, and there a few references to that here, like the Purge Troopers (black armor, red pauldron) and little seeker droids, which was neat to see!
- Krystina Arielle, the host of The High Republic Show and Star Wars Live at Celebration this year, had a blink and you’ll miss it cameo in this week’s episode!
- Don’t forget, every Wednesday is Obi-Wan Wednesdays, and this week they showed off a LEGO set of Vader and Obi-Wan’s confrontation at the end of “Part III” (perfect for kids!), among other things.
Obi-Wan Kenobi “Part IV” is a tense, action-filled episode in the big rescue of little Leia, but what makes it even more compelling to watch are the stellar performances and new details about the show’s characters.
+ Ben being Obi-Wan again
+ Tala’s big role (and Varma’s great acting)
+ Reva’s layers (and Ingram’s performance)
+ Defiant Leia (and Blair’s great energy)
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
OBI-WAN KENOBI SERIES REVIEWS
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part V | Part VI