Now that “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is past its halfway mark, it’s safe to say that it’s not exactly hitting where it should. It’s very evidently a nostalgia vehicle that’s being used to add some more shades to characters that we know and love. Some are liking these new additions to Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Vader (Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones), and Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair). Some aren’t. Personally speaking, I am simply bored. That’s largely because, no matter how intense Natalie Holt and John Williams’s score goes or how kinetic Chung-hoon Chung’s cinematography feels, there’s a sense of hollowness to it all. Is it because of Deborah Chow’s direction or the writing by Joby Harold, Hannah Friedman, Hossein Amini, Stuart Beattie, and Andrew Stanton? Or is there just too much Star Wars in the galaxy? I don’t know. So, let’s talk about Part IV.
Spoilers Ahead
Kenobi And Tala Invade Fortress Inquisitorius
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” Episode 4 opens with Kenobi recuperating in a Bacta tank on Jabiim after Vader dragged him through hot coals to emulate his experience on Mustafar. The scene is intercut with Vader in the Bacta tank and flashes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Vader’s recent fight. Kenobi wakes up and tries to exit the tank because Leia has been taken. At Fortress Inquisitorius, which is the black pyramid structure on an oceanic planet and home to the Inquisitors, we see that Leia has been kept captive. Reva (Moses Ingram), arrives to tell her that the Empire doesn’t take kindly to Jedi sympathizers, and she lies to Leia that Obi-Wan is dead.
Tala (Indira Varma) takes Kenobi to Roken (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who tells Tala that Kenobi shouldn’t be on Jabiim because the Empire is looking for him, and he’ll put everyone in danger. Kenobi requests Roken to help him with rescuing Leia. Roken declines. Kenobi retorts by saying that Roken has no clue what the Empire can do to Leia. Roken says that he does because they killed his wife, who was Force sensitive. Tala says that Reva already knows everything about them. So, the Empire’s discovery of Jabiim is not a probability but a certainty. But if they can use its resources to find Leia, then it’ll be a good thing. Eventually, Roken agrees to help Kenobi.
Roken informs us and the characters that Fortress Inquisitorius is located on the Moon Nur, which is in the Mustafar system. During their discussion, they realize that it’s pointless to attack the Fortress. They have to go covertly. So, Tala proposes to re-use her cover as an Imperial Officer and conduct the rescue. On their way to Fortress Inquisitorius, Kenobi and Tala realize that he isn’t strong enough to use the Force, not just physically but psychologically as well. But they soldier on.
Reva interrogates Leia about the Path and the location of the last remaining Jedi. Leia asks how Kenobi died. Reva lies again that he burned to death on Mapuzo. She says that the Jedi left him there to die. And she promises to send Leia back home if she tells her about the Path. Leia refuses to give out any information.
Tala lands in Fortress Inquisitorius, but Kenobi is initially nowhere to be seen. She is stopped during her entry into the deeper levels of the Fortress by the sector’s security in-charge. She is asked to identify herself. And when the security officer tells her that she doesn’t have clearance, Tala says that she outranks him, she has confidential information, and if he doesn’t let him through, she’s going to let Reva know about his insolence. He lets her through, and Tala immediately goes to the control room to let Kenobi in through one of the underwater ports because Kenobi is swimming his way into the Fortress. It’s a cool callback to when he had to do the same in Naboo.
Kenobi Compromises Fortress Inquisitorius’s Integrity
Obi-Wan Kenobi kills a Stormtrooper and starts making his way to Leia based on Tala’s directions. Reva uses the Force to extract answers from Leia. But Leia turns out to be way more stronger than Reva anticipated as she doesn’t succumb to Reva’s powers. Leia tries to do something with LOLA, but Reva catches it and ominously says that she’s going to take everything from Leia like the way everything was taken from her. Tala continues to give directions while Kenobi avoids Seeker droids and Stormtroopers. Eventually, another Imperial officer realizes Tala is not in her designated station and takes her away.
Despite having no guidance, Kenobi manages to move covertly. Tala is seen suffocating the Imperial Officer, who was about to give up her plan, while Kenobi hides from a couple of Stormtroopers (who are evidently spooked by the place and want a transfer). Kenobi is nearly discovered when Tala re-establishes contact with him. But Kenobi uses the Force to distract the Stormtroopers and continue going towards the place Leia is in. Reva continues questioning Leia and tells her that they are on the same side. That’s why it’s safe to give up the Jedi’s location. Leia says that if they are on the same side, she’d like to talk to her father first. Reva realizes that Leia is now tricking her into initiating a rescue and intensifies her interrogation.
Leia, kicking and screaming, is taken to the chair with various kinds of torture instruments attached to it (something that we see in “The Force Awakens” when Kylo Ren interrogates Poe and Rey). Kenobi makes it to the secure sector and realizes that it’s a tomb for all the Jedi that the Inquisitors have killed. There’s even a kid in one of those tombs, thereby hinting that the Inquisitors really know no mercy. Kenobi then hears Leia’s cries for help and rushes to help her. Tala approaches Reva to cause a distraction that can last long enough for Kenobi to get Leia out of that torture chamber. And it kind of works as Kenobi manages to get Leia out.
Although Kenobi tries to take Leia out of place without raising any alarms, a Seeker droid finds them and notifies everyone that there’s an intruder in the Fortress. Reva orders the Stormtroopers to take Tala for questioning so that they can verify if her distraction is a lie or not. When Kenobi tells her that he and Leia are on their way out and he needs backup, Tala knocks out the Stormtroopers and goes to help Kenobi and Leia.
Kenobi puts up an incredible fight by deflecting laser blasts coming at him from left, right, and center with his lightsaber. But he accidentally ends up hitting one of the windows, thereby causing it to crack up. Tala comes to take Leia away while Kenobi holds back the water that is waiting to rush in. When he sees that Tala and Leia are in the clear and the enemy is about to get to him, Kenobi lets the glass break, drowning the guards and Stormtroopers, and escapes by a hair’s breadth.
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Episode 4: Ending Explained – Did Inquisitor Reva Bug Leia’s Droid?
In the goofiest scene in the miniseries, Obi-Wan Kenobi (with Tala on her side) tries to get Leia out of there without anyone noticing by putting her underneath his trenchcoat. As in, you can see that there’s a whole-ass person hiding beside the man, and no one notices. But it’s Star Wars, so it kind of works. Fifth Brother (Sung Kang) and Fourth Sister (Rya Kihlstedt) arrive to order a shutdown of the Fortress. Fifth Brother says that Third Sister will suffer for this mishap. Kenobi, Leia, and Tala almost make it to the hangar but are discovered by Reva. Everyone around the trio points their blasters at them, and things start to look dire. That’s when Sully (Maya Erskine) and Wade (Ryder McLaughlin) come in to get them out of there.
Wade keeps Reva occupied long enough for Sully to escape with Kenobi, Leia, and Tala. When it seems like Wade is going to make it out of there, too, Reva chucks an explosive device at Wade’s ship and kills him. Vader drops by to choke the hell out of Reva and tells her that she knew about the consequences of her failure, and now she has to face them. Fifth Brother appears happy that he’s finally getting what he wanted. Reva says she intentionally let them go and put a tracker on the ship. That way, Kenobi and the location of the Jedi will be revealed soon. Vader drops her and asks her if she’s certain the tracker is with him. Reva says that she is, and wherever he goes, the tracker will follow.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tala, Sully, and Leia return to the Rebel ship. Roken and Sully look crestfallen over Wade’s death. Tala says that now they are soldiers after all and offers Sully a drink. Kenobi and Leia share a heartwarming moment that feels like a bright light in the gloomy atmosphere created by Wade’s death. And although it seemed like Reva was lying to delay her death, we see LOLA’s blue eyes turn red, which means that Reva has secretly turned it into a tracker.
See More: ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Episode 3: Recap And Ending, Explained – Does Leia Get Abducted Again?
