We open with a flashback to when Order 66 was kicked off by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). We see Clone Troopers storming a Jedi training school in a way similar to the Grogu flashback, then see some younglings run off to perhaps set up the recently announced Skeleton Crew. Was Order 66 really that successful? There seems to be Jedi everywhere still!
Suddenly it is ten years later, and we are back on the busiest quietest corner of the galaxy – Tatooine. Its twin suns have been blessed with a team of Inquisitors on the hunt for a Jedi called Nari (Benny Safdie). We meet Grand Inquisitor (Ruper Friend) – who looks awesome in live action, let’s hope he is a good as he was in Rebels, Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram), and Fifth Brother (Sung Kang) as they question a shop/bar owner about Nari – who escapes them after a scuffle.
We then rejoin Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) who is now leading a quiet humble life keeping his head down working for his credits and go back to his cave to chill out. He still has nightmares about Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and their battle on Mustafar. Kenobi calls out to Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) for help in the night, but he does not answer.
The following day gives us a deeper glimpse into Kenobi’s life which includes his hobby of watching Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely) through binoculars and leaving toys for him outside his house.
Nari appears and confronts Kenobi wanting him to resume his Jedi duties and fight the Empire. Kenobi declares that the Jedi are dead, and they lost. he advises Nari that if he wants to survive, he should bury his lightsaber in the desert and go into hiding.
Without giving too much away the episode continues Kenobi’s plight on Tatooine including his run ins with Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton) as well as reintroducing Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) and her “parents” Senator Bail Oragana (Jimmy Smits) and his wife Breha Organa (Simone Kessell). We also get to meet the evil bounty hunter Vect Nokru (Flea) and his gang.
Verdict: 8/10. A solid start with Blair channelling Carrie Fisher perfectly as Leia. A lot of threads have been laid out, but my concern remains with the fact that telling this story may in fact damage already established cannon. It was nice to see Flea join the Star Wars Universe but I hope more depth and acknowledgement to already established events is made clear as this show develops.
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