Obi-Run
Last night's third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi persisted in the qualities established in the first two episodes--good performances and bad writing. This week also had some disappointments relating to music and location shots, though. But it was at least heartening that Disney didn't seem to be forcing anyone to hold back in terms of action and violence.
I was happy the hear James Earl Jones voicing Darth Vader. Disney was oddly coy about it, refraining from announcing him in any press leading up to the show. Even stranger is that no-one in the regular entertainment press seemed to be asking, which I guess is kind of a tell for how many of these outlets are in Disney's pocket. But now we have Hayden Christensen in the suit and it does feel different to having a massive body builder like David Prowse in there. Especially when he was sitting on that throne, it kind of seemed more like the suit was wearing him.
The absence of "The Imperial March" was sorely felt in this episode, too. John Williams wrote the new theme for Obi-Wan, is there some reason the show can't use the old theme universally associated with Darth Vader? Is John Williams charging a million dollars a note? Vader lacked a lot of his usual presence and his theme would have certainly helped. But when he was walking down the street, choking civilians, he seemed to have a bit of that magic he had in Rogue One. I think at this point it's just about indisputable that Rogue One is the best thing Disney has made for Star Wars since they bought it. I have high hopes for the Andor series, not the least because it seems to actually have decent writers. I hope Vader makes an appearance or two on that show.
But back to Obi-Wan. I have no problem with the idea of Leia being assertive and intuitive, I don't mind her being more resourceful than a kid her age normally is. But they shouldn't have to make Obi-Wan act like an idiot just to make her look smart. If it weren't for McGregor's performance, Obi-Wan would be, by far, the least impressive thing about this show. I know he's out of practice but a Jedi Master should be able to handle three stormtroopers. Is this the guy who just jumped into the midst of a droid army to say, "Hello there" to General Grievous?
I would have hoped for a more interesting location for Obi-Wan and Vader's reunion, too. It looked like eastern Californian desert or even Albuquerque, reminding me that Deborah Chow worked on Better Call Saul. Too bad she didn't bring any writers from that show.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is available on Disney+.