'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Episode 5: "Part V" Recap and Review
Trapped by the Empire with seemingly no escape, Obi-Wan has to dig deep to find a way out in an episode that gives the rest of the cast a chance to shine
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
The character of Obi-Wan Kenobi is stoic, introspective, intelligent, altruistic, and a little bit cocky. We know who he is but at the beginning of the series that character had been warped. His mental journey back has been the backbone of the series but the writers have left seeds of moments for the characters surrounding him along the way. A couple of those characters had those moments this week. One in particular goes a long way to explain aspects of her that have been criticized since the first episode. Now leading into the finale; the empire has left the proto-rebellion wounded, allies have been lost, and motivations have been revealed. Even though this episode could have been a stand alone finale on its own, the implications what comes next are an exciting prospect to anticipate.
Our episode begins on Coruscant as a young Padawan awaits his Master’s arrival. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is greeted by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the two square up for a training duel between master and apprentice. These are the memories of Darth Vader, Sith Lord. He is joined by the Third Sister (Moses Ingram) where she informs him of Obi-Wan’s location, in return Vader awards her with the position of Grand Inquisitor. After their narrow escape, Obi-Wan, Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair), Tala (Indira Varma), and Roken (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) arrive at the headquarters of The Path. They are surrounded by refugees waiting transport and are greeted by Haja (Kumail Nanjiani) who fled after gaining the attention of the Empire. Before they can leave to get Leia home, they have to aid the Refugees and ensure they leave safely. In hyperspace and ever gazing in Obi-Wan’s direction, Vader orders then the crippling of the Headquarters’ Bay doors to trap them in. To do this, Third Sister sends the infected Lola. The small droid sneaks into the panel and closes the doors as Obi-Wan remembers and reflects on the Force. The doors closing sends panic through the path, just as the Imperials arrive in orbit. Obi-Wan calms the crowd and tells them his plan to lock the doors and stall so that they can find a way to leave with all of them. The refugees move quickly and as the Troops arrive with their biggest guns and itchy trigger fingers. Third Sister arrives and orders the attack, but the door holds for now. Roken tries to open the Bay doors with no luck, they need to get into the vent to investigate but the only one who can fit it, is Leia. Obi-Wan suddenly gets a message and leaves the young Princess in the responsibility of Haja. Obi-Wan finds a private spot and checks the message, it is Bale Organa (Jimmy Smits). Bale is concerned, he fears for the saftey of Leia and Luke and tells Obi-Wan that if he doesn’t hear from them, he will head to Tatooine himself to meet with Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton). Tala arrives and senses Obi-Wan’s fear. She tells Obi-Wan how she helplessly watched the Inquisitors murder four Force-Sensitive families, a moment which led her to aide The Path. She realized she could fight to make things better. Roken comes and takes the two to the main doors where Third Sister is close to blasting in. To buy time, Obi-Wan requests to speak with Third Sister and she agrees. She attempts to convince Obi-Wan to surrender but he quickly pieces together that she watched Anakin kill the younglings and that’s how she knows he was Vader. She admits that she is not really helping Vader, she is hunting him. She declines his help and continues to blame him for Vader. Suddenly she uses her Lightsaber to cut the barricade and throw the doors open. A fire fight breaks out and the troopers rush in. The refugees are forced to retreat. Meanwhile Leia continues to work in the vent. During the retreat and in the chaos, Tala is trapped out front, suddenly she takes a blaster bolt to the stomach. Obi-Wan sees this but is unable to get to her. In a final attempt to save The Path she closes the door and sets off a thermal detonator, sacrificing herself. With Obi-Wan’s capture immanent, Vader orders Third Sister to stand down. Obi-Wan decides the best move is for him to surrender, he gives his belongings including the message from Bale to Haja to hold. The troopers bring him to the feet of Thirds Sister. She gloats of her victory then he tells her that this will be her moment, to take revenge on Darth Vader. Without giving him an answer, she has him taken back inside to await Vader’s arrival. When he does, he marches past Third Sister into the base, but Obi-Wan escapes into the main Bay just as Leia manages to open the doors. Obi-Wan arrives and the refugees scramble onto the transport. In the confusion, Haja drops the message from Bale. Vader marches with purpose and arrives in time to see a ship attempting to take off. He snatches it from the sky with the force, pulls it down, rips open the hull to find no one. Suddenly the second ship takes off and the refugees escape. Vader is left to watch as Obi-Wan escapes him yet again. Third Sister sneaks in behind him and attacks, but Vader saw it coming. She attacks him, feuled by revenge and hatred but he is too powerful, he defeats her without drawing his own lightsaber. He stabs her once, and she drops to the ground in agony. Vader is joined by the true Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and they leave Third Sister wounded and alone. Aboard the ship, Obi-Wan is informed that the Empire is still on their tail, but he senses something worse, something he cannot explain. Out of sheer will, Third Sister drags herself to get her lightsaber back but sees something else in the dirt. She finds and activates a messaging device where she sees Bale Organa. She learns of Tatooine, Owen Lars, and the boy.
The story has come to a head, the Refugees are on the path to safety, but we are far from over. Vader is again the unstoppable force in this episode whose only flaw is his aggression. This was beautifully explained within the framework of a training duel between Young Anakin and Obi-Wan. He is unstoppable; pulling a ship out of the sky, defeating Third Sister without using his own lightsaber, and only by getting outsmarted by the Path is he bested. Third Sister is finally expanded upon in this episode. Her backstory as a youngling didn’t come as much surprise given the set-up but her blind quest of revenge against Vader did. It is a little unclear if she allowed Obi-Wan to escape or not but a guess would be no. She denies Obi-Wan’s help and even in the end, if not for quick thinking by Roken and Obi-Wan, Vader would have succeeded. She has proved willing to kill, maim, and even torture children to get revenge for her fellow younglings. She may not be with the Sith but she is no Jedi. Her mind has been poisoned by revenge and now, in her defeat, she sees a final opportunity to lure Vader to his doom in a boy on Tatooine with Owen Lars, whom she has already met. Her quest for revenge will lead her down a dangerous path that will surly lead to a showdown between Third Sister and Obi-Wan. One who didn’t make the escape is Tala, her sacrifice for the good of the people will no doubt contribute to the birth of the rebellion. Indira Varma is given plenty of room to solidify her great performance as Tala, outside of her sacrifice she gets a great moment with Obi-Wan to explain the atrocities she has seen and why she fights to make things right. Tala’s death will resonate with Obi-Wan as well, between her and the seeds of rebellion we could see him take a more active roll as a protector from the shadows in the second season. Not only has he seen the difference he can make for people, he has seen the consequences of his inaction.
The final episode is immanent, as is a showdown on Tatooine. Looking back on our journey to this point and retrospection has put the series in a better light. The entire series would have benefited from a mass release as it is structured more like a feature film than a series. The over the top sadism of Third Sister feels like overcompensation to mask her quest for revenge. Obi-Wan’s lost connection to the force seems to be a manifestation of his own self imposed exile opposed to mischaracterization. Upon approach of our season 1 conclusion and with season 2 already guaranteed, more opportunity to explore and build on the legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi will come. For now we have what we were given, a story of how Ben met Leia, and what we still have to come: the aftermath of the fall of the Jedi will land at the doorstep of Luke Skywalker.