The final part of the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series started right away with confrontation and did not stop. The only characters that did not seem to get a resolution in this story are Fifth Brother and Fourth Sister, who got left behind at Fortress Inquisitorius. A shame for them, but there is plenty to keep us occupied in Part Six.

What Will You Become?

One of the many lines and scenes from the Rogue One trailers that were never in the film, Saw Guerrera monologues this to someone (probably Jyn Erso). And there are quite a few similarities between Saw and Reva: Both lost people close to them, and both went to extremes, sacrificing lives to try and fill a hole that cannot be filled. Saw lost his sister Steela and spent the rest of his life fighting the Empire through guerilla tactics that probably caused more problems.

But the main parallel in the series is with Vader. Reva wants to get vengeance (she says justice) on Vader so bad that she travels to Tatooine to kill his son. But when Luke is lying unconscious and vulnerable, she sees her younger self, vulnerable. Imagine if every bully and troll in real life could do that? 

Reva realizes that she is on that Vader path and does not want to repeat history by inflicting her trauma on someone else.

She returns Luke to the farm alive and tells Obi-Wan that she could not bring herself to hurt the boy. It is a cycle of violence broken. After Obi-Wan failed in his attempt to reach Anakin, he succeeds in reaching Reva. Moses Ingram does an excellent job at conveying the pure sadness and uncertainty of purposeless.

But, in a welcomed surprise, Reva is alive and on a path of her choosing. It is a road to a happy ending which are few and far between in Star Wars. And, with Reva, Star Wars could actually give a long-term redemption story that is more realistic than a “redemption and dead” story that has been so popular in Star Wars media. 

It also separates Reva, the Third Sister, from Trilla, the Second Sister. Trilla was tortured into joining the Inquisitors and harbored resentment towards her Master, Cere Junda. However, when she finally lets go of her hatred, it is too late. Vader appears and kills her. 

And now, she is one of the few people still alive after Episode III who knows that Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader and that Luke is his son. She is the only character that knows both of those things who we don’t know their fate. Therefore, Reva almost certainly will appear again in some form of Star Wars content, and I am excited to see what is next in her journey.

The Holster and the Hopper

A New Hope is my favorite piece of Star Wars content, and it is great to see, like Rogue One, more context given to enrich the film even after 45 years. Near the beginning of the episode, Kenobi gives Leia Tala’s notched blaster holster that reminded her why she fought for the children of The Path. By the end of the show, Leia has taken in the holster as a part of her wardrobe. It symbolizes what she will become, a fearless leader that will continue to encourage the next generation of leaders.

Obi-Wan’s influence on BOTH Luke and Leia when they are younger is felt through the series and upon rewatching A New Hope. Despite what some people may think, Leia’s time with Obi-Wan connects well with her hologram message to Kenobi in A New Hope. And it gives Leia more agency in The Skywalker Saga when it started very much within Luke’s POV. 

Legends explored Leia’s connection with her father; however, in canon, that connection has had negative consequences for Leia in novels like Claudia Gray’s Bloodline. Before Kenobi says goodbye to Leia, he tells her a little about her mother and father:

Princess Leia Organa. You are wise, discerning, kindhearted. These are qualities that came from your mother. But you’re also passionate and fearless. Forthright. These are gifts from your father. Both were exceptional people, who bore an exceptional daughter.”

In Sci-fi/Fantasy stories with generational elements, often the daughter is compared to the mother (and the son to the father). It is nice to recognize that Leia did inherit positive traits from her father. This was never explored in the Original Trilogy because George Lucas made the last-minute decision for Leia to be Luke’s twin sister. But this is the beauty of canon: Filling in these gaps that can make something we have already seen more enjoyable. 

And it works here, for Luke as well. At the end of the episode, Owen finally lets Kenobi meet the boy he has been secretly watching over in a non-creepy way for ten years. And he has the Starhopper he initially tried to give him in the first episode. In A New Hope, Luke not only still has the hopper, but it has inspired him to become one of the best pilots in the New Republic (with some help from the Force). It took a village to raise the twins, and Obi-Wan was instrumental in both of their childhoods, and seeing that in live-action has been one of the best things about the show. 

The Fight 

To draw Vader’s Star Destroyer away from the refugees, Kenobi takes a ship and leads him to a seemingly uninhabited planet. What follows is the “Rematch of the Century” Kathleen Kennedy mentioned on Disney Plus Day in 2020. And the fight delivers, mostly because we see a fight between Vader and Kenobi at their best.

Vader has been trying to get the better of Kenobi this entire season and almost buries his former Master alive under piles of rocks. But Kenobi, at his best, is better. He thinks about the two kids that are Anakin Skywalker’s legacy and gets himself back up, raising and hurling rocks like a god at Vader and ultimately breaking half his mask. 

Seeing Anakin’s burnt face, Kenobi apologizes for everything, opening a door for his former Padawan. But Anakin closes it with conviction, claiming that Vader was the one that killed Anakin, not Kenobi. This is what Kenobi needs to hear to finally let go of Anakin and walk away. 

In the end, we got two physical fights and a strategic fight between the two. And all fights serve their final fight in A New Hope well, where Kenobi still gets the better of Vader and allows himself to be killed.

Ewan McGregor has been excellent this entire season, but Hayden Christensen is the standout at the end of the fight as we hear his voice mixed with James Earl Jones to chilling effect. 

Even if there is a season two of Obi-Wan Kenobi, I doubt that Vader would be a part of that story, so this is the perfect bookmark for the former Master and Padawan.

A Tale of Two Masters

Two Jedi Masters made an appearance near the end (one at the very end), Palpatine and Qui-Gon. And their interactions with their apprentices are telling. First, Vader speaks to Palpatine about finding Kenobi no matter the cost. Palpatine tells Vader that he seems agitated. He then tells Vader that his obsession with Kenobi might be weakening him and suggests he overcome his past…while being stuck on the planet where he almost burned to death. Some viewers might think it is Palpatine being helpful and telling Vader to let go of his past, but it is Palpatine being cruel. It is a manipulation by Palpatine and a reminder that Vader, unlike Kenobi and Reva, is not free. If you read into canon, you see how psychologically abusive Palpatine truly is towards Vader, but most people will see it here in this small interaction. 

Meanwhile, after Kenobi has met Luke and is heading off on a new adventure, he finally sees Force ghost Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon tells Kenobi he was always there, but Obi-Wan was not ready to see him. And, with an encouraging nod, beckons his former apprentice to follow him as they “have a ways to go.” 

It is the last line of the episode and could apply to multiple characters in this series but, for Kenobi, it is the beginning of his next life. A life without the guilt of Anakin’s fall to the dark side. What happens from there to A New Hope, we might never know the complete story (though we do see Kenobi at various points in between in other mediums). But it is a good ending point for this series.

Glad to see Beru do something in this episode, though they waited until the very end. I would be open to seeing more Owen and Beru if there was a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are revelations about Beru in the novel, Queen’s Hope, that could work as a conflict for a second season. 

For now, I will appreciate this six-part event series we got, which like Fallen Order and The Bad Batch, is a great addition to canon set during The Reign of the Empire.