Ricky Church reviews the third episode of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi…
Obi-Wan Kenobi reached its mid-point with ‘Part III’ and if the latter half of the series will be anything like this, we can be sure it’s going to be dramatic, tragic and most likely violently bloody now that Darth Vader has fully entered the scene. Deborah Chow directs an episode that perfectly balances its emotional weight and tension as Obi-Wan and Leia try to escape Vader’s wrath – which is a pretty big understatement for how angry he is presented.
Darth Vader has gotten quite a resurgence over the last few years in how Lucasfilm has reminded audiences just how powerful he can be, whether it’s his appearances in Rebels and Jedi: Fallen Order or his hallway massacre in the closing minutes of Rogue One. However, while fans point to and cheer on Vader’s Rogue One scene as an example of his ruthlessness it is often forgotten how abjectly terrifying he really is. He doesn’t need to slaughter a hallway full of rebels to be both intimidating and frightening, something Chow achieves to an incredible degree in ‘Part III’. Whether he’s casually killing a few civilians in order to lure out Obi-Wan or just standing absolutely still in the glow of his lightsaber, Vader is more movie monster than Star Wars villain throughout the episode.
One factor which helps raise Vader’s menacing presence is the performances around him. Even when Reva and Fifth Brother try their best to impress him, they and the other Inquisitor look at the ground as he passes or how the village people cower in fear. That is to say nothing of how Ewan McGregor’s performance absolutely sells Obi-Wan’s terror at the sight of his former Padawan and brother from McGregor’s facial expressions and body language. It’s worth noting that McGregor, much like everyone but Ian McDiarmid in the Prequels, never acted opposite Darth Vader proper and seeing Hayden Christen in the full suit charging at him legitimately “scared the shit” of him, making much of his performance feel quite authentic. Even James Earl Jones, back once again as Vader’s iconic voice, puts pure rage into all of his deliveries with Obi-Wan.
Alongside the tension and terror of Darth Vader was some heavy emotions for Obi-Wan and others. Obi-Wan and Leia had a few tender moments together as she realized he must have known her birth mother, furthering the connection between them. Vivian Lyra Blair continues to be great as the young princess and scenes like hers with Obi-Wan or how she begs Indira Varma’s Tala to help Obi-Wan display Leia’s compassionate and brave traits. Varma also made an impression as an Imperial officer who secretly smuggles Jedi, younglings and other people the Empire consider dissidents to safety. She had nice chemistry with McGregor and displayed well how she was trying to make a tiny difference in such an evil and corrupt regime, something that paralleled Zach Braff’s alien Freck as an Imperial loyalist. Ingram Moses portrayed Reva’s growing ambition and impatience well, but we also got a little peek behind her curtain with her subtle and then angry reaction to Tala’s hidden room for Jedi fugitives, hinting there is much more to be told in her backstory.
Aside from his real terror, McGregor got to play with a large range of emotions. From his compassion toward Leia and her droid to his disillusionment and lack of faith in people’s goodness, McGregor really flexed his acting abilities in a way we don’t often see for Obi-Wan. Even Jones provided emotional depth to his Vader readings. His delivery telling Obi-Wan “I am what you made me” is going to live rent-free in my head with how Jones mixed so much rage, sadness and defiance into that one line.
Everything shined for ‘Part III’s technical side, The cinematography was gorgeous, especially as day transitioned into night and Obi-Wan and Vader were reflected in the light of the lightsabers. Natalie Holt gave a haunting score throughout the episode to emphasize the emotions between Obi-Wan and Leia and Vader’s cold rage. The action was shot nicely with fluid movements from all the actors, whether it was Obi-Wan taking on the group of Stormtroopers or his brief (and very much one-sided) fight with Vader. All of this combined pretty well in the final moments where Vader gave Obi-Wan a small taste of what he went through on Mustafar in a very brutal moment that only showed how much Vader has been wanting to get his hands on Obi-Wan since being put in the suit.
Through the performances, Vader’s terrifying presence, the cinematography and everything else, ‘Part III’ serves as the best of Obi-Wan Kenobi thus far and a great mid-point for the limited series. It raises the stakes considerably going forward as Obi-Wan has to regroup after such a huge loss against Vader. Chow’s style and insight into the characters minds is on display with how she chooses to focus on them and it already feels like a long wait until next week.
Rating: 9/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
