***This review contains some spoilers***

Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” gives us a Star Wars story that few people were asking for, and despite some clunky storytelling, it still ends up being a fun ride.

Based on what was implied from the original “Star Wars” trilogy, Kenobi spent decades in hiding keeping an eye on Luke Skywalker, before being forced into action and into his first encounter with Dark Vader since their duel in “Revenge of the Sith.” This series is here to tell us that was not the case…from a certain point of view. Which means there was nothing in this stretch of time that fans were clamoring to see and that they were essentially giving us this story just for the sake of dusting off the Jedi Master for an adventure before doing it again in “A New Hope.” However, thanks in part to making Princess Leia a Grogu-inspired sidekick, “Kenobi” gives us a tale worth investing our time. But partially because the show was pitched as the big rematch between Kenobi and Vader, the fact that the show revolves around the Third Sister as the primary antagonist, the plot feels disjointed. It’s like they’re telling two different stories that don’t quite overlap, which is especially apparent in the finale as they try to wrap it all up.

As far the characters at the center of this convoluted tale, they all work fairly well on their own. While it’s jarring to see this version of an Obi-Wan Kenobi at rock bottom, it makes his journey ultimately more compelling. (Not to mention superb acting by Ewan McGregor.) The surprise addition of Leia not only gives a brief look at her early life with her adopted family that has never been fleshed out, but also shows that even at this young age she has all the makings of the headstrong Rebel leader she will grow to be. While her character arc doesn’t change her all that much in the end, it’s the effect she has on Kenobi’s arc that is her greatest value. Also returning to the fold is Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. While he gives us both Vader at the most powered-up we’ve seen so far, he also brings a bit of the fallen Jedi that’s hiding underneath. Unfortunately, his interactions with Kenobi are limited and feature way too little dialog between the two former friends.

Ultimately, it’s the new character of the Third Sister that gets the second-highest amount of screen time and the one of the biggest character arcs. While she’s an intense and interesting character, her back story comes a little too late in the series, and her resolution doesn’t quiet work and takes away from what people really came to see. (Although a strong emotional performance by Moses Ingram really elevates the material.) There are a few other characters that are solid additions to the Star Wars universe and work well in this series, but they are they more for Kenobi’s story and not their own

For the most part, the show looks good, with cool costumes, and ships and characters. But there are some shortcomings. Some of the CG is kind of wonky, they didn’t seem to put much effort into de-aging some of the characters and sometimes the lightsabers look like toy props. There’s some cool action, but a lot of stuff came off too clunky.

In the end, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” feels like an attempt to cash-in on a fan-favorite character by tossing together a story that didn’t need to be told. But, thanks to some strong acting, cool callbacks and some great character interactions, there’s a lot of fun to be had by fans of the franchise.

*** out of *****