Obi-Wan Kenobi / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- The Bad Boss of the meatpacking line that Obi-Wan works for. After cutting a worker's pay and beating him for complaining about it, the boss looks at Obi-Wan, who clearly wants to intervene, and says "Something you want to say?", causing Obi-Wan to back down. While the boss is likely bullying someone he believes is just another worker and is later shown treating others the same way (like the water merchant in Part VI) it's possible that the man knew Obi-Wan was a Jedi and is subtly threatening to expose him if he steps out of line.
- When the veteran clone encounters Obi-Wan, does he recognize the Jedi or not? If it's the former, why does he not attack Obi-Wan? Has the inhibitor chip that compelled him to obey Order 66 stopped working? Did he have his chip removed at some point? Or, since the clone seems to be intoxicated, is he just too out of it to recognize just who is standing in front of him?
- Is Haja Estree actually trying to masquerade as a Jedi? Or is he utilizing Bad "Bad Acting" so that the Inquisitors will think of him as being nothing more than a con man? Evidence strongly points towards the latter, given that he's part of an Underground Railroad, but a case could be made for the former if one considers how he needs to convince Force-sensitive children and their parents to trust him.
- Darth Vader pummeling and killing random villagers on Mapuzo as he searches for Obi-Wan. Is he doing it to try and draw Obi-Wan out, or is it because he's just that pissed off and lashing out at anything unlucky enough to cross his path? Or perhaps it's a bit of both.
- There is much debate on why Vader doesn't chase after Obi-Wan at the end of Part III. Sure, there's a wall of flames separating the two, but those familiar with the EU will know that Vader's suit is fireproof, so he could have walked through the flames, or jumped over them, or extinguished them with the Force as he did when he burnt Obi-Wan a minute before, or even Force-pulled Obi-Wan to him. Does Vader feel a tinge of mercy for his former Master and is having second thoughts about hurting his former friend? Is he allowing Obi-Wan to escape in order to hunt him down later? Is he disgusted at how weak Obi-Wan has become and thought it wasn't worth pursuing him? Or is this just a writing oversight? During their rematch in Part VI, Vader comments on Obi-Wan's strength having returned, suggesting the third option, but it's possible that the other interpretations hold true.
- Reva going after Luke in Part VI. Was it simply her way of getting back at Obi-Wan, or did she somehow figure out that Luke is Vader's son and wants him dead for being related to the man who killed her friends?
- In Part VI, when Vader tells Obi-Wan, "I am not your failure" and “I killed Anakin Skywalker”, is that really the Anakin inside him briefly appearing to absolve Obi-Wan of any misplaced guilt for what he's become? Or is it a case of Vader not wanting to be considered merely "Obi-Wan's failure" and rather his own man who made his own choices? Or is he taunting Obi-Wan, throwing it in his face that Vader murdered his best friend and brother? Or is he snapping back at what he saw as Obi-Wan's Condescending Compassion with a spiteful Let Me Be Evil declaration? Or did Vader want Obi-Wan to end him and needed to disassociate himself from his former identity so that Obi-Wan can strike him down as a symbol of the ultimate evil rather than an old friend? A combination of these? For example, Vader does consider himself the one who really killed Anakin, is willing to admit it to Obi-Wan since it would also hurt him in the process, and would rather keep fighting him to his last breath.
- When Vader screamed out Obi-Wan’s name in rage after the latter walked away following their duel in Part VI, was he demanding that Obi-Wan return so that they could finish their duel? Or was Vader pleading for his former friend and master to finally kill him while he had the chance, and thus free him from his miserable servitude to Palpatine in a more honorable duel? On this note, did Obi-Wan saying "Then my friend is truly dead. Goodbye, Darth." shake Vader to his core and start Anakin's recovery that Luke Skywalker continued in Return of the Jedi.
- Besides the real-life reason, why didn't Obi-Wan kill Vader at the end? Did Obi-Wan have too much attachment to Anakin despite conceding that his friend was gone? Did he see striking Vader down in that instance as killing an incapacitated enemy, thus violating the Jedi Code? Or was it an act of Cruel Mercy? Letting Vader live with the horrible life he gave himself, having no purpose in life beyond acting as a slave to Palpatine's will.
- What were the reasons behind Emperor Palpatine admonishing Vader for his continued pursuit of Obi-Wan? Does he feel that there are better uses of Vader's time than tracking down one single Jedi? Does he fear that prolonged contact with Obi-Wan may encourage Vader to return to the Light Side? Or does he know that the frustration of not being able to find Obi Wan will fuel Vader's anger and hate, making him able to channel the power of the Dark Side more effectively?
Awesome Music: Natalie Holt provides the series score, and it does not disappoint. In particular, a new theme for Darth Vader. Whereas the Imperial March portrays Vader as a composed military commander carrying out the will of the Empire, this theme focuses on the man underneath the mask: an enraged, bitter, hateful man who is prepared to tear the galaxy apart to take revenge on his former master.
Base-Breaking Character:
- Reva has been highly divisive ever since the series premiered. While some of the hatred towards her was due to bigotry (actress Moses Ingram received many racist insults on her social media accounts), some fans just found her to be an inconsistently written character who took focus away from Obi-Wan and Vader. It didn't help that she usurps the Grand Inquisitor in the narrative, a character from Star Wars Rebels that fans were excited to see in live action. Once her true motives and backstory were revealed she gained a lot of supporters viewing her as a sympathetic Tragic Villain, but she remained quite contentious because after failing an assassination against Vader the plot contrives to have her learn of and target Luke for an Ending Fatigue final climax. It didn't help she was unfavorably compared to fan-favorite Second Sister/Trilla from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as they both are former Jedi padawans who survived Order 66 only to become Inquisitors. Additionally, her redemption is considered very divisive among viewers, dectractors find it unearned and haf-baked since the greatest thing she did was not go through with killing a random child (Luke) she was seconds from killing, yet be exonerated for it. Compare Vader, who has done far worse than Reva ever did, but whose redemption had more justifying context.( I.E. sacrificing his life to save his son and kill the Emperor.) Fans, however, argue it's hypocritical to classify Reva as Beyond Redemption, as every crime Reva has committed, Vader is also guilty of and has committed on a much larger scale.
- The depiction of the Grand Inquisitor in this show is also a topic of debate amongst fans. Some people found his delicious Cold Ham persona to be intriguing and made the character fun to watch, while others complained that he was little more than a Fake Ultimate Mook who gets taken out for most of the show after getting stabbed by Reva. And then there's a third camp who simply didn't like that Jason Isaacs didn't return to the role.
Broken Base:
- The decision to use Respeecher to recreate James Earl Jones' voice for Darth Vader, since the real Jones was too old to reprise the role and subsequently announced his retirement after the series ended. The final result was praised by many, as the software not only made Vader sound just like he did in the Original Trilogy (Jones' Vader voice in Rebels, Rogue One and The Rise of Skywalker sounded noticeably aged), but it sounds much more like a real performance than the previous attempts with young Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. However, some criticized the artificial recreation, feeling that they should have used a real actor to voice Vader (such as Scott Lawrence or Matt Sloan, who have voiced the character in video games and other media below Jones' pay grade).
- The involvement of Leia in this show is also this. Some people were happy to see Leia's character explored in a prequel show as a child, especially since the chances of her appearing as an adult in the future were dashed with Carrie Fisher's untimely death. Others found the inclusion of Leia to be distracting and a massive continuity error, given that Obi-Wan and Leia were depicted as barely knowing each other for much of A New Hope. While their meeting does help explain why Leia named her son "Ben", the divisive reception towards the sequel trilogy doesn't do this relationship any favors. Not to mention that the idea of an adult male protagonist watching over a child has drawn unfavorable comparisons to both The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
- The Grand Inquisitor and Reva both surviving being Impaled with Extreme Prejudice with a lightsaber proved surprisingly controversial, since Qui-Gon Jinn died from a similar injury in The Phantom Menace. There are arguments in its favor and similar things have happened in EU works before: Darth Maul's return was presaged by Darth Sion, Shatterpoint noted that lightsabers cauterize the injuries they inflict which makes them more survivable, and in Star Wars: The Old Republic the Player Character walked off a lightsaber through the gut from Arcann in Knights of the Fallen Empire (albeit with the Sith Emperor’s help). On the other hand, it's become a bit of a habit at this point for Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau's collaborations to rarely have one of their original characters actually stay dead.
- The choice to have Vader and Obi-Wan have a rematch between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope proved to be very divisive amongst viewers. For many it was the whole reason they wanted to watch the show (which Lucasfilm seemed to be keenly aware of, given it was one of the first things they announced about the show). The duel itself would be praised by this camp for providing the right balance of the OT's realism and PT's spectacle, with an emotionally moving conclusion, that strengthens the connection between both trilogies. Detractors however feel that the idea of Obi-Wan and Vader battling each other between the two trilogies is a contrived case of Pandering to the Base which opens up too many continuity issues. These fans note dialogue in A New Hope heavily implies that the duel on the Death Star was the first time was the first time the two had encountered each other since their fight on Mustafar (particularly, Vader saying "When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the Master"^note), feeling that having a duel in the intermedium diminishes the emotional impact of both of their duels within the film series. Conversely, there are others who feel that having these duels, which show Vader initially filled with rage and anger, before later deciding to distance himself from his emotions, helps smooth over some Fridge Logic raised by people after the release of Revenge of the Sith, who questioned why, given that that film's duel had Obi-Wan cripple him and leave him for dead while burning alive, Vader would be so calm and composed in A New Hope upon meeting Obi-Wan for the first time since that happened. Likewise, Obi-Wan in A New Hope doesn't react much to his former apprentice now being a 6'8" black-clad cyborg, while Obi-Wan in this show is shown to be shocked and terrified of Vader at first. Some detractors also argue that the duel itself was underwhelming, noting that its poor lighting and certain camera angles makes it difficult to discern what's happening at times.
- The resolution of the duel itself also proved divisive. Detractors considered it a rip-off of a nearly identical scene from the iconic "Twilight of the Apprentice, Part II" and also complained it was part of a larger trend of the media landscape shunning or minimizing animation as a medium in favor of live-action, while defenders appreciated the symmetry of Ahsoka and Obi-Wan both breaking off half of the mask each while only Luke was able to peacefully remove the mask per a redeemed Anakin's dying wish; though even some defenders will admit they wished new ground had been tread instead of doing a successor to the Rebels scene. Both sides still were able to find some common ground regarding the acting and story development of the scene, however.
Captain Obvious Reveal: Part V confirms that Reva was the little black Youngling during the Order 66 scene in Part I. Most fans figured this out long before it was revealed, though it may not have been meant to be a secret.
Catharsis Factor: Part VI features the long-awaited, climactic rematch between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. In addition to the fight itself being incredibly entertaining, with both combatants at their best, the duel ends with Obi-Wan overcoming his guilt at having failed Anakin to utterly thrash Vader, bringing the mighty Sith Lord to his knees. After all the horrible things Vader has done throughout Canon, to say nothing of murdering children, torturing Obi-Wan, and cruelly tormenting Reva in this very series, seeing him so defeated is immensely satisfying to watch.
Diagnosed by the Audience: It's strongly implied that Obi-Wan is suffering from PTSD, both from Order 66 itself and from his fateful duel with Anakin, having regular nightmares juxtaposing his happy memories of a young Anakin with the burned, dismembered wreck he left on Mustafar.
Epileptic Trees:
- As episodes aired, fans speculated that each episode was set up in such a way to parallel each one of the Star Wars movies that Lucas was involved in — Part I being an exploration of life on Tatooine, Part II being on a planet that has parallels to both Kamino and Coruscant, Part III having a duel reminiscent of the confrontation on Mustafar, Part IV being an infiltration mission like the one to escape the Death Star, Part V being an evacuation from Darth Vader like on Hoth, and Part VI having Reva finally let go of her hate and cease to be a villain when she realizes that she doesn’t want Luke to be harmed, just as Vader himself would do later on.
- The boy in Part II who is escorted to Corellia and who is supposedly Force-sensitive is listed as Corran in the credits. This has a lot of fans wondering if this is a new version of Jedi Knight and Ace Pilot Corran Horn from Star Wars Legends. Part V reveals that his mother has the surname of "Horn", indicating that he's a Canon Character All Along.
- One popular theory is that either Kanan Jarrus or Cal Kestis will make a cameo appearance on the show due to both the prevalence of the Inquisitorius, as well as Reva being a direct successor (if not an outright Foil/Contrasting Sequel Antagonist) to the Second Sister. This was Jossed by the end of the finale.
- Quinlan Vos being name-dropped in Part III resulted in a wide amount of speculation as to the role he'd play in the new canon post-Order 66, such as whether O'Shea Jackson Jr. (who was confirmed to be in Obi-Wan Kenobi) would be playing him in later episodes, or if he would be appearing in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which was confirmed to be taking place around the same time as Kenobi. Part IV ultimately sees Jackson as a new character, Roken, who isn't Vos.
Evil Is Cool: Darth Vader makes his return, and it's nothing short of awesome. Between his various rampages in his determination to get back at his old master, to the pure rage in his voice as he torments Obi-Wan, and the sheer power he puts into his duels, the Dark Lord of the Sith does not disappoint.
Franchise Original Sin: A lot of criticism is directed at the fact that the Grand Inquisitor and Reva both survived being stabbed by lightsabers purely on their anger. This concept is not original to this show; Anakin survived long enough being burned alive by lava to be placed in the Vader suit, and this is explicitly the way that Darth Sion is even still alive in Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords as well as how Darth Maul survived The Phantom Menace to reappear in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The difference is that Vader, Sion, and Maul were powerful Sith Lords and their recovery didn't do them any favors in their sanity, while the Inquisitors are not well trained and appeared largely fine once they stood back up.^note
Harsher in Hindsight:
- The series' Cold Opening begins with a Jedi teacher protecting a class of younglings during Order 66 and trying to escort them out of the temple before being killed herself. In a case of really unfortunate timing, the series premiered just a few days after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two teachers. In a similar move to the first episode of Stranger Things Season 4, Disney+ updated the content information with a warning about "scenes some viewers may find upsetting". They show the warning again in Part V, when the younglings run into Vader. Reva also mentions that she survived by playing dead among her slain classmates, which is eerily similar to testimony from one Uvalde survivor.
- The other Inquisitors (who happen to have paler skin than her) calling Reva "the least of us" and "from the gutter" in the second episode is a bit more uncomfortable considering the extreme backlash actress Moses Ingram revealed she received from some viewers, most of which included racist remarks.
He Really Can Act: Even though his scenes without the Darth Vader mask on are brief, many fans have noted that Hayden Christensen has time to shine as an actor in this series. His portrayal of Anakin in Part V has very much improved and he appears more natural in the role. Many fans were also impressed by his portrayal of Vader in Part VI, as he was able to perfectly replicate Darth Vader's monotone and inflections — both with James Earl Jones's digitized voice and Sebastian Shaw's more pained delivery — showing exactly what Anakin sounds like as Vader. His shriek of pure hatred is also greatly improved compared to his final line as Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. As a result, Christensen's performance is more or less one of the most unanimously praised aspects of the show, even among its detractors.
I Knew It!: Many fans' predictions for the outcomes of the story came true (not helping that much of the plot leaked online before the series aired), including:
- After the reveal that Hayden Christensen would be returning as Darth Vader in this series, many concluded that this meant we would either see Vader unmasked, see flashbacks of young Anakin Skywalker, or both, since it would make no sense to cast Hayden if Vader's face isn't shown. Both theories came to fruition.
- Many guessed that the black Jedi Youngling in the Order 66 scene in Part I was Reva. This was shown to be correct in Part V.
- The reason why Reva knows that Darth Vader is Anakin is because she witnessed him attacking the temple during Order 66. Also confirmed in Part V.
- Reva is secretly plotting to kill Vader as payback for exterminating the Jedi. Also, she blames Obi-Wan for creating Darth Vader in the first place. Confirmed in Part V.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!:
- After installments like Jedi: Fallen Order, Rebels and Rogue One, some fans weren't too keen another interquel set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. On a more specific note, Reva was seen as too similar to Second Sister/Trilla from Fallen Order as she is also former Jedi who survived Order 66 only to become an Inquisitor with a grudge against a Jedi who she blames for abandoning her.
- The premise of Obi-Wan protecting young Leia has drawn unfavorable comparisons to both The Mandalorian and Star Wars: The Bad Batch as it yet again involves an adult male protagonist watching over a child.
- The series finale's climactic duel ends with Obi-Wan breaking off half of Vader's mask and having an emotional conversation with him, eerily similar to the iconic scene from the Rebels episode "Twilight of the Apprentice, Part II". Detractors consider it a rip-off of the animated scene (see Broken Base for more).
It's Short, So It Sucks!: While not as noticeable compared to other Disney+ productions (especially since it is quite chock-full of moments serving as a love letter to the fanbase of the Prequel Trilogy), other less-friendly criticism of the series points to the standard six-episode allotment as injurious to more significant Character Development for both main and supporting cast members (at least those that are not named Obi-Wan, Leia or Vader/Anakin). The backstory and motivations of Reva (beyond revenge for Order 66) doesn't give Moses Ingram much to work with (especially if compared to the Second Sister/Trilla from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order). Similarly, important supporting cast members such as Tala, Roken, Haja, Bail and Owen and Beru tended to serve more as plot devices than characters with depth, despite the memorable performances and lines they give.
Just Here for Godzilla: Many fans and critics feel that the main draw of the series is Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor reprising their roles, their chemistry on-screen (both as friends and enemies), and the excellent Character Development for the Prequel and Original Trilogy cast members. Everything else — such as the overall story and the new characters — are generally seen as just mediocre pretext to get things to the good bits.
Like You Would Really Do It: For Part VI in particular.
- If you seriously believed that Obi-Wan wouldn't survive his final duel with Vader here, you'd be mistaken. Especially since he's not due to die for another nine years. The same can be said for Darth Vader, since he's due for appearances in Rebels, Rogue One, and the rest of the Original Trilogy.
- As if Luke would be killed by Reva. Especially when he and Leia are, like Obi-Wan, due to appear in A New Hope.
Memetic Badass:
- Owen and Beru battling Reva has made quite a few people suggest that their deaths in A New Hope were Defiant to the End moments, fighting off Stormtroopers until they got fed up and showed no mercy. Some have even jokingly suggested that the charred bodies were not theirs, but those of their victims. Of course, they knew Reva was coming and prepared for her, while they had no such warning for the stormtroopers.
- Wade. The grief over his death relative to the amount of screentime and characterization he'd received prior was so jarring that fans like to jokingly pretend he was actually a great hero of the rebellion with many amazing feats to his name.
Memetic Mutation: See here.
Memetic Troll: Uncle Owen is regarded by the fandom as the only person who can roast Obi-Wan so deep that the grand master of snarky comments can't come up with any comeback. Fans even claim that the real reason why Owen was burnt to a crisp in A New Hope is because he burnt Vader so badly about his mother that the Sith Lord decided to roast his stepbrother because he too couldn't muster up a good comeback either.
Moe: Leia. She is a rebellious snarky sweet little girl who can't pronounce Inquisitors. You would be hard-pressed not to find her adorable.
Narm: See here.
Narm Charm: See here.
Older Than They Think: Owen being a Badass Normal who fights a Dark Side user with blasters to protect a young Luke traces all the way back to the 2005 comic one-shot "Old Wounds" (a Legends era story largely believed to be non-canon even before the reboot), where he even kills Darth Maul.
One-Scene Wonder:
- The homeless 501st clone trooper that Obi-Wan encounters on Daiyu in the second episode has gotten a lot of attention.
- Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) finally reappears as a Force Ghost at the very end of the series, giving words of encouragement to his former Padawan.
- Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) appears for only one scene in Part VI, but manages to show his dominance over Vader and reduce him to subservience with only three lines.
Pandering to the Base: The main function is to serve as a love letter to the Vindicated by History prequels. A lot of people also appreciated Padme's memory being so present, as she tends to be glossed over.
Questionable Casting:
- While many fans eventually warmed up to Rupert Friend's portrayal of the Grand Inquisitor, the same cannot be said for Sung Kang as the Fifth Brother. On top of still being a Flat Character like he was in Rebels, Kang both looks and sounds absolutely nothing like how the character was portrayed in Rebels, as he's a Korean man under green/white face paint, compared to the Fifth Brother's initial dark gray skin and Latino accent provided by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez. His voice is also modulated in order to give it a deep bass, which the Rebels version lacks.
- Some people were also pretty baffled that Vect Nokru, the smuggler who kidnaps Leia for the Third Sister is played by Flea of all people. While he has had a minor acting career since the early eighties, Star Wars is something quite far from Flea's usual repertoire, and it can be quite jarring to see one of rock music's most popular bassists chase one of the franchise's iconic characters.
Salvaged Story:
- Ben Solo's namesake raised some eyebrows back when The Force Awakens came out, since Han barely knew Ben Kenobi while Leia never directly interacted with Kenobi in A New Hope and addressed him as "Obi-Wan" in her message (though she also recognizes the name "Ben Kenobi" when Luke said it, for unknown reasons). Here, Kenobi saves young Leia and introduces himself as "Ben" before the Inquisitors show up calling him "Obi-Wan", giving Leia both a reason to know both names and a more sentimental connection to the man she would someday name her son after.
- Ever since The Phantom Menace revealed that Anakin Skywalker was also from Tatooine and Attack of the Clones showed that Owen Lars is Anakin's stepbrother, there was a lot of gentle mockery directed towards Obi-Wan and Yoda for hiding Luke on his father's home world, and with his father's stepfamily. This series confirms that Obi-Wan genuinely thought Anakin/Vader had died after their battle on Mustafar, and so he was less concerned that the Empire would think to be interested in Anakin's relatives. It also provides another reason for why Obi-Wan was so reluctant to tell Luke the truth about his father, given he'd only had a few years to come to terms with it himself (or at least with the fact that he condemned Anakin to a Fate Worse than Death) rather than nearly two decades.
- Many people pointed out how Obi-Wan continuing to wear his Jedi robes and carrying a lightsaber while in exile wasn't a wise move. The first episode depicts him wearing regular Tatooine street clothes, and while he dons an outfit similar to his Jedi garb at the end when he goes to rescue Leia, it's still different enough to not immediately give him away as a Jedi, though he didn't discard his robes entirely, and was indeed wearing them even up to the year to 10BBY, a year before the events of this show (as seen in the Star Wars Issue 20 2015 comic). As for his lightsaber, he buried it (along with Anakin's) in the desert at some point after fighting Black Krrsantan the previous year (also seen in the Star Wars Issue 20 2015 comic), only retrieving it for the rescue mission. Even then, he never actually uses the saber while on Daiyu, instead fighting with his bare hands and a blaster.
- Some viewers felt that the relatively measured words between Obi-Wan and Vader throughout their duel in A New Hope didn't make sense in light of what had happened between them at the end of Revenge of the Sith; Vader seems far too calm for someone finally coming face to face with the person who cut off his arm and legs and left him to burn to death and Obi-Wan doesn't react much to Vader being more machine now than man. Part III has the two meeting long before their final duel on the Death Star — and this time Vader is livid, brutally killing several people to draw Obi-Wan out, Obi-Wan is horrified to see what Vader has become and Vader Force-shoves Obi-Wan face first into a blazing patch of fuel, clearly intending to repay his own agony with interest. By the end of the series, Vader is told by Darth Sidious that his emotions have clouded his judgment and Vader resolves to distance himself from his desire for revenge, explaining his calm demeanor on the Death Star when he and Obi-Wan meet for the final time.
- Part VI helps to retroactively explain why Obi-Wan and Vader's final duel in A New Hope was rather slow and clunky despite other stories set around that time period depicting the two as better fighters than they were in the original film (such as Vader effortlessly slaughtering the Rebels at the end of Rogue One and Obi-Wan killing Maul within seconds during their duel in Star Wars Rebels). In their second rematch, Obi-Wan manages to utterly trounce Vader by throwing dozens of large rocks at him, breaking his life support panel with the pommel of his saber hilt and nearly chopping his head in two. The only reason Vader survived is because Obi-Wan let him live. Vader is likely fighting more cautiously in A New Hope because he knows just how dangerous Obi-Wan is and how losing his temper clouded his judgement, while Obi-Wan is relying purely on defensive combat against Vader because he's simply buying time for Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids to escape the Death Star.
- In Return of the Jedi, when Luke first encounters Vader on Endor, he tries to appeal to his father's inner goodness and turn Vader back to the light. Vader tells Luke, "Obi-Wan once thought as you do". However, there's hardly any indication in Revenge of the Sith that Obi-Wan believes there to be any good left in Anakin during their encounter on Mustafar; he only briefly tries to redeem Anakin before quickly giving up. In Part VI, Obi-Wan defeats Vader and damages his helmet enough to reveal Anakin's face — but refuses to kill him, defeating him with mercy. Obi-Wan apologizes for everything and tries to make amends with his former apprentice, but Vader coldly rebukes him.
- Part VI gives better context to the "Darth Vader killed Anakin Skywalker" bit, which came across as an Ass Pull in Return of the Jedi (given that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were originally planned to be two different characters), and has been criticized as Obi-Wan concealing the truth to Luke in a self-serving fashion. In the episode, Darth Vader outright tells Obi-Wan that he killed Anakin Skywalker, giving more weight to Obi-Wan's later choice of words and his decision to tell Luke that version of the story.
- Obi-Wan's use of "Darth" in A New Hope treated it as if it was his first name, not a title, which comes off as strange when it was revealed that Vader is Anakin Skywalker. At the end of Part VI, after being told that "Vader killed Anakin", Obi-Wan departs by calling him Darth, thus establishing it as a way to refer to the Vader side over the Anakin one. What especially helps is the almost condescending tone Obi-Wan uses–not even referring to him by his new name, but rather the hollow title of a monstrous Sith lord–as if to say "this creature is what you've chosen for yourself".
Signature Scene: Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's rematch in Part VI.
Special Effect Failure:
- Unlike The Mandalorian, where the ILM StageCraft volume was first used, several scenes in this series make it too obvious that they were filmed with StageCraft because there aren't enough props or partial sets to cover up the transition from the floor to the video wall. Examples include the outdoor market on Daiyu, and the flat plain where Obi-Wan and Vader begin their duel in Part VI.
- The skies seen out the windows of Darth Vader's throne room on Mustafar don't look very convincing, despite the excellent set design for those scenes. Some shots have even been compared to the pixelated Darth Vader cutscenes in LucasArts games like Dark Forces or TIE Fighter, or the dated full-motion video cutscenes of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.
- Part V features flashbacks of Obi-Wan and Anakin, which take place just before Attack of the Clones. While the crew did attempt to use Digital De-Aging to make Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen look like they did back in 2002, they didn't quite get it right. Anakin has noticeable facial wrinkles, making him look much older than nineteen. Also, Obi-Wan's mullet doesn't look right, and his beard is thicker and darker than it was in Attack of the Clones, making him look more like his current self in 9 BBY than his past self in 22 BBY.
- When Vader is speaking to Obi-Wan through his broken faceplate in Part VI, it's quite easy to notice that most of his lines are overdubbed, since Hayden Christensen's mouth barely moves when he speaks.
Tainted by the Preview:
- The Grand Inquisitor's inclusion in the series was met with criticism following the reveal that Rupert Friend would be playing the character. While the character's involvement was well-received by some fans who longed to see him in live-action, others wanted Jason Isaacs, who voiced the character in Star Wars Rebels, to reprise the role in live-action, as Isaacs had previously expressed an interest in doing. As the series kept going though, many skeptics were won over by Friend's great deliveries of the Grand Inquisitor's lines, as well as giving the character an impressive Cold Ham demeanor.
- The physical appearances of the Grand Inquisitor and Fifth Brother have also been derided in the fanbase for looking different than they did in Rebels, and in the Grand Inquisitor's case, different from the other live-action Pau'ans that were seen in Revenge of the Sith, lacking the species' elongated head and the ribbed texture of their skin. In Rebels, the Fifth Brother was a large grey-skinned humanoid alien with reptilian skin texture who spoke with a vaguely Latin accent. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's average sized and looks like an Asian man wearing pale gray-green face paint. He also speaks through a voice modulator, which the character didn't do in Rebels.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The Inquisitors, outside of Reva, were considered underutilized by many. The Grand Inquisitor, while scene-stealing when he does appear, is absent from much of the story due to being stabbed by Reva. The Fifth Brother gets a bit more development than he did in Rebels, but he's still mostly a Flat Character. The Fourth Sister is more or less a Living Prop. None of the inquisitors even get to fight Obi-Wan.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- The usage of Jabiim specifically as the Path's headquarters is thematically significant and appropriate, but the show undermines that by not talking about the planet's backstory in the Legends Expanded Universe that makes it so; it was the site of an especially grueling, destructive, and traumatic campaign of the Clone Wars that Obi-Wan and Anakin personally led… one which ended when Anakin — in one of his many steps toward The Dark Side — deemed the planet "not worth the trouble" in the fighting and pulled the 501st out, abandoning the planet to the Separatists. This history is vaguely hinted at in the show (via Jabiim's clearly desolate, scoured nature), but not actually discussed even though it could have contributed some nice characterization for Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader.
- Similarly, the fact that Ahsoka Tano doesn't appear or get mentioned at all — in the present or flashbacks — feels like a missed opportunity for more delving into Obi-Wan and Vader's emotions about the War and their failures.
- Quinlan Vos is clearly teased by the fact that he is specifically mentioned as having passed through the Path, but nothing comes of it and he doesn't appear at all or get mentioned again, raising the question of why bother mentioning him at all. Particularly disappointing because many fans had presumed/hoped that O'Shea Jackson Jr. would be playing Vos, feeling he's a good fit for the character; instead, he plays a fairly generic and uninteresting new character named Roken.
- The first episode gives a general overview of Obi-Wan's life, and the struggles he has to face dealing with it, which is compounded by his protection of Luke from afar. Many viewers noted this part of the first episode to be a very engaging and well done aspect of the story, but sadly this part of the show is only done in said first episode, before Obi-Wan leaves to save Leia. Some felt that the story of Obi-Wan dealing with his own hang-ups, new life, and even potential drama from the events of the prequels would have been an interesting story to have, even if it was low-stakes. While some of these ideas are discussed in later episodes, some felt a series built around that, instead of the action packed story given, would have been an interesting story to explore further.
- There are some who consider young Leia to be far too similar to her older snarky and seasoned self. As such they believe Leia should have startled off as a far more naïve, pampered, and juvenile child; perhaps even one who has some pro-empire sentiment due to being oblivious or too young to understand its evil nature. This would have given Leia far more room to grow and change as she discovers the true horrors of the Empire and learns how to fend herself in a hostile galaxy when she cannot depend on her adopted parents. In short, this could have been the origin story for how Leia became the rebellious princess we all know and love; instead she starts the story as a rebellious princess and ends the story as a rebellious princess.
Unexpected Character:
- Given the basic premise of the series — a character study of Obi-Wan during a bleak, uncertain period of time for the Jedi — people assumed, pre-release, that the main plot of the show would involve Obi-Wan watching over Luke. However, the actual adventure of the series involves him protecting Leia, whose involvement in the series was hardly guessed at.
- Leia's adoptive aunt Celly becomes a Canon Immigrant in the first episode, after never being mentioned in previous Disney canon books showing or describing Leia's upbringing and only having a few minor Legends appearances or mentions.
- While he doesn't appear in the flesh, Quinlan Vos is explicitly referenced as bringing Force-sensitive children to Tala regularly, thus confirming that he survives long past the initial months after Order 66. Corran Horn's father Valin is also alluded to as part of the network helping the Jedi, and the previous episode has a child who is confirmed to be Corran Horn himself.
- The names of many other Legends Jedi who made relatively few appearances before the Disney buyout and had yet to appear since the Disney buyout are written in Aurebesh on the walls of the Path safe house and are visible in either the episodes or production stills. Specifically, Qu Rahn (who becomes a Spirit Advisor to the protagonist of the Dark Forces Saga after being killed by an Inquisitor), Nichos Marr (who survives long enough to join Luke's new Jedi Order, as detailed in Children of the Jedi), Roganda Ismaren (who is the Fallen Hero Big Bad of Children of the Jedi), Djinn Altis (who is mentioned in all three books of The Callista Trilogy and appears in a few Clone Wars-era books), the trio of Drake Lo'gaan, Ekria, and Zonder (from Evasive Action), Rahm Kota (from The Force Unleashed), Corwin Shelvay, Fable Astin, and Drun Cairnwick (who originate from sourcebooks and short stories for the 1990s roleplaying game)^note, and Tiberius Anderlock (from the MMORPG Jump to Lightspeed).
The Woobie:
- Obi-Wan himself. The first episode demonstrates just how much he's lost after the Clone Wars, and how miserable he is living on Tatooine all by himself. The guy really deserves a hug.
  Michelle Rejwan: [We find him in] a pretty traumatic moment, where he's lost so much, where he's been hiding, where his apprentice and brother, Anakin, has gone to the Dark Side, and he's been living with that for a decade. We're really finding him in a place where he's quite lost, and Ewan was a major part of that conversation.
- The homeless clone trooper living in the slums of Daiyu. Even Obi-Wan, himself one of the biggest victims of Order 66, can't help but feel sorry for the guy and give him some credits. The fact that his situation is very much Truth in Television for a lot of U.S. veterans makes it even more sad.

YMMV / Obi-Wan Kenobi

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