Well, I finally got caught up on this series. (I’ll try not to spoil it for anyone!)
It’s just not the same with my geeky stuff buddy here. She had already warned me of the plot twist in episode 2 and was quite shocked I hadn’t seen it yet. Don’t have the amount of time on my hands that she had, apparently. That housekeeping out of the way, here we go! I love that the Marvel Studios title card has had different music for each episode. It’s made it unique and kind of fits the feel of the episode. Marvel did that with the end credits for “Moon Knight.” I know… Ms. Marvel is unique. Kamala’s desire to be different in her world and be like her hero Captain Marvel is plastered all over. In her room, in her locker, the wallpaper on her phone, and even her clothes! We can see the struggle between the American culture where she was born and raised and her parents’ Pakistani culture. It kind of had “Bend it Like Beckham” vibes and that is amazing because “Bend it Like Beckham” is one of my favorite movies. This show has the hero’s journey with the refusal deeply ingrained in the first episode. I feel that it’s because of Kamala’s struggle between her American and Pakistani halves. She wants to be the good daughter but yet, she wants to be badass like her hero. Her best friends Nakia & Bruno (if he had his way… they’d be more and you can feel that in several moments sprinkled throughout the show) … one grounds her (sort of) to her Muslim faith and her Pakistani roots while the other encourages her love of Captain Marvel and helps her with her Cosplay for the very first AvengerCon. I will say that the first episode gave me “Turning Red” vibes to a point in the tone. It was great build up for the rest of the series, which eventually leaves Jersey City, New Jersey and travels to Pakistan, a place Kamala has never been but is there with her mother because her grandma (Nani) has said they should come. Kamala’s American-ness gets the group (an aunt, two cousins, Kamala, and her mother) relegated to the patio at a restaurant because Kamala has worn jeans. Her cousins take her through the city and eventually leave her to explore on her own. She runs into someone from the group known as the Red Dagger. During a battle, Kamala is sent back in time to Pakistan and the partition. I suppose I would know more about this event if I had taken more World History classes in college. If you didn’t know 15 August 1947 is when then British India was divided into India and Pakistan. To go even further… Pakistan is a divided a bit more. It’s been divided into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. If you want to read more click here. And back in 1947 is where the episode ends. I haven’t read the Ms. Marvel comics but kudos to Marvel for creating this character. It’s about time. Even more praise for Marvel Studios for choosing this character to unpack in a TV series. I don’t think an origin movie would have done Kamala Kahn’s story any justice. If you haven’t watched it yet because you weren’t sure about the character or the story… I urge you to give it a try. If you’re waiting for all of the episodes to drop… it looks like 13 July is the date. So far, only 6 episodes are listed on IMDB. Of course, true to Disney+/Marvel Studios fashion, there’s a season 1. Will we get another season? We’ll see!
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It’s been rough. Went on vacation, came home, then Friday morning happened and I wasn’t ready to finish this series. To be fair…
I’ve also been dragging this out. I don’t want the series to be over, so I procrastinated finishing episode six. It was amazing!! So, without further ado (spoilers involved)… Remember, I’m a freelance screenwriter so yes, I know about plot and structure which is why this story worked so well as a show rather than a feature. As a feature we would have lost so much of the storyline (we’ll call it the B Story) with Reva. I kind of want to know how she moves on. Now this character is where we loop back to the first episode of the series when the younglings are slaughtered. Why show that again? It’s what was happening above that grizzly massacre that’s important later because it distracts you, fills in some blanks maybe. Sure we see the younglings escape and we already know what happened to one of them. Well, okay. That’s the distraction! Obi-Wan puts it together that the only way Reva would know if Anakin were still alive was if she’d seen him. Yes, indeed. Reva was one of the younglings in the slaughter. She reveals how she did it. Before you say “Anakin would have known” would he? He was so focused on keeping Padme alive that he was completely ignoring anything else. We see his focus on Obi-Wan (okay, it’s more of an obsession really) interfere with his mission for the Emperor and Palpatine points it out. Not subtly either. So, the B Story… is really Reva’s story and not part of executing Order 66. She uses the A Story (Order 66, I know… 10 years later and it’s still going. Well, they expanded it and we’ll get to that in a moment.) to advance her desire for revenge. How else would she know to kidnap Leia to lure Obi-Wan out? She knew he was still alive. With Vader’s thirst for… whatever… revenge, closure, an apology… she uses that to take Organa’s kid. She only knew that Obi-Wan was friends with Bail and not the whole secret but she did get there and went after Luke. That was another level of “will she or won’t she.” But what was Reva getting revenge for? Let’s go back to that part where she was the survivor of the youngling massacre. Her plan to use Obi-Wan to get to Vader and kill him was destined to fail. One, it would have really messed up ANH. Two, we had to have another confrontation with Vader and Kenobi. The B Story is resolved when Reva is confronted with the choice to kill the boy or return him to Owen and Baru. She chooses the latter. She chooses to not become like Anakin and kill a youngling. Instead, she confers with Obi-Wan and leaves her lightsaber behind to begin healing, as well as a new life. (Okay #Disney I want a Reva series!!) We do get the final confrontation of the show with Anakin and Obi-Wan. And boy is it good! A lot of back and forth with the Force throws, banter, and lightsaber action. It proves why Obi-Wan was just as badass as a Jedi as Mace Windu and Yoda. This sequence will also give you a plot point in ANH. When Ben tells Luke that Vader killed his father… Vader tells Obi-Wan that he killed Anakin, not Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan stands there with tears in his eyes, mourning the loss of his padawan and best friend all over again. But, Obi-Wan kicks ass, makes his getaway and senses that Luke is in danger. About that… we see the lengths that Owen and Baru are willing to go through for their nephew. Baru planned for something to happen, Owen did not. Remember, Owen is a bit of a pacifist. He seems genuinely shocked that his wife had thought of fighting. It does give Luke time to run when Reva arrives with two people blasting away at her. In Reva’s need for revenge and in her anger, she becomes unfocused. Reva does follow Luke and we’ve already discussed what happened there. Here’s what happened after… Obi-Wan goes to Alderaan. It’s introduced to us by Leia getting ready to greet some dignitary. She slides on her really sensible boots, her gloves, and Tala’s holster. She is 100% Padme’s kid. But we already knew that. She reminds her father that he told her there were different ways to lead and that is what she chose. He agrees to making changes with her, together. Then she’s surprised by Obi-Wan’s arrival. He had to return Lola after all. It is a touching moment. Obi-Wan tells the young princess that she must not tell anyone they know each other or it would be dangerous. We can see the reluctance on her face but she knows how to do her duty. And that was part of her duty, to help keep the Jedi safe. Now, for Luke for anyone saying, “What about…?” Ben stops by the Lars homestead after he packs up his cave. He conveys upon Owen the job of protector. Ben saw in the Lars family that Luke would be able to be a child and that was just as important as Jedi training, maybe a bit more important. This, friends, is where the Jedi code changed. Here’s how Luke knows about Ben. As Obi-Wan is leaving, Owen asks if he wants to meet Luke. Of course he does and the series ends with Kenobi saying “Hello there.” I didn’t forget, in case you were wondering… Order 66 and it’s expansion to fit the narrative of this show. Well, not really. If I recall correctly it was expanded in the EU (now Legends). The Inquisitors were also hunting families of Force sensitives and murdering them. That was totally a Palpatine paranoia, so it makes sense that there would be a dedicated unit to eradicate anyone that may be able to stand up to Palpatine and the Empire. (Hm. Sounds familiar IRL…) And there you have it. My review/impression of the series finale of “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” I just finished Episode 4, which I should note is approximately ten minutes shorter than the other episodes. With that out of the way, let’s get to it.
I’m not going to recap or summarize for you. What I’m going to do is tell you about my impressions. I’ve been trying to be spoiler-free when reading articles about the series thus far. It’s been okay. I’ve read a lot of commentary bashing the acting saying it wasn’t nearly as good as the movies and Moses Ingram has also gotten some hate. (I can see why we should hate the character but we should not hate the person who plays the character. Be adults. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Yes, I know free speech but there’s a fine line in free speech and being a twat. Figure it out.) The acting has been fine. Up to the usual standard. Ewan McGregor stepped nicely into a role that he hasn’t played in a decade and a half. Obi-Wan has always been one of my favorites (I’ll dig up a photo of my Ben Kenobi Star Wars BABW bear, complete with Jedi robes and insert it if you don’t believe me). More so after reading EU (now Legends) books with him in it. Few and far between that they are. I anticipated this series more than the others and for me, it’s doing a bang up job. We do get to see some great hand-to-hand fights and yes, we see Obi-Wan kick some ass with a lightsaber. You might be asking “What about the Leia problem?” Well, if they can wipe a droid’s memory, why can’t they do that with people? You know like “obliviate” but Star Wars-style. We’ll just have to wait and see how that will be handled. I will admit that it does cause a bit of a hiccup in ANH with Leia’s initial message to Obi-Wan. I must admit, I was surprised at what the Inquisitor base held and it was really great to see the beginnings of the Rebellion. I also found it interesting that Vader is so focused on Kenobi that he completely misses that one of his Force-sensitive offspring is close by. Which may make Vader’s lack of power due to his condition much more plausible. Wait. What? Vader has some failings, if he was supposed to the most powerful Jedi (now Sith) and bring balance to the Force, his oopsie on Mustafar with his former master may have affected his ability to adequately weld the Force because he is now more machine than man. Meaning the speculation that you have to be fully flesh and blood to be able to access your full Force ability is valid. Granted Leia wasn’t the Jedi that Luke was but you can see her use it without knowing she’s doing it when Reva questions her. She’s ten! A normal ten year old would have caved. Just more proof that Padme provided some of those ass kicking genes. Star Wars is one of the many reasons I write sci-fi. The ability to bend reality (lightsabers anyone?) and make it believable… I am in awe of the world of Star Wars and how vast it was before the addition of 2 trilogies and hundreds of books. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is another great addition. If you don’t like it, fine. Just don’t spoil it for the rest of us. If you’re waiting for all the episodes to be out… only two more weeks to go, but don’t wait! Half the fun is the anticipation for the next episode. May the Force be with you. |
AuthorCollege graduate, Army vet, single mom, Husky mom, Movie lover, writer Archives
August 2022
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