If you’re a Star Wars fan like me, you anticipated the arrival of the Disney+ series “Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi.” When it was first announced as “Kenobi” I knew how much single word titles are preferred in Hollywood. Then upon release it went to the character’s full name, I was a bit surprised.
I was skimming through the library’s science fiction section and picked up this Star Wars book I hadn’t read. (Shocker, I’ve read a lot of them!) At first I thought that this was a novelization of the series. But I was wrong. This brilliant novel by John Jackson Miller (Del Rey/Lucas Books, 2013) is not a novelization, however it may have been a building block for the writers of the series. ”Kenobi” is a great addition to the Star Wars Extended Universe (SWEU). Miller did a wonderful job of filling in the gap from when Obi-Wan delivered Luke Skywalker to the Lars homestead. He even touched on events in the prequels, (SPOILER ALERT - but come on…) like the slaughter of the Tusken Raiders after Anakin’s mother was kidnapped. The book even goes so far as touching on the fate of the posse that went after Shmi Skywalker Lars. It gives the reader a glimpse into the life of moisture farmers, Tusken Raiders, and what it means to be from Tatooine. Miller finally gives fans a reason why “the Jundland Wastes are not to be travelled lightly.” Although the movie alludes to the Tuskens as the main reason, “Kenobi” goes into more detail like Krayt Dragons and Sarlaccs. This book also explores Obi-Wan’s guilt and isolation after the events in Episode III. Also why he’s so desperate to “lay low” and why he’s terrible at it. Another nod to previous characters and happenings in the Star Wars Universe is Obi-Wan taking the name Ben, a name he says Satine Kryze called him. Why is this significant? Developments with Annileen Calwell (one of the other main characters in this novel) open the door to exploration of relationships outside of the Jedi order. Which in turn fills in gaps that fans suspected all along with the relationship between Satine and Obi-Wan. If you haven’t picked up “Star Wars: Kenobi” I highly recommend adding it to your reading list. John Jackson Miller has previously written in the Star Wars Universe “Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories” (Also a really great series!) and “Star Wars: Knight Errant.”
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What can I say but “Wow!” The first episode was amazing. I didn’t have high hopes as She-Hulk was never my favorite and to be fair neither was Hulk. But Mark Ruffalo really made the character his own. That’s neither here nor there. It’s important because Smart Hulk, per IMDB.com is in the entire series. Makes complete sense!
It took me a hot minute to finish the series, but I made it. It’s a wonderful addition to the MCU. I chose to ignore the haters that complained about Kamala getting her costume in the last episode. Duh. It’s the origin story of Ms. Marvel. You can’t come out of the gate with a costume. It’s essentially a six hour movie so they had time to explore her character and get into what makes her the way she is.
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! 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. Wow. It was unexpected and amazing. (Yes, I know episode II is also out but I didn't have time to get to it today. And, yes, a review of that episode will be done as well.) This may have some spoilers in it so beware and proceed with caution.
You may be tempted to skip the recap. Don't do it. It was a great start and you get a bit of a surprise once the recap is done. Let me tell you, some of the older younglings manage to escape the temple. This is an important part of the plot. The series takes place ten years after Order 66 was issued and it opens on Tatooine with an Imperial ship landing. It's not one I recall seeing, however if it was in Rebels or Bad Batch you'll know it. (Don't look at me like that! I have been busy.) If you've been watching the trailers you'll know that the Inquisitors have come looking for Jedi. They start in the cantina. I mean, why not right? You're probably thinking that the Jedi they're hunting is Obi-Wan. Well, you'd be wrong. Remember when I said some of the older younglings had escaped the temple? This is where we meet one of them. He is able to escape the Inquisitors. He finds Obi-Wan and begs for help. Obi-Wan refuses as he is committed to his mission and he's trying to hide as well. He tells the kid to go bury his lightsaber (foreshadowing) in a hole in the desert and never look back. The next day, Obi-Wan has a clash with Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton has returned!) and there is every opportunity to turn Obi-Wan over to the Inquisitors but Owen doesn't. Here's where you may get confused. The show is about Obi-Wan, right? Well, we see Alderaan and a young lady getting dressed up. We assume it's Leia, however, it is soon revealed that Leia has asked someone to take her place as she proceeds to the woods to watch the ships coming in. What she doesn't see is that she is being watched. (More foreshadowing.) When Leia's mother finds her, we see the ticks that Leia has already learned, like picking her mother's pocket to retrieve a small droid. (Yes, this will be important later.) This sequence is also where we see Leia use a force ability that she's quite unaware that she uses when she dishes truth back to her mean-spirited cousin. We also learn that her parents have not let Leia leave the planet. (Gee, I wonder why?) We know that Leia is not one for the trappings of being a senator's daughter as she flees to the woods rather than apologize to her oaf of a cousin. This is where the young princess gets into trouble. She's kidnapped. Not for who she is but for who her father was associated with in the Clone Wars. So, far Obi-Wan has resisted the call to adventure because his adventuring days are done as he watches over young Luke Skywalker but he's called upon by his old friend Bail Organa to find Leia. And this is where the episode ends. It's a great addition to the story. So far the plot is great, the limited action was good, the VFX were on par with previous Star Wars stories, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a beloved character. I for one have been waiting for him to get some love. Check out the episode if you haven't already. Give the second one a try as well. Let me know what you think. May the force be with you.
If you want a short spoiler free review, watch the video. If you want a bit more detail and don't mind spoilers, read after the video!
This is a CBS All Access show. If you haven't seen it, or even heard of it by now, let me tell you, you've missed out. There are 11 episodes to the season and it just wrapped 17 October. Last week, CBS gave the go ahead to Marc Cherry and his crew for season two.
Season one followed three women in different decades all connected by one house. As a writer myself, I find it easier to predict what's going to happen, this show not only kept me guessing but it kept me laughing week after week as we followed Beth Ann and Rob, Simone and Karl, and Taylor and Eli. Beth Ann, played by the lovely Gennifer Goodwin, and Rob (Sam Jaeger) are introduced first and it seems like they are the perfect 1950s couple, except that it's the early 60s. Beth Ann is a doting wife and Rob is a career driven executive at the 1960s equivalent of a tech company. However, when Beth Ann meets Shelia (Alicia Coppola) and Leo (Adam Ferrara) Mosconi, it's clear that there is a deeper story to Beth Ann and Rob when Leo realizes where he's seen Rob before. As the story progresses and Beth Ann's friendship with Shelia grows, the story takes an unexpected turn, and then another. It wraps up nicely in the final episode when a 1974 Beth Ann hands the keys over to a 1974 Simone. Simone, played by the wonderful Lucy Liu, and her husband Karl (Jack Davenport) have the finer things in life. Friends, a country club membership, a popular art gallery which Karl runs and Simone doesn't step foot in unless necessary, and Simone hosts extravagant parties that are the envy of their circle of friends. She seems like she has everything. What can make a woman more crazy than finding out her husband is cheating on her? That he's cheating on her with her hairdresser who happens to be the best in L.A.! Everything goes downhill from there for Simone and Karl. Her best friend turns against her (you'll have to watch the show to learn why) and in the end everything works out for Simone too as we see the 2019 version handing over the keys to Taylor and Eli. Taylor Harding, played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste (I had to look her up!), is a no-nonsense kind of lady. She's a lawyer married to Eli Cohen (Reid Scott), a screenwriter who sold one screenplay and is struggling to follow it up with a sophomore hit. They have an open marriage which as an audience we see right away that while it is beneficial to Taylor, Eli is not okay with the situation and it causes strife especially when Taylor brings her hook up home, which goes against the ground rules. Of course... this is where it all falls apart. You will definitely have to watch the show to see how this plays out. If you don't know what "Thruple" means I highly recommend looking it up. The way these stories were woven together each week was impressive. It was almost like they were written like little webisodes. I would love to get my hands on the shooting script for the final episode. It was a masterpiece of cinematography, directing, writing, and editing. I was very impressed. It was unique. and now that it's been done... I can't say enough about this series. It's hysterical, touching, frightening, and surprising! Remember, you can only catch it on CBS All Access. Fathom Events had some good trivia leading up to the flick so go see it on the 17th if you like that kind of thing. If not, you'll have to catch the film at the Reboot Roadshow. If you miss it then... who knows when it will actually make it into the theatre! I was concerned that I was going to be the only lady in the joint but... as it got closer to go time, I was relieved to discover more trickling in.
And here we go... ***(may contain mild spoilers)*** In true Kevin Smith style, J&SBR makes fun of franchises while saying "I love you" in its own twisted way. He even pokes fun at himself and the fact that he has been mistaken for Kevin James. With a star-studded cast (one of them you'll miss unless you look close at the Chronic Con scene Super Friends, and that's all I'll say about that) and sorry folks, Mark Hamill does not teturn as Cocknocker, Reboot lives up to the promise that it is the same movie, yet different. Jay's character grows (more than weed) and Silent Bob finally... well, you'll have to see it. Reboot is as funny as it should be coming from the mind of Levin Smith. Don't be mad at him for Yoga Hosers... he has redeemed himself with this new offering. Go see it at a Fathom Event or the Jay & Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow. You'll laugh so hard, you'll cry. |
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August 2022
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