Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the books. So, how has it changed the galaxy far, far away forever?
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00:00 It cannot be understated how tough a task it must have been to forge an exciting new
00:04 chapter within this precious galaxy far, far away, without completely overlooking and rewriting
00:09 the events fans know and love heading their way in the years to come.
00:12 But the always excellent director of Disney+'s latest Star Wars adventure, Deborah Chow,
00:17 not only pulled it off, she also managed to give new meaning to seemingly throwaway exchanges,
00:22 change what you thought you knew about certain iconic figures, and even justify some of the
00:26 most bizarre beats to have ever reared their head in this legendary franchise.
00:30 Gareth here from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 10 ways Obi-Wan Kenobi changes Star Wars.
00:35 10. Vader's head scars may have been caused in that rematch of the century
00:41 Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy promised a rematch of the century heading into Obi-Wan
00:46 Kenobi. And boy did Deborah Chow and co deliver. While the second coming together of these
00:50 former allies within the series - if you're not counting flashbacks, that is - very much
00:54 caught the eye due to its all-round force-wielding brilliance and emotional gut punches, said
00:59 highly anticipated apparent last round before episode four, actually seemed to give fans
01:04 an answer to a question many thought had already been answered.
01:07 Let me explain. With Luke Skywalker eventually unmasking his pops in Return of the Jedi and
01:12 revealing a gnarly scar on the left side of his skull, many had understandably attributed
01:16 this scorch mark to his initial burning on Mustafar. However, with Kenobi well and truly
01:21 smashing his one-time brother in the face with countless force-propelled rocks, and
01:25 even slashing the left side of his iconic face covering open with his blue blade in
01:29 part six, it appears as though old Ben may have actually caused those eye-catching head
01:33 wounds in this moment. And while some are still adamant said scar had been present since
01:38 episode three, whatever way you slice it, couldn't resist. Obi-Wan is still very much
01:42 responsible for that particularly painful reminder.
01:45 9. Obi-Wan Temporarily Turned His Back on the Jedi and Force
01:51 Instead of the cheeky and reliable Jedi Master who could regularly be called upon for aid
01:55 and guidance in a protagonist's time of need, Ewan McGregor masterfully brought to
01:59 life a portion of the legendary character's life that saw him very much shunning everything
02:04 to do with the Jedi and Force as a whole in Obi-Wan Kenobi. This turning his back on the
02:09 Order was admittedly understandable, after feeling incredibly guilty over his part in
02:13 the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rest of the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. But this
02:17 decision to shine a detailed light on his disenchantment with, and disconnecting from
02:21 the Force for a time, also adds some new depth to the Alec Guinness version of the character.
02:26 With it now being clear that he had to overcome some serious mental and emotional barriers
02:31 before being in a place to become the master who could eventually guide young Luke down
02:34 the Jedi path.
02:36 8. More Survive the Great Jedi Temple Purge
02:41 For the longest time, it was pretty much assumed that just about nobody got out of Anakin Skywalker's
02:45 wrecking of the Jedi Temple alive. However, it's now become increasingly clear that a
02:50 few lucky Force wielders managed to wriggle out of the devastating siege with their lives
02:54 still remarkably intact. And now joining the likes of the Mandalorian's Grogu is Obi-Wan
02:59 Kenobi's Reva. Instead of somehow being whisked away from the action and remaining hidden
03:03 in the years following Order 66, Reva would opt to head down the path of the dark side,
03:08 and join the Inquisitorius in her quest to get revenge on Vader. So along with adding
03:12 another combustible element to the Inquisitor squad that had already ruthlessly made a name
03:16 for themselves in the likes of the Rebels animated series, the arrival of Reva also
03:21 provided another reminder of just how ruthless the fallen Skywalker was during the infamous
03:26 attack, and how resilient some of these seemingly helpless younglings actually were when faced
03:30 with a truly frightening slaughter. She hid amongst the corpses of her dead pals, for
03:35 crying out loud.
03:37 7. Obi-Wan's Certain Point of View Tale Makes A Bit More Sense Now
03:42 Ben Kenobi's initial reveal to young Luke Skywalker that his father Anakin was actually
03:46 betrayed and killed by Darth Vader, only to explain this all away as being true from a
03:51 certain point of view in the wake of the Jedi in training discovering the Sith to actually
03:55 be his pops, was one of the more jarring and obvious rewrites George Lucas made to his
03:59 ever-growing epic. However, in what acted as Obi-Wan Kenobi's emotional climax in
04:04 Part 6, Debra Chao was actually able to successfully justify Ben's A New Hope revelation to the
04:09 next generation of Skywalker. With the now revitalised Jedi Master dramatically apologising
04:14 to Anakin for all of it, Vader confesses with a chilling amount of menace that Obi-Wan was
04:19 not responsible for killing the one-time Jedi Knight. He was.
04:23 And just like that, Kenobi is forced to face the fact that what remained of his former
04:27 pupil and brother was very much killed all those years ago, paving the way for another
04:31 rather satisfying justification for a once infamously odd line.
04:38 Obi-Wan Kenobi's charming and unquestionably sweet small-screen relationship with the young
04:48 Princess Leia Organa came stuffed with more emotional haymakers than anybody was truly
04:53 ready for. But away from the likes of the thoroughly weathered Jedi's revealing of
04:56 the Princess reminding him of her fearless and stubborn mother - no, you're crying
05:01 Kenobi also let loose the bombshell of him remembering having a brother for the first
05:05 time on the live-action stage.
05:07 Now this actually isn't the first instance of Kenobi having a long-lost sibling being
05:11 potentially introduced to the series, with the original screenplay for Return of the
05:15 Jedi stating that Owen Lars of all people was actually Ben's bro. Owen being Kenobi's
05:20 sibling would pop up a few more times in various Legends material, before Attack of the Clones
05:24 reintroduced Owen as Anakin's step-brother, with no clear link between him and Kenobi
05:28 being made known within current canon.
05:31 But this still leaves the door open for a potential Kenobi family reunion with his unknown
05:35 bro, should Disney decide to tell more pre-New Hope streaming service stories in the coming
05:39 years.
05:40 5. Darth is much more than a weird one-off
05:45 The iconic Jedi Master's rather specific farewell to Vader during Part VI, in the wake
05:49 of thoroughly ripping up a rocky locale, instantly transported fans back to the pair's last
05:55 exchange before Anakin fell to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith, with Kenobi's "Goodbye,
05:59 old friend" this time being replaced by "Goodbye, Darth".
06:03 Along with this callback, Kenobi's bitter use of the title "Darth" also helps Alec
06:07 Guinness' long-time bizarre use of the moniker in A New Hope make a little more sense in
06:12 the overall narrative.
06:13 While it's clear that "Darth" was seen more as a first name than a title by George
06:17 Lucas upon penning a New Hope script, that would obviously change in the years that would
06:21 follow, and leave the utterance of "You're only a master of evil, Darth" sticking out
06:25 like a scorched thumb.
06:26 Obi-Wan Kenobi's handling of the pair's final showdown before A New Hope, however,
06:30 now suggests that Kenobi's use of the term "Darth" is his way of separating his beloved
06:35 fallen friend Anakin from the relentless Sith who now stands before him.
06:39 4. Princess Leia's blaster holster means more than we thought
06:44 Faced with the reality of once again having to face down the youngster's father if the
06:48 rest of the path were to survive, Kenobi is forced to leave Leia with Roken and Haja in
06:52 Part 6, as the pair look to return her safely home to the Organas.
06:56 But before he sends a reluctant Leia on her way, a gift is handed over to the eventual
07:00 General in the form of Tala's holster.
07:03 Far from just being a sweet exchange between the pair, this handing over of the fallen
07:07 freedom fighters' holster would act as a symbolic passing of the torch to the next
07:10 generation of rebels, and it likely informs Leia's decision to equip herself with a similar
07:15 – or perhaps the same – holster, this time actually boasting a blaster during her
07:20 later years as a military leader.
07:22 The overall connection explored between Kenobi and Leia throughout the show also adds much
07:26 more emotional weight to Leia's decision to call upon Kenobi as her only hope in Episode
07:31 4, and Kenobi's eventual sacrifice to ensure both Skywalker children escape the Death Star
07:36 unscathed.
07:37 3. Obi-Wan and Vader are more powerful than you can possibly imagine
07:42 Largely due to the fact the original trilogy came about during a time when it wasn't
07:46 exactly easy to commit ridiculous feats of Force wizardry to film as it is today, the
07:51 likes of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi's impressive commanding of the Force was largely
07:55 restricted to the odd mind trick and choking of an unsuspecting officer.
07:59 Yet with the introduction of the always-evolving tool of CGI, both figures have increasingly
08:03 had their true potential exposed in various prequel and video game entries.
08:08 But arguably the pair's most jaw-dropping displays of Force prowess on the live-action
08:11 stage to date was save for Deborah Chow's small-screen saga.
08:15 In the show, Vader can be spotted literally yanking a ship out of the air mid-takeoff
08:19 before making a mockery of Reva in the pair's duel.
08:22 Vader's former master would also finally get a chance to show off what he was truly
08:26 capable of, taking levitating rocks to new heights as he hurled countless boulders at
08:31 the Dark Lord in their rematch of the century.
08:33 That being said, the pair's freakishly powerful Obi-Wan Kenobi displays do make their eventual
08:38 final showdown on the Death Star now feel a tad underwhelming in comparison.
08:43 2.
08:44 Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were packing some firepower, but still got scorched
08:49 The sight of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's charred remains outside of their Tatooine homestead
08:53 post-Stormtrooper raid told the story of a couple who simply did not stand a chance when
08:58 faced with the might of the ruthless Empire in A New Hope.
09:01 However, with the pair's re-emergence in Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi tale came the revelation
09:05 that these two humble Tatooine residents were packing much more firepower and resilience
09:10 than fans initially thought.
09:12 Upon discovering that Reva was on her way to kill their precious Luke, Beru informs
09:16 her husband we both knew this day might come, before revealing a secret stash of blasters
09:21 to fight off the former Grand Inquisitor.
09:23 Very much risking their lives to ensure the safety and secrecy of one of the most important
09:27 beings in the galaxy, the show successfully alters fans' perceptions of a pair who
09:32 once seemed like little more than bit-part players.
09:34 In truth, Owen and Beru were brave as all hell, and even managed to keep a powerful
09:38 Force user at bay for a spell.
09:40 It's just a shame their aim wasn't quite as sharp all those years later.
09:45 1.
09:46 Qui-Gon did actually find a way to become a Force Ghost
09:49 The live-action return of Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn left fans the world over, fist-pumping
09:54 with glee during the show's finale.
09:55 However, his Force Ghost comeback did actually bring with it a rather intriguing development.
10:00 Up to this point in time, it was believed by most that Qui-Gon hadn't actually been
10:04 able to fully physically manifest himself in the way Yoda, Obi-Wan and Luke eventually
10:08 would in later appearances, because he simply hadn't been able to complete his training
10:12 before his untimely death.
10:14 Clearly, though, in the time after his Clone Wars appearances in a vocal and vision capacity
10:18 - and as corroborated by Canon's short story collection from a certain point of view - Jinn
10:22 was able to finally complete his training and take his place as the first-ever Force
10:27 Ghost in Star Wars Canon.
10:29 So perhaps a potential season two will ultimately give us some long-awaited answers as to how
10:33 the unorthodox Jedi Master was able to pull off this game-changing feat.
10:38 In short, we want season two, give it to us now, baby!
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