Only This Deus Ex Machina Can Save The Obi-Wan Series

Only This Deus Ex Machina Can Save The Obi-Wan Series

When I was a boy, I had my own perspective on Obi-Wan Kenobi.  I grew up with the three classic Star Wars films, late 1970s to early 1980s.  That perspective was enhanced by the Prequel Trilogy, nearly 20 years later.  I enjoyed old Kenobi, one of the stalwart classic good guy heroes, and appreciated Prequel Kenobi, who was a bedrock or strength and moral guidance, yet still lighthearted, as the galaxy slid into chaos and evil.  Though my opinions aged well, improving vastly in fact, of the Prequel movies (they are masterpieces compared to Disney’s sad regurgitations), I have always been a fan of Kenobi.  The character helped make Revenge of the Sith my third favorite of the six true films, behind only the original 1977 classic and The Empire Strikes Back.

As a boy in the 1980s, I could never have imagined what Obi-Wan Kenobi would become, here in 2022.  A weak, scared, pessimistic wash-up who couldn’t beat Watto in a thumb war, if he even had the desire to meet the challenge.

I will not belabor any of this.  What is done, is done.  There is little point dwelling on Kenobi’s character obliteration at the hands of Disney, or the atrocious story thread inconsistencies that emerged after the third installment of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, released this week.  I alluded to my feelings and opinions on all of this in my prior Kenobi post, and I am sure there are beyond count the number of professional commenters and YouTube critics who are complaining even right now of the woeful series and all of its sacrilege particulars.

But as I mentioned in my last article, and it is obvious to anyone following the series, that Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan’s original Jedi Master, is going to make some form of appearance before the series concludes.  His role and the references to his presence are too prominent.  The only question is how he will return.  Let’s lay out two potential directions for Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Direction A: Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are finally able to break the nether barrier of the Force, allowing the former master to buttress Kenobi, steel his resolve, and reforge the hero into the Jedi Knight he was and will be in movie Episode IV.  He will likely appear and aid Kenobi when all seems lost at the climax of the series, or thereabouts.  Kenobi will learn once again through Jinn his golden lesson of trusting in The Living Force, despite all that has happened, despite all the failures and suffering, and it will be an epic, glorious return to the real Kenobi that actually may make the series, well, good.

Direction B: Qui-Gon Jinn makes contact with Kenobi, but only to wine and grovel, and bemoan about how terribly wrong he was about Anakin.  Jinn will have little to no influence over the series resolution and patchwork rebuild of Kenobi, which will be just enough so that he can hobble into A New Hope a decade hence.  New random, uninteresting Disney stock characters will be Kenobi’s salvation, characters whose names we will forget by this time next year.  Qui-Gon will become the “whatever” former master and Obi-Wan will be reconstituted merely for half-witted consistency.


It goes without saying that I sincerely hope a semblance of Direction A is what we will get in the final three series episodes, but I almost completely assume my Direction B is what Disney has in store.  I would take even a watered-down version of A, something like the desus ex machina soulless CGI Luke Skywalker of The Mandalorian.  We will know the truth in a few weeks.

Paul

Paul

I write frequently about astrophotography, technology advice, and my other interests like science fiction. I have over 30 years of experience in computer programming, information technology, and project management.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.