Obi-Wan Kenobi's Worst Scene Continues A Bad Star Wars Trend

Obi-Wan Kenobi has been met with initial acclaim, but its first two episodes also continue one of the Disney+ Star Wars franchise's worst trends.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's Worst Scene Continues A Bad Star Wars Trend

WARNING: Contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes 1 & 2.

Set in the period between Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first two episodes provide more information on the Jedi Master’s story, but this did not prevent the series from continuing one of the franchise’s worst trends. Obi-Wan Kenobi follows The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett as the next in a series of live-action Star Wars shows airing exclusively on Disney+. While, for the most part, these shows have been successful in expanding the universe to a broader audience, there have been some episodes that have failed to live up to the otherwise high bar set by Disney+’s new series.

Only at the beginning of its six-episode run, Obi-Wan Kenobi is nonetheless proving to be one of the franchise’s more successful projects: achieving the refreshing tone of The Mandalorian while avoiding the narrative problems of The Book of Boba Fett to date. Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 moved the action away from Tattooine, with Obi-Wan attempting to smuggle the kidnapped Princess Leia away from her captors while avoiding detection by the Inquisitors. While the episode provided a good level of interaction between the in-hiding Jedi Master and Leia, some of its action sequences continued a mistake that has recently troubled the franchise.

This off-putting trend fundamentally comes down to how the Disney+ series have handled chase sequences to date. From Leia’s two sprints in Obi-Wan Kenobi to the Mods’ pursuit of Mok Shaiz’s Majordomo in Boba Fett, these Disney+ Star Wars series are fast-demonstrating that they have an issue with creating frenetic and dynamic action sequences. Apart from providing easily-mockable set pieces for detractors of the franchise, this troubling trend is also damaging the Star Wars series themselves – undermining moments that are supposed to engage the audience with choreography that appears clunky and slow.

The chase sequences in Obi-Wan Kenobi are two examples here that mar what has otherwise been a successful opening for the show. Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1 saw Leia being chased by some of the clumsiest kidnappers ever committed to screen, with the small child able to consistently evade her pursuers by sliding under easily navigated objects all while moving at a strangely slow speed. This is capitalized in the chase’s finale, which sees one of the villains’ pursuits spoiled as he awkwardly runs into a tree, undermining the stakes of the set-piece and the extent of the antagonists’ power in the process.

Unfortunately, this sequence did not prove to be a one-off, with Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 providing a similarly awkward chase through the markets of Daiyu. Once again, the young Leia easily evades those chasing her, moving around market stalls and through crowds at such a pace that Obi-Wan’s failure to reach her is completely unbelievable. Intended, rather than demonstrate a sense of peril for the young princess, both sequences have only served to slow the otherwise strong narrative pace of the episodes.

Much like the moped chase through Mos Espa in Boba Fett and the Mods’ comically unnecessary spinning gunshot in the show’s finale, the Disney+ Star Wars series are clearly struggling with certain aspects of their action sequences. There is a lot of promise left for Obi-Wan Kenobi regardless, with Vader’s tease in episode two hinting at some larger set pieces to come, but the show must overcome its comical approach to action if it is to be taken seriously. In ironing out these tonal mistakes, Obi-Wan Kenobi can finally provide Ewan McGregor’s Jedi the redemption he deserves.

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