The drama is real on the Obi-Wan Kenobi show. Third Sister has Leia in her grasp, Vader is hunting Kenobi, and Jacob Schoeneberger is losing sleep wondering how all this is going to turn out. Loving how the drama has escalated in a big way.
With that in mind, here are some random observations Jacob Schoeneberger has on the show.
The Jacob Schoeneberger Random Thoughts about Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode IV)
This will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn’t watched the show yet.
The fourth episode begins with Obi-Wan healing in a bacta tank at the same time Vader is. Kenobi sees visions of how Vader overpowered him, and we can feel how afraid he is that he can’t compete with Vader’s strength. Even though Obi-Wan is safe for now, he’s still worried about Leia.
Reva has Leia imprisoned. Leia stands up to Reva but she’s clearly distraught when Reva tells her Kenobi is dead and no one is coming for her. Though it’s a lie, it is making Leia lose heart.
We find in the next scene that Leia is being held in the Mustafar system, and we all know that’s Vader’s home. To get in there and get Leia back will require all of Kenobi’s prowess; Leia is in the belly of the beast. Kenobi says he’ll go alone, but Tala volunteers to go with him. She still has officer credentials with the Empire and they’re hoping that will be enough to get them into the Imperial base where Leia is being held.
It’s an old, tried-and-true Star Wars trope: We have a dated Imperial clearance, let’s just hope it’s enough to get us in there. We’ve seen this scenario play out plenty of times in this galaxy, but somehow, Jacob Schoeneberger is still on the edge of his seat every time.
In the base, Reva questions Leia. She knows about The Path, a system of rebel safehouses throughout the galaxy that carry Force-sensitive people to safety. Reva wants to know what Leia found out when she was with Tala. Reva tells Leia that if she tells her about The Path, then Leia can go home to her family. But Leia stays strong and doesn’t say anything.
To Tala’s credit, when her ship arrives at the base, she strolls confidently through the hangar to the security checkpoint. When security stops her, she puts on her best Imperial officer talking down to a subordinate routine and punks the security officer into letting her in. I must say, Jacob Schoeneberger is thoroughly impressed with Indira Varma’s performance as Tala. She pulls off both the compassionate, caring side who’s rescuing people on The Path, as well as the steely-eyed, intimidating officer persona perfectly. I’m completely drawn in by how well she’s embodying this pivotal character.
(Sidenote: Leia, Haja, Tala, Reva… this series has a thing for two-syllable names ending in a.)
Obi-Wan is swimming into the base because it stretches deep down under water. From a communication station, Tala guides Obi-Wan to an entry port. Immediately after entering, he takes out a stormtrooper who heard him come in.
Now Jacob Schoeneberger has an important question to ask. Does the Force act as a clothes dryer? Because he is seriously going to be soaking wet walking through the halls of this base if it doesn’t. My concern is twofold. I’m thinking about his footing; we don’t want him slipping and sliding around those squeaky-clean Imperial tiled floors. And secondly, he’s no use to anyone if he catches a cold. He’s gotta be in top shape for this mission. But I digress.
Reva tries to use the Force to enter Leia’s mind, but Leia is too strong-minded for that. Reva realizes this and stops even trying. Then Leia releases her little Batteries Not Included (you know you love that movie, admit it) droid, but Reva senses it and grabs it. She says, “I had a droid when I was younger too. It was taken away from me. Like everything else.” The more she says about her past, the more intriguing Reva becomes. She is clearly driven, and her past has been unkind. I wonder if there is still good in her.
Tala is forced to knock out another officer who questions why she’s there, while Kenobi dodges stormtroopers and seeker droids as he roams the facility. And finally something happens that I’ve been waiting for in Star Wars work for a long time. A couple of stormtroopers actually overhear Tala trying to call Kenobi on his comm link. Seriously, how many times have we seen characters sneaking around these bases hiding, but no one ever hears their comm links? It’s about time! What’s going to happen next, a stormtrooper with decent aim?
Leia resists all of Reva’s attempts to get her to talk, and now the stormtroopers take her away to torture the information out of her. Reva is stooping pretty low, and now it’s really a race against the clock for Obi-Wan to get to Leia.
While searching for Leia, Kenobi makes a heart-wrenching discovery. He tells Tala, “I think I’ve just found out what they’re hiding down here. This place isn’t a fortress; it’s a tomb.” Kenobi sees the bodies of many individuals suspended within the walls, just as Reva has Leia in the torture device threatening her. Kenobi recognizes the child he saw trying to escape earlier at Haja’s place; this is where they’re keeping all the Force-sensitive people they capture.
Tala creates a distraction at the last moment before Reva starts to torture Leia. Tala is drawing Reva’s attention away from Leia to give Obi-Wan a chance to save her. This is brave and necessary, but it may have dire consequences for Tala. She tries to tell Reva that she found evidence of where The Path is located, but Reva suspects it’s a lie.
Fortunately her story buys Kenobi just enough time to get in and rescue Leia out of the torture device. Tala then stalls Reva further by weaving another tale that she’s actually a double agent and that she infiltrated The Path by pretending to be supporting them. Without Tala’s quick thinking on her feet, Kenobi never would have gotten as far as he did.
But a seeker droid spots Kenobi and raises an alarm, so Tala has to take out a couple stormtroopers to get away. Then we get some vintage Obi-Wan action as he uses the lightsaber to destroy the seeker droid and a bunch of stormtroopers who have them trapped. And let me tell you, this was the moment Jake Schoeneberger has been waiting for. Kenobi being all Kenobi and going Jedi master on some troopers!
During the fight, a laser cracks the glass and Obi-Wan has to use the Force to hold the water back from rushing in as Tala gets Leia to safety. Just as the stormtroopers come into the chamber, Obi-Wan lets the water rush in and drown them as he gets away with Tala and Leia.
They then walk through the commotion with Obi-Wan hiding Leia under an Imperial cloak disguise. Guess if anyone stops them he can just say he’s been eating too many bantha burgers, that’s why he’s so round.
At the hangar, Reva catches up to them and they face a full battalion of stormtroopers. But just when things seem lost, two rebel ships come blasting into the hangar and tear up the stormtroopers. This gives them the time they need to get into a ship to escape, even as Reva runs to try to catch them.
After they get away, Vader ain’t happy. He Force-chokes Reva saying, “You were warned what defeat would bring. I will tolerate your weakness no longer.” Vintage Vader, right there! The only thing that saves her is she’s able to tell him she put a tracker on the ship and they’ll soon know the location of the network and where Kenobi is. We can surmise that Reva put the tracker into Leia’s droid.
The episode ends with a truly touching moment. Back in the relative safety of the network, Leia reaches out and takes Obi-Wan’s hand. It reminds us of all that Obi-Wan tried to do for Padme, but he ultimately felt he failed her. He’s very determined not to fail Leia, and she loves him for it.
The Jacob Schoeneberger Random Obi-Wan Kenobi Thought of the Day
Jacob Schoeneberger is very intrigued to see where the final couple episodes of this series take us. It’s hard to imagine Kenobi standing up to Vader in a fight and what will be the fate of Reva? But one thing is for sure, Jacob Schoeneberger will be right here glued to his couch anxiously anticipating seeing how it will all turn out.
More Thoughts from Jacob Schoeneberger