<span class="mx-1">We plunge into Episode 4 and explore the horror and hope found beneath Darth Vader’s super-secret clubhouse. Purge Troopers, dead Jedi, etc.</span>
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<img width="800" height="332" src="https://filmschoolrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Obi-Wan-Kenobi-Episode-4-Fortress-Inquisitorius.jpg" class="articlethumb wp-post-image" alt="Obi Wan Kenobi Episode Fortress Inquisitorius" srcset="https://filmschoolrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Obi-Wan-Kenobi-Episode-4-Fortress-Inquisitorius.jpg 800w, https://filmschoolrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Obi-Wan-Kenobi-Episode-4-Fortress-Inquisitorius-768x319.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"/> <p>
<span class="sf-entry-flag sf-entry-flag-creditline">Lucasfilm</span>
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By Brad Gullickson · Published on June 9th, 2022
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<em>Star Wars Explained is our ongoing series where we delve into the latest Star Wars shows, movies, trailers, and news stories to divine the franchise’s future. In this entry, we examine Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 4 and the tomb below Fortress Inquisitorius.</em>
As a result of its timeline placement, Obi–WanKenobi is a bummer. There are thrills. Several. Watching the failed Jedi Knight (Ewan McGregor) get his groove back in Episode 4, chopping into Stormtroopers, provides cardiac exhilaration. Witnessing a young Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) come face to face with the Empire and seeing her political power activated is inspiring. And Darth Vader, that delicious James Earl Jones/Hayden Christensen combo, being his absolute worst, sends shivers across the skin.
However, like The Bad Batch, we’re experiencing Star Wars at its bleakest moment. The old heroes lost, and the new heroes are years away from reclaiming the galaxy. Those who resist do so at great peril, and throughout this season, we’ve already watched many nameless pre-Rebel agents struck down. Opposing Imperial rule seems impossible, but for a few, the option to do anything else is equally unfeasible. Which makes Obi-Wan’s ten years doin’ nothin’ on Tatooine utterly painful.
Within Obi-Wan, a hell rages. As we see during Episode 4’s opening, when he awakens inside a Bacta tank, startled by his nightmarish clash with an ex-pupil. He’s committed to protecting Leia, but he’s nowhere near his prime, and his brief encounter with Vader in the previous chapter impressively crumbled his ego even further.
Much of this week’s episode revolves around Obi-Wan opening himself up to Rebellion. On Jabiim, he meets fighters in Roken (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and Sully (Maya Erskine). While Obi-Wan pressed pause on his life after taking the high ground against Anakin, these two, along with so many more, went into overdrive, helping the Force-sensitive escape Vader’s Inquisitors. They made loss their motivation, while Obi-Wan accepted a beating. Experiencing their heroism and the threat to Leia’s life, the former Republic general finally comprehends an option other than hiding.