Part VI

"You are the future," Obi-Wan pointedly tells Leia early on in the Kenobi finale. The show's place on the Star Wars timeline, tucked in-between the prequels and the original trilogy, always ran the risk of leaving Ewan McGregor's return handcuffed - and that timely reminder to Leia was liable to cause some concern. But there was never any need to worry. Obi-Wan Kenobi signs off with a rousing concluding episode, one packed with an abundance of fan service, well-earned emotional interactions, and a lightsaber battle that will live long in the memory. The episode begins with Vader chasing down Obi-Wan and the Path refugees as they head to Tessen. Obi-Wan quickly concocts a plan to distract Vader and get Leia to safety. To stall for time, Obi-Wan takes off to a nearby planet and - inevitably - the Sith gives chase. While there can be no complaints on getting straight to the action, it does leave Leia feeling like a little bit of an afterthought after the show spent a considerable amount of energy on her. If Obi-Wan and Vader's lightsaber battle in the third episode was a rehearsal, then this is showtime; a main event that's worth the wait - and then some. Obi-Wan is close to the peak of his powers and Vader matches him at every turn. Whisper it, but their showdown might just top Phantom Menace's Duel of the Fates-backed Maul fight. In terms of emotion, that's without question. The choreography is on-point and by far the strongest yet seen in the show (if Obi-Wan was holding back before, you get the impression director Deborah Chow was too), but it's the dialogue shared between the pair that hits hardest. In a pair of scenes that will surely give goosebumps for years to come, Obi-Wan says goodbye to Leia - not without giving her Tala's holster first - and says 'hello there' to Luke before departing into the dunes of Tatooine. While the latter stretches canon a little too much, the scene with Leia is pitch-perfect, acting as a celebration of a relationship few thought possible, as well as newcomer Vivien Lyra Blair's talents as young Leia. In one last piece of fan-service, Obi-Wan is met with one final surpris: Qui-Gon Jinn. In Liam Neeson's best cameo this year - with apologies to Derry Girls - he marks the first step forward for Obi-Wan's inner peace, and gives the show one last chance to showcase Ewan McGregor's incredible facial acting as he tearfully glimpses the Force ghost of his former master. Does that journey involve a second season? Who knows - but if we don't see Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan again, the finale was a fitting send-off.

This episode reached its climax way to early, then hung around and tidied up after itself until the uncredited cameo.

The show on the whole hasn't been perfect by any stretch but the images of Darth/Anakin after the event (you know the one) is one of the greatest images in Star Wars ever, that moment was an absolute knockout and worth the journey.

Just a shame there was so much redemption to ponder after all the excitement.

As a writer and a Star Wars geek, I'm super disappointed with the direction they took Obi-Wan. His internal conflict did not match the character portrayed throughout the Star Wars franchise. I understand subtle differences from movies to the other spin-off stories, but they really made Obi-Wan (IMO) a bit of a wuss.

After watching the entire season, I think I understand why this derailment of the character happened - the original writers were not brought on board.

This is not saying the writers of Obi-Wan Kenobi don't have merit in their own right. They are all very accomplished writers with the films they've penned so far, and some of their movies are my favorites.

But it seems to me these writers, or the top executives in charge, were NOT familiar with the franchise, the world or these characters.

Dave Filoni was an influential force behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, and yet I only see him mentioned as a "Thanks" in the credits, and I think that was a huge mistake. But maybe he's on other projects right now and couldn't do this project. Too bad. The success of The Mandalorian, I believe, is partially because of Mr. Filoni.

These animated series were the very backstory and foundation for the setting of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which it seems Disney did not take advantage of. It's almost as if the entire Rebel storyline was blasted with a pallet of thermal detonators regarding the Inquisitors, which were introduced in Rebels.

It's too bad. As another reviewer mentioned, this series seemed very rushed, and I agree. I was really looking forward to this storyline, as I'm sure many Star Wars fans were.

This is what this series should have been all along! I also truly believe that this episode shows that we should have had a movie instead, remove all the stupid sub-plot of the early episodes and focus on the relationships and struggles of Darth Vader and Obi Wan - that is where the greatness of this lies!

Episodes 1-5 have had varying degrees of good and bad, with Episode 4 having the most bad. Even the good parts of the previous episodes never really felt like they were part of the Star Wars universe. This final episode finally makes up for that and is the only one that truly belongs. If this series (or a full-length movie of Obi-Wan) goes forward, hopefully the creators remember what went right from this final episode and so much of what went wrong in the previous episodes. Good - Ewan McGregor, Joel Edgerton, use of the force in ep 6, tying up ends left from Revenge of the Sith. Bad - Reva, kidnappers chasing Leia, gaping plot holes, illogical behavior & choices.