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Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the books. So, how has it changed the galaxy far, far away forever?
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00:00It cannot be understated how tough a task it must have been to forge an exciting new chapter within this precious galaxy far, far away without completely overlooking and rewriting the events fans know and love heading their way in the years to come.
00:12But the always excellent director of Disney Plus' latest Star Wars adventure, Debra Chow, not only pulled it off, she also managed to give new meaning to seemingly throw away exchanges, change what you thought you knew about certain iconic figures, and even justify some of the most bizarre beats to have ever reared their head in this legendary franchise.
00:30Gareth here from War Culture Star Wars and here are 10 ways Obi-Wan Kenobi changes Star Wars.
00:3610. Vader's Head Scars May Have Been Caused in That Rematch of the Century
00:41Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy promised a rematch of the century heading into Obi-Wan Kenobi, and boy did Debra Chow and co. deliver.
00:49While the second coming together of these former allies within the series, if you're not counting flashbacks that is, very much caught the eye due to its all-round force-wielding brilliance and emotional gut punches,
00:59said highly anticipated apparent last round before episode 4 actually seemed to give fans an answer to a question many thought had already been answered.
01:07Let me explain.
01:08With Luke Skywalker eventually unmasking his pops in Return of the Jedi and revealing a gnarly scar on the left side of his skull, many had understandably attributed this scorch mark to his initial burning on Mustafar.
01:19However, with Kenobi well and truly smashing his one-time brother in the face with countless force-propelled rocks, and even slashing the left side of his iconic face covering open with his blue blade in Part 6,
01:30it appears as though Old Ben may have actually caused those eye-catching head wounds in this moment.
01:35And while some are still adamant said Scar had been present since episode 3, whatever way you slice it, couldn't resist.
01:41Obi-Wan is still very much responsible for that particularly painful reminder.
01:469. Obi-Wan Temporarily Turned His Back on the Jedi and Force
01:50Instead of the cheeky and reliable Jedi Master who could regularly be called upon for aid and guidance in a protagonist's time of need,
01:58Ewan McGregor masterfully brought to life a portion of the legendary character's life that saw him very much shunning everything to do with the Jedi and Force as a whole in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
02:07This turning his back on the Order was admittedly understandable, after feeling incredibly guilty over his part in the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rest of the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith.
02:17But this decision to shine a detailed light on his disenchantment with, and disconnecting from the Force for a time, also adds some new depth to the Alec Guinness version of the character.
02:27With it now being clear that he had to overcome some serious mental and emotional barriers, before being in a place to become the Master who could eventually guide young Luke down the Jedi path.
02:368. More Survive The Great Jedi Temple Purge
02:40For the longest time, it was pretty much assumed that just about nobody got out of Anakin Skywalker's wrecking of the Jedi Temple alive.
02:48However, it's now become increasingly clear that a few lucky Force-wielders managed to wriggle out of the devastating siege with their lives still remarkably intact.
02:56And now joining the likes of the Mandalorian's Grogu is Obi-Wan Kenobi's Reaver.
03:00Instead of somehow being whisked away from the action and remaining hidden in the years following Order 66, though,
03:06Reaver would opt to head down the path of the dark side, and join the Inquisitorius in her quest to get revenge on Vader.
03:12So along with adding another combustible element to the Inquisitor squad that had already ruthlessly made a name for themselves in the likes of the Rebels animated series,
03:19the arrival of Reaver also provided another reminder of just how ruthless the fallen Skywalker was during the infamous attack,
03:26and how resilient some of these seemingly helpless younglings actually were when faced with a truly frightening slaughter.
03:33She hid amongst the corpses of her dead pals for crying out loud.
03:377. Obi-Wan's Certain Point of View Tale Makes a Bit More Sense Now
03:41Ben Kenobi's initial reveal to young Luke Skywalker that his father Anakin was actually betrayed and killed by Darth Vader,
03:49only to explain this all away as being true from a certain point of view in the wake of the Jedi in training discovering the Sith to actually be his pops
03:56was one of the more jarring and obvious rewrites George Lucas made to his ever-growing epic.
04:01However, in what acted as Obi-Wan Kenobi's emotional climax in Part 6,
04:05Deborah Chow was actually able to successfully justify Ben's A New Hope revelation to the next generation of Skywalker.
04:11With the now revitalized Jedi Master dramatically apologizing to Anakin for all of it,
04:16Vader confesses with a chilling amount of menace that Obi-Wan was not responsible for killing the one-time Jedi Knight.
04:22He was.
04:23And just like that, Kenobi is forced to face the fact that what remained of his former pupil and brother was very much killed all those years ago,
04:30paving the way for another rather satisfying justification for a once infamously odd line.
04:36So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.
04:40Number 6, Obi-Wan Had a Brother, In Canon
04:43Obi-Wan Kenobi's charming and unquestionably sweet small-screen relationship with the young Princess Leia Organa
04:49came stuffed with more emotional haymakers than anybody was truly ready for.
04:54But away from the likes of the thoroughly weathered Jedi's revealing of the Princess reminding him of her fearless and stubborn mother,
05:00No, you're crying.
05:01Kenobi also let loose the bombshell of him remembering having a brother for the first time on the live-action stage.
05:07Now, this actually isn't the first instance of Kenobi having a long-lost sibling being potentially introduced to the series,
05:13with the original screenplay for Return of the Jedi stating that Owen, Lars of all people, was actually Ben's bro.
05:19Owen being Kenobi's sibling would pop up a few more times in various Legends material,
05:23before Attack of the Clones reintroduced Owen as Anakin's stepbrother,
05:27with no clear link between him and Kenobi being made known within current canon.
05:31But this still leaves the door open for a potential Kenobi family reunion with his unknown bro,
05:35should Disney decide to tell more pre-New Hope streaming service stories in the coming years.
05:41Number 5, Darth Is Much More Than A Weird One-Off
05:44The iconic Jedi Master's rather specific farewell to Vader during Part 6,
05:49in the wake of thoroughly ripping up a rocky locale,
05:52instantly transported fans back to the pair's last exchange before Anakin fell to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith,
05:58with Kenobi's goodbye, old friend, this time being replaced by goodbye, Darth.
06:03Along with this callback, Kenobi's bitter use of the title Darth also helps Alec Guinness' long-time bizarre use of the moniker in A New Hope
06:11make a little more sense in the overall narrative.
06:13While it's clear that Darth was seen more as a first name than a title by George Lucas upon penning A New Hope script,
06:19that would obviously change in the years that would follow,
06:22and leave the utterance of,
06:23you're only a master of evil, Darth, sticking out like a scorched thumb.
06:27Obi-Wan Kenobi's handling of the pair's final showdown before A New Hope, however,
06:31now suggests that Kenobi's use of the term Darth
06:33is his way of separating his beloved fallen friend Anakin from the relentless Sith who now stands before him.
06:39Number 4, Princess Leia's Blaster Holster Means More Than We Thought
06:43Faced with the reality of once again having to face down the youngster's father if the rest of the path were to survive,
06:49Kenobi is forced to leave Leia with Roken and Haja in Part 6,
06:53as the pair look to return her safely home to the Organas.
06:56But before he sends a reluctant Leia on her way,
06:59a gift is handed over to the eventual general in the form of Tala's holster.
07:03Far from just being a sweet exchange between the pair,
07:05this handing over of the fallen freedom fighter's holster would act as a symbolic passing of the torch
07:10to the next generation of rebels,
07:12and it likely informs Leia's decision to equip herself with a similar, or perhaps the same, holster,
07:18this time actually boasting a blaster during her later years as a military leader.
07:22The overall connection explored between Kenobi and Leia throughout the show
07:25also adds much more emotional weight to Leia's decision to call upon Kenobi as her only hope in Episode 4,
07:31and Kenobi's eventual sacrifice to ensure both Skywalker children escape the Death Star unscathed.
07:383. Obi-Wan and Vader Are More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine
07:42Largely due to the fact the original trilogy came about during a time when it wasn't exactly easy
07:47to commit ridiculous feats of Force wizardry to film as it is today,
07:51the likes of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi's impressive commanding of the Force
07:54was largely restricted to the odd mind trick and choking of an unsuspecting officer.
07:59Yet with the introduction of the always-evolving tool of CGI,
08:02both figures have increasingly had their true potential exposed in various prequel and video game entries.
08:08But arguably the pair's most jaw-dropping displays of Force prowess on the live-action stage to date
08:13were saved for Deborah Chow's small-screen saga.
08:16In the show, Vader can be spotted literally yanking a ship out of the air mid-takeoff
08:20before making a mockery of Reva in the pair's duel.
08:23Vader's former master would also finally get a chance to show off what he was truly capable of,
08:27taking levitating rocks to new heights as he hurled countless boulders at the Dark Lord in their rematch of the century.
08:33That being said, the pair's freakishly powerful Obi-Wan Kenobi displays
08:37do make their eventual final showdown on the Death Star now feel a tad underwhelming in comparison.
08:442. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were packing some firepower, but still got scorched.
08:49The sight of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's charred remains outside of their Tatooine homestead post-Stormtrooper raid
08:55told the story of a couple who simply did not stand a chance when faced with the might of the ruthless Empire in A New Hope.
09:01However, with the pair's re-emergence in Disney Plus' Obi-Wan Kenobi tale
09:05came the revelation that these two humble Tatooine residents
09:08were packing much more firepower and resilience than fans initially thought.
09:12Upon discovering that Reva was on her way to kill their precious Luke,
09:16Beru informs her husband we both knew this day might come,
09:19before revealing a secret stash of blasters to fight off the former Grand Inquisitor.
09:23Very much risking their lives to ensure the safety and secrecy of one of the most important beings in the galaxy,
09:29the show successfully alters fans' perceptions of a pair who once seemed like little more than bit-part players.
09:34In truth, Owen and Beru were brave as all hell,
09:37and even managed to keep a powerful Force user at bay for a spell.
09:40It's just a shame their aim wasn't quite as sharp all those years later.
09:451. Qui-Gon did actually find a way to become a Force Ghost
09:49The live-action return of Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn left fans the world over fist-pumping with glee during the show's finale.
09:56However, his Force Ghost comeback did actually bring with it a rather intriguing development.
10:00Up to this point in time, it was believed by most that Qui-Gon hadn't actually been able to fully physically manifest himself
10:06in the way Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Luke eventually would in later appearances,
10:10because he simply hadn't been able to complete his training before his untimely death.
10:14Clearly though, in the time after his Clone Wars appearances in a vocal and vision capacity,
10:19and as corroborated by canon short story collection from a certain point of view,
10:23Jinn was able to finally complete his training and take his place as the first ever Force Ghost in Star Wars canon.
10:28So, perhaps a potential Season 2 will ultimately give us some long-awaited answers
10:33as to how the unorthodox Jedi Master was able to pull off this game-changing feat.
10:38In short, we want Season 2. Give it to us now, baby.
10:40And that's our list. Know of any other ways Obi-Wan Kenobi changes Star Wars?
10:45Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below,
10:48and do not forget to like, share, and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:51I've been Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars. Thank you as always for clicking on this video today.
10:55May the Force be with you, and hopefully I will see your faces very, very soon.
10:59Bye-bye!
11:00Bye-bye!
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