Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Surprising Star Wars Character Death Raises Big Questions

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s premiere episodes made some surprising choices with Star Wars canon – and the ending of Obi-Wan “Part II” has certainly left fans scratching their heads, as fan-favorite character fans were excited to finally see in live-action was killed off. Not only was a shock to see this character get dispatched so early on in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the death immediately raises some serious continuity questions that Star Wars fans need answered! 

(WARNING: Major Spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi Episodes 1-2 Follow!) 

The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi see “Ben” Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) trying to maintain the lonely discipline of staying hidden and watching over Luke Skywalker until he comes of age to be trained as a Jedi. Obi-Wan’s grungy life in isolation on Tatooine gets interrupted by the arrival of The Inquisitors, who are on the trail of a different Jedi who is on the run. 

One Inquisitor in particular – Reva, aka Third Sister (Moses Ingram) – is obsessed with finding Obi-Wan (for reasons that have yet to be revealed). To lure Kenobi out, Reva pays a gang of thugs to kidnap young Princess Leia Organa, knowing that Bail Organa and Kenobi were close allies during the Clone Wars. The gamble works: Obi-Wan jumps into action to rescue Leia. “Part II” of Obi-Wan sees Kenobi infiltrate the shady colony where Leia is being held. He rescues the young girl and is making an escape with her – until Reva arrives and corners Obi-Wan and Leia in a cargo hold. 

The whole key to Reva’s character and fall to the dark side seems to be based in her rage, which makes her do severely sadistic and cruel things, in pursuit of her prey. Third Sister’s anger is so great that it even sets her apart from her fellow Inquisitors – especially her commanding officer the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend). So when Grand Inquisitor gets between Reva and Kenobi in the cargo hold, Reva’s anger boils over and she impales the Grand Inquisitor on her blade. 

Wait… What? 

Grand Inquisitor was first introduced in the Star Wars Rebels animated series, as the main antagonist. Grand Inquisitor got the scent of the Spectres rebel cell thanks to its two powerful Force users: not-quite-Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, a young boy with incredible (or terrible) Force potential. Grand Inquisitor died in a duel with Kanan at the end of Rebels Season 1 – which is set in the year 4BBY of the Star Wars timeline. Obi-Wan Kenobi is taking place in 9BBY (5 years before Rebels) so Grand Inquisitor being struck down now doesn’t make a whole lot of logistical sense. 

“Grand Inquisitor” is a title given to the highest-ranking Inquisitor – but Star Wars has indicated that Rupert Friend’s Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan is indeed the same Pau’an male from Rebels. So what’s the deal there? The Star Wars TV Universe is making a lot of hay out dangling threads left over from Star Wars Rebels (see: the upcoming Ahsoka series), so synching those timelines properly seems like it would be important. 

Grand Inquisitor has already risen beyond death once in Star Wars canon: his spirit was harnessed by Darth Vader and trapped on orbital object Tempes in an abandoned Jedi outpost. Star Wars comics featured an issue where Luke Skywalker dueled Grand Inquisitor’s “ghost” while trying to replace the lightsaber he lost in Empire Strikes Back – maybe we’ll find out that Grand Inquisitor has always been undead? It would make his self-destructive sacrifice in Rebels – and his quote that “There are worse things than death,” make so much more sense, actually… 

Then there is the whole cloning subplot that Star Wars TV has been building up (largely to help explain Palpatine’s return in Rise of Skywalker). Palpatine testing the cloning on a lackey like Grand Inquisitor would also make sense and help fill some plotholes…  

Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming on Disney+.