Star Wars: How the Obi-Wan Kenobi Finale Confirms Series' Canon
With Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi unfolding between two established live-action trilogies, the minds behind the series were forced to find ways to honor the events that took place both before and after the series, while also offering a compelling standalone adventure. The weekly release of the series and the nature of fandom would often see audiences speculating every week about how the events of each episode impacted established chapters of the saga, with certain encounters even seeming to complicate, ignore, or contradict established elements of the galaxy far, far away. Now that the season finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi is available on Disney+, two of the biggest questions about the franchise's canon have been clarified.
WARNING: Spoilers below for the Obi-Wan Kenobi season finale
There have been two big details about Obi-Wan Kenobi that fans have been debating about for the weeks since the series debuted, and both are based on pieces of dialogue in Star Wars: A New Hope.
In the years since Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, fans have taken Vader's A New Hope line, "When I left you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master," to refer to their encounter on Mustafar. The pair having a showdown earlier in the season of Obi-Wan Kenobi showed a different dichotomy between the figures, leaving audiences to question why Vader would refer to himself as a learner if he had at least temporarily bested Kenobi.
The season finale of the series saw the pair have another showdown, which included Vader referring to Kenobi as "Master," even while briefly neutralizing him. With Kenobi ultimately going on to best Vader in their latest bout, it's clear that Vader knew he had been defeated and that, while Kenobi was no longer his Jedi Master, the Sith Lord's quote in A New Hope about being a learner when they last met still rings true, though more from a figurative sense than a literal one.
Another point of contention among fans is that the series saw Obi-Wan Kenobi and Leia Organa embark on a harrowing adventure, yet in A New Hope, Leia's plea for help from Kenobi doesn't give any implication that they know one another. The Obi-Wan Kenobi finale manages to clear that up easily with one exchange.
As Leia wishes Obi-Wan goodbye, she asks if they'll ever see each other again. Obi-Wan confirms, "Maybe, someday, if you ever need help from a tired, old man. But we must be careful. No one must know, or it could endanger us both."
This means that, when Leia says in A New Hope, "General Kenobi. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire," we now know why she didn't reference their own exploits together.
While the Star Wars franchise is surely fallible and future adventures could still complicate established corners of lore, now that all of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi has been released, these two points have been succinctly clarified.
What did you think of the season finale? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!