Obi-Wan Kenobi 1×04 Review: “Part IV”

Obi-Wan Kenobi goes on a high-stakes rescue mission into the heart of the Empire for Leia in “Part IV.”

After facing Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) in “Part III,” Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) must rescue Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) from Reva’s (Moses Ingram) clutches in an Empire facility. “Part IV” has some great moments but doesn’t work as well as the three previous episodes of the series.

Though not fully healed from his Darth Vader-induced burns, Obi-Wan is determined to rescue Leia. Tala (Indira Varma) agrees to help him, and they convince the rest of her crew to assist in the rescue. While Roken (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Sully (Maya Erskine), and Wade (Ryder McLaughlin) have potential to be interesting characters, there isn’t enough time spent to really connect with them.

As the crew plans the rescue, Reva interrogates Leia. Reva tries to appeal to Leia, trying to relate to her and providing bits of potential backstory that could be interesting to explore. The technique doesn’t work, as Leia refuses to talk and resists Reva’s attempt to use the Force for answers. Leia continues to be one of best parts of the series and this episode is no exception.

Meanwhile, Tala resumes her cover as an Imperial soldier and barely makes her way into the Empire’s base. After gaining control of one of the control center stations, she guides Obi-Wan to sneak into the base through an underwater entrance. Tala is confronted by another Imperial soldier, but it is strange that nobody else seems to notice her beat the guy up and resume control of the station.

Once inside, Obi-Wan navigates through the base, coming across a tomb of frozen people and creatures that is heavily guarded. It’s not clear what the significance of these people are, but the series will hopefully provide more answers. Meanwhile, Reva, frustrated with Leia’s resistance, has her taken to a machine to be tortured.

Thankfully, Obi-Wan saves Leia just in time with the help of Tala, who puts herself in danger to distract Reva from the impending torture. While Tala offers up Intel about the network that is protecting Jedi, Reva sees through it and accuses Tala of being a spy. Tala escapes unscathed, as Reva is eventually distracted by Obi-Wan and Leia inadvertently setting off alarms in their escape.

The highlight of the episode is Obi-Wan and Leia’s escape out of the base. Once a nearby security droid is activated, Obi-Wan must use the Force and his lightsaber to fight off the approaching troopers. The sequence is exciting, and it’s great to see Obi-Wan return to using his full Jedi abilities even though a decade has passed.

Obi-Wan and Leia reunite with Tala, and the three make their way to the base’s entrance. They manage to escape as Sully and Wade fly in, but Wade is shot down in the ensuing shootout. The reunion at the base is somber, and Leia holds Obi-Wan’s hand in an emotional moment. Darth Vader punishes Reva for letting them get away, but Reva reveals that she put a tracker on them. Back at Tala’s base, Leia’s droid lights up and begins tracking them.

While the rescue mission didn’t add much and felt a little repetitive after the previous rescue mission, “Part IV” still had a couple of fun moments in its shorter runtime. With the Empire now tracking them, and two episodes left in the season, the next showdowns between Obi-Wan and the Empire will hopefully live up to the series’ previous episodes.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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