What do a T-16 Skyhopper toy, Imperial Inquisitors, and the Spice trade have in common?
They're all Easter eggs you missed in Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes 1 and 2. Warning: spoilers ahead.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" starts out in a flashback set during "Revenge of the Sith," specifically,
the brutal assault on the Jedi Temple led by Anakin Skywalker. The scene shows a class of
Jedi younglings training with a master in the ways of the Force. When Clone Troopers
attack the class, the master escorts her students through the halls of the temple,
taking down several attacking clone troopers along the way. Tragically, she doesn't make it
far before dying to a well-placed blaster bolt, leaving the younglings to fend for themselves.
In addition to showing a new angle on the events of Order 66, the flashback scene includes a couple
of details that most fans of the "Star Wars" prequels should recognize. The helmets that
the younglings are wearing, for instance, are the same ones worn by Yoda's students
in "Attack of the Clones." The layout of the Jedi Temple, as shown in the escape sequence,
also perfectly mirrors its portrayal in the prequel trilogy. Finally, the Order 66
scene sets the stage for the gross imbalance of power rampant during the Imperial era. Some of
the younglings may have survived, but they would either become fugitives or Imperial Inquisitors.
"What do we do now?"
"We run."
Disney+ has returned to Tatooine again and again in its various "Star Wars" shows,
and while Obi-Wan quickly makes his way off the desert planet in his own series, he spends the
whole first episode wandering the Dune Sea. At this point, Jawas and Banthas are a little too
commonplace to count as Easter eggs, but there are still some fun details waiting to be found.
The saloon that the Inquisitors infiltrate is a nice homage to the Mos Eisley cantina,
complete with bright green drinks served in tall, opaque glasses. Obi-Wan's Jawa friend
Teeka references the Jundland Wastes, which any good "Star Wars" fan knows are not to
be traveled lightly. Additionally, there's a good sampling of the local Tatooine wildlife.
Obi-Wan earns a living by working on a butcher line, harvesting meat from the massive corpse
of what appears to be a Krayt Dragon or some similarly massive beast. His cruel
overseer might conjure memories of Rey's portion-paying boss in "The Force Awakens."
It's then revealed that Obi-Wan's main mode of transport is an Eopie, a long-snouted,
camel-like creature first introduced in "The Phantom Menace." Eopies have historically been
best known for their flatulence, but Obi-Wan seems to have acquired one with more decorum.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" Episode 1 paints a pretty grim picture of the Jedi's life in exile.
After a hard day at work, he returns to his hideout in the desert,
which is little more than a furnished cave. Still, even amid the barrenness, Obi-Wan has retained
some reminders of his old life, which include some interesting references to the "Star Wars" movies.
At the entrance to his home, there's a periscope scanner, presumably a security protocol to alert
him to intruders. Fans may recognize the device's design, as an identical periscope
is used repeatedly by R2-D2 throughout the "Star Wars" films. Hopefully, Obi-Wan's is
simply a repurposed gadget and not the appendage of some poor astromech droid buried in the sand.
Later in Episode 1, Obi-Wan takes out an old hologram communicator to receive a transmission
from Bail Organa. It's another device that should be familiar to those who've seen the movies,
as Obi-Wan is seen using it in the prequel trilogy.
Perhaps most striking of all, however, is the cloud of defeat that follows Obi-Wan. Under his
Ben persona, the Jedi truly looks like he's given up. He's buried his and Anakin's lightsabers in
the desert in what is a possible allusion to the end of "The Rise of Skywalker," he's terrorized
by nightmares, and he is hesitant to use the Force in basically any scenario. Given how
calm and controlled Obi-Wan is in "A New Hope," it's interesting to see him in such a dark place.
If you've absorbed much "Star Wars" media in the Disney era, then you're probably familiar with
the Imperial Inquisitors. Moses Ingram's Reva, who takes the villainous lead in the Disney+
series, is a new addition, but some of the Emperor's agents have appeared in the past.
Sung Kang's Fifth Brother, for instance, has featured in several previous projects,
including the "Darth Vader" comics and "Star Wars Rebels." He eventually meets his end at the hands
of Darth Maul, a curious twist of fate given their shared history of hunting for Obi-Wan.
The Grand Inquisitor, another prominent villain from the "Star Wars" comics and "Star Wars
Rebels," also makes his presence felt in the "Obi-Wan" show. However, he's a bit different
this time around. In "Star Wars Rebels," the Grand Inquisitor is voiced by Jason Isaacs,
and some fans were upset when he was recast with Rupert Friend for the live-action version.
After being stabbed by Reva in a surprising betrayal, though,
the Grand Inquisitor's fate seems up in the air. It's possible that he'll survive the attack,
but it's also possible that Friend's character is a different version of the villain,
and the Isaacs' rendition in Rebels might be some sort of clone. It is "Star Wars," after all.
Regardless, both the Fifth Brother and the Grand Inquisitor wield the same spinning lightsabers
first shown in "Star Wars Rebels," and they look a bit more intimidating in live-action.
One of the more touching moments in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Episode 1
comes during Ben's interaction with Teeka the Jawa. He spends a good portion of his
hard-earned money to buy a toy for the young Luke Skywalker, and not just any toy either.
Specifically, Obi-Wan purchases a model of a T-16 Skyhopper,
a small air-speeder first mentioned in the original "Star Wars."
Luke references the craft during the briefing for the first Death Star attack, claiming that
"But it's not impossible. I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home."
He's also shown playing with a toy version of the speeder during an early conversation with C-3PO.
It seems that Obi-Wan was the giver of that gift all along,
which is a fun little twist on a tiny piece of preexisting lore. Though Luke's Uncle Owen
insists that Obi-Wan takes the toy back, it seems that he acquiesces in the end.
A lot of "Star Wars" media has dealt with Luke's time on Tatooine, but far less time has been spent
exploring his sister Leia's upbringing on Alderaan. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" addresses
that by spending time on the planet, following a 10-year-old Leia through the ins and outs of her
royal life. Young star Vivien Lyra Blair does an excellent job bringing the young Princess to life,
complete with Leia's signature snark, stubbornness, and wit.
In one scene, while climbing a tree with her little droid friend Lola,
Leia starts naming the ships she sees leaving the local spaceport.
"Aquilian ranger, probably scouting for Merson pirates."
The mention of Aquilian rangers is a deep-cut reference to the Aquilae System, first mentioned
in an infamous cut line from the original "Star Wars." Merson pirates appear in some
early "Star Wars" comics that have since been relegated to the "Legends" timeline,
though they have also been referenced in canonical media.
It's also worth noting that, in an attempt to avoid her adoptive parents' impending political
reception, Leia sends a young decoy to be dressed and ornamented in her place,
the exact same tactic her mother Padmé used many times throughout her political career.
Leia quickly reminds Obi-Wan of Padmé after they meet, and it's clear why.
Soon after arriving on the crime-ridden world of Daiyu, Obi-Wan sees a face he certainly didn't
expect, that of an old clone trooper begging for money on the side of a dirty street.
Though the former Republic soldier is technically much younger than Obi-Wan, he looks notably older,
as his body has broken down due to the Kaminoans' accelerated aging alterations.
It's a powerful reminder of what happened to the clones after the rise of the Empire.
As shown in "Star Wars: The Bad Batch," most were quickly phased out of military service.
It's clearly jarring for Obi-Wan to see the old clone,
which makes sense given his complicated history with them.
On the one hand, he probably saw his old friends Cody and Rex in the beggar's face and he felt a
deep sadness. On the other hand, the events of Order 66 would surely have created a traumatic
connection to the clones. Obi-Wan moves on from the encounter quickly, but it surely stays with
him, especially since the clone's blue-accented armor is remarkably similar to Rex's.
If there's underworld activity happening in a "Star Wars" story, there's a good chance it has
something to do with spice, the all-purpose drug signifier taken straight from "Dune." That rule
holds true in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" as well, with the spice trade rearing its head immediately on Daiyu.
A young dealer tries to sell the rogue Jedi some of the stuff, naming a few different varieties,
including Kessel, a primary spice planet most famous for the Kessel Run , and Felucian, a
reference to the planet Felucia, where Jedi Aayla Secura met her unfortunate end during Order 66.
Later on, Obi-Wan infiltrates a spice lab and even uses a vial of the stuff to fend
off a group of would-be captors. He smashes the small glass container on the ground and
locks his attackers in with it, sending them all on what looks to be a pretty intense trip.
Less an Easter egg than a fun little detail,
this one's still worth mentioning given the main character in the series.
In the original "Star Wars," Ben Kenobi describes lightsabers in an interesting way.
"An elegant weapon from a more civilized age."
This line is referenced again in "Revenge of the Sith" after Obi-Wan
discards a used blaster and declares it "so uncivilized." It's interesting, then,
that he uses blasters so prevalently in the first couple of episodes of his own show.
As he doesn't want to out himself as a Jedi, Obi-Wan hesitates to use either the Force or
his lightsaber. He instead relies on his martial arts prowess and what weapons he
can find to keep the bad guys at bay. More importantly, Obi-Wan doesn't complain once
about the blasters he's forced to use, almost as if he's had let go of his old Jedi pride.
It's a small detail, but it helps build the sense that he's really given up all hope. If
Obi-Wan Kenobi can use a blaster without a snide comment, things truly have taken a dark turn.
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