Obi Wan Kenobi is finally here. Ewan MacGregor returns from George Lucas’ prequel trilogy,
reprising his role as the iconic Jedi Master, who is now watching over young Luke Skywalker
and living a solitary life in Tatooine. The story takes place ten years after the events of Episode
III, where we saw the Jedi get exterminated by Order 66, leaving few survivors. Obi Wan’s former
apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, has fallen to the dark side, is now known as Darth Vader, and is
determined to wipe out any remaining survivors. Six episodes will be released for Obi-Wan Kenobi,
and only three are available to watch at the time of this video. With that said, I’m only going
to talk about the first episode of this limited series, so if you don’t want anything spoiled from
Part I, or you’re concerned about mild spoilers from Parts 1 through 3, well, you’ve been warned.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed this show. It’s kept my interest, there are some interesting characters,
satisfying performances, returning characters, and so far, the story seems to serve a purpose.
This doesn’t feel like a story that is being made just because ‘everyone likes
Obi Wan Kenobi and Ewan MacGregor so let’s figure out what to do with him.’ Most critics
and audiences seem to agree for the time being. So, I want to be clear: I think this show is good.
Of course, it’s not perfect. There are plenty of movies or tv shows that
are considered great - that I consider great - but have a line of dialogue, or awkward cameo,
or a scene that is handled so poorly that it’s unforgettable.
Assuming Obi Wan Kenobi maintains its quality through all six episodes and is embraced and
celebrated as a worthy addition to Star Wars canon, there will always be the Leia chase scene.
Yes, Leia is in Obi-Wan Kenobi. She’s a feisty,
quick-witted 10-year old girl that really fulfills what I would expect of a young Leia;
She’s rebellious and stubborn at times, and the actress who plays Leia has proven to be a great
casting choice. Leia tends to wander off on her own, despite her parents wishes. This finally
catches up to her when she sneaks away from home to play in the woods, where she’s greeted by
Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and his gang of mercenaries who are tasked with kidnapping Leia.
I want to take you through brief play-by-play of what happens during this scene and discuss
why it stands out as one of the worst scenes in the series so far... we can only hope...
First of all, I want to point out that when we’re first introduced to Leia,
she’s running. This is the first impression we get of Leia. And, nothing against the actress here,
but I started to question how old Leia actually was at first, because she
appeared to have the speed and gait of a child much younger than your average 10-year old.
For whatever reason, the director Deborah Chow, chose to introduce Leia
with this display of toddler-like athleticism. I probably wouldn’t have thought much of
it from here on out, to be honest, but now we’re in a moment where we’re being
challenged as viewers to anticipate some sort of believable outcome when this Leia
who runs like this
is faced with the task of escaping three grown mercenaries by running.
And that’s exactly what happens. Leia catches everyone off guard by just taking off with a
rate of acceleration I’d describe as ‘neutral.’ This chase should have started and ended in less
than five seconds. I thought it would! Instead, Leia has taken a sizable lead
on two of these mercenaries. They’re gaining on her though, as they should.
Rather than completely close the gap, one mercenary decides to veer off the path in what
I assume is an attempt to cut off Leia at another point. A fine strategy if it weren’t for the fact
that she was already maybe three feet from Leia before doing so.
But, that's ok because the other one is closing in. We’re talking an arm’s length away from Leia.
We cut to Leia looking over her shoulder, slowing down to do so, only to cut back and now see that
she’s somehow created significant distance from her pursuer in less than two seconds.
At this point, it’s very clear that this was a poorly edited sequence. And it only gets worse.
Using smaller size to your advantage is a tactic we’ve seen in many chase sequences across film
and television. Naturally, Leia being as clever as she is, knows this. She slides under an obstacle
to thwart the person chasing her, except this obstacle is hardly bigger than Leia’s forearm.
Somehow, this works. Stepping over this branch would take little to no time at all for this
mercenary, but he has a better plan that involves him going somewhere…else. But it’s ok because
his partner is back in the fold. She’s right on top of Leia until another pesky branch disrupts
the chase. This one is shoulder height, easily bypassed by a slight duck or crouch, but instead
we’re running into it like a hilarious NPC glitch. So, this mercenary then takes another fall, which
honestly is a bit more understandable or forgivable if it weren’t for all of the other
clunky, awkward, and really embarrassing moments we’re pummeled with up to this point. Even this
next maneuver where Leia squeezes through a tree to breakaway from the chase is fine,
but I'm just exhausted as a viewer at this point. It's hard to even care.
If the goal was to intimidate Leia, not touch her, and let Flea slowly walk up to
her and toss a sack over her head, well we can finally say that the mission is accomplished.
What’s particularly frustrating about this entire sequence is that it serves almost no purpose.
Or, if it was supposed to serve a purpose, it failed. The director, the writers,
the team behind this show didn’t want to just have the mercenaries simply thrown the bag over
Leia’s head the first moment she stumbled across them. So, why add a chase scene?
Typically a chase scene is used to create a sense of urgency; To add tension.
This sequence was so poorly executed that it hardly accomplished this.
Oftentimes a chase sequence is used to highlight the skills of a character.
Maybe it’s to showcase their agility or speed – none of which is on display in this scene.
Or maybe it’s to show how clever a character is – which would make sense when you have a scene
with Leia. As I mentioned before, Leia is a quick-thinking kid, so this would
be a great moment to demonstrate how she uses her smarts escaping people that are bigger than her,
who outnumber her, all within a forest she’s familiar with and can use to her advantage.
But, it doesn’t really do this either. Maybe on paper,
but what actually gets filmed and edited obviously can’t accomplish convincing me that she’s that smart.
If anything, it’s to convince me that these mercenaries are just that incompetent.
And, unless that comes into play later in the show, who cares? Unless this was supposed to be for laughs,
I just don’t think this scene does anything for the episode or for the show.
There are many reasons a chase scene can be added to your story. Sometimes it’s as simple as showing
a new environment to a viewer - introducing it - but in this case we get a forest that really has no unique features
or any other reason viewers should become familiar with the environment.
Most of my criticism with this scene has been aimed at the sequence of events themselves,
including character decisions and tactics, but I want to emphasize that most of this chase scene
comes across so poorly from either how it was shot or how it was edited; Perhaps both.
It’s difficult to say whether or not the editor of this episode is to blame. It is worth noting that he doesn’t really have
a body of work that we can use as a defense.
Or maybe the director could have shot a more believable chase sequence.
Usually it’s a team effort, and it’s difficult to really put the blame on one role, or person, behind this.
There are some really great scenes in Obi-Wan Kenobi,
and as I’ve said, the show has been good overall.
This chase sequence is arguably more frustrating because everything else has otherwise been quality entertainment.
Well... maybe not everything.
OK, so there was this unnecessary, gratuitous parkour scene in part 2, but I'm not going to dig into that right now.
Although, it is worth mentioning that episode 2 has a different editor. Just saying…
Anyway, did the Leia chase scene bother you as much as it bothered me?
How do you feel about Obi-Wan Kenobi, as a show, up to this point?
Sound off in the comments and until next time, thanks for watching.