‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Episode 3 Recap: And (Re)Introducing Darth Vader

Let me tell you a little story about a man named Freck. Nice guy! Friendly, drives a pickup truck, always willing to help those in need of a ride. Oh, that Imperial Flag hanging from the back of the truck? Don’t let that bother you—he’s just a fan of law and order, that’s all. And who isn’t, really?

Though it takes place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there are moments scattered throughout Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 (aka “Part III”) that pointedly resonate with the here and now. It was the material about Freck (unrecognizably voiced by Zach Braff) that struck me the most. Living in a mostly red area, I’ve seen more pick-up trucks with Trump stickers, gun-nut insignias, and Blue Lives Matter flags, often accompanied by American flags sticking out of the windows, than I can count. Most of their drivers are perfectly affable people on a one-to-one basis���just don’t get them started on politics. Freck, a friendly alien with Imperial sympathies who helps a stranded Obi-Wan Kenobi and Princess Leia because he doesn’t know who they really are, is a type I recognize.

That’s not the only striking reference to real life. Rescued from Freck and his stormtrooper buddies by Tala, an Imperial Officer working with the Jedi behind the scenes, Obi-Wan and Leia are whisked away to a safehouse from which runaway Jedi are shepherded to a planet called Jabiil, where they can get new identities and a new life. Tala says it’s part of a network of such safehouses called “the Path.” That’s right: It’s the Underground Railroad in outer space.

Unfortunately for our heroes, they don’t get the chance to ride that metaphorical railroad just yet. Having been spotted and photographed by an Imperial probe droid, Obi-Wan draws the attention of his old apprentice and the real star of this episode, Darth Vader. (Things open with a gnarly montage of Vader’s scarred body getting plugged into all his mechanical accoutrements, like he’s Pinhead in Hellbound: Hellraiser II.) Taking control of the search operation from his Inquisitor minion Reva, the Third Sister—to whom he’s promised the title of Grand Inquisitor should she help him find Obi-Wan, now that the original Grand Inquisitor is out of commission—he tracks down and confronts the Jedi. A one-sided duel ensues, followed by an attempt by Vader to recreate the fiery torment that made him the machine-man he is today by setting Kenobi aflame.

But the fire provides cover for Tala to rescue the badly burned Kenobi. Meanwhile, however, the Third Sister intercepts Princess Leia, ensuring that our story will continue.

There’s much more, of course, if you’re a Star Wars fan who recognizes some deep cuts from the lore. There’s Darth Vader’s palace on Mustafar, the place where Obi-Wan defeated him. There’s the Fortress Insquistorius on Nur, where the Brothers and Sisters of the Inquisition hold court. There’s a reference to Quinlan Vos, a roguish Jedi holdover from various comics and animated series. There’s probably even more stuff that even I, a guy with a Rebel Alliance insignia tattoo, didn’t catch.

But it’s the confrontation with Vader that I keep coming back to. The most momentous occasion in the life of Obi-Wan Kenobi in years, it is nonetheless weirdly underplayed. Director Deborah Chow, working on a script constructed by several of the writers who came and went during the course of Obi-Wan’s production, keeps cutting away from this years-in-the-making face-off, leeching away much of the tension.

For his part, Obi-Wan mostly gets wrecked, which is to be expected—he’s facing the most powerful former Jedi in the galaxy, a guy who’s been using unchecked power for years instead of hiding in a cave in the desert someplace. But it lacks the drama and power called for by the moment—a poor follow-up to their final battle in Revenge of the Sith, which even most prequel haters seem to appreciate.

The new rendez-vous also calls into question the conversation he has with Vader during their fateful duel aboard the Death Star in the first Star Wars movie, about how when they last met, Vader was his student. As with Leia, who now has canonically spent time with Ben Kenobi prior to her plea for his help in A New Hope, there’s now an extra wrinkle to the Kenobi/Vader timeline, and I’m not convinced it makes sense, or that the payoff here was worth monkeying with the continuity.

And that’s the big question dogging Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is it pleasant to spend more time with Ewan McGregor in the title role? Absolutely. Is it fun to hear James Earl Jones’s voice coming out of Vader’s mask, and to catch blink-and-you’ll-miss-him glimpses of Hayden Christensen as the once and future Anakin Skywalker? You bet. But does the story that reacquaints us with these characters have both the logic and the emotional heft to make it worth telling, in the end? On this matter, the Force is hazy.

At one point in this episode, Obi-Wan compares the feeling of the Force to switching on a light when, as a child, you’re afraid of the dark. I just wish I could see the endgame for this show that clearly.

Sean T. Collins (@theseantcollins) writes about TV for Rolling Stone, Vulture, The New York Times, and anyplace that will have him, really. He and his family live on Long Island.