Star Wars: 10 Reasons Why Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Awesome

10. The Fan Service Feels Earned

One of the biggest criticisms of Disney in recent times has been their tendency to do 'Member Movies' - for those who don't know, this is a joke that originated in South Park about films and shows that lean too heavily on nostalgia.

And honestly? This is a fair criticism. For example, most of Disney's live-action remakes of their animated classics are the very definition of 'Member Movies'. But rest assured, Obi-Wan Kenobi is not a shallow nostalgia-fest in the slightest and when the fan service does happen, it feels completely earned.

For example, the finale features cameos from Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) - the latter being as a Force Ghost - and in both cases, it's totally justified. Darth Vader's conversation with Palpatine feels like a logical bit of exposition, and Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) finally being able to see Qui-Gon's Force Ghost (something he wasn't able to do previously) represents him reaching a sense of inner peace. So, both cameos enhance the overall story.

Similarly, it was no doubt tempting to bombard viewers with Clone Wars flashbacks, but instead, we just get one in Part V. Since this sequence - depicting a practice duel between Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan on Coruscant - is used to explore their relationship and the flaws that led Anakin to the Dark Side, again it feels earned.

This is how you do fan-service. Let's just hope future Disney Star Wars projects take notes from this.