8 Most Puzzling Moments In The Obi-Wan Kenobi Premiere
4. Haja Goes Too Far
Sticking with Haja for the moment, can we talk about how great Kumail Nanjiani was in the role of the Jedi-imitating conman? Playing the role with a deft mixture of humour and drama, this hopefully isn't the last we have seen of Nanjiani in the Star Wars universe.
Having said that, his character suffered from a severe case of Idiot Ball near the conclusion of episode two.
For those unaware, the Idiot Ball is a depressingly common trope in fiction where a character does something spectacularly stupid for the sake of advancing the plot. Here, it's seen when Haja Estree decides to distract Moses Ingram's Reva - a member of the Jedi-hunting inquisitors - while pretending to be a Jedi.
Haja's earlier decision to help Obi-Wan may have been rushed, but it was understandable - his back-story established him as a scoundrel and a con-man, but one whose heart is more or less in the right place. What isn't made clear is why Haja makes the near-suicidal decision to confront Reva on his own.
It was a genuine surprise to see Reva let Haja live after she extracted Obi-Wan's location from him, and hopefully the latter's near-death experience compelled him to throw the Idiot Ball as far away as possible.