Obi-Wan Kenobi Part I & II Review: 7 Ups & 2 Downs
8. It Takes A While Getting To Obi-Wan
Whilst Part II spends a lot more time focussed on Obi-Wan and his turmoil, Part I features the haunted Jedi a lot less than expected, instead shifting focus to other major characters spread throughout the galaxy.
Much of this early focus comes from Bail Organa, his wife Breha, and their adopted daughter, Princess Leia. These scenes allow audiences to see what Leia was like as a child, and how she lived before the destruction of her planet, but they also hinder the story in a big way.
With sprinklings of unwanted politics and overdrawn exposition explaining how rebellious Leia is, none of it's entirely bad, just overburdened and unnecessary.
The same can be said of the Inquisitors, who burst onto the scene in a menacing way, but are subsequently given nothing to do except set-up coming conflicts with heavy dialogue and frustratingly little action.
Ultimately, almost everything outside of Obi-Wan himself feels thin and tacked-on to set up the coming drama with little subtly. There are bright spots in there, but these kind of edges definitely need smoothed out in coming episodes.
Now, onto the positives.