NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Karl Puschmann: Obi-Wan Kenobi proved all the haters wrong, eventually

Karl Puschmann
By Karl Puschmann
Freelance entertainment writer·NZ Herald·
23 Jun, 2022 06:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Video / Disney
Karl Puschmann
Opinion by Karl PuschmannLearn more

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi

For a show that only runs six episodes, Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi enjoyed more than its fair share of controversy. The series got slammed early on for some fairly terrible action sequences and was then roundly booed for spending a lot of time focused on a character not named Obi-Wan.

Finally, because this is the world we live in now, the bad press hit hyperspace when racists began targeting and abusing actor Moses Ingram on social media. It got so bad that series star Ewan McGregor, Obi-Wan himself, posted a video on social media condemning the "horrendous" people sending her messages.

That's a lot of negative press for such a short series. Especially considering it only wrapped up on Wednesday night. So let's counter some of that now; Obi-Wan Kenobi is a great Star Wars series. It's entertaining, exciting and, in its final scenes, full of raw and conflicting emotions followed by heartwarming feels.

Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Now that it's concluded, I can say that its story is extremely satisfying and filled with cool moments that stick with you. I wouldn't have said this last week. Or any of the other weeks leading up to now. If you've also been watching the show week-by-week as I have, it may not have felt like it was going to live up to its admittedly high expectations.

Which is where some of the disconnect between the noise around the show and the actual show lies. More than most, Obi-Wan suffered from its weekly release schedule as people rushed to dissect, pull apart and pass judgment on the whole thing based on each passing episode. The equivalent of making a call on a book based on reading one chapter.

Princess Leia played by Vivien Lyra Blair in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Princess Leia played by Vivien Lyra Blair in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Indeed, many of my initial criticisms of the show were tempered as the show rolled on. Had I written a review after the first couple of episodes I would have blasted it for having a child in a major role while harshly bemoaning the fact that they seemingly learned nothing about putting kids in Star Wars after The Phantom Menace. Later episodes proved the story value of this choice, while also giving a superb showcase for the acting chops of Leia actor, 9-year-old Vivien Lyra Blair, during an interrogation scene.

By episode three or four I would have said it was dumb that the villain Reva looks just like a normal person while her fellow Inquisitors have full-on, and quite menacingly funky, face paint on. Shouldn't she also be pulling out the make-up and slathering on something scary looking? This was never addressed, I just got over it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
The Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

But even the more valid criticisms, like Leia's low-speed chase sequence through the woods, Reva's cartoonishly over-the-top, moustache-twirling villainy, the fact that not one, but two people survive having a lightsaber thrust into their stomachs or the repeated defiance of logic or commonsense for plot convenience throughout can't take away from the end result.

It has its flaws moment to moment, yes. But as a whole, the show really comes together. The sum, greater than the parts.

Discover more

Opinion

Karl Puschmann: This week I wasted my life, don't make my mistake

16 Jun 05:00 PM
Opinion

Karl Puschmann: Martin Freeman is close to the edge in bleak police thriller

09 Jun 05:00 PM
Opinion

Karl Puschmann: Ricky Gervais is a rebel without a cause

02 Jun 05:00 PM
Opinion

Karl Puschmann: Does Disney's Sex Pistols series deliver anarchy in the TV?

26 May 05:00 PM
Reva played by Moses Ingram in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Reva played by Moses Ingram in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi tells a story of redemption and consequence. It's about facing and confronting your fears. Characters are repeatedly given a choice between the light and the dark and forced to decide their fate.

It's true that all the best parts of the show contain McGregor's Obi-Wan and Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader. While I don't particularly care for the Star Wars Prequel trilogy all that much, there's no denying that it's been a thrill seeing them reunited.

It's also impossible to deny the gravitas and weight that those films give to their relationship in this show, the failed master and the fallen student. Each and every scene they share seeps with the history of Obi-Wan's guilt and Anakin/Vader's hate.

Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) face off during a flashback.
Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) face off during a flashback.

So when, after their final battle, a teary Obi-Wan says to a wheezing, broken Vader, "I'm sorry Anakin, for all of it," it really kicks you in the guts. Even more so as you see Anakin's inner turmoil as he momentarily wrestles with who he was and who he has become, signified by the flickering glow from their respective red and blue lightsabers highlighting his burned-up face and his voice modulating between Christensen's line readings and James Earl Jones iconic Vader vocals.

As with the prequels, the absolute best scene of the whole blockbuster affair is once again these two characters talking.

Obi-Wan Kenobi as Ewan McGregor in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi as Ewan McGregor in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Of course being set before the events of the very first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, we knew Leia and Luke and Obi-Wan himself were in no real grave danger. But it's a credit to the show how well they tied into the 1977 movie, giving credence and explanation to things people thought would be unexplainable.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Always advertised as a limited series, this is supposed to be it for the show, closing with Obi-Wan riding off into the sunset with everyone safe, and order once again restored to the galaxy. But I really hope this isn't the end of the line for old Obi and that we hear him saying, "hello there," again soon.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

New Lord of the Rings film will be shot in NZ, release date confirmed

18 Jun 04:03 AM
Entertainment

Kiwi star Morgana O'Reilly returns in local queer cop drama 'Bust Up'

18 Jun 12:11 AM
Entertainment

Movie magic and Marlon Williams: Auckland's best entertainment offerings this Matariki weekend

18 Jun 12:00 AM

Sponsored: Embrace the senses

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

New Lord of the Rings film will be shot in NZ, release date confirmed

New Lord of the Rings film will be shot in NZ, release date confirmed

18 Jun 04:03 AM

Andy Serkis is the man behind Gollum and will step into the role of director for the film.

Kiwi star Morgana O'Reilly returns in local queer cop drama 'Bust Up'

Kiwi star Morgana O'Reilly returns in local queer cop drama 'Bust Up'

18 Jun 12:11 AM
Movie magic and Marlon Williams: Auckland's best entertainment offerings this Matariki weekend

Movie magic and Marlon Williams: Auckland's best entertainment offerings this Matariki weekend

18 Jun 12:00 AM
Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, of all people, are the new Bennifer

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, of all people, are the new Bennifer

17 Jun 10:15 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP