‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Unleashed the Force Like Never Before
The Force is out to play in this Star Wars show.
Disney’s Kenobi has wrapped up the run on its first season. The finale brought a lot of things together and give us a ton of cameos. It also showed off the Force in varied ways. Overall, the show really cut loose in a few ways we appreciated.
The Force is Normally Restrained 
The Force has always been a major part of Star Wars. However in the Original Trilogy its use was pretty restrained. The Force is used a few times each movie, but it’s rarely flashy. You get some mental stuff, some levitation of objects, and some choking. Lifting an X-Wing or using Force Lighting are major and impressive feats.
For the most part, the Prequels stick to this. You get plenty of Force use, but it’s still pretty restrained. The only really over-the-top moment is Palpatine throwing the whole Senate at Yoda. The sequels gave us a look at some more Force powers, like stopping blaster bolts. Rise of Skywalker has probably the biggest Force moments in all of Star Wars. There’s ship-stopping, teleportation, and Force Lighting aimed at a whole fleet. Still, even these movies don’t used the big moments sparingly.
Not in a Lightsaber Dual! 
The place we might normally expect to see a lot of Force action is in a lightsaber dual. These pit two Force users against each other and have tons of opportunities for interesting action. And yet, it’s not something we really see. At least not with observable Force powers, one might assume they are using the Force to up their speed, reflexes, etc. But in a lot of the most iconic fights, the Force is pretty absent.
Dual of the Fates doesn’t have a lot of Force use. The dual on Mustafar has one or two light pushes. Dooku’s final fight has a little light use. Darth Vader vs Luke doesn’t use much Force. But over all we don’t see the Force deciding these fights, its saber skills. Sure there is some use. Aside from those we mentioned Vader throws things at Luke on Besbin, and again Palpatine does throw the Senate at Yoda. Still you’d think there might be more. It’s also normally the Sith using big shows of the Force in a dual.
The Force Unleashed 
From the get go, Kenobi showed us a lot of Force use. We had people levitated and throw around a fair bit. In Episode Three, Vader used the Force in the most causal and terrifying way we’ve seen to march through a village. But it was the last two episodes that really saw the Force unleashed. Vader stomping into a hidden based and just pulling a ship out of the sky, then ripping it apart with the Force was something else. This was one of the most dramatic and controlled uses of the Force we’ve seen.
Right after that he again shows off the Force in a way we’ve not seen before. He throws out the rules of not using the Force to dominate a fight when he takes on Reva. In this fight, Vader is so overwhelming in his Force use that he doesn’t even have to draw his own saber. He blocks her blows, and flings her around with the Force like a puppet. It’s amazing, and it’s a fight the likes of which we’ve never seen before in live action. Fighting Obi-Wan the next episode he again unleashes the Force. Throwing things, pushing, showing and even shattering the ground. It’s intense.
The Living Force? 
As I mentioned before, the times we do see the Force used in a dual its normally the Sith/Dark Side user, throwing it around. In the final dual of the series however we get to see what happens when a Jedi really goes whole hog. Kenobi regains the full height of his powers. In this fight we finally got to see the Force unleashed by a real Jedi. And when he does, Kenobi just… just rips Vader apart. He pummels him with rocks and just, annihilates Vader. It’s impressive.
What’s extra interesting is that Obi-Wan only gets his mojo back after thinking about Luke and Leia, and his relationship with them. It’s interesting that it seems to be his attachments, that allow him to overcome his block and get his powers back. Now you could argue that this was him tapping into the Dark Side. Dark Siders use the Force in battles, and attachments and feelings are said to be a path to the Dark Side. But I would argue this isn’t the case. I would argue that Ben’s love led him to a connection with the Living Force.
This was an aspect of the Force that the Sith have a poor connection to. It’s also noted the Jedi of the Prequel era also seem to have a poor connection to it, likely due to their fallen ways and flawed belief in non-attachment. Of the era, only Qui-Gon Jinn had a strong connect to the living Force. So maybe it was Ben’s ability to tap into the living Force that gave him power that made a Sith Lord seem insignificant. It’s no coincidence that after tapping into these powers, he’s finally able to see Qui-Gon’s Force ghost.
Ultimately Kenobi was a good but flawed show. It did, however, really deliver on the Force side of things. Seeing the Force unleashed like this made the show a fun watch. Let’s hope we get a season 2!
Let us know what you thought about the Force, in “Kenobi”, down in the comments!
