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Obi-Wan Kenobi recap: Episode 3 delivers a long-awaited reunion
It’s week two of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus, with the Star Wars series settling into its Wednesday time slot. That means we’re back with another Obi-Wan Kenobi recap.
The limited series stars Ewan McGregor, reprising his iconic role from the prequels. It’s 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and the fall of the Republic and the Jedi. The aging Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is on Tatooine, keeping a watchful eye on young Luke Skywalker while a league of Emperial “Inquisitors” hunts for any remaining Jedi in the galaxy.
Read on for a breakdown of what happened this week on Obi-Wan Kenobi, what we think it all means, and where this might be going. If you want to get caught up before reading our Obi-Wan Kenobi recap, you can watch the first three episodes by hitting the link below.
As usual, the following recap will include some spoilers from the series so far.
Where we left off in the two-part premiere
Obi-Wan Kenobi kicked off with a packed two-part premiere last week, with both episodes dropping three hours ahead of schedule at 9pm PST on Thursday, May 26.
Check out: Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1 and 2 recap
One of the biggest surprises of the premiere was the inclusion of a young Princess Leia and her adoptive father Bail Organa. Vivien Lyra Blair, who plays Leia, and Jimmy Smits, who returns as Bail Organa, were both completely absent from any marketing materials in the lead-up to the show. With Kenobi in self-exile on Tatooine, it was fair to assume the show would focus more on Luke rather than his twin sister. Not to mention that it would stick close to the desert planet.
Some familair characters made surprise appearances in last week's episodes.
Instead, the series pulled Obi-Wan Kenobi back into the fold, with an Inquisitor — the mysterious Reva, hell-bent on catching Obi-Wan — kidnapping the young Leia in a bid to lure the Jedi out of hiding to aid his old friend. The plan worked, and she almost caught him, revealing that his old apprentice was now the Sith Lord Darth Vader.
While Reva and the Inquisitors managed to catch up with Obi-Wan, he was off-planet on his rescue mission. So, when word gets back to Vader or the Emperor, it won’t contradict any existing storylines.
The second episode ended with Obi-Wan getting Leia out of harm’s way, with a cut to Vader healing in a bacta tank.
Obi-Wan Kenobi recap: What happened in episode 3?
Almost every frame featured in the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer appeared in the first two episodes. That means episode three premiered quite unspoiled. The episode featured Obi-Wan and Leia landing on a mining planet to meet with a connection that would get them home. They were interrupted by the Inquisitors and Kenobi’s old apprentice, Darth Vader.
Below are a few key takeaways and observations from Obi-Wan Kenobi episode three:
- Obi-Wan Kenobi continues to tease the return of Qui-Gon Jinn. The episode opens with Obi-Wan mediating and trying to communicate with his deceased mentor. In Revenge of the Sith, Yoda had told Obi-Wan that he could speak with Qui-Gon, but that it would take training. “In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you. An old friend has learned the path to immortality,” the old Jedi Master explained. It seems increasingly likely that Liam Neeson will return as Qui-Gon Jinn by the end of the series.
- Elsewhere, Reva reports to Darth Vader, who promises her the title of Grand Inquisitor if she impresses him. This leads to tension with the other Inquisitors, specifically Fifth Brother, who claims to be next in line.
- Notably, James Earl Jones returns to voice Vader. Jones, like some other legacy actors, had not previously been mentioned in Disney’s marketing materials.
- Obi-Wan has a vision of Anakin, not as Vader but as he remembers him, played by Hayden Christensen.
- Obi-Wan and Leia are helped by an Imperial officer named Tala. She works with Haja Estree, the false Jedi who helped Obi-Wan and Leia in episode two. The two are part of a resistance movement getting people, including Jedi, to safety. In a series of escape tunnels, known as the Path, Obi-Wan sees markings left by Quinlan Vos, a Jedi who seemingly survived “Order 66” and may appear later in Obi-Wan Kenobi or another Star Wars title.
- Before getting away to safety, Obi-Wan encounters Vader. This is their first meeting since Revenge of the Sith, when Obi-Wan left his apprentice completely brutalized and barely alive. It’s also the only known meeting between the two before their fateful duel in 1977’s original Star Wars. After a short lightsaber fight, Vader engulfs Obi-Wan in flames — a nod to his own suffering in Revenge of the Sith — but the old Jedi is saved by Tala and a droid.
- The episode ends with Reva catching up to Leia as she waits for Obi-Wan, getting her one step closer to the Grand Inquisitor title while prolonging Obi-Wan’s mission off Tatooine.
That’s our breakdown of what happened this week in episode three of Obi-Wan Kenobi. We’ll be back next week with an Obi-Wan Kenobi recap of episode four, streaming on Wednesday, June 8.
What did you think of Obi-Wan Kenobi, episode three? Who are your favorite new or recurring characters? Any predictions for what’s to come later in the season? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter!