Obi-Wan Kenobi was as broken as its hero

polygon.com:

At first, the most distinct thing about Obi-Wan Kenobi in the new era of Star Wars is that, for the first time since the franchise transitioned to TV, it wasn’t about a guy in a helmet. No disrespect to The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett, but they are shows that were sold on iconography more than character — something they reminded audiences of every time the Star Wars franchise logo appeared on screen after flashes of robots and helmets. Only one character wears a mask in Obi-Wan Kenobi: Darth Vader, and its presence or lack thereof is always meaningful. Across its brief six-episode run, Obi-Wan stopped the spectacle to focus on people — and it mostly resonates as a contrast to how much I’ve missed them in other Star Wars stories.

At the heart of this are Obi-Wan’s two central performances. As Obi-Wan, Ewan McGregor plays a broken man in exile, a soldier who knows he lost the war but is still being asked to fight it, keeping constant vigil from afar over the young Luke Skywalker. As befits the character that shares the series’ name, every note of Obi-Wan’s journey rings true, largely thanks to McGregor’s performance.

History helps here. McGregor returning to the role he first played over 20 years ago and redefined for a second generation of Star Wars fans helps underline his depiction of a burdened man thanklessly safeguarding what’s left of his legacy. He doesn’t speak as much as he used to, but his actions tell a story — hiding from view and scrambling from fights in the first half of the show, and moving and fighting with determination in the second half. Across six episodes, Obi-Wan goes from a shattered Jedi barely comfortable using the Force anymore to a man who has once again found strength and purpose.

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