*WARNING* THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR OBI-WAN KENOBI EPISODE FIVE

You wouldn’t want Darth Vader and the Inquisitors coming after you, so make sure to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi episode five before reading!

That’s about as perfect as you can get when it comes to Star Wars. Whether it’s showing just how truly scary Darth Vader can be, or a breathtaking sequence involving Anakin and Obi-Wan, this was one of the best episodes of Star Wars TV on Disney+. It had everything you’d want out of this series. This was all built from an innocuous idea of an Imperial siege. It was that idea that drove this episode because it was seemingly heading towards a place we have all seen before. Great, the good guys hold out against the bad guys and escape at the last minute.

Except it wasn’t that. It was so much more. For the people trashing Moses Ingram and Reva, this was the episode that showed us just how great of a performance she’s giving. All the different things that she teased and alluded to with her performance in the first four episodes came to a head here. Her motivations were laid bare, she showed who she truly was. In that moment of weakness, she allowed Obi-Wan to get the better of her. It was even more apparent when she tried to take on Darth Vader one-on-one. That fight was simply on a whole different level with Vader showing just how powerful he is. For the people that wanted to see Vader fully unlocked, you got it here. He toyed with a weaker opponent, even giving her another chance to fight back.

Interspersing the episode with clips of Anakin and Obi-Wan dueling was a stroke of genius to compare the old battle and the current mental battle between the two. Obi-Wan outsmarted Anakin then, and he did it again here because he was blinded by his own rage.

Back To Tatooine? Let’s Go

With the return of the “real” Grand Inquisitor, we’ll have to see how this one goes. Does the finale give us a final fight between Obi-Wan and the Inquisitors? It kind of has to, unless they give us a season two of the series. Another fight between Obi-Wan and Vader would cheapen the previous one and the one following in A New Hope. It only makes sense for Reva to somehow get the best of the Grand Inquisitor or at least help Obi-Wan escape. From her own motivations, that makes some sense, but she showed how disdainful she was of Obi-Wan for not being there at the Jedi Temple massacre.

Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton gave a masterclass on screenwriting with this episode. It was a fully developed story with some of the most thrilling moments of this era of Star Wars. For all the people whining and moaning about how Obi-Wan wasn’t using his lightsaber enough or there wasn’t enough action in the series, this gave us all that and then some. Tala’s death felt weighty alongside NED-B. It was a shocking moment for sure, with such a heroic character giving her last moments to Obi-Wan. If you like your Star Wars alongside western themes and motifs, this was the episode for you.

Star Wars on Disney+ has a tendency to give us the best episodes as the penultimate ones. The stakes are at their highest and the intrigue is at a fever pitch. This episode eclipses any of those episodes. It had all the hallmarks of Star Wars, and then some. It was a beautifully shot, wonderfully written, and amazing piece of Star Wars.

For more on Star Wars, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

Keep Reading:

Lightyear – More Than Sox The Movie, Pixar’s Most Thrilling Adventure [Review]