Obi-Wan Kenobi Part IV Is A Nostalgic Trip For Jedi: Fallen Order Fans
Contains spoilers for "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part IV.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part IV has a difficult job of following up from the dramatic ending to Part III, which sees Ewan McGregor's titular Jedi face Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) for the first time since "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith." Obi-Wan faces the full might of Vader's rage, as the Sith Lord murders citizens on Mapuzo just to draw him out, before stalking his former master and dragging him through a raging inferno. It's easy to see why Vader wants to deliver the same torture he endured on Mustafar when Obi-Wan left him to burn after their duel.
It's highly likely that this isn't the duel that Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy was teasing when she called it the "rematch of the century" at the 2020 Disney Investor Day – mainly because Vader really dishes out a beating to Obi-Wan, while the Jedi only uses his lightsaber as a defensive tool rather than a weapon. That's quite something since he spent years fighting in the Clone Wars. But Part IV is all about starting to build Kenobi back up to the legendary Jedi he used to be before he closed himself off from the Force.
Part IV finds Kenobi desperate to save Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) after Reva (Moses Ingram) kidnaps the princess and whisks her away to the Fortress Inquisitorius on the planet Nur. It's a very familiar location for fans, and the action-packed ending is a nostalgic trip for those who've played "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order."
Obi-Wan wrecks the Fortress Inquisitorius
Although this is the first time audiences have seen the Fortress Inquisitorius in live action, many fans are already familiar with the intimidating base because it's a key location at the end of "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order." The story's finale sees Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) break into the Fortress to retrieve a Jedi holocron that contains a list of various Force-sensitive children across the galaxy. But there are a couple of parallels to "Fallen Order" and the latest "Star Wars" series.
For starters, Kenobi sneaks into the base by swimming underwater and entering through a service hatch, similar to how Kestis gets in. But the biggest similarity comes when Obi-Wan faces off with a squad of Stormtroopers in an underwater corridor and he uses the Force to flood the walkway so he can escape. Eagle-eyed fans will also spot a Purgetrooper, who's decked out in an intimidating black and red armor, not too dissimilar to the Inquisitors themselves. They're one of the recurring enemies in the game who can be trickier to defeat, because they wield heavier weaponry and electric batons.
And finally, the big climax of the fight sees Kenobi use the Force to flood the hallway he's in — which then gives the Jedi, Tala (Indira Varma), and Leia time to escape the area. Of course, this Cal does exactly the same thing at the end of "Fallen Order," as he smashes the glass so he can escape from Darth Vader with Cere Junda (Debra Wilson).
Most fans are expecting Cameron Monaghan to play Cal Kestis in live-action at some point, and all these parallels are only going to heighten those expectations. It's understandable, he's a great character.