Well. I have... questions. But that's fine. This was enjoyable for the most part, although I wish it was even MORE emotional. This will likely be Ewan's final time as ObiWan and i'm not sure i'm left really feeling any more strongly for the character. If I had never seen Star Wars but was watching the movies and shows in chronological order and this is as far as I watched... I would feel real weird going from this to A New Hope. There really is just no undoing how quickly Obi-Wan bites the dust in his final duel with Vader in that. And like.. there is still a pretty big gap in between this and A New Hope and I just want to know what the hell Obi Wan is doing. This maybe did need a second season? I'm not sure!
All the scenes with Vader and ObiWan in this episode were really special though. The fight was well choreographed, and the planet was just dark enough that the CGI didn't look awful as it would've in daylight. The mix of Hayden and James Earl Jones' voices was haunting and will be memorable to me.
Charles Soule's "Darth Vader: Dark Lord Of The Sith" comics I still say are recommended reading to getting into the mind of Vader. That comic follows Vader on his first missions after being put in the suit, being put in charge of the Inquisitors and beginning to hunt down remaining Jedi. It also shows him further pushing away any Light left, knowing that Padme and his (to his knowledge) unborn children will never be his no matter how much power and control he gains. Also shows Palpatine giving Vader the Mustafar base we see in this episode. It's almost a cruel manipulative gift Palpatine gives to him... a reminder of the very planet Vader was born. No matter how much control Vader thinks he has, Palpatine is always the puppet master.
This episode, which obviously takes place years after that comic, really shows off how further down he's gone. But he's still lying to himself -- somewhere in there, Anakin still exists. Vader is such a perfect villain.
I really would love to see Reva get her own series. Maybe she can get a rematch with Vader. I know we're tired of seeing the same characters trotted out again and again but James Earl Jones is 91 years old and I want as much of his voice as we can get.
The last point I want to make: While I think Natalie Holt did a good job with the composing for this series. I wish some of the moments had more swells in the music to really give a sense of awe like John Williams gives. His theme for this show is actually really good and you should listen to the full version if you haven't.
I just would've liked a little more Duel Of the Fates type craziness from that final Vader ObiWan fight, personally.
