Obi-Wan Kenobi is heading our way this coming Friday, May 27th, and with it now comes an official clip from the series. And it is one that backs a wallop of a punch. We know that Obi-Wan Kenobi is watching over Luke Skywalker and that he’s trying to keep his eyes on Anakin’s son on Tatooine. There, he obviously comes in contact with Uncle Owen (played by Joel Edgerton from the prequels), and in the new official clip, we get to see more of their interaction (that we first saw in the trailer for the series).
It already was a lot to unpack given that Owen threw what happened to Anakin back in Obi-Wan’s face, but somehow the full scene is even more emotional than we could have imagined. I didn’t expect to cry hearing Owen call him “Ben,” and yet, here we are.
The show has been a long time coming. With the 17-year anniversary of Revenge of the Sith just happening, it’s been a good while since we’ve seen Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. So, emotions are high anyway, given how much we loved his portrayal back during the prequels. Add in the “Ben” stuff and, well, I’m a goner.
The significance of “Ben”
The first time we met Obi-Wan Kenobi, we knew him as Old Ben. So it isn’t shocking that he’s known as “Ben” on Tatooine but it still is shockingly jarring to hear Owen call him that. It brought instant tears to my eyes and maybe it’s because we know the importance that “Ben” had to Leia, Luke, and Han. Enough so that in the previous Star Wars extended universe, Luke and Mara Jade’s son was named Ben Skywalker, and in the sequel trilogy, Han and Leia name their son Ben Solo. It’s important to the series, a name that brings all our favorite characters together, and to hear Owen call Obi-Wan “Ben” was just a lot more emotional than I’d thought it would be.
Pair that with the emotion of Owen being upset over what happened with Anakin and it all just punches you in the gut while you watch the clip. Which isn’t exactly promising for our tear ducts for the rest of the season as well.
Owen and Ben’s relationship
We rarely got to see the two ever interact before. We just saw Obi-Wan bring Luke to him in Revenge of the Sith and we knew how he felt about Ben Kenobi in A New Hope. Other than that, we didn’t have much of the two interacting with each other. So this scene does a lot to explore their relationship and whether or not they trust each other. Obi-Wan is clearly trying to look out for Luke, but Owen is also right. Obi-Wan is trying to train him, but in that same breath, I do think that Obi-Wan does care about Luke because it’s one of the only connections he has back to a man he saw as a brother.
I didn’t expect to cry over “Ben,” but here I am, so we’re certainly in for an emotional ride.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
