There’s nothing like kicking your summer off with a series to binge. The first two episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” came out on May 27 on Disney+, and the new show from the Star Wars franchise is definitely worth binging.

For the last two years, fans haven’t had too much in the Star Wars universe, with only the release of “The Book of Boba Fett ” on Disney+ in early January and spin off animated miniseries. 

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” takes place between the last of the prequels, “Revenge of the Sith”, and the start of “The Mandalorian”, where Luke Skywalker is seen to be a fully grown adult. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” tells the story of how 10 years after the fall of the republic, Obi-Wan makes his way as one of the few remaining Jedi when Luke is adopted by his Uncle Owen. He takes it upon himself to keep a watchful eye on Luke, keep him out of harm’s way and has to find a way to hide himself so he isn’t discovered by the sith. 

Beyond this point are spoilers, as I will be discussing the first two episodes that were released last week.

The first episode starts 10 years after the execution of order 66. Throughout the episode, inquisitors, who are jedi hunters are shown to be in black-clad armor with unique double-bladed lightsabers. They are powerful sith used by the empire to hunt and kill or capture the remaining jedi. The main inquisitor is called the Grand Inquisitor  and he is tasked to hunt jedi on Tatooine, where Obi-Wan Kenobi is located. Obi-Wan Kenobi is shown wandering around the deserts of Tatooine where he scavenges for scraps and jobs to survive. 

One of the inquisitors named the Third Sister is trying to hunt Obi-Wan because of some unnamed reason. Later, Obi-Wan receives a transmission from Organas, Leia Skywalker’s parents, and they tell him that Leia has been kidnapped by a group of mercenaries. Initially reluctant, he agrees to help after Bail Organa, Leia’s dad, convinces him. 

This is shown to be an intricate plan designed by the Third Sister to trap and capture Obi-Wan by using Leia’s kidnapping as bait. The episode ends with Obi-Wan Kenobi leaving Tatooine to rescue Leia

In episode 2, Obi-wan is now in Daiyu, where he looks for Leia’s kidnappers. He hears of a supposed jedi who helps people find safe passage out of Daiyu. He is Haja Estree, who is revealed to be a con artist faking his powers, when Obi-Wan figures him out.  

Obi-Wan gets some help from Haja to find where Leia is. After a brief scuffle with Leia’s kidnappers, he finds Leia being held in a cell. A short time after, the Third Sister is seen entering a cell with the unconscious bodies of Leia’s kidnappers, with Obi-Wan gone.

 She is again reprimanded for her recklessness by the Grand Inquisitor and promised punishment. As the Third Sister’s plan fails, she decides to put a bounty on Obi-Wan and Leia to make tracking them easier.

 When the Grand Inquisitor finds out about this, he sends the Fifth Brother, another inquisitor, to hunt and kill Obi-Wan. Eventually the Third Sister is able to find Obi-Wan at a spaceship port, where it is revealed to Obi-Wan that Anakin is still alive, but is now under a new name Lord Vader. 

The Third Sister’s goal the whole time was to capture Obi-Wan and bring him to Vader in order to gain his favor. The Grand Inquisitor is killed by the Third Sister when he attempts to capture Obi-Wan himself, but the Third Sister still fails in capturing Obi-Wan. After this, the episode ends with a shot on Anakin in his bacta tank.

These  two episodes are a strong start to the series. They provide a great foundation for what’s to come, with the introduction of a few new villains and heroes and return of known favorites. Of course, since these are the starting episodes they won’t have that much going on.

It’s not easy to judge the series based on a few episodes, but it seems to be heading in the right direction. The third episode was released today, so be sure to check it out if you are liking the series so far.