TV Show review
Review basis: 1 season · through June 22, 2022
May 26, 2022 · TV-14 · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Not currently streaming in United States
Review
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a six-episode limited series set ten years after Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan lives in hiding on Tatooine watching over young Luke until he is pulled back into action to rescue kidnapped Princess Leia from the Empire's Inquisitors. This leads to direct confrontations with Darth Vader and forces Obi-Wan to face his past trauma and failure with Anakin. The story focuses on classic themes of guilt, redemption, hope, and protecting the next generation through action and personal drama. Young Leia shows resourcefulness and agency in escape scenes, and Reva serves as a driven female antagonist, both fitting the established Star Wars characters and plot needs.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent supporting role for black actress Moses Ingram as Inquisitor Reva drew significant pre- and post-release attention; fits the vast Star Wars galaxy setting with no race or gender swaps of legacy characters and no story emphasis on identity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays within classic Star Wars territory of the Force, Jedi failure, Empire oppression, and personal redemption; no references to modern social issues, identity politics, or current events.
Identity-driven story themes
Core arcs center on universal ideas of guilt, mentorship, and protecting children from tyranny; Reva's trauma-driven motivation and Leia's resourcefulness follow established canon logic without contemporary identity framing or lectures.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The Empire and fallen Inquisitors represent straightforward authoritarian evil and betrayal of ideals; presented as classic good-versus-evil conflict without reframing into modern critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, Western institutions, or systemic power.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Online reviewers and fan communities accused the series of woke influences via Reva's casting and Lucasfilm's public emphasis on racist attacks against the actress as a shield against story criticism; complaints often mixed with quality issues but explicitly tied to perceived DEI priorities in some coverage.
Creator track record context
George Lucas's history of liberal warnings against authoritarianism and Carmen Cuba's documented diverse casting priorities provide moderate context; remaining writers and director show primarily commercial or character-focused careers with no strong recent activist or identity-driven public records.
Production
