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‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ episode 5 recap: sacrifice and surrender

Not everyone will make it out alive.

Screengrab via Disney Plus

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for episode five of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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Once again, Obi-Wan Kenobi left things on a cliffhanger and that wasn’t likely to change as the show airs its penultimate episode.

After revealing that Obi-Wan and Leia were being tracked, Part V brings the show to its climax as Obi-Wan attempts to recruit an unlikely ally and Vader showcases his incredible power — and biggest flaw.

Here’s a look at everything that took place during Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part V.

We have to go back!

Screengrab via Disney Plus

Picking up on Coruscant at the Jedi temple, we get our first flashback of a young Anakin taking place sometime around the events of Attack of the Clones (that’s what Anakin’s haircut suggests, and not his aged face, but we’ll just choose to ignore that).

Obi-Wan and Anakin are training as the pair face off in a lightsaber battle. It’s then revealed that this flashback is taking place in Darth Vader’s mind as he is rudely interrupted by a general informing him that Reva is here to see him. Encroaching on his me time, no less!

Reva informs him of Obi-Wan’s location, thanks to the tracker. Vader praises her for this and promotes her to Grand Inquisitor. Get that fat raise, girl! The ship then heads to the location on Jabiim.

Compromised

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Credit: Disney Plus

Obi-Wan and his allies, along with Leia, land back at the rebel outpost on Jabiim where Haja Estree has taken refuge alongside the others. The plan is to get everyone out of the secret location and to safety before the empire arrives. Simple!

Vader and crew are almost there when Reva suggests taking out all of the rebels, however, Vader is only interested in getting revenge for the past — and capturing Obi-Wan. A petty king.

Obi-Wan snoops through the base and notices a Jedi robe alongside a box of lightsabers. Meanwhile, Leia’s droid (who is now compromised) closes the roof to the compound as Vader and his ship hover in the air above.

Return to the flashback! As we see more of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s training reinforcing the Jedi’s previous statement that Vader lacks the patience for a siege. In this battle, Anakin gets too aggressive and almost winds up losing his limbs — something that he eventually becomes accustomed to.

As expected, Vader launches an assault on the location with two ships heading down to the base. Obi-Wan informs the rebels not to fight and instead to cause a distraction while everyone escapes to safety. To do this, the entire place decides to lock down.

Cue the montage….

Planning the escape

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Credit: Disney Plus

Now fully locked down, the Stormtroopers decide the best way in would be to blast the entry away. Before they can do this they need permission so they stand in formation until the boss arrives, Reva.

Leia decides it’s time to climb into the vents and open the roof. Fortunately, Obi-Wan provides her permission to do so. Now headed where her droid went to destroy the roof’s opening mechanism, Leia heads into the vents.

Obi-Wan takes a moment to check his messages, listening to one he’s received from Senator Bail Organa who fears for his and Leia’s safety and that Vader has learned of her existence.

Tala then finds Obi-Wan and tells him a story about how she allowed Inquisitors to slaughter a handful of force users. This story is her reasoning for joining the rebels.

She delivers Obi-Wan a line that will resonate for the climax of the show: “Some things you can’t forget, but you can work to make them better”.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

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Credit: Disney Plus

Obi-Wan realizes Reva has tracked Leia and looks to buy the Rebels time to escape. He approaches the door and speaks to the new Grand Inquisitor in an almost romantic way both resting their heads on their respective sides.

Obi-Wan quizzes Reva on how she knew the identity of Vader before realizing that she must have been present at the Jedi temple when Anakin slaughtered younglings — making the flashback at the start of the series fall into context.

Reva doesn’t want to hear about it but is forced to relive it once again via flashbacks. We see Anakin enter the Jedi temple alongside clone troopers as he approaches the younglings. Reva says that she tried to help the others but couldn’t, playing dead to survive hiding amongst real corpses.

After hearing her story Obi-Wan is convinced that Reva is actually out to hunt Vader, rather than serve him and offers his help. Obviously, she isn’t convinced that she can trust him. She questions Obi-Wan for not stopping Anakin when he had the chance and says she doesn’t need his, or anyone else’s help before thrusting her lightsaber through the door.

Now the door has been destroyed the battle begins.

Surrender after sacrifice?

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Credit: Disney Plus

Obi-Wan wields his lightsaber to defend the rebels as they board the ship as blaster battle takes place alongside them, fortunately, Stormtroopers still can’t aim.

In typical Hollywood fashion, after giving her monologue earlier in the episode, Tala is gunned down during the battle perishing right in front of Obi-Wan. But not before using a grenade to take out some of the enemies. The remaining rebels gather to board the ship as they wait for Leia to get the doors open.

Vader sends a request to the planet asking for Reva to stand down as “Kenobi is already” theirs. Obi-Wan decides to head back into the enemy’s arms with the goal of stopping Vader himself.

Instead of bringing his lightsaber as you’d expect, he chooses to leave that with the rebels and is taken into custody by the Stormtroopers unarmed.

Vader has arrived

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Credit: Disney Plus

Reva taunts Obi-Wan before he hits her with a classic one-liner: “you’re not bringing him to me, I’m bringing him to you”. Vader heads down to the planet from his ship. Obi-Wan continues to question Reva’s morals, asking her if she’s willing to let the younglings here die as well, saying that, together, they can end all of this.

BACK TO THE FLASHBACK!

Obi-Wan manages to escape his compromised position and bring the fight back to an even playing field before having his lightsaber slashed out of his hands. Like any sore loser would, Obi-Wan hits his Padawan with the moral high ground saying “your need for victory blinds you”.

Vader lands on the planet and immediately asks for Obi-Wan’s location, heading into the base to bring him in, however, Obi-Wan has taken out his Stormtrooper captures and is on the escape.

Leia battles her droid finding and removing the tracker turning it back into a trustworthy assistant to help her get the door back functioning. Together they are able to do so successfully. The rebels begin to board the ship as Obi-Wan arrives.

Vader ventures through the base only catching the ship as it is about to leave. He then uses his force powers to bring it back to land. Once on land, he tears it apart piece by piece before realizing it was a decoy ship and allowing the real ship to get away.

No match for a Sith Lord

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Credit: Disney Plus

Headed back to the flashback for one last time, Obi-Wan uses hand-to-hand combat to disarm his padawan, warning him that his need to prove himself is his undoing and the reason why he still remains a padawan.

While Vader seemingly takes a moment to cope with his failure, Reva uses this opportunity to sneak up behind him, wielding her lightsaber, and attempts to strike him. ‘Attempts’ is the operative word here, as Vader senses her and stops her in her tracks.

Despite her anger, Reva is no match for Vader and is easily defeated without the Sith Lord even wielding his own lightsaber. Vader uses the force to take her lightsaber, breaking it in two, handing her half back so they may duel.

Vader disarms her and wields both sabers at once as she once again sees flashbacks of a young Anakin killing children. Vader thrusts the saber through her stomach, seemingly killing her.

The Grand Inquisitor, who we thought dead in episode two, rears his ugly head and taunts Reva for thinking he killed him. He and Vader then explain they weren’t surprised by Reva’s actions suggesting they knew it would come to this.

Reva is then left on the ground to die — a classic trope that would suggest she hasn’t truly met her end. But we’ll play along.

The loose ends…

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Credit: Disney Plus

Back on the ship, the rebels realize that they are being chased and, with their hyperdrive down, it won’t be long until they are caught.

Reva drags herself over to her lightsaber and then again further to the message transmitter from Senator Bail Organa, revealing that there are children, including a boy on Tattooine.

Obi-Wan senses something is wrong — cut to a scene of Luke asleep in his bed on Tatooine. Roll credits.

The first season of Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to a close on Disney Plus on Wednesday, June 22.