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Post #1490039

Author
Channel72
Parent topic
The Kenobi Movie Show (Spoilers)
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1490039/action/topic#1490039
Date created
23-Jun-2022, 12:48 PM

To be honest, the various canon problems introduced by this show are the LEAST problematic aspect of the show for me. I’ve had to continuously “readjust” my understanding of Star Wars since 1999.

So now we learn Obi-Wan had this whole adventure with little 10-year-old Leia, which CLEARLY is not what you would infer from Leia’s holographic message in A New Hope. But then, in 1999 I also learned that Darth Vader created C3PO - which… doesn’t exactly contradict anything, but… like, really?

Now we know that when Obi-Wan says “Obi-Wan Kenobi? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time… a long time”, he means like 9 years. 9 years ago was 2013. That’s barely even yesterday, especially as you get older and time subjectively seems to move faster.

But on the other hand, after watching the Prequels, I learned that “a long time… a long time” actually just means around 19 years. Kenobi also says he hasn’t heard the name “Obi Wan” since before Luke was born, which is outright contradicted by Revenge of the Sith. Furthermore, 19 years ago was 2003. That’s certainly a “while” ago, I guess. For someone under 30 that might seem like a really long time. But it’s not “a long time… a long time” from the perspective of an old man. I mean I’m not THAT old, but 2003 doesn’t feel so long ago to me. Anyone watching Alec Guinness deliver that line in A New Hope would likely come away thinking he meant “like 40 or more years ago, maybe even centuries ago? (who knows how long these magical Jedi space Wizards can live anyway?)”

The point is, I’m so used to my natural understanding of the OT being forced to adjust or contort to fit later installments, to the extent that trying to maintain a consistent “canon” seems absurd. The only way is to be selective and maintain a personal head canon.

That said, I’m not trying to defend the Kenobi show. I think it’s tragically mediocre. But the ways it screws up canon is really the LEAST of its problems.