What went wrong with ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’? The Ewok problem strikes again

I know I am not the only one thinking this, and it pains me to type these words, but the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ is just…..meh. And it had so much potential, too: Kenobi’s lost years on Tatooine, with all of their attendant adventures; Obi-Wan as he watches over Luke and struggles with how to protect him from a safe remove; and the Kenobi-Vader/Anakin relationship and its layered pathos. Instead, the series just seems to be squandering this potential in a way familiar to all of us in the collective Star Wars fan base — by being too cute.

I am tempted to call this recurring curse to the franchise the “Jar Jar Problem,” after the eponymous character introduced in Episode I (The Phantom Menace), the hands-down worst character ever to grace the Star Wars universe. However, the problem pre-dates Jar Jar Binks’ unfortunate introduction in the 1999 movie. No, the recurring curse must accurately reflect its true origins, in Episode VI (The Return of the Jedi).

This repeated too-cute-for-its-own-good tendency has been with us from early on, and I shall christen it “The Ewok Problem.” Yes, those cute little fuzz balls from the third movie in the franchise are the real reason we keep getting stuck with these numerous attempts at misplaced cuteness in the Star Wars universe. The latest iteration of the curse comes to us in Obi-Wan Kenobi in the form of the young child-aged, overly precocious, and sassy Princess Leia. Sadly, one of the universe’s most bad-ass female characters over the course of the last half-century has been returned to her youth, and the results are underwhelming.

young princess Leia Obi-Wan Kenobi series — A young princess Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Dinsey Platform Distribution)

Do not misunderstand me: I love Leia’s character in the Star Wars universe. She has always been a strong, forward-looking, and fearless leader. She is tough as nails and an essential ingredient to the chemistry of especially the first three movies. I just do not need to see her as a young, spoiled princess, tagging along with Obi-Wan on adventures, running from danger with her goofy toddler’s gait, and somehow miraculously keeping up with a full-grown man, or outrunning criminal pursuers in a wooded area on Alderaan.

It is as if every so often the brains behind the Star Wars universe think to themselves, “we need a new cute factor, something like the Ewoks for Obi-Wan Kenobi!” This impulse paid off spectacularly with Grogu (“Baby Yoda”) in The Mandalorian, which no doubt drove some producer to think, “we need a new Grogu” while creating the Kenobi series. Unfortunately, what they got instead was an annoying child with none of Grogu’s charm or innocence.

Grogu, aka Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian. He may have hair on his ears but he checked all boxes on the cuteness scale. (Dinsey Platform Distribution)

This is a writing problem, as far as I am concerned, as I refuse to blame the actors for these recurring misfires at cuteness. The child actress who portrays Leia is fine, but the character is written as too mature, too insightful for her age, and far too precocious and unafraid as she is placed in mortal danger by the Empire and its Jedi hunters. Had she been written more effectively as a young child version of Leia, then maybe it would have worked. Young Anakin in The Phantom Menace also suffered the same fate in terms of failed cuteness. The writers just did not make it believable or realistic. Maybe it is a bridge too far to write these children in a convincing way. Who knows?

I do know this, though: Star Wars is far better off when it does not try to force cuteness down our throats. Look at Rogue One. That movie is arguably in the top five of all Star Wars productions, and there is not a “cute” character in site, nor any of the accompanying saccharine sentimentality often tagging along with the attempted cuteness. Instead, Rogue One is darker, lacks a traditional happy ending, and is full of plucky courage and desperate struggle against an overwhelming foe. That is the Star Wars atmosphere I wanted to see surrounding the adventures of Obi-Wan after he was forced into exile post-Episode III (Revenge of the Sith).

Alas, we the viewers are once again left wanting. All because someone decided that they needed a new Ewok — or a new Grogu — to maximize the cuteness factor. The result is at best one of the medium-bright stars in the Star Wars universe, which is a shame given the potential that existed for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nevertheless, we diehards shall reset our expectations and await the next series.