The Ending Of Obi-Wan Kenobi Part II Explained

Contains spoilers for "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part II

Disney and Lucasfilm really treated "Star Wars" fans with the release of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" — dropping the first two episodes of the series on Disney+ to kick of the interquel festivities. These episodes also arrived concurrently with the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, during which Lucasfilm has teased fans with plenty of new projects set in the galaxy far, far away (like "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew"). But "Obi-Wan Kenobi" takes fans back into the murky time of the Empire between "Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" and "Episode IV – A New Hope," with the titular Jedi living alone on Tatooine where he watches over a young Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely) from a distance.

Episode 1 is crammed with moments of greatness, as it focuses on Obi-Wan's guilt and trauma over the events of Order 66 and his battle with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Obviously, he assumes that he killed his former padawan during that fateful battle on Mustafar, but that isn't the case at all, as everyone knows.

In the first two episodes, the show has already dropped one big reveal: the fact that a young Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) is the reason why Kenobi comes out of hiding. The aging Jedi emerges from his self-imposed exile after bounty hunters kidnap the princess for the Imperial Inquisitor, Reva (Moses Ingram). But how does Obi-Wan find Leia on the planet Daiyu? And why is Reva obsessed with catching the Jedi?

Here's the ending of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part II explained.

When Obi-Wan first arrives on the murky planet of Daiyu, he quickly finds that he can't track the bounty hunter ship, because the Empire has blocked all incoming and outgoing signals as a way of restricting any Force-sensitives on the planet. Cutting off communications is a useful tool for the Grand Inquisitor, as it isolates those who really need help and makes it more likely that they'll out themselves by accident. But criminals have already capitalized on this opportunity. Enter: Haja Estree (Kumail Nanjiani).

Estree is a trafficker who claims to be a Jedi to help smuggle people off-planet, but he just uses magnets to fake his own Force-powers as a way of getting the helpless to trust him, before he charges them an extortionate amount of credits to escape Daiyu. Obviously, Kenobi isn't exactly impressed with Estree's money-making scheme, and forces him to help uncover the location of the kidnapped Leia. It's clear that Estree is also trying to make ends meet in a difficult situation, and he does seem a little remorseful when Kenobi calls him out for exploiting the innocent. It's a pretty scummy thing to do — but Nanjiani sells it with the perfect amount of smarmy charisma.

Haja's information pays off, and Kenobi finds Leia at a Spice den. What Obi-Wan doesn't realize, however, is that this has all been an elaborate trap, and Reva has unique information about Leia.

Although Kenobi is doing the right thing by helping Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) get his adopted-daughter back, he's also putting himself in extreme danger thanks to the increased presence of the Inquisitors in the galaxy. The kidnapping is a carefully planned plot by Reva to lure Kenobi out of the shadows, and unfortunately it works pretty well. Because after Kenobi frees Leia, they quickly draw plenty of attention to themselves thanks to the young princess' feisty behavior.

It doesn't help that Reva also puts out a high enough bounty on Kenobi to get the entire planet on the lookout for the rogue Jedi. Obi-Wan underestimates how free-thinking Leia really is. She's also been desperate to see life outside of Alderaan, so it's understandable that she's so curious about everything on Daiyu. But Leia's inquisitive nature leads her to question Kenobi in a personal way that he isn't prepared to address. After questioning her savior's Jedi bona fides, she runs off not out of obstinance, but because she figures out the outline of the plan to catch Kenobi. Even as a young girl, Princess Leia of Alderaan is nobody's bait.

The chase quickly culminates in a rooftop shootout between various gunmen and Kenobi, while Leia falls from a building. This only pushes the Kenobi to tap into his dormant Force-powers to save the young girl by making her float. Who's a fake Jedi now, Leia?

Haja Estree has a change of heart after meeting Kenobi. He starts to make amends by giving the Jedi a way off Daiyu using an automated cargo ship bound for a new planet called Mapuzo, where there are people who will help them, apparently. Considering the fact that this guy was previously extorting innocent civilians, it would probably be best to take that information with a pinch of salt. 

It isn't long before Reva catches up to the escapees, along with the Grand Inquisitor, who reprimands the Third Sister for not following orders and acting on impulse. In response, Reva decides to show him exactly what impulse looks like with a lightsaber through the gut.

Aside from the Leia reveal, this is the most shocking moment of the first two episodes — or "Parts" in series parlance. It seems unlikely that the Grand Inquisitor is dead, as this would be a major retcon of cherished canon. This character's death happens much later in the "Star Wars: Rebels" Season 1 finale, "Fire Across the Galaxy." It's not impossible that Lucasfilm has decided to break canon in this way, but it seems more likely that the Inquisitor will find some way to return and pursue vengeance against Reva.

For the moment it's not clear why Reva's so desperate to catch Obi-Wan, but a leading theory argues that she was one of the apprentices who escaped the Jedi temple during the acute phase of Order 66. Why else show us that flashback at the beginning of the series? Perhaps Reva resents Obi-Wan for leaving her behind, which would also explain why she's allied herself with Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen), whom Kenobi also left to burn on Mustafar at the end of "Revenge of the Sith." 

The episode only gives us a brief glimpse of the Dark Lord soaking in bacta, but it's clear that he's got revenge on his mind.