This was probably one of the few moments that I thought was ok, to be honest, and a nice touch. Others were Obi-wan sensing Vader's presence and seeing Christensen in the Bacta Tank.
Other than that... yeah. Not grooving on it. It feels too much like a bad 90's tv series to me. I like the ideas, but the execution, dialogue and acting is horrible.
One thing I find grating is the strange tone - it's written like a kids show and it seems to be aimed at entertaining kids, yet it features quite extraordinarily nasty violence: The man hanging from the post in episode one, disguised to not look like he was literally hanged, yet clearly dead as though he was; Vader force choking and breaking people's necks; a stormtrooper being severed in half; hands being chopped off; dragging Obi-wan through the flames - great if this was an adult show, but in a show with a saccharine Disney princess and Saturday morning kid's show league writing that appears to be aimed at ten year olds? It seems pretty grim.
Star Wars has always walked that line - ANH had that scene with the guy's arm being chopped off - and the Prequels had the first episode as a kids film that by the third was a guy burning to death having been dismembered. But even still, Obi Wan seems especially nasty - like it can't decide if it wants to be a dark Vader series for 40 year old male nerds or a swashbuckling kids show about space wizards.
The biggest sin it's committed above all others is the offence it's caused to my ears. What's up with the generic library music? Darth Vader's onscreen and not even a hint of the Imperial March???? They surely can't be avoiding paying Williams royalties?
Moff Tarkin and so on were generals, and Vader was the Emperor's enforcer - a big bully boy to make sure they stayed in line. It was never a command post (until Disney decided to stick him in a stupid, but admittedly very pretty castle).
P.S. has Vader always had such a thick neck? I couldn't help thinking he looked like a bullfrog or like my aspect ratio was off.
Agree totally,
@Mon0Zer0. This is the most un-Star Warsy Star Wars product I have yet seen / heard. The music is wrong and generic. The story is overly simple. The script is genuinely average. It's just so flat. It's a major disappointment so far.
The story and script clearly needed more polish and more revisions. As for the music, even if John Powel would have been too expensive, the chaps that did the soundtrack to the Fallen Order game would have been affordable and would have done a great treatment.
Yes, the argument could be made that Star Wars needed to evolve and not be so attached to the feel and vibe of the beloved movies. But that sound, feel and look were a huge part of what made it iconic. The Mandalorian, hitherto a show featuring NONE of the original characters, is so far the closest sound and feel to the movie series, and is a winning example of how to make something new and fresh, but also very familiar.
The Book of Boba Fett set the tone, with the strange, out-of-place techno kids, with their urban accents, borg-style implants, and space scooters. Yes, on the one hand, diversity and representation of different cultures is a good thing, but at the same time a balance is needed. People tune into Star Wars expecting a Star Wars experience. The scene with Obi-Wan in the drug factory wearing a breathing mask looked more like something out of Altered Carbon.
As for the story and script, it's become sadly all to recurrent to see flat, lifeless dialogue, written solely to provide exposition to the plot. It's blighted Doctor Who, Star Trek and now Star Wars. It's like they don't want to pay top dollar for better script-writers or more revisions and are just keen to get 'content' (God, I hate that word in the modern context) out of the door to keep people paying their subscriptions.
I said it before and I will say it again: it won't be enough soon for streaming services to just churn out titles without the quality because people will get sick of it and cancel their subscriptions, for a few months at least. Netflix has experienced that first hand this year. People have been having to cost-cut, and the least enjoyable streaming service will always be the first one to go. Hopefully this will boost quality in the future, but it doesn't help us now.
I severely hope Obi-Wan gets better. If nothing else, Ewan McGregor deserves a decent send-off for this character.