This is going to be more of an outline/rough sketch of how I would do a 6 episode Kenobi series. (Meant to do this while on vacation, but I ended up reading comic books instead.)
EPISODE 1
We are going to have a long opening segment which is mostly silent save for the music, and some sound effects. One or two words MIGHT be tossed in.
We start silently with an unknown figure hiding out in a seedy bar. Some ruffians come in and begin messing with the place. The figure eventually can’t sit by and attempts to intervene. The ruffians laugh at him and begin pushing him around, until finally the figure tosses someone across the room with the Force.
CUT TO: Vader asleep in his bacta tank. His eyes open as he senses the disturbance.
The figure now sparks up their lightsaber and tosses aside their cloak to reveal…
A Jedi who is NOT Obi-Wan Kenobi.
As the Jedi fights, we see another bar patron call in about a lightsaber being seen. We then intercut 3 montages. The first is the Jedi fighting the ruffians and then trying to escape out of the city they are in. The second, is the traveling of the news of the seen lightsaber. The third, is Vader as he puts on his suit and prepares to head out. Eventually montage 2 and 3 intersect as Vader is given the rumor and climbs into his TIE-advanced fighter. Then montage 1 is intersected as the Jedi, after many close calls and harrowing escapes, arrives at a space port to find Vader standing there, waiting. Both of them ignite their lightsabers, and we get a quick duel where Vader just dominates the other Jedi and eventually cuts them down.
TITLE SEQUENCE HERE
We now see Ben Kenobi doing a few morning exercises and Jedi routines before he heads out into the Tatooine day. He rides to the Lars home, seemingly cheerful but finds Owen and Beru cleaning up destroyed equipment. When he talks with them, Kenobi learns that they were attacked by a PIRATE GANG (to be named later) which has been raiding the area and taking from farmers like them. Owen actually chews out Ben a little and challenges him on how he can train Luke if he can’t even protect him. Kenobi acknowledges this, promises Owen that he will do something, and heads out.
From here we see him enter Mos Eisley and we see the town through his eyes a bit. He enters the infamous cantina and asks around about joining the PIRATE GANG. During this he spots some random toughs harassing someone. Kenobi is about ready to pull out his lightsaber when he notices the Imperial News Network on a screen talking about the Jedi hunted down and executed in our opening. At the end of the report, it emphasizes to citizens to report to the authorities if you see a lightsaber. Remembering that things are different now, Kenobi resolves to try a different tactic and approaches the ruffians instead. He quickly becomes their “friend” and leads them away from their victims.
Cut to: Kenobi putting his desert robes, wrapped around his lightsaber, away in the Mos Eisley equivalent of an airport locker. He’s now dressed in an outfit that’s a combination of the costumes the ruffians had (in the background sharp eyed viewers can spot the two of them knocked out in an alley). Striding into the cantina again, Ben Kenobi is now Pirate Ben, and approaches the captain of the gang with a swagger that gets Ben hired on the spot.
EPISODE 2
This is a general heist episode with the PIRATE GANG robbing a random location. Pirate Ben is “helping” them though the audience is shown that he fires his gun far too high or wide to hit anybody when there’s a gun battle, and he uses the Force in very subtle ways, like causing someone to trip here or loot to spill out there or a gun to jam at the wrong moment. The pirates end up escaping but some of them end up being left behind “accidentally” (really it’s Ben still seeing that justice is done, even a little)
To spice things up, we’ll also introduce a CAPTURED CHILD in this episode the pirates are holding for ransom. It could be somebody named from Star Wars (like Wedge Antilles maybe), or just a whole new character. Human, alien, male or female, it doesn’t matter – what matters is that they are a new complication and goal for Ben to work with, and to give him some perspective on Luke.
Second character introduced in this episode is also a FAMILIAR FACE to Obi-Wan. It’s a former officer (not a clone) who helped fight in the war years ago. There’s a mystery afoot whether this is the same person Obi-Wan knew, or someone who just looks like them. Also their exact nature (human/alien/male/female/etc) is not important, but let’s go ahead and name them REVA. Whether Reva recognizes Ben or not and whether they will rat the jedi out is a mystery and source of growing tension from here on out.
EPISODE 3
This episode starts in the middle of another heist, only this time the PIRATE GANG is stealing ships to add to their fleet. They are aiming to steal 3 smaller runners from a shipyard but “bad luck” (again it’s Pirate Ben messing with things) leads to the loss of the 3rd meaning the pirates only steal 2 ships.
While discussing how things went, the pirates are surprised by the appearance of an Imperial Star Destroyer (probably Vader’s before he gets the big boy). The pirates are prepared to try and hide or “play nice” with the “law” but Pirate Ben is the one that convinces them they have to run. With Ben’s advice, the pirates make a run for a ringed planet in the system with the star destroyer hot on their trail. The 3 pirate ships form a line and begin flying a tight “wave” pattern in and out of the rings as the star destroyer tries to close in on them, firing with all of its turbolasers. The pirates suddenly fly into the gas giant they’ve been circling then use it’s gravity to slingshot themselves into a spot where they can hyperspace away. It’s revealed that the Star Destroyer had been “concentrating” too hard on the pirates and tried to match their path without compensating for the ship’s larger mass. (“That was brilliant, Pirate Ben!” “Thanks, but I learned it from a friend.”) Pirate Ben notes that gravity well of the planet will pull the imperial vessel down further and prevent them from performing a slingshot at the same speed and angle the smaller pirate vessels did. It will take them hours to get out of the gas giant.
On board the Star Destroyer, Darth Vader is hearing a matching report from an Imperial Officer. The screen fades to a flashback where Anakin is piloting his fighter during the clone wars with Obi-Wan (between episodes 2 & 3). They are struggling against a droid capital ship but Anakin radios an idea to his friend and their remaining wingman. He has the third person fall in behind him and Kenobi at the end of the line. Anakin then slaves the 3 ships together and begins flying a wave pattern through the rings of the planet they are fighting above before turning towards the gas giant and getting the droid ship stuck in its gravity. As the 3 fighters escape their enemy, the third pilot radios in and praises Anakin’s maneuver. It’s revealed that the their pilot is Reva.
Back to the present, Vader mutters Reva’s name to himself before he tells the officer to ready Vader’s personal fighter. He will continue the hunt on his own while the officers clean up their mess.
EPISODE 4
Transition episode. Leaving blank here and space so once we have more of the story sketched out, we can fill in things here that we need to better sell the ending. Things like more about the pirate leader’s backstory, and more war stories involving Kenobi, Anakin, and maybe Reva.
EPISODE 5
Pirate Ben gets the CAPTURED CHILD back to where they belong and the PIRATE GANG ends up losing most of their fleet in the process without realizing there is a traitor. Most of those ships are lost to Vader and his advance TIE fighter, though he doesn’t realize how close he came to getting Kenobi or Reva.
EPISODE 6
Things come to a head as Pirate Ben returns to being Kenobi and begins taking the rest of the PIRATE GANG apart piece by piece psychologically. He is especially fond of using Force mind tricks to make even himself seem far more terrifying. The PIRATE GANG LEADER’s final showdown is in a darkened room where flickering lights and the Force convince him that a near demon is come to claim him, and by the end of the confrontation, Ben has the leader on the floor of his cabin, whimpering and crying for mercy. Ben tells him to spread the word to never come to Tatooine again and awaken “the demon” from his slumber.
In the shuttle bay of the ship, Kenobi finds Reva waiting him with a gun. Reva reveals that they knew who Kenobi was all along. They didn’t say anything because at first they thought Kenobi was like them – desperate and just looking for work. When they realized what Kenobi was doing, they felt a bit of shame was stirred to action just like the old days when they were much younger. (Turns out a critical moment in episode 5 that first looked like a plot hole in rescuing the child was in fact Reva helping them out.)
Reva pilots a small vessel for Obi-Wan to another planet. On the way, Reva begs to go with Kenobi, to fight for the Republic once again. Kenobi explains that he is not staging a rebellion, but watching over the seed of the new Jedi Order. If Reva wants to fight, they’ll need to go elsewhere.
They land on a planet which is not Tatooine and Kenobi exits the craft. They exchange a brief goodbye and Obi-Wan starts to walk away when Reva shouts.
Reva: Can I ask a favor?
Kenobi: Anything.
Reva: Make me forget you. With your Force magic or whatever.
Kenobi: Reva…
Reva: If they catch me, I don’t want to betray you.
Obi-Wan walks over as if he’s going to protest, but finds he can’t, because Reva is right. He places a hand on their shoulder and says: I will never forget you, Reva.
Reva, with a bittersweet smile: For the Republic.
Obi-Wan places his hands on both sides of Reva’s head and the screen fades to white.
Intercut between Reva returning to the PIRATE GANG mothership and Ben making his way to Tatooine. A Star Destroyer appears and captures the pirates as Kenobi stops at a booth to buy a certain toy. Vader stalks up and down the line of pirates, his and their body language making it clear an interrogation is happening though the audience can’t hear the details. We see a close up of Reva who stands there, their gaze is as ignorant and bewildered and scared as every other pirate.
The show closes with Kenobi returning to the Lars homestead dressed back in his old robes and with his lightsaber hanging from his belt. There is a brief exchange as he assures Owen that there will be no further trouble from the PIRATE GANG – or any other raiders probably – and hands over a present for Luke. To the side of the screen, we see Luke unwrap his gift to reveal a T-16 skyhopper he plays with. While he is in camera focus, we see just past him Owen and Beru inviting Ben to come visit any time, before the old Jedi heads off into the desert wilderness, back to his home.
THE END
Hunting Muses 