Why OBI-WAN's Flashback Worked and BOOK OF BOBA FETT's Didn't
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2024
- Obi-Wan Kenobi chapter five brilliantly shows us flashbacks to Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi dueling, giving us a more in depth look into Darth Vader and Obi Wan’s relationship. This reminds us of another Star Wars show, The Book of Boba Fett, where the flashbacks……didn’t work so well. We’re here to break down how Obi Wan Kenobi shines, where The Book of Boba Fett fell short.
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Written and Hosted by Ryan Arey ( / ryanarey )
Edited by Harriet Lengel-Enright and Srinidhi Rao
I want to talk about the flashback in Chapter 5 of Obi-Wan Kenobi. You know, the one that showed Padawan Anakin dueling his master Obi-Wan. I loved this scene so much. It was a masterclass in the right way to use a flashback.
And this got me thinking about the last Star Wars show, The Book of Boba Fett. In the past, I have spoken at length about how this was a really good show that was nearly ruined by its extremely silly structure. But now that we’ve seen another flashback play out in Obi-Wan Kenobi, I think we can use the two shows as examples of how sometimes a flashback can reinforce and amplify your story. And sometimes, a flashback can detract and configure the present-day story you’re trying to tell.
First I want to talk about why flashbacks exist in media, and cite some examples of different kinds of flashbacks from movies and TV. We have talked about this in a past video, so if you’re a friend of the channel, I’ll try to be brief.
Every Flashback has one primary function.
Flashbacks can accomplish those things, and a lot more. But the primary reason flashbacks exist is to progress the story that is happening in the present day.
You just named some important roles flashbacks have. They can provide us with information about a character's motivations, like Cersei’s childhood prophecy in Game of Thrones. Or they can let us know why two characters are friends, like John Kreese and Terry Silver in Cobra kai. Or sometimes a flashback just gives us information that characters don’t even have, like in Godfather 2.
But all of these flashbacks serve the story happening in the here and now. For instance, the show Lost was structured around flashbacks. No spoilers for that show, I haven’t even seen it. But these people are stuck on an island, and we frequently cut back to their lives before. To understand how these characters will react to events on the island, we have to know who they were in the real world. And all of these flashbacks are structured around characters remembering their past.
But the greatest use of flashbacks in any story was in Godfather 2. The movie’s present day timeline follows gangster Michael Corleone, trying to consolidate his family’s criminal empire, while also trying to keep his actual family together.
The flashbacks show his father, Vito Corleone, arriving in America and slowly building up that same criminal empire. But the flashbacks are showing the root causes of the problems that Michael is experiencing in the present day-that the family tree has rotten roots.
But the Godfather 2’s flashbacks also work because they are not jarring. Each one is placed in the perfect spot-when tensions are high in the present day, and we’re wondering how the hell Michael can get out of this jam-then we fade into the sepia-tones world of young Vito.
Michael begins the movie with everything-a sprawling empire, big house, large family. Vito’s journey leads him upwards throughout the movie, while Michael’s leads him downwards.
Writer Pat Verducci said it best: “If you have to use a flashback, make sure whatever happens in the flashback moves the present story forward. What does the character remember or learn in the flashback that urges them to action in the here and now?”
So I’ll talk about Obi Wan Kenobi’s perfect flashback in a bit, but first let’s talk about the weird ass structure of the Book of Boba Fett. And it’s not just weird because we randomly cut to different stories for 2 episodes. The Book of Boba Fett’s use of flashbacks confuses the story the show is trying to tell, and actually makes the protagonist less relatable.
Don't get me wrong-I love the story told in the flashbacks. Boba Fett, in the belly of the beast, finds a tribe, learns a new way of life, and it all falls apart. The story is good, but the way it was told is terrible.
The problem with The Book of Boba Fett is that the flashbacks do not serve the present day storyline. It’s the opposite of Godfather 2. In the past, Boba’s story is rising, while in the present, his empire is also rising, as he gains more muscle and experience.
#ObiWan #BookOfBobaFett 
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What did you think about the flashbacks?
The boba fetts flashbacks were better. Obi-wan needed flash backs throughout the whole series
The flashbacks are what kenobi should've focused on. Kenobi failed as a show and instead made reva the main character.
whats so smart about obi wan wining in the flashback? he basicly acted out a surrender once again, and took anakin's lightsaber while he wasnt aware that they are still fighting.. . scene was wack af logisticly and no amount of screencrush or new rockstars videos can make it better im afraid
The Obi Wan flashbacks were too predictable and explained nothing I wasn't already aware of about Anakin or Obi Wan.
Boba Fett's flashbacks did the opposite, they were innovative, captivating and apart of a greater narrative.
Both have merit but for me. Boba Fett as a series missed the mark though I still really enjoyed it and Season 2 can tie into the Mandalorian season 3 where they both want to be Mandalore, the flashbacks in Boba Fett worked better visually for me and helping to tell his story and his pain. Kenobi as a series, to me isn't helping to drive the story but it might be because I know more than the average new fan to the characters. Anakin was always impatient, always wanting to win and always to full of himself thinking he was better than he really was before he became Vader....that might be the reason why I didn't think it worked as well as Boba Fett's.
Isn't everything in Star Wars a flash back since it all takes place a long time ago?🤯 (in a galaxy far far away)
I mean no… just cause a story is in the past doesn’t mean it’s a flashback. A flashback is specifically dont from the present perspective looking backward. Good joke tho lol
cringe
That is the highest thought I’ve ever heard
@@malnourishedgang1703 grow up
Please dont talk about how time works in a galaxy far far away
The flash backs in Boba Fett should have just been the entirety of the first couple episodes or so.
Exactly!!!! I mean, it shouldn't need to be flashbacks at all, just the entire story in order
Thank you so much for actually doing some interesting analysis and not just griping about lazy writing like so many folks do!
The Book of Boba Fett could had taken a page out of the Aftermath trilogy novels where the people of Freetown and the Tuskens join forces to defeat the Mining Guild it was a miss opportunity for Boba Fett to unite the Tuskens and the good people of Tatooine to stand up to the pykes
Kenobi flashbacks draw parallel’s and in short, reinforces vader’s line about now being the master in ANH, it shows that vader used what he learned and that scared kenobi because not only is it partly his fault he is the way he is, but also the one who taught him most of what he uses to take everything over, but for BOBF it seems like it was just there to tell us where he got the staff and how he knows how to use it
Bobas flashbacks happen in the bacta tank, as a way of showing that his torment, he can't get away from what happened to his tribe... But you can't show the tribe being killed without showing him becoming one of them. Maybe the dream he keeps having is finding everyone dead, they just give you more back story to flesh it out
Yeah it seems he dreams about losing both Jango and the tuskens
I think the most remarkable thing I've learned from this video is that you've never watched Lost.. lol the first 3 seasons are amazing television... Then they kinda"Lost" their way.. all the same, great insight into these shows
The reality is most fans only watch the mainstream SW films/series, so they don’t know much about Boba Fett because there just isn’t much about him. The flashbacks were probably just creating a character for those people. But I agree with your analysis, Obi Wan blows that show out of the water easily.
Perhaps the BOBF flashbacks were spread out because there wouldn't be any real fan service if it was Dances With Tuskans for 2 episodes and people would be disappointed. (Personally, I would have loved it!)
I liked the Boba Fett flashbacks.
I liked them too.
so did i but the point was that they didnt align properly with the present storyline
@@BenAri18 yea it lacked a little relevance
I think you nailed it right on the head “the story was good, the way it was told wasn’t” I’m stealing that
I feel they should have run the flashbacks as the first two full episodes before catching up with current times in the third episode. Switching between the flashbacks and the current day like they did blunted the narrative momentum of both.
Yes! That's exactly what I felt they should have done!! The flashback structure definitely distracted from both stories. They spent so long with the flashbacks at certain points that I would forget what the heck was happening in the present day narrative. It was just so easy to get lost going back & forth all the time since there was nothing really tying the two stories together.
That would've been boring af
I nearly burst into tears when I saw the Obi-Wan flashbacks. It bought me so much joy. As much as the Book of Boba Fett was fascinating, it was also disappointing as the flashbacks were disjointed from the main story. As much as I loved seeing Ahsoka, Grogu, Din and Luke, it made no sense for them to be there when the whole show was meant to be about Boba. It felt like the Mandalorian 2.5. It would've been better if they had done a mini series solely on what was going on with those characters after Mando Season 2.
Stories that are told in a manner that require more of the reader/listener/viewer are often viewed as more satisfying. I love parallelism, but non-linear, non-parallel stories require me to pay attention and remember and then be patient until the pay-off. In the Book of Boba Fett's case, it might be later in the "Mandoverse" that we finally get resolution from some of those side stories. I prefer to wait and keep those unresolved story elements in my memory and find out in time how they might relate to the larger story. Also, the terse storytelling of modern movies is an expression of our immediate gratification culture--no wasted scenes, no lines that don't move the story forward, lightspeed edits--and limit the viewer from experiencing the richness and even the mundane of a different world. All of this makes it more real. Lucas said sometimes he put stuff in the background of scenes for mere whimsy. He just got a kick out of it. Also, in real life, our dreams don't always have anything to do with the day before us. Maybe Boba's dreams help us to know the troubled soul of this guy who is trying to live a noble life. Anyway, I am quite comfortable with unresolved set-ups and unrelated flashbacks. (Read Lord of the Rings and you'll wonder what in the heck Tom Bombadill has to do with anything halfway rational. Or anything by Faulkner. The whole chapter may just be setting tone and have ZERO to do with the plot of the book.) Anyway, I am blathering on. I like your stuff. I disagree with this one, but keep up the good work.
this ain't the comment we deserved, but it is the comment we needed
@@vito9824 **subtle tip of the hat with understanding eye contact**
another aspect of this Kenobi episode's flashbacks is Reva's past with Vader/Anakin. it is another great use of flashbacks, and we finally get the reveal about her connection to order66
You explained this 'like a bantha', Ryan.
Your analysis is spot on.
Thanks for the video.
exceptionally well done. thank you.
I'm not really interested in Boba Fett so I didn't watch the show.
However I feel your dog has excellent insights..... he's an intelligent doggo.
Great analysis Ryan, thank you and "Good Boy" Doug.
Better than those hate videos, it’s always better to instruct and teach!
Amazing video!
The Master & Padawan duel, with Obi-wan & Anakin, is also paralleled in the Vader vs Reva fight... Vader doesn't kill her here, & in the comics there are places where Palpatine encourages Vader to rebel.
I always said, Boba Fett's story is great but straightforward and should've been told that way too.
Right, to be able to tell Boba’s story, was a huge opportunity that the show largely squandered. It would have been so much larger of a payoff if he had united the tribes of Tuskens and brought them in to help liberate themselves and form a lasting peace and understanding with the settlers and town residents. Then Boba would be more than just a figure head, he would be the one who united the disparate factions, that were at odds with each other, with a common cause: to fully realize freedom and independence from off worlders. (Or “outlanders” as they call them in the Phantom Menace).
I disagree Bobas flashbacks led up to his using the gaffe stick to defeat Cad Bane. It’s what ultimately saves his life in the last chapter ✌🏽
That was a decent payoff. The show has glimpses of awesomeness (Boba Fett riding a rancor!) but on the whole it was lacking.
No sir. You don't waste that much time in a 5 or 6 episode show if the "payoff" is to show that he learned how to use a stick. That is pispoor storytelling.
Doug being his boss is officially screen crush canon. 🎉
The only time the flashbacks really come back is when Boba is fighting Cad Bane and he does the Tusken fakeout that the female Tusken taught him
Dude the flashbacks where the best part in boba, id argue that was the original show before they tacked on the modern day stuff to it
They could have gotten a full first season out that with the second being the current events
You misunderstand what he said about the flashbacks. He didn't say they weren't good, he was talking about the flashbacks were presented.
@@Einlanzer83 effort
This was an interesting comparison between the flashbacks from each series, and provided a decent explanation for why Obi-Wan Kenobi used them more effectively.
Nailed it, as usual.
Ok I’m happy that as much of a fan of science fiction, comics and pop culture, I’ve also never seen Lost thank you for that admission.
spot on
@screencrush You may be interested in a sound bite at 1:36:00 of "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent", where Nicolas cage literally quotes himself and says "Not the bees, Not the bees!" :)
Totally think there's great points here. I will say as a fan of the entire lore we've had Y E A R S of content filling this absolutely tragic beautiful story so flashbacks would only serve the show because there's still an incredible amount to explore. Boba was more of Just a fan service vehicle for the universe in my opinion we weren't invested in enough to have the way they chose to do flashbacks mean much besides him surviving his downfall.
I've almost finished my chronological cut of Boba Fett and it's SOOO much better.
The idea that Ryan hasn't seen Lost just kind of blew my mind.
Awesome breakdown ... You are damn good
Brilliant!
Nailed it.
Man, I love Doug.
i think the book of bobs fett are two different seasons, one is how boba came where he was in the mandalorian left off, then the other how he is as a crime lord and what he does with criminal empire. i think it’s a good show just with perspective.
bobs fett
@@arkos4366 bobs fett
I made the right choice by subscribing to this channel
The Anakin vs Obi-Wan was already the best lightsaber fight can anyone name a better one
@@seanj3667 mic pick up great but not as good
@@sttrooper-lt7xp you're just mad your team couldn't kill her after Order 66.
@@seanj3667 501 st her battalion was 332
Book of Boba Fett should have been told in chronological order.
*Its like night and day*
WHAT!? You haven’t seen Lost?! I don’t even care that that show is approaching 20 years old. I would LOVE to see Ryan and the team rewatch Lost and make some interesting videos about it!!
We're just going to gloss over you not having seen Lost? It's been 12 years man. Carve out a week and watch it. I'd love to see a series of videos covering it.
Boba fett was deprived of a family since childhood. He lived all his life alon not connecting emotionally with anyone. In the flashbacks we are shown boba fett learning the meaning of family and caring for others. That's why when he loses his new family he tries recruiting another one. The way to do it is the only way he knows how, through crime and commanding fear through the use of the mask. He is approachble and makes connections by being uncovered by the mask but still keeping it with hime to remind people who he is. Only this time he wants to be a part of something bigger and be better and actually take care of the people in town as his own tribe I.E his giant family. So the show is not about being a crime lord, it's about forging a new tribe/family for himself in the only way he knows how.
The finale was amazing
The issue with BOBF wasn’t the flashback story but rather the present day storyline. If the series would have just told the story of how Boba got from ROTJ to Mando S1/2 instead some wheel spinning story to set the table for Mando S3, it would have much tighter.
YOU HAVENT SEEN LOST???? i can remember the numbers like i watched it a minute ago
The flashbacks in the book of Boba Fett were so much better then the one flashback in Obi-Wan Kenobi because, the book of Boba Fett flashbacks were over multiple episodes and they helped to flesh out Boba Fett as a character to where he is at this point in his life.
Boba Fetts flashbacks were really good.
Meh they didn’t bother me too much in Boba Fett. Also, they brought back Luke, Ashoka, Grogu, Vance, and the Mandalorian. Pretty darned cool. The Mods were a bit annoying, but I didn’t totally hate them. Wasn’t a great show but pretty cool. Also enjoyed the Fennick/Boba relationship.
I’m dying for the new Kenobi review.
I’m not sure a proper motivation is ever given for why he wants to be a crime lord. He just says he doesn’t want to work for people any longer, which sparks more questions “Why crime lord as your new profession then? You just learned how to live off the desert so why doesn’t that have anything to do with where your story is going as far as a new profession?”
I am guessing that they were going in the Arrow direction for Book of Boba where they had 2 seasons playing at the same time one in the present and the other in flashbacks.
The Flashbacks in first couple of seasons of Arrow played a much more palpable and important role in the narrative though. Like how does this rich, pampered, and entitled brat become the bad ass adult, who is scary AF, but is compelled to do good.
@@jeffreycarman2185 Season 1's flashbacks had almost nothing to do with the plot of season 1 of Arrow and the same applies to Season 5. Season 2 is the only one that is fully connected its season with the flashbacks showing Slade's fall and transformation into Deathstroke. Seasons 3 and 4's flashbacks are used to set up a weapon for the main threat (the Alpha-Omega virus and Darhk's idol) those 2 seasons (3 and 4) were the worst flashbacks (4 was horrible overall). There are a few episodes that connect to the present day but the overall story was mainly disconnected from the main one of the season besides one or two plot elements in the bad ones and one example of the story being good and connected to the present day one (that fight in the end of season 2 was awesome).
@@Lord-Emperor-Vader it’s been a while since I watched arrow. Thanks for the refresher.
Arrow on CW was built basically on flashbacks of 5 years spent on an island.
The RUclips video of obi has ptsd was much better than the Disney version.
Ironically
his lesson with Obi-wan is proved to be useful even after being the Darth Vader
... and I wonder what Sidious has taught him
Well Sidious is the mastermind he played literally everyone under their nose
You haven't seen Lost? It's top 5 tv shows ever IMO..... Yes, even the end. Come at me bro's 😂✌
Ryan we get it...let it go hahaha
The flash backs taught him the importance of having people around you
BoBF was not the worse thing Disney put out and it’s still gets crapped on lol.
There’s a lot of legit fun things that happened in that show, a few missteps to be sure but it wasn’t The Sequels bad.
It literally showed him healing from his past both physically and emotionally to become something greater than Jango
Wait, you've never seen LOST???? That's, like, one of the greatest TV shows ever!!
I'm starting to think they only took Hayden and Ewan's de-aging so far so as not to take away from what they look like today; nitpickers be damned.
If they were gonna do all of the flash backs for Boba Fett, I think it would have been better told completely linearly instead of with flashbacks intercut.
The number one tell about Boba Fett's flashbacks being weird is that if they were all collated in the first few episodes and connected with the rest of the show, it would've worked better. There was literally no reason to make them flashbacks
I took the parallels of what Boba went through and what Din Djarin went through in this show. Boba lost his tribe Din lost his son. Boba finds Fennec and starts his house, Din looses his former clan while dealing with the darksaber problems. Boba grows his new family with the people of Mos espa, Din tries to get back to being a lone hunter until he gets his son back in the end. The issues with this show for me at least is that they should have started out with Boba escaping the sarlac pit. That and he really should have been more active in his show like the chase scene with the twilek or fennec contacting Boba to recruit Mando himself.
How did the characters in Lost cut their hair?
this reinforces the believe how muchof the movie is made in editing room
Not sure why people say they didn't work.
I liked the flashback events more than the present events😂 every episode i couldn't wait for him to go to sleep to see how he got back from the worm belly and how he went to see mando
Someone’s been watching “the offer”
I personally don't agree on many points. It's ok not to appreciate the way thinks are shown, but it doesn't make them wrong. The narration is an artistic choice, and, if it confuses you, most of the times it was intended so. Imagine reading Joyce's work and saying:"He should not have done the work this way, it's not clear, the thinking and the doing are not parallel, I don't understand the meaning, it's trash ". Parallelism between time and space is a choice, as much as its opposite. Finally I'm not sure that you must know a character motivation. As always, it's an artistic choice of the director, and if that leads to you don't trusting Boba, well, maybe that's intended. It's not wrong 'cause personally you don't like that. As if in real life you know the reason behind everyone's actions.
Book of Boba Fett would have worked better had it aired in a linear, chronological order and just use one episode to show how He got out of the Sarlacc pit to killing Bib Fortuna and taking over Jabba's throne.
OBI WAN KENOBI assumes it's viewers have already seen REVENGE OF THE SITH and A NEW HOPE thus It doesn't feel it needed too many flashbacks to show how We got here
Saying boba is good is a bit generous but this last episode of Obi-Wan is what the whole series should have been like.
You should go watch Lost, its actually pretty good, mostly.
I dare you to say flashback... one... more... time...
not sure its a fair comparison, the flash backs in obi wan where there for storyline purposes whereas the flashbacks in boba fett where there to fill in what happened between ROTJ and his appearance in mandalorian, the problem was they where so badly done, had they done say the first 2 episodes of just flashbacks and then lead into the main story from episode 3 it would of worked better, what hurt the show was each episode was a mishmash of 10 minutes of main story followed by 15 minutes of flashbacks, it made the episodes hard to follow as just as you got into one part it went off in a totally different direction (plus also the 2 mando/baby yoda episodes that had no place in the series)
Total should have had the Tuskens save the day instead of the citizens of Freetown or perhaps they could have saved use from the Mod Squad!
How have you never seen Lost??????
There is one thing they both did well. They are not the sequals
finally a Positive kenobi video from a top youtuber that isnt titled "its bad dude its so bad" propaganda
I didn’t realize it until this very moment that Ryan Arey is part of the Disney Shill Media. He loves almost every piece of content they produce. I guess to keep getting Disney shows and movies sent to him before the release. He called the Boba Fett show good.
Have you seen him trash Rise of Skywalker? It’s like his favorite thing.
This could explain why I had no emotional investment in BOBF until Mando and Baby Yoda show up. The flashbacks are interesting while the present is just boring up to that point.
Newbacca 🤣🤣🤣
Why Spiderman no way home worked and one more day didn't?
Terminator vs idea: why judgement day worked and dark fate didn't?
You know what show did a great job in flashbacks....Arrow.
I really wish you are hired by Disney/MCU 🤟🏾
I don’t think the second ship was much of a slight and strongly tied to the flashback. It felt more random. It’s also a level of power he doesn’t have later in life. But even still, why could he not just grab the second ship if he only needs to use his mind?
I wonder how much the reported infighting at Lucas films had on end product?
I think the flashbacks pretty much only help explain how he is internally now, very opposite it seems to who he was before he fell in the Pitt .. I really liked the show. But they did miss things
Also thank you for the awesome content
I'm a friend of the dog and the channel 😅🤣
Bad use of flashbacks was also the problem with Capitan Marvel
That movie would have been good if it was in chronological order, and you knew the whole time who the bad guy was so we'd have grown to hate him as the movie went on. The "twist" ending sucked.
🐐🐐🐐🔥🐐
Is nobody gonna point out the fact that you haven’t seen lost before??
But where was my mom in that episode...
CW Arrow used flashbacks well
Watch "Lost" Ryan! Don't listen to the very vocal minority. It's a brilliant show with a good ending that answers everything if you actually watched and paid attention. Brilliant show.
Mandolorian Season 2.5: The Book of Boba Fett