Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 Teases Grand Inquisitor’s True Fate 

Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3 is now available on Disney+, continuing the narrative of Ewan McGregor’s eponymous character as he seeks to bring Vivien Lyra Blair’s Princess Leia Organa back to Alderaan. The Jedi Master and Princess on Daiyu attempted to flee Moses Ingram’s Reva, the Third Sister Inquisitor, in Episode 2.

When Rupert Friend’s the Grand Inquisitor arrived at the conclusion of the episode, it seemed like Reva had surrounded Obi-Wan and Leia inside a docking port. He challenged Reva, inadvertently giving Obi-Wan and Leia enough time to flee.

Reva murdered the Grand Inquisitor with her lightsaber in a startling turn of events, leaving many fans wondering whether he was indeed dead or not. Because the character plays a key role in Season 1 of Star Wars: Rebels, many fans believed that he will return in Episode 3 or at a later point in the series. The most recent chapter touched on the subject, leaving many possible options for the character’s future open.

The following article contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan reflects on the discovery that his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, is still alive in Episode 3. The camera fades away frequently as ideas fly through Kenobi’s head to see Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader fully suited up after healing in a bacta tank. Reva really speaks with Vader about Obi-Wan in the next scene, and the Grand Inquisitor is mentioned for the first time.

Reva’s Chance to Become Grand Inquisitor

Reva talks to Vader via hologram as he sits on the throne within his fortress. After telling Vader that they are looking for Obi-Wan, she asserts that he was the one who killed the Grand Inquisitor, not her. “He will pay for the Grand Inquisitor’s—,” she continues, as Vader cuts her short and declares, “The Grand Inquisitor means nothing.”

According to this dialogue, the Grand Inquisitor is indeed deceased. It has been reported to Vader, the actual commander of the Inquisitors, and his preoccupation with Kenobi indicates that he will make no attempt to rescue or resurrect the Grand Inquisitor. The Sith Lord does, however, briefly explain the consequences of the Grand Inquisitor’s death.

Vader informs Reva that he has been watching her and adds, “I know what you’re looking for.” He then offers her a prized reward if she can prove herself – “the office of Grand Inquisitor.” However, because of his ruthless character, he also threatens to murder her if she fails. This is Vader’s lone reference to the Grand Inquisitor. He seems to have accepted his death and is ready to move on, appointing someone else to take his place. It looks to him to be a little hiccup, but it is much more significant to the Inquisitors.

Third Sister vs. Fifth Brother, Grand Inquisitor

The Grand Inquisitor informs Reva in Episode 2 that she is the least of the Inquisitors. It’s evident that neither he nor the other Inquisitors like her or her rash behavior, thus there’s already a schism between them. In Episode 1, after confronting Owen Lars about a Jedi hidden someplace nearby, the Fifth Brother, portrayed by Sung Kang, shoves her against a wall and is free to speak down to her without fear of retaliation.

Following her conversation with Darth Vader in Episode 3, Reva proceeds to Fortress Inquisitorius and faces the other Inquisitors, including the Fifth Brother. She sends probe droids to seek for Obi-Wan, and when it looks that she is going to assume the Grand Inquisitor’s place at the table, the Fifth Brother restrains her with the Force and declares that he is “next in line” for Grand Inquisitor. The animosity between the two intensifies as he threatens her with the words “Third Sister, I’ll get what I deserve. And you will as well.”

When the probing droid locates Obi-Wan and Leia on Mapuzo, the Third Sister informs the other Inquisitors that she will inform Lord Vader of their discovery. However, the Fifth Brother had already notified him, attempting to steal credit and make it look as though he was the one who found Kenobi instead. Reva then pretends that the Fifth Brother’s actions don’t bother her and declares confidently that after the fight is done, she will be the one “who’ll be standing by his side.”

The remainder of the program was mostly focused on Obi-first Wan’s meeting with Darth Vader, therefore the Third Sister’s rivalry with the Fifth Brother was put on hold and would most likely be explored more in the following weeks. The most essential aspect of this predicament, though, is that the Grand Inquisitor looks to be dead. If accurate, it would retcon a significant amount of Disney’s first Star Wars endeavor, Rebels.

How the Death of the Grand Inquisitor Will Affect Rebels

In Season 1 of Star Wars Rebels, Jason Isaacs played the Grand Inquisitor. Until the season finale, when he voluntarily falls to his death following a battle between himself, Ezra Bridger, and Kanan Jarrus, he functioned as the major adversary. The whole first season of Rebels could not exist in canon if the Grand Inquisitor actually killed in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

This would be a major issue in the Star Wars continuity because Season 1 of that show introduces viewers to an entirely new cast of characters, shows Ezra’s early struggles with becoming a Jedi and fitting in with the team, and also provides Ezra and Kanan with their first actual test as they return to the ways of the Jedi.

It’s also worth noting that the Rebels team spoke with Ahsoka throughout Season 1. She didn’t officially meet all of them until the season finale, and she only interacted with them under her pseudonym, Fulcrum, before then. Many of the primary characters from Rebels will appear in the future Ahsoka series, thus if Season 1 is retconned due to the Grand Inquisitor’s death in Obi-Wan Kenobi, fans will wonder how Ahsoka met characters like Hera and Sabine Wren.

Season 1 is being retconned, which includes Ahsoka’s first contacts and conversations with them. If all of that was removed from canon, the tale wouldn’t have the same effect it has now, and the spectator wouldn’t be as involved in Ahsoka’s connection with all of them since there would be no clear explanation as to how they came to work together in the first place.

Is the Grand Inquisitor still alive?

Even though Episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared to imply that the Grand Inquisitor had genuinely died, his reappearance is likely to be a surprise. Narratively, it makes too much sense for him to be absent, since it would jam up the main tale and prevent Reva from venturing out on her own. When Reva discussed her goal with Vader, he threatened to kill her if she failed. Because she isn’t in other projects like Rebels or Jedi: Fallen Order, the spectator assumes she’ll be slain by Vader towards the conclusion of the series.

However, the Grand Inquisitor will almost certainly return triumphantly in one of the last episodes to exact his vengeance on her. This would rescue Season 1 of Rebels and keep it in canon, as well as explain why Reva isn’t in any other storylines.

It is always crucial to remember that previous characters have survived tragedies that might have killed them. Darth Maul was torn in half and lived, but Anakin had three limbs amputated before being incinerated on the slopes of a volcano. The Grand Inquisitor’s wound is really rather minor in comparison to others. It also helps to know that the Grand Inquisitor is of the Pau’an race, who, according to the canon book Last Shot, has two stomachs.

It’s easy to explain that just one of his stomachs was harmed and a lengthy soak in the bacta tank repaired it, or that his whole midsection, like Fennec Shand’s, was replaced with cybernetics. The most essential thing to remember is that Dave Filoni is a consultant for Obi-Wan Kenobi, and it is quite improbable that he would allow such a significant element of his work to be retconned so lightly. The Grand Inquisitor will very certainly return in the show’s last three episodes, and Reva best watch out.

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first three episodes are available on Disney+, and new episodes are released every Wednesday.