Why Stabbing The Grand Inquisitor Doesn’t Break Star Wars Canon

This feature will have spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Make sure you check out our reviews to stay up to date.

In Part II of Star Wars‘ Obi-Wan Kenobi, the final faceoff between Third Sister Reva and The Grand Inquisitor (henceforth referred to as TGI) ends with TGI being stabbed very similarly to Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. While not officially confirmed as dead in Part III, it is clear Darth Vader is looking for a replacement. Fifth Brother and Reva are both vying for the position, and nothing so far has been made of it. But clearly, neither of those have been the focus of the conversation on social media, as TGI we get in Obi-Wan Kenobi looks to be the same we get in Star Wars: Rebels. So, how would that be possible?

The first explanation, of course, is that TGI survived the stabbing. He’s a Pau’an male, so his physical makeup is different from a human’s. But if he was alive, why would Darth Vader and the other inquisitors talk about replacing him? And why is Reva still alive in Part III. If he was alive, you’d think he’d want to get Reva off of the playing field and get her punished for her transgressions against him. The Sith enjoy exploitation and thrive on those who wish to get ahead, but that doesn’t mean the Inquisitors tolerate betrayal.

Both of the last options could explain why originally live-action TGI. Rupert Friend was quoted as saying, “We didn’t think Star Wars: Rebels was necessary to fulfill the characterization in Obi-Wan Kenobi.” He later came out at Star Wars Celebration as saying he was misquoted, and it was important to the character to watch Star Wars: Rebels. While that could in fact be true, the changed look of the character’s skull shape and the initial quote could tell a lot about where the show is going. Friend could have been told to simply clarify the quote in a specific way in order to redirect fans.

Our next option could be another Pau’an Jedi Knight who has been waiting to replace the leadership of the Inquisitors. Something in the Pau’an could draw the Sith to keep one of the species in charge. We do also have the age-old Sith dark magic trick, maybe some necromantic magic Palpatine learned from the Nightsisters. The last idea is drawn up to continue building Palpatine’s desire to clone himself. Palpatine could go for cloning the Pau’an TGI, potentially after getting frustrated with years of cloning himself. He could attempt the process on a different species to see how it would go, and ultimately succeed. This could draw up a more Star Wars: Rebels looking TGI, which would flesh everything out.

Ultimately, anything involved in The Skywalker Saga timeline is going to try and build out the cloning story from The Rise of Skywalker, as made evident by The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch. That is a big perk necessitated by a full canon timeline to be managed by the story group. And people from the show have already said they would never break canon. There are three episodes to go in Obi-Wan Kenobi, so hopefully, we’ll see an answer in the show for a firm answer!

–Katie Rentschler

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