Obi-Wan Kenobi finally clears up its big canon debate

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

If you’re a fan of wider Star Wars media, then a certain canon controversy has likely been at the back of your mind for weeks now. Thankfully, Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 has cleared up any lingering doubts – and confirmed the fate of a certain character.

Spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars: Rebels follow.

The Grand Inquisitor wasn’t meant to die. Not like this. Yet, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s second episode saw Rupert Friend’s Jedi hunter fall at the hands of Reva. It was a moment that caused some commotion at the time – especially as he’s meant to live until the events of Star Wars: Rebels, which takes place some years after the events of the Disney Plus series.

Writer Joby Harold very much went for a ‘wait and see’ approach – and so it proved: the dead speak! The latest episode revealed the Grand Inquisitor was very much alive and well at Vader’s side. He even found time to rub salt in the wounds of his replacement, Reva, plucking the Grand Inquisitor pin from her fallen body.

How did he survive? In his words, "Revenge does wonders for the will to live." Probably a Bacta tank, too, but the main thing is he’s still breathing.

Star Wars fans, inevitably, are overjoyed at the news. One wrote, "GRAND INQUISITOR IS BACK. REBELS FANS WE WON TODAY. WE WON" and another preached the need for patience with these sorts of twisting and turning reveals as the narrative unfolds, adding, "This is once again why you people have to have patience and wait for the show to be over before complaining."

For more on the latest Obi-Wan episode, discover why some fans are calling a certain scene one of Darth Vader's best ever.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.