The Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ has come and gone, and while it may have stumbled a bit in the middle, the finale has received extremely high praise from critics and fans alike. Obi-Wan's journey to find and rescue a young Princess Leia from the Sith Inquisition saw him come face to face with Darth Vader for the first time, and it was a battle for the ages.
While the series frequently played off of nostalgia for both the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, the creators also had some fun stashing little nods to other moments in Star Wars canon in amongst the adventure, many of them hiding in costumes and props throughout the show. Here are some of the canonical nods in Obi-Wan Kenobi that fans may have missed.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
8 Lola Is An Homage To The Late Carrie Fisher
Throughout much of Obi-Wan Kenobi young Princess Leia only has one friend: her teeny droid named Lola. While Lola does unwittingly betray the Resistance by leading Reva and Vader to their hideout via a hidden tracking device, it's only because no one suspected such a cute little droid could be used against them.
It turns out that the name "Lola" wasn't just dreamed up in a writer's room. It's actually the name of a pet bird that Carrie Fisher - the original Princess Leia actress - had as a child. The fact that both young Carrie Fisher and young Princess Leia had a tiny, chirping pet when they were young is poetic, and it's a truly fitting nod to the late, great Star Wars actress.
7 Quinlan Vos Confirmed
To many fans, the name Quinlan Vos won't ring a bell. To those familiar with the Star Wars Legends canon, hearing his name mentioned in Part III of Obi-Wan Kenobi is a huge deal.
Quinlan Vos is, in short, a badass. He's a renegade Jedi Knight who refused to adhere to the principles of the Jedi Order, so much so that he managed to convince Count Dooku that he had betrayed the Jedi, all while relaying Sith secrets back to the Republic. He and Obi-Wan have a fraught history, fighting both against each other and side by side on various occasions.
Obi-Wan picking out his name in particular, engraved on the walls of The Path, suggests that they managed to reconcile their differences at some point. More importantly, it means Vos survived Order 66, something that was uncertain before now.
6 The Gift Of A T-16
In a touching moment in Part I of the series, Obi-Wan spends the money he earned working on a Tatooine butcher line to buy a young Luke Skywalker a toy. Specifically, it's a model of a T-16 Skyhopper.
During one of his first conversations with C-3PO, Luke is seen playing with an identical T-16 model, and fans now know where he got it. Not only that, but when the Rebels are planning their attack on the Death Star in A New Hope Luke mentions his proficiency with the real thing, stating "I bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home." It sounds like Luke not only held on to the toy but liked it so much that he invested in the fully-functional version later in life, all thanks to a gift from old Ben Kenobi.
5 A Familiar War Veteran
In Part II, Obi-Wan arrives on the planet Daiyu, following a trail that he hopes will lead to the kidnaped Leia. Daiyu is a typical hive of scum and villainy, and Obi-Wan quickly discovers that asking the locals for information isn't going to get him very far. During that process, he also encounters a familiar face.
That face belongs to an old clone trooper, old being the operative term here given that he is likely much younger than Obi-Wan, just aging far more quickly. The trooper is grizzled and destitute, begging for money on the side of a dirty street. While seeing a clone likely brings up some conflicting emotions for Obi-Wan given their complicated history, this clone is particularly familiar. His blue armor is extremely reminiscent of Rex's attire, a member of the Bad Batch and an old friend of Obi-Wan's. It seems the Empire didn't do much to care for their war veterans after the fall of the Republic.
4 A Snowspeeder...Not In The Snow?
At the end of Part IV Obi-Wan, Tala, and Leia are escaping from Fortress Inquisitorious when they are caught and surrounded. Luckily, a pair of T-47 Airspeeders swoop in and rescue them at the last moment.
Fans may recognize the Airspeeders as being one of the main airships used by the Rebels during the Battle of Hoth, although they were called "Snowspeeders" during that fight. In fact, the two ships are one and the same. It's even mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back that the T-47s were not built to operate in cold weather, and needed to be re-purposed for use on Hoth, something the Rebels just barely managed to pull off in time. Their use in Part IV of Obi-Wan Kenobi is much more in line with their intended environment.
3 Traditional Kashyyyk Weaponry
In Part V, when the Empire has followed Obi-Wan to the hidden Resistance outpost and is laying siege to their defenses, Obi-Wan and the Resistance fight back. Their unofficial leader, Roken, arms himself with a familiar (if unusual) choice of weapon.
What he's using is known as a Bowcaster. In the movies, this weapon has famously been used by Chewbacca, although the Legends canon made it a standard choice of weapon for many Wookies. Roken's Bowcaster appears to have been modified, with a longer barrel and likely some material changes, given that the weapon is typically too heavy for a human to wield. This suggests that Roken crafted his own, which is traditionally how they were built before they began being mass-produced on Kashyyyk.
2 An Early Draft Of A Leader's Outfit
In Part VI, after Leia has been rescued and returned to Alderaan, she makes a few distinct fashion choices as she dresses herself for an occasion. From the hair to the clothes to the accessories, she looks every bit the image of the future leader of the Rebel Alliance.
Let's start with the hair, bundled up in two buns atop her head just like Carrie Fisher's in A New Hope. Then there's the bright white tunic, big leather adventuring boots, and of course, the leather holster strapped to her hip. While Leia still isn't quite old enough in Obi-Wan Kenobi to be trusted with carrying a blaster to royal meetings (she uses the holster to carry Lola for now), this whole outfit suggests she's well on her way to growing into the wise and crafty leader she eventually becomes as an adult.
1 A Mirroring Of Vader's Shattered Mask
Arguably the most effective scene in the entire series, and one of the best in all of Star Wars, comes towards the end of Part VI after Obi-Wan has defeated Darth Vader and the two have a frank conversation as former friends. Vader's mask has been shattered, revealing Anakin's scarred face beneath. It's a haunting moment as Vader's voice fluctuates between Hayden Christensen's and James Earl Jones' as he absolves Obi-Wan of guilt. "You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did."
The part of Vader's mask that was shattered also happens to be the opposite side that was broken by Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's former padawan, during their fight in Star Wars: Rebels. It's a fitting nod to the efforts of those closest to Anakin to turn him away from the Dark Side. It also shows that, while both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka came close to reaching Anakin, it was only when Luke managed to fully remove Vader's helmet that his father finally saw the light again.