Why OBI-WAN's Flashback Worked and BOOK OF BOBA FETT's Didn't

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