Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Instead of focusing on a young Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, Obi-Wan Kenobi pulled a Jedi mind trick by expanding the backstory of Princess Leia Organa instead. By association, that also led to the planet Alderaan getting some long overdue attention at a meaningful level.
Messing with Alderaan was secretly Palpatine’s greatest mistake, and the real-life emperor of the Star Wars universe also made a similar mistake in 1977 when George Lucas failed to convey the full gravity of an important planet like Alderaan getting ruthlessly destroyed by the Empire’s Death Star. Obi-Wan Kenobi had its own flaws, but one thing the limited series on Disney+ got right was doing something as simple as giving Alderaanians faces and voices. This gave viewers a better understanding of why Alderaan actually mattered, and allowed them to connect to the tragedy better.
Why George Lucas Failed To Make Alderaan's Destruction Matter
The aftermath of Alderaan’s destruction in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope was a relatively subdued one for both viewers and the movie’s characters. George Lucas didn’t explain how the Empire wasn't deemed fully evil after what it did to Alderaan; there wasn't even a dramatic reaction from Leia, who just witnessed her home planet get eviscerated in the blink of an eye. Obi-Wan Kenobi did feel “a great disturbance in the Force as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.” Then the movie continued on, in a disconcertingly nonchalant manner.
That seemingly aloof approach was more of a reflection of George Lucas’ contemporary storytelling style than anything else. It was a conscious decision by Lucas to continue pushing Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope’s pacing in the relentless pursuit of the next, best plot point available. Obviously, this worked out, given Star Wars became a massive sci-fi franchise. It just so happens Alderaan’s tragic destruction hasn’t aged particularly well, but that’s where Obi-Wan Kenobi has “the high ground” 45 years later.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Finally Made Alderaan Matter
Obi-Wan Kenobi added much-needed context and substance to the broad strokes of what was already known about the gorgeous, seemingly utopian planet. It’s one thing to read about a planet’s lore – it’s another to actually see that lore in breathing, living form. That’s what Obi-Wan Kenobi provided, and that gave viewers real reasons to care about Alderaan and its people. Now, it’s heartbreakingly clear what a terrible loss it was for the entire Star Wars galaxy when Alderaan was destroyed.
George Lucas made a mistake by failing to make Alderaan's destruction matter. While this was a decision that had some net wins, it served to downplay a major Star Wars event in the long run, meaning a later installment establishing the weight of it was perhaps inevitable. Obi-Wan Kenobi proved divisive in part itself, but it did serve to fix Alderaan’s legacy, and gave the planet the justice it should have gotten over four decades ago.