The Inquisitors are described in the new Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi as former Jedi “who turned to the Dark Side.” One of them, the Third Sister known as Reva, played by actress Moses Ingram, is particularly ruthless in her hunt for Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor).
But if one were to watch Obi-Wan Kenobi closely, one might see where Reva’s story actually begins. And it starts at the end.
Warning: Minor spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi ahead.
Was Reva a Jedi Initiate during Order 66?
The beginning of Obi-Wan takes place at the end of the Jedi. During the execution of Order 66, the Clone Army turned on the Jedi and wiped them out — at least most of them.
Obi-Wan Episode 1 starts with a single, one-take tracking shot focusing on a group of Jedi younglings, formally known as Initiates. They’re training on what looks like a pretty typical Tuesday in the Jedi Temple until we discover it’s the night of Order 66 when Clones storm the building.
But before that happens, there is an unmistakable and likely intentional focus on one specific Initiate, an unnamed youngling played by child actress Ayaamii Sledge. Interestingly, Sledge’s hair in the series is braided in a strikingly similar way to Ingram’s. (It’s not precise, of course, but did you have the same hairstyle when you were 10 years old?)
We do not know the name of Sledge’s character, and she doesn’t say much either. But Sledge is often framed dead center, both at the beginning of the shot and at the end, when the younglings crowd around the body of their fallen Jedi master.
Filmmaking principles dictate this cannot be a throwaway look at Order 66. Introducing the villain at the top of the show is textbook visual storytelling, even if it doesn’t call immediate attention to itself. If Sledge’s character weren’t crucial to the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi, she’d be tucked away off to the sides or lost among the other younglings. She wouldn’t be the first face we ever see (at least after the prequel recap).
The prologue ends before the series reveals anything more about these young Jedi-to-be, which leaves their fates unknown. But could Sledge’s unnamed youngling actually be Reva?
There aren’t a lot of hints to support this theory, but the little evidence we get is hard to ignore.
First, in Obi-Wan Episode 2, the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) warns Reva that her ambition may be her doom and a fruitless endeavor. Reva’s dogged determination to capture Obi-Wan — and bring him to Darth Vader for reasons that are still unclear — will, according to the Grand Inquisitor, not change a thing about her.
“Whatever power you are craving,” the Grand Inquisitor tells her, “it will not change what you are.” When Reva asks what he means, he replies, “The least of us.”
“You came to us from the gutter,” the Inquisitor continues, “Your ability gave you station, but all the power in the world can’t mask the stench beneath.”
Taken literally, this could mean that Reva is a survivor of Order 66 as a runaway Initiate — the least of the trained Jedi who turned to the Dark Side — who was found cold and alone and taken in out of pity by the Inquisitors.
What is Reva owed?
Why Reva is so determined to capture Obi-Wan and what she wants from Darth Vader are unknown. All Reva has hinted thus far is that she wants “what I’m owed.”
Owed what, exactly? This is a question that Obi-Wan Kenobi will answer in due time. But for now, we can speculate a number of things that Reva wants.
For my money — and I warn this is just speculation — Reva seeks to finish her training from a worthy former Jedi, Darth Vader. Reva knows that Darth Vader is Anakin, a fact she reveals to Obi-Wan, who didn’t know and is visibly stunned to discover later in the episode.
While Reva may not want to be an actual Jedi, she certainly wants power, which Vader can teach. Maybe she wants it for power’s sake, or she desires it for another reason. Regardless, there’s no one better in the galaxy to learn from than Darth Vader, who has walked on both sides of the Force just like her.
But why does Reva want power? Yet more speculation: Reva’s willingness to murder the Grand Inquisitor shows she has no loyalty to the Jedi or the Sith. Reva is aligned to herself, and whatever gives her power is what matters to her. (In many ways, then, she’s the perfect Sith.) Obtaining power may satisfy Reva's unclear feelings about the night of Order 66. She might seek justice; she might seek vengeance. Whatever it is, she’s determined to get it.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney+.
