You're wrong about the Grand Inquisitor's death (Obi-Wan Kenobi)

Did the Grand Inquisitor Die in ‘Kenobi’?
There’s a lot of Star Wars out there. Movies, TV shows, novels, comic books, collectible lunch boxes, etc, etc. And as far as we’ve been told, they’re all connected to each other. And in fact, Lucasfilm took the bold move of taking nearly everything prior to the release of the sequel trilogy — starting with The Force Awakens — and shunting it to “Legends” status. Meaning it no longer was part of the main continuity, and going forward everything would be connected and curated, one tightly woven story.

And then — and spoilers for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi Part II past this point — the second episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi killed the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend). Or at least, it seemed that the Grand Inquisitor died at the end of the Part II, which, if true, is a major problem for the continued continuity of Star Wars.

So did the Grand Inquisitor die in Kenobi? Let’s discuss.

Who Is The Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars (and Obi-Wan Kenobi)?
First introduced in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, the Grand Inquisitor is a Jedi-hunter working directly for Darth Vader himself. He was the main antagonist of the first season of the series, and died in the finale, “Fire Across The Galaxy”. He was later resurrected as a ghost (of course), but the main thing you need to know about him is that he has a team of other Inquisitors working for him, all with names like Fifth Brother and Ninth Sister and whatnot. He was also voiced by Jason Isaacs, which is fun.

But here’s the important info you need to know: Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place approximately 9 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin, in the original Star Wars), while Star Wars: Rebels takes place starting in 5 BBY. So how is The Grand Inquisitor alive in Rebels if he died in Obi-Wan?

Did The Grand Inquisitor Die in Kenobi?
Probably not. At the end of Part II, Reva (Moses Ingram) stabs the Grand Inquisitor right through his tummy with a lightsaber, leaving him seemingly dead on the floor of a space dock. She does this because she’s looking to curry favor directly with Darth Vader, revealing that she knows he’s Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor). Who, mind you, didn’t even know Anakin was still alive. Yipes!

The Grand Inquisitor dies at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 - or, at least, it's presumed he's dead - which itself is a massive Star Wars retcon. One of the main villains of Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi series was believed to be the Grand Inquisitor, the leader of Darth Vader's Jedi hunters, the Inquisitorius, and someone who had become well known amongst Star Wars fans due to his previous appearances.

The Inquisitors have been around in Star Wars Legends for decades; in fact, they were introduced into the franchise before the prequels were even made. But it wasn't until Star Wars Rebels in 2014 that they became part of Star Wars canon and took on a larger role within the Dark Times, serving Vader and the Empire. Many Inquisitors were introduced in the series, such as the Grand Inquisitor and the Fifth Brother, both of whom appear in the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but apparently, one of them dies.

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But TGI wouldn’t be the first person in the Star Wars universe to survive a tum-tum injury. Think back no further than Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) on the last live-action Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett, who was left dying with a blaster hole in her midsection back in The Mandalorian. She got some cybernetic enhancements, and was good to go.

There’s also the slight possibility that he did die, but got cloned, because remember, cloning is a whole thing in Star Wars.

So though the implication is that everyone’s least favorite Pau’un male is dead by episode’s end, chances are he’s only mostly dead. And look, I know a certain section of the Star Wars fanbase always wants to point out that there’s some sort of imagined Lucasfilm Civil War going on… But they’re not going to kill a character in live-action and contradict an animated show that they’ve already been working into the live-action canon (see characters like Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano for more on that).

That said, if the Grand Inquisitor is alive in some form, which he almost definitely is, that probably means bad things for both Obi-Wan — and Reva.

Obi-Wan Kenobi streams new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

Consumed by her hunger for power and recognition, Reva seemingly kills the Grand Inquisitor in a cargo port on Daiyu at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2, which allows Obi-Wan to escape with Leia. But the thing is, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place 10 years after Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and 9 years before A New Hope. Star Wars Rebels begins 4 years after the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and the Grand Inquisitor is the main villain in Star Wars Rebels season 1. Therefore, the Grand Inquisitor's death in Obi-Wan Kenobi retcons all of Star Wars Rebels season 1... if it ends up being true