What Happened To The Grand Inquisitor?

Warning: Contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5.

Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 reveals that the Grand Inquisitor is still alive, but what happened to him? Considering the wider importance of the Grand Inquisitor’s presence in Star Wars, the survival of his apparent death in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 was pretty much assured, and the only thing the show needed to do was explain how it happened. That explanation has finally been revealed, and it makes perfect sense within the established lore of the franchise.

One of the most significant topics of discussion surrounding Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 was Reva apparently killing the Grand Inquisitor. Not only did the show seemingly kill off someone advertised to be a major character, but said character had appearances in stories that chronologically took place after Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi, so for all intents and purposes, his survival should have been assured. While it was assumed that he would come back in some way, there started to be discussion of the possibility of the Star Wars franchise flat-out retconning his future appearances.

Fortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi alleviates all of these concerns by confirming that the Grand Inquisitor is still alive. After Darth Vader defeats Reva following her failed attempt on his life, the Grand Inquisitor reveals that he’s still alive and mocks her before leaving her to die. At the moment, it’s unknown what the Grand Inquisitor will do for the rest of the show or if he’ll even appear again, but the issue of his survival has firmly been put to rest, either way.

How Is The Grand Inquisitor Still Alive In Obi-Wan Kenobi?

When the Grand Inquisitor reveals himself to Reva, he tells her that revenge “does wonders for the will to live,” which implies that his hatred for Reva allowed him to survive an otherwise fatal wound. The fact that the Grand Inquisitor can survive like that makes sense when Darth Maul is taken into account, as Star Wars: The Clone Wars revealed that Maul survived his apparent death in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace thanks to his immense hatred for Obi-Wan. With both examples in mind, it’s clear that strong emotions being able to stave off fatal wounds is a power afforded by the Dark Side of the Force - an ability the Grand Inquisitor makes full use of in the shadows during Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Why The Grand Inquisitor Had To Survive (To Avoid A Huge Retcon)

If the Grand Inquisitor's early death had been confirmed as final, it would have caused a major retcon issue for future canon Star Wars projects. As previously stated, the Grand Inquisitor appears in stories chronologically set after Obi-Wan Kenobi, most notably Star Wars Rebels, which starts four years after Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Grand Inquisitor's eventual death in Rebels, not only sets up Kanan eventually being able to become a Jedi Knight by fighting a vision of his past self, but his death also forced Darth Vader to get involved with the crew of the Ghost. In this way, retconning the Grand Inquisitor’s original death would have caused nothing but narrative problems, so it’s good that Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 cleared up the issue of whether or not he was still alive.

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