The Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series has been highly anticipated due to the return of Ewan McGregor's lead hero from the Star Wars prequel trilogy. However, it is Vivien Lyra Blair's pitch perfect performance as a young Leia Organa that has truly stolen the show. Picking up the iconic role from Carrie Fisher is certainly no small task for the young actor, but time and again she has delivered exactly what the role needs, expanding on the history of the beloved character in the process.
Young Leia is at a much different point in her life than the Leia viewers meet in the original and sequel trilogies. But the true essence of Leia is there all along, with Blair's performance perfectly echoing key aspects of Fisher's work.
Her Love Of Her People
In A New Hope, Princess Leia is horrified to see her home planet of Alderaan and all of its people destroyed in the blink of an eye. It's a moment that only becomes more emotional in retrospect as the series of films progresses, as Leia finds a new home among her fellow Rebels. But Obi-Wan Kenobi makes this even more devastating by showing just how much young Leia loves her home.
Even as she frets over whether she is a real Organa, it is clear that Leia would be an incredible, loving, protective leader were she to inherit the role one day. Her moving conversation with her father, Bail, only further reinforces the importance of Leia's relationship to Alderaan, and how brutally it is taken away from her years later.
Her Selflessness
At just ten years old, and years before the Rebel Alliance is even so much as an idea, Leia is already shown as being the true hero of Star Wars due in large part to her selflessness. While hiding among the members of the Path on Jabiim, Leia is quick to do whatever it takes to help out, even squeezing her way into tight quarters to solve a dangerous electrical issue.
In her adolescent years, Leia, of course, goes on to take part in many selfless acts - from risking her life to transmit the Death Star plans, to going undercover to rescue Han Solo from Jabba's Palace. Her selflessness never wavers.
Her Refusal To Be A Damsel
In one of her most memorable moments in A New Hope, Leia loudly exclaims, "Somebody has to save our skins!" while engaging in frantic blaster fire exchanges with Stormtroopers. She refuses to be a passive participant in her rescue, doing all that she can to ensure the group's safe getaway.
Little Leia already has this same level of spunk. When she is being pursued by her captors, Leia runs and puts up a fight. Likewise, when Obi-Wan first arrives where she is being held, her first instinct is to fight him off. She is not willing to go down without a fight, even as a pint-sized princess.
Her Compassion
"You thank your droids?" Leia's spoiled cousin incredulously asks her in Obi-Wan Kenobi's first episode. "It's good manners," Leia simply tells him, but it goes so much deeper than that. Throughout this mini series and the subsequent film trilogies, Leia is consistently depicted as one of the Skywalker saga's most compassionate characters.
She is constantly kind, expressing her gratitude to droids and humans alike. She is always helpful, lending a listening ear or providing words of wisdom, even at ten years old. Leia treats all people and all droids with the kindness they deserve to be treated with - unless they are cruel first.
Her Adventurous Spirit
Star Wars fans often debate about whether it is accurate to call Leia "Princess Leia" anymore when she has become so much more than that. Obi-Wan Kenobi makes it clear from Leia's very introduction that she has never been much interested in the Princess side of things, and has always wanted to find adventure wherever she can.
She shirks her royal duties in order to run through the forests of Alderaan with her droid LO-LA59, climbing through the trees and finding enjoyment in nature and mischief. Years later, Leia is once again at home in the world of chaos and adventure, and thrives in natural landscapes (like the forests of Endor, too).
Her Natural Leadership
Make no mistake about it: Leia Organa is the truest leader the Star Wars franchise has ever known. In Empire Strikes Back, Leia commands the attention of the entire Rebel Alliance on Hoth. In the sequel trilogy, she is the General and commander of the entire Resistance movement.
In Obi-Wan Kenobi, this leadership is already firmly on display. Even though Obi-Wan is the rescuer in this relationship, Leia is the one telling him what to do - whether in the marketplace after her rescue or in leading a charade when encountering individuals loyal to the Empire. Leia is firmly in charge of every scenario.
Her Hope
Leia's most iconic line is "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." But even though Leia, at that moment, ascribes Obi-Wan the role of being her "only hope," the very fact that she still has hope even in the direst of moments is what truly matters.
In The Last Jedi, Leia is attributed with another similar quote: "Hope is like the sun: if you only believe in it when you see it, you'll never make it through the night." This measured worldview makes sense after all the loss Leia has endured by this point in her life. But even in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the 10-year-old Leia is shown as being hopeful, and even further, that she is the hope for the future - of Alderaan, of the Organas, of the Path, and of the Force, too.
Wise Beyond Her Years
During A New Hope, Leia is only 19 years old, but she acts like a seasoned diplomat. She has the presence and composure of someone well beyond her years, even before going through the intense journey she experiences over the course of the original trilogy. But Leia's wisdom seemingly begins at a much earlier phase in her life, given how breathtakingly brilliant and perceptive she is shown to be in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Leia has a far greater understanding of human behavior than any ten-year-old should. She is extremely talented in many ways, ranging from going undercover, to working on electrical issues, to solving problems with droids. For a 10-year-old princess, she knows more than most adults do.
Her Sharp Wit
Leia has always been an intelligent character, but she has also always been a character with an incredibly sharp tongue to match her sharp wit. She has no filter in the original trilogy, snarking in the face of villains who pose her real harm, making fun of Han for being a "stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder," and delivering some of Star Wars' funniest quotes.
Little Leia has just as sharp a wit. When dealing with her rude older cousin, she savagely beats him at his own game, claiming that she doesn't have to show manners toward him since he believes lesser life forms don't require manners. Similarly, in her interrogation with Reva, she quips, "Is this a staring contest?" And who could forget the moment when she remarks that she could be Obi-Wan's "granddaughter, maybe" when he says they should pose as father and daughter? Her wit knows no bounds.
Her Bravery
Leia is a truly fearless character. When taken hostage by the Empire in A New Hope, she is unfazed, talking back at Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader alike and standing strong against the test of an interrogator droid. There is nothing the Empire is capable of that can deter her in any way.
This is already the case in Obi-Wan Kenobi, too. When held captive by the Third Sister Reva, Leia is adamant in her refusal to give in and reveal any secrets of the Path. She holds her own against the fearsome Force wielder, even when threatened with physical torture. She is far braver than most 10-year-olds could ever imagine being.