There is no doubt in my mind that I am most definitely not the first person to bring this up, but after doing a quick rewatch of Hunt for Ziro (TCW, S3 EP9) I can't help but feel ... just kinda disappointed.
Granted, when I first saw this episode I had no idea who Quinlan was or what his relationship to Obi-Wan was other than he was a fellow Jedi Master who Obi-Wan considered a "bit much" (which is extremely rich coming from Obi-Wan, cause HELLO!!!).
But now knowing what I do know about Quinlan, my god, I can't help but sorta feel like they did him just the tiniest bit dirty. The episode by no means takes away my enjoyment of the character or the show, but I wish they had given him more.
I don't mind The Big Lebowski reference--honestly, it's kind of iconic to see someone rebuff Obi-Wan's charm with a simple "Well ... that's just your opinion, man." And knowing what I do know now about them both growing up together, it is absolutely hilarious to see Obi-Wan just silently take that response. Because he knows Quinlan, and he knows his sense of humor. So instead of trying to come up with something witty back as he usually would do with anyone else, Obi-Wan just has to quietly glare at him and refuse to rise to the bait.
Anyway, I do love that the majority of the episode is an omage to Indiana Jones movies (namely, Temple of Doom), but also to gangster and crime thriller films. Which was absolutely a perfect choice for Quinlan considering that his experiences as a Shadow involved a great deal of missions involving infiltrating criminal undergrounds and the like.
And the grey morality that is often presence in those types of films is a great compliment to Quinlan, as he while he's still a Jedi, he doesn't hold as strictly to the etiquette and more "refined" tactics of his fellow Jedi. It's also just a nice reference to his own struggles with the Dark Side. And pairing him up with Obi-Wan--his close friend and the one responsible for helping him return to the Light--is just the perfect sort of complimentary team format that is to be expected with those films.
**A totally not accurate, but very accurate summary of events**
Quinlan: KRIFF THIS DOOR!!!
Obi-Wan: Quin, you can't just barge into people's houses-
Quinlan: Sure I can. I just did.
(As a quick side note, I do love that they took a moment to show off Quinlan's psychometry abilities. Just A+ work right there).
I do also understand that the budget was very limited for TCW (considering that they held off until S3 to debut Quinlan due to the costs of creating yet another character model) and I am very grateful that they were able to give him his own episode. But I can't help wishing we had a little more.
Especially towards the end of the episode. Quinlan just sort of goes completely mute. It is fantastic to see him fight Cad Bane (considering bounty hunters with Cad Bane's skills would be right up Quinlan's alley) and watching him investigate alongside Obi-Wan is also a lot of fun to watch. But it is odd for their banter to just sort of peter off to the point that Obi-Wan is pretty much the only person speaking for the majority of the episode's run time.
The moment where Obi-Wan and Quinlan are hanging from the cliff really sticks out to me the most in this episode. When Obi-Wan says to him "I never did enjoy hanging out with you"--while very funny and a nice reference to their friendship--I can't help but being the tiniest bit disappointed that Quinlan doesn't respond with more than a small smug smile. Granted, the fact he just smiles is funny. But Idk. I'm aware I'm just nitpicking at this point, but I would have loved to hear any sort of verbal response from Quinlan to that, no matter how minor.
I don't know if the budget was extra limited due to Quinlan's new character model being added to the episode, if Quinlan's voice actor just wasn't available to read anymore lines, what production problems may have arisen while creating the episode, or if the script simply just didn't have any other speaking likes for Quinlan. But, uh, yeah. I would have loved just a little something more from him.
Because prior to me finding out more about Quinlan over the years, my initial impression was that Quinlan and Obi-Wan were more colleagues than actual childhood friends. And not just childhood friends, but friends who had a very complicated but overall very sweet friendship despite the hardships they shared.
And I just think that's sort of a shame.
Yes, his character model does appear again in a later TCW episode (Destiny, S6, EP12), but only as a character model/easter egg. And while it did touch me that the Kenobi Show confirmed that Quinlan had survived Order 66 (yes, I did cry when that reveal happened, shut up), I still would find myself wishing we had more on screen Quinlan Vos content.
Just because Quinlan really is an amazing character and I absolutely adore his relationship with Obi-Wan and his padawan, Aayla Secura. He's genuinely a fascinating character to read about in the comics and even more so for the fact that his struggles with the Dark Side did not prevent him from continuing to be a good person.
I think what I just want more than anything is for more people to be exposed to how great Quinlan is. I'm not expecting a Quinlan centric show to up anytime in the future and I don't expect people to go out of their way to read the comics and books about yet another SW character. I just wish more people knew what a fantastic character he is. Especially his wonderful relationships with Obi-Wan and Aayla.
Tldr: I just want people to know how great Quinlan is. Also, give me baby Quinlan and Obi-Wan being the absolute chaos gremlins they are!!! Also, just more Quinlan content in general. I would love that :3
