Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

From the moment Disney+ announced Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars fans knew they should expect a nod to Ewan McGregor’s most famous line as the titular Jedi Master. There just couldn’t be a Obi-Wan series without McGregor saying “Hello there!,” the sentence he used to greet General Grievous in one of the most brutal duels of 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. The sentence is a nod to the way Alec Guinness’ version of Obi-Wan greeted R2-D2 in A New Hope, but it wasn’t until the prequel trilogy that the line became almost a passcode into the Star Wars club. There are thousands of memes, gifs, and funny videos inspired by the moment, so much that the line transcended Star Wars to become a joke that permeates popular online culture.

We all knew we would get a “Hello there!” at some point, but contrary to the prequel trilogy, the series has little space for humor. Set a decade after Order 66, the slaughter of Jedi, and the rise of the Empire, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place in a Galaxy that’s brutally dominated by a tyrannical regime. The titular Jedi Master’s spirit is broken, and, under the name Ben, Obi-Wan spent almost ten years in Tatooine brooding the guilt of having killed Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). There’s not much hope left, and everyone who tries to stand their ground against the Empire’s violence is used as a bloody example of the horrors waiting for those who resist. How could the series reuse a lighthearted meme in such a gloomy context? Well, they had to update its meaning.

RELATED:‌ All the Easter Eggs You May Have Missed in the 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Finale

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi with Vivien Lyra Blair as young Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi
Image via Disney+

Obi-Wan Kenobi also explores the conflict between Ben and Uncle Owen (Joel Edgerton), the man who adopted Luke Skywalker as his own son. While the Jedi Master would like to train Luke and teach him how to use the Force, Owen wants to keep Luke grounded in Tatooine, away from the Empire and from Force-sensitive business. While the two men don’t see eye to eye, Owen puts himself in harm’s way to protect Ben’s identity in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s pilot. Ben, on the other hand, realizes the danger of exposing Luke when Reva (Moses Ingram) goes after the boy in Tatooine in the series finale. So, by the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ben and Owen reach an understanding. Ben chooses to wander away in the desert and leave Luke’s care to Owen and his wife, Beru (Bonnie Piesse).

However, before saying farewell, Owen invites Ben to meet Luke. Even though he had spent a decade in the desert to look after Luke, Ben was forbidden from interacting with the boy. So, the invitation is Ben’s opportunity to speak with Luke for the first time. His first words – “Hello there!” – pay homage to both the prequel trilogy as to the original first film. But they also carry their own tone. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Hello there!” is reshaped from a joke to a tender moment.

It is also fitting that we never get to hear what Ben speaks with Luke. The two words we hear are enough for us to understand the excitement of the encounter, as the old Jedi Master can finally meet the son of his best friend, now lost to the Dark Side. And, in the end, it doesn’t matter what Obi-Wan said to Luke. The most important is that they met each other, many years before Luke went on his own journey through the Galaxy. With a “Hello there!”, we can feel all the love Ben carries for both Anakin and Padmé (Natalie Portman), a love that will lead him to sacrifice his own life when he meets Darth Vader once more, with Luke and Leia by his side.

By choosing not to show the entire conversation between Ben and Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi avoids possible canon contradictions. However, it also puts all the emotional weight of the moment in only two words. And by the history these words carry, it’s impressive that the series chose to give its own spin on the famous greeting. All episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are available right now on Disney+.

Read more about Obi-Wan Kenobi here:

’Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Finale Beat ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ in Viewer Numbers

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Was Almost a Movie Trilogy Reveals Original Writer

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Shows a New Side of Emperor Palpatine