PT "It's all Obi-Wan's fault!" and why I love this underrated line

Let's do a little breakdown of the notorious garage scene with Anakin and Padme!

Many people cite this one line in the title as one of Anakin's most immature moments and one of the strangest lines written for him. However, many people neglect to see the context of the whole scene it's in, which is what drains the power from this line (and whole scene in general)

"Why'd she have to die? Why couldn't I save her? I know I could have."

This is just after his mother's death. Anakin isn't entirely sound right now. In despair, people tend to act and think irrationally, without logic. But there's more to it here for Anakin

"You're not all powerful, Ani."
"Well I should be!"

And this leads into....

"It's all Obi-Wan's fault. He's jealous. He's holding me back!"

Anakin's lived the past ten years in an order he just doesn't fit into being told he has this very special destiny as the Chosen One, being told he has incredible raw talent. Honestly, I think many people would be a bit arrogant in his position

But as I said - while in grief, people don't think rationally. He needs something to blame. So what does he do? He knows he's seen as very powerful. But there's something else underneath that. His take on Obi-Wan's teaching?

"But he feels that I'm too unpredictable. He won't let me move on......... ........it's worse. He's overly critical. He never listens. He doesn't understand."

Anakin believes at that moment, Obi-Wan is envious that he's, in his own mind, more powerful. He's blaming Obi-Wan for restraining him when he could possibly have gotten the power he needed to save his mother.

"Someday I will be the most powerful Jedi ever. I promise you. I will even learn to stop people from dying."

And during Shmi's funeral, his eulogy:

"I wasn't strong enough to save you, Mom."

To Anakin - if Obi-Wan wasn't holding him back, envious that the apprentice is better, then he would have learned to be strong enough to somehow prevent his mother's death. Is that true? I doubt it, sad as that sounds. Is Obi-Wan "holding him back"? I'd say so, but not at all for the reason Anakin thinks. Whether that is the right thing to do or not, I can't say, because Obi-Wan himself admits that he failed as a teacher.

So the lesson here is context. You can't just single out a line and bash it for sounding stupid or immature. Anakin IS being immature. That's the point. It adds a lot to his character and lets you into his mind for a bit. You can feel he's in despair. There's the old mantra of "show, don't tell." Anakin isn't outright saying he needs something to blame to vent his anger. He simply does it, and we the audience can tell

Just something that was on my mind earlier today. Thought I'd share

 

It's actually a pretty good summation of the difference between Anakin's views and beliefs and the Council's (as embodied by the traditionalist Obi-Wan) - Anakin thinks that Might Makes Right, he has the power to do pretty much whatever he pleases and therefore the right, or even the responsibility, to do so. And he wants to reach new levels of power in order to be able to stomp injustice across the whole galaxy. The traditional Jedi perspective is that whilst Jedi are more powerful than pretty much any muggle, their responsibility is to use that power to serve others, the greater good if you like.

Anakin is absolutely correct to say that Obi-Wan is holding him back - he's wrong as to why. It's not out of jealousy, it's because Anakin is indeed still immature and inexperienced and could do a lot of damage (literally and metaphorically) if he went off half-cocked and hot-headed.

 

Hmmm... Interesting write up there SG. Surprised might I add


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There's also the "Palpatine Effect" in all of this as I call it. Anakin was told by Palpatine (keeping his Sidious persona away from the Jedi senses somehow as well as Anakin for that matter), that Anakin doesn't need guidance. That Anakin will learn to trust his feelings and then he'll be invincible. So Obi Wan doesn't listen and doesn't understand Anakin's feelings.

Hence, Anakin says exactly what Palpatine was insinuating for Anakin to believe what he says to Padme "I will be the most powerful Jedi ever" as if that'll solve his emotional turmoil of losing his mother and that there will be no more failure "but I promise, I won't fail again".


MJ

 

I believe that Anakin was treated just like any other Padawan.Obi-Wan in TPM was even older than Anakin yet Qui-Gon found no fault in correcting him or showing him a heavy hand. The key difference I believe was that Obi-Wan found a way to apologize to Qui-Gon. Anakin was too prideful, being the One, to do the same with Obi-Wan. Anakin's apologies to Obi-Wan sounded like routine. A simple pleasantry to move forward. Anakin was never sincere because I don't think he believed he did anything wrong. I think this was the source of the divide between them. Obi-Wan was never given the respect he deserved, or at least thought he deserved given his relationship with his master, and perhaps took that as a sign to be even harder on Anakin.

The question is though, was Anakin right? Could he have prevented his mother's death? I think so. Anakin wasn't any other Padawan. He was The One. Had he been trained in an advanced setting from a young age, and been given a higher level of respect, then perhaps he would have understood his dreams before it was too late. It wasn't even that he needed to be stronger or better trained, he simply needed to have an understanding of his capability and faith in himself. Had Anakin believed in his power, Shmi would probably have lived. But how could that happen when Obi-Wan is always trying to bring him down to his own level? And further still, had he believed, the council wouldn't have allowed it anyway. So he doesn't just gain resentment for Obi-Wan, but for the entire order.

Anakin had reason to resent Obi-Wan. From his point of view, Obi-Wan is partly responsible for his mother's death, and I think it's reasonable for him to think so. This really does help the viewer see how Anakin could be manipulated by Palpatine. He is offering to save someone Anakin loves, when all the Jedi have done is taken his loved ones away. This was why the council was originally right to not train Anakin. You can't be The One and have attachments to family. The One's greater senses will always keep him connected to them, making it impossible to let go as other Jedi do.

 

One line I have become much more appreciative of this year is Master Kenobi telling General Skywalker that only the Sith deal in absolutes..........

 

Yes this exactly. I think this boils down to a couple of things...one, Obi-Wan IS the closest thing Anakin has to a father. And Anakin is a teenager. Of course he is going to rebel against him and feel like Obi-Wan doesn't understand him. But the second is that Palpatine has been whispering in Anakin's ear all along. Its like Anakin's comment about being greater than Master Yoda. That's not just Anakin being arrogant, later on we see Palpatine is the one telling him these things exactly.

 

Obi-wan isn't holding Anakin back, other than he's not ready to submit him for the trials. And that's only because he knows that Anakin isn't ready for them. He knows that if he submitted Anakin to the Council and they reject him as being ready, it would only exacerbate his restlessness and resentfulness. Obi-wan has grown to understand why Qui-gon said that he was head strong, but still had more to learn about the Living Force. Likewise, he knows how it feels to have the Council disagree with Qui-gon's decision to submit him for the trials. Better to be sure than not and fail the boy. But Anakin cannot see that due to Palpatine.

 

I wonder what could of happened if the Jedi just tried to raise Ani as a regular Jedi & not tell him the Chosen BS.

 

He was trained that way. He was trained no differently from how Obi-wan, Qui-gon and the others were trained. Just that he was older than them. Anakin himself doesn't even believe that he's the Chosen One. That was never the issue. It was Palpatine telling him that he'll be more powerful and wiser than any Jedi, including Yoda, that created the ego that he had.

 

Interesting statement. Is there a source for this? I certainly don't see any doubt from him until after he falls to the dark side

 

Seagoat it was in Legends. Where? Not Sure.

 

A nice breakdown Seagoat.

When I've first watched the movie, even when I watched it recently for the second time a couple of months ago, I always thought this scene was over the top and that Hayden wasn't really good.

But after passing through the death of one of my relatives recently, I can say without a doubt that the death of someone close to you (and in Anakin's case, it was worse than mine since it was his mother whom has been tortured and died while suffering) is one of the most stressful moment in your life...

 

This is a great article. It really sinks in how powerful Anakin wanted to be. This isn't a Jedi using the force to have superhero like abilities to fly or strength to throw a spaceship. Here Anakin is talking about achieving god like powers with the force. And the crazy thing is - he might have had the ability to learn and use those powers if he weren't burned up. So Palpatine really isn't lying to Anakin. He's just framing it in a different way.

How could any Jedi train someone with this sort of potential? Qui-Gon might have been able to do it if he'd taken Anakin away somewhere to learn on the road. Poor Obi-Wan. Of course Obi-Wan wasn't jealous. As jakobitis89 wrote If Obi-Wan was holding back the development of Anakin's force powers, it was only so Anakin's personality had more time to develope into a mature individual who could more responsibly use those powers.

There is comment in the book Star Wars Frames - about watching the Episode 3 with George Lucas and after the duel with Dooku when Palpatine tells Anakin to leave Obi-Wan behind George Lucas said "This is the big moment. If Anakin had left Obi-Wan, he would have become Emperor of the Galaxy".

How much stronger would Anakin have been than Palpatine as Emperor? Just how short was Anakin's potential for good or evil cut short by Obi-Wan on Mustafar? There is a great line before Darth Sidious and Yoda duel - Darth Sidious says "Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us!" It's such a strange line for a Sidious to say because it sounds like he is actively accepting that Anakin will replace him someday and rule the galaxy?

And could this have repercussions in Episode 8? Could Rey or Kylo Ren hope to achieve the powers Anakin was born for? Ben Solo as Kylo Ren seems to be a character with Ben Kenobi level force powers struggling with not having Anakin level powers. It's fascinating. And Rey shows so much potential - could she someday stop people from dying?

One last thing - Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Qui-Gon actually did learn how to stop themselves from dying. But in doing so they totally give themselves up to the force. The complete opposite of what Anakin wanted to do in preserving someone in the physical world. And even Anakin became a ghost. Will we ever learn how he found this power?

 

"The Clone Wars: Overlords".

THE FATHER: "When news reached me that the Chosen One had been found, I needed to see for myself."

ANAKIN: "The Chosen One is a myth."

THE FATHER: "Is it? I would very much like to know."

And even Qui-gon isn't certain in that same episode.

QUI-GON: "If he is the Chosen One, he will discover it here."


His doubts aren't because he is the Chosen One, but because he was good at fixing things and when he found something that he couldn't fix, when he failed for the first time in his life, that's when he started his fall. His arrogance before then is born from thinking that he was all powerful because things were so easy for him and Palpatine told him that he would be better than anyone else.

 

I wrote this to another thread, but still.. I have always accepted this line as a crucial part of all the dialogue in the Lars garage and I'm little surprised that so many people ignore the reaction of Padme to this, complaining of the 'whining' and irrational Anakin but completely forgetting what Padme is saying after this line and it is: What's wrong, Ani?
It looks as complete nonsense or bad dialogue (how can she ask that after the tragedy that happened) .. but it isn't. What Padme is saying obviously is: Ani, you are talking as you are not yourself. You have such love and respect to Obi Wan. Why are saying something that is not true?" Obviously Anakin understands very well her question, because he says to her what is really wrong.
A small detail: the line sounds a little bit false, compared to the other words of Anakin. Bad acting? I don't think so, because immediately after that we here the best monologue a la Macbeth style in SW, so the acting is as should be: Anakin simply doesn't believe that it is Obi Wan's fault. He is just too desperate at this moment and seeks any explanation of the terrible thing that happened. Padme understands that, it is a pity that so many viewers don't.

 

Obi Wan pulling out his lightsabre and saying "I will do what I must" is awesome. Because he's finally accepted that he'll have to fight Anakin, and kill him if required. His old friend is gone.

 

Now I wanna watch Ep. I and cry like a baby! Where the **** is that worn-out VHS tape????????

 

*EDIT FUNCTION NOT WORKING FOR ME*

YEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Dark Lord Tarkas

Seeing as those three consecutive posts in a row have very little substance, I'll give you a warning for spamming.

Note: if you're on Firefox, edit won't work normally, but you can open it in another tab and it works just fine

 

Wonderful breakdown! Didn't know you had this built up in you!

Was heels "holding" you back?

 

I think Anakin and everyone else would be a lot more interesting if they hadn't reinvisioned the Jedi as monks. Having Anakin say that Obi Wan is jealous of his ability is fine but it comes across poorly and way too early. Why couldn't we have one movie where grown Anakin is liked by everyone? It's like the wars had no affect on his character whatsoever and that he was a ticking time bomb from the get go. More subletly was needed and that is why George shouldn't have directed.

 

I'm sorry to say it, but 'a character liked by everyone" is cartoonish even for the space operas as is SW. There is nothing subtle in such approach. I think we saw completely different movies, because in ROTS what I saw the wars had already marked the Anakin's character very deeply. In AOTC he is young, a bit impatient, talented young man and in ROTS he matured, too fast I mast say, but the war changes everybody.

 

Liked by everyone? What do you mean? Liked by the audience? We had that in TPM. In AOTC, we have him just like Luke was. Whiny and impatient.