Obi-Wan Injuries

Apologies, but I did ask this at the end of another thread a while ago, but it never got a response - I`m kinda bugging for an answer.

In AOTC, Anakin is slumped over Obi-Wan after being beaten by Dooku. The question is: Obi-Wan didn`t appear to sustain any major injury - so why was he so `down and out`. He only appeared to have a gashed arm and leg. Am I missing something..? Couldn`t he have done more, even if it just meant dragging Anakin away from the machinery hanging above their heads (before crashdown), instead of leaving Yoda to deal with everything...

 

Maybe his midi-chlorian count went down (LOL)!!! No, seriously, I really don't know.

 

Tsk, that Obi-Wan. He must've been busy chugging back the booze again, while Dooku and Yoda were busy.

In story terms, it gave Yoda a chance to do his patented 'I will now levitate the X-Wing, ladies and gentlemen' routine. But Obi-Wan could've done something, yes. He didn't, but it doesn't matter.

 

It's just Lucas wanting to make sure the little green guy got his moment in the lightsaber sun. It was badly filmed.

However, Obi-Wan's injuries were more than a little gash on the arm and leg. First off it was both an arm and a leg, which even if both injuries had been minor, together would have added up to him really not being able to do anything substantial. They don't bleed much because the lightsaber cauterizes them, but there still may be a decent amount of damage.

But secondly, he didn't just get a gash in the leg. He had a hole in it, Dooku stabbed him through the thigh with a lighsaber, that's no minor wound. For one thing, thigh wounds can be quite serious, get one in the wrong place and they can kill you in a relatively short period of time, there is a major artery running through there I think. Even that wound would have cut right through muscle and tendons and possibly even chipped the bone. It wasn't broken because he was able to stand on it, but there still could have been damage to it.

 

Was Obi-Wan passed out during the majority of the Yoda/Dooku fight? I don't recall seeing proof that he was awake during the entire thing.

 

No, Obi-Wan seemed to be conscious during the remainder of the fight and watching without being able to do anything.

Yep, this saber duel was to show off "Yoda going to town." That's why Obi-Wan doesn't participate further, and Anakin is unconscious. In ESB, Luke did quite a bit of heroic stuff after getting his forarm chopped off; he didn't faint.

 

Dooku stabbed him through the thigh with a lighsaber, that's no minor wound.

Thank you naw ibo, that scene has been bothering me forever because I never could get exactly the extent of Obi's injuries from the film. ^_^

 

Yeah, it's unfortunate it isn't a little clearer in the film, but in some of the stills, for instance in one of the Lucas Selects, you can see the wound and it's a decent size hole that's right through the middle of Obi-Wan's thigh. With Luke, he was alone and all he had to be aware of, with Obi-Wan(and even Anakin despite being unconscious) they would have had to be aware of not getting in the way, Obi-Wan trying to do something might actually have done more harm than good.

However, none of this is to say, I haven't complained about the scene myself. Ranted about it a bit actually, but I do think this is what Lucas probably meant, even if he didn't show it too clearly. A hole like that probably could do a good deal of damage, in fact, in our time, it would probably call for a decent amount of rehabilitation afterwards. It's probably supposed to be quite deep, possibly even all the way through, although we never get to see the back of his leg to tell, so that would mean injury to the muscles on both the top and back of the leg.

Now as for the two of them not moving out of the way possible falling objects, I just put that down to one of those things we just aren't supposed to question--it had to happen so Dooku could get away while still allowing Yoda to look incredible, Dooku only got away because Yoda was distracted and wanted to save Obi-Wan and Anakin.

 

I never had a problem with this. I saw clearly that he got two deep cuts. At first I even thought he got his arm(and possibly his leg too) cut off, so I was a little shocked.

 

I dont know about you but if I had one leg and one arm slightly injured I wouldnt sit around on the ground like a little baby waiting to die.I thought this scene was very weak and very unrealistic.

 

"slightly injured"? Use your eyes, man! Dooku cut through half his thigh!

 

What Lars Muul said. He had a hole in his thigh, which means severe pain and presumably severed leg muscles. No getting up for poor Obi-Wan this time.

 

"His leg was hanging off, can`t you see?"

Seriously, yes, this possibility of having a Lightsabre thrust through one`s leg does change the scene for me now.

 

Did half of you guys watch the movie, even? "Minor injuries"?

Okay, go into your bedroom, grab your Swiss Army Knife. Now, proceed to snip just a few tendons and muscles on your thigh.

Now, go walk around the room for a while. Still doing fine? Grab a sharpened spike and pound it into your thigh, THEN go walk around for a while.

Oh, and don't worry about any pain, it's just a minor injury.

 

LOL, Sithman, are you into self-mutilation or something?

Anyhow, like I said before, a sabre thrust into the thigh is not a minor injury. Think of it as a bullet going into your thigh. Doubt you'll be getting up anytime soon..

 

Keep in mind too that even a relatively small injury could seriously hamper Obi-Wan's fighting effectiveness...he didn't do too well against Dooku unhurt...if he had believed otherwise he wouldn't have loaned his saber to Ani, who was stunned and knocked around, but otherwise uninjured.

-Tim

 

I think people are skewed by wounds people get in other movies. I like the comparison of getting shot in the leg. The problem is we've seen so many movies where people get shot yet they seem to be able to crawl away or start jumping around kickin some but. Without so much as any pain. Unless they are on PCP this is very unrealistic. So many movie goers think that's the right of it. Though whne I see a movie like that I think YEAH RIGHT! Obviously lucas had the more realistic idea. As deep a wound as obi-wan had he probably was in a bit of shock and I could have swore I saw him passed out a couple of times.

 

I really wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, but I'd assume he did..he didn't seem terribly awake up until Yoda showed up.

 

*In sarcastic tone* And while we're at it, why don't we declare Qui-gon weak too, I mean he only got stabbed through the chest once and was out for the count, look at Boromir who took 3 arrows in the chest before going down. Jedi, what a bunch of wimps.

 

LOL yeah buncha panzies!

 

major artery running through there I think.

You think? Ack! Tell me your kidding or I shall have to banish ye backeth to biology 101! And ye shall learneth it this time for else whilst, ye shall be a pox... err sorry, don't know what came over me there...

Even that wound would have cut right through muscle and tendons and possibly even chipped the bone. It wasn't broken because he was able to stand on it, but there still could have been damage to it.

Well, looking at the wound it is actually a cut across his thigh (left to right or right to left verse a stab inwards.) At the most, the muscle atatching to his hip was damaged. Which would result in his ability to not be able to stand. Just like the wound on his upper arm lent to him not being able to hold a light sabre.

All in all, it is a masterful show of how to disable someone without killing them... until your ready of course. And leaving them in pain, but not so much it has them over the edge, that they can't see what is about to happen to them. Unlike a gun shot wound which throws the body into shock. Usually due to the exit area of the bullet, (not the entrance) because of the damage a bullet will cause as it encounters and passes through resistance.

Now that I've put everyone off their dinner...

Anyone up for Dex's?

 

You think? Ack! Tell me your kidding or I shall have to banish ye backeth to biology 101! And ye shall learneth it this time for else whilst, ye shall be a pox... err sorry, don't know what came over me there...

I hope you only mean because I couldn't remember the names of the arteries. Sorry, I never have to deal with this stuff, the last time I did Biology was sophomore year of high school which was half my life ago.

However I have since looked some of them up and they include the femoral and the popliteal arteries.

Well, looking at the wound it is actually a cut across his thigh (left to right or right to left verse a stab inwards.)

Look again, it is a stab inwards. He was stabbed through the thigh. It's a hole.

See Lucas Select 53:

[image=http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~marganng/select53.jpg]

 

I hope you only mean because I couldn't remember the names of the arteries.

I was only funning/teasing you

Honestly, the orginal cut from when he fell or how the skin tore looked different. I haven't watched it in slow mo. It looked like the skin split horz. vs. an inward and that Dooku performed a cross cut.

Perhaps it is one of those minor goofs? Or maybe I am not remembering correctly. I'll rewatch it tonight. After my hubby goes asleep so I don't hear.. "Oh babe, NOT AGAIN!"

 

LOL!! Poor hubby. But lucky you, having a good excuse to watch it again. It's research after all.

 

Obi-Wan's thigh injury definitely took him out of the picture.

However, the one thing that I still grumble about is when Yoda lets Dooku go so that he can hold up that giant pillar and push it away from Obi-Wan and Anakin. GL could, at the least, have shown Obi-Wan TRYING to add Force strength to Yoda's efforts, or TRYING to drag himself and Anakin away from the path of the pillar. This would not have compromised the plotline: Dooku escapes because Yoda cannot let the pillar crush his two young Jedi. Notice, at the beginning of Anakin's fight, even though Obi-Wan is hurting, he manages to draw his saber to him and throw it to Anakin so that we can see a few seconds of ...Anakin with two sabers!! But during Yoda's fight, I guess GL and all the folks were so enrapped in Yoda that they kinda forgot to keep Obi-Wan in character during that scene.