Fanclub Obi-Wan Kenobi: v4 Fan Club a/k/a Appreciation Society

@Merlyn Emerald Overall, I don't see Obi-Wan as having led an irrelevant life. He was a Jedi Master, a great general during the Clone Wars, and a strong enough warrior to defeat both Maul in TPM and Anakin/Vader in ROTS. Then he sets Luke on the Jedi path in that classical role of the wise mentor archetype and gets to transcend death by becoming a Force Ghost (he's the first Force Ghost in terms of the published order of the saga that we get to see, so that's really cool to me).

That being said, I could see the argument for him being considered at least on a surface level as an "irrelevant" character in TPM, same as I think the other two main characters that we'll follow through the conclusion on the PT might seem irrelevant. Obi-Wan takes on a kind of background role as Qui-Gon's Padawan, Padme is dismissed as young and naïve and even is disguised as a handmaiden, and Anakin is a slave boy at first rejected from Jedi training. All of them might be seen as irrelevant, yet all of them will be the main characters of the PT and will have lives that impact the galaxy.

With the Jedi, I think we have to consider that each one of the Prequel Jedi is someone their parents chose to send off to train as a Jedi as a child (knowing they'll probably never see that child again and that the family relationship is basically being sacrificed) so in that sense I don't really see Obi-Wan as being much more irrelevant than the other Prequel Jedi.

In the Jedi Apprentice books, I got the impression that Obi-Wan was seen as a talented student with a good deal of potential but also some worrisome traits like impatience and a temper that might have discouraged some Masters from choosing him as their Padawan. He did get mocked and bullied by Bruck Chun for not being chosen as a Padawan, but in my experience when young people bully other young people, it's more about their own insecurities (I think Bruck was himself worried that he wouldn't be chosen as a Padawan) than it is about the person they are bullying. In my own experience, I was picked on by the same people for being both too smart and too stupid in middle school, so that just shows how bullying really has nothing to do with the person being picked on and everything to do with the one doing the bullying. So might Obi-Wan have been picked on as a kid for not getting chosen as a Padawan by some mean-spirited students like Bruck? Sure, but that didn't stop him from becoming a Padawan then a Knight and finally a Master. I don't really see being picked on by others when you were a kid as making someone irrelevant. I more tend to think it makes the bullies and their opinions irrelevant especially when those opinions are shown to be wrong.

I tended to interpret it as the will of the Force, Qui-Gon realizing Obi-Wan's admirable traits (like courage and determination), and Qui-Gon overcoming his own fears rooted in a painful past of in his mind failing Xanatos that made Qui-Gon accept Obi-Wan as his apprentice. To me, it didn't make Obi-Wan irrelevant. It just to me showed Qui-Gon as someone who had to wrestle with his own perceived failure and painful past before he was ready to try to succeed with another Padawan, Obi-Wan. In that way, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon relationship felt quite meaningful for me in how it was established.

I think Qui-Gon takes an interest in Anakin and becomes determined to see Anakin trained as a Jedi in TPM because he believes Anakin is the Chosen One who'll bring balance to the Force, so in that sense he is convinced that it would be best for the Jedi Order and the galaxy as a whole if the Anakin is trained.

I don't really see him as ignoring Obi-Wan, however. He listens to what Obi-Wan has to say even if he decides that he will do what he must (what he believes to be right regardless of it requires defying the Council or tradition). That to me is more of his right as an independent person with his own mind to make his own choices than it is about him ignoring Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon gets to make his own choices and live with the consequences and Obi-Wan has to accept that is my basic opinion there.

He and Obi-Wan also argue before they board the ship back to Naboo, but again, I don't think that Qui-Gon ignored Obi-Wan. They had an argument, but to me that's not the same as Qui-Gon ignoring Obi-Wan.

I believe that Obi-Wan does initially think that Qui-Gon is recommending him for Knighthood to get rid off him so Qui-Gon can train Anakin (I think that's why he shoots Anakin a bitter look in the Council Chambers) but I also think that by the time he apologizes to Qui-Gon in the swamps of Naboo, he realizes that Qui-Gon does sincerely believe he is ready to be a Knight even though he still has things to learn (which is natural for a twenty-five-year-old). That to me is why he says to Qui-Gon that he's grateful Qui-Gon thinks he's ready for the trials. And to me what Qui-Gon says in the swamps about Obi-Wan being a wiser man than him and foreseeing Obi-Wan would become a great Jedi affirms that Qui-Gon really does see Obi-Wan as ready to be a Knight.

I think the way Qui-Gon reaches out to touch Obi-Wan when he is dying says to me more clearly than words that he does care about Obi-Wan, and to me, they kind of got their final farewell from a sentimental perspective in the Naboo swamp when they reconciled. To me, that made it clear how much they respected and cared about one another, especially along with the non-verbal communication Qui-Gon gives as he is dying in Obi-Wan's arms. I also think that the fact that Qui-Gon's dying request is that Obi-Wan train Anakin does to me show how much he trusts Obi-Wan so to me that didn't detract from their bond, and Obi-Wan's determination to keep his word to Qui-Gon after Qui-Gon died to me even made their bond more meaningful. In a way, they had a bond that transcended death in terms of their trust for one another.

It also for me was an opportunity for us to see Obi-Wan grow as a character from someone who is selfishly jealous of Anakin to someone who selflessly agrees to train Anakin against what might even be his own instincts and desires because he has faith in Qui-Gon. It also shows how Obi-Wan goes from someone who wants to always obey the Council to someone who will defy the Council if he thinks that he has to (if he believes it's the right thing to do). In that sense, I think Obi-Wan grows quite a lot as a character in TPM but it is something of a subtle transformation.

On Qui-Gon, he comes across as an overall gentle and patient person to me, so I don't see him as being cruel to anyone, including Obi-Wan. Whether his behavior is right or wrong is probably a matter of point of view. Personally, I think Qu-Gon is right that Anakin is the Chosen One and therefore he is probably right that Anakin should be trained. On the other hand, I think that Obi-Wan and the Council are also right to point out that Anakin is dangerous (a concern ultimately born out when Anakin becomes Darth Vader). So, in a way, I think both perspectives are legitimate and are right in their own ways. It's part of what makes TPM a fascinating movie for me, that right and wrong isn't necessarily always straightforward, and that good guys can disagree on the best course of action. That to me reflects what I see in real life. It's why I can be both a Qui-Gon and an Obi-Wan fan.

 

One of my favorite things about Obi-Wan is his dry wit. What are some of everyone's favorite sarcastic lines from him?

 

Ha ha. Then he followed it up with "She seems to be on top of things" because Padme was on top of her pillar when Anakin asked, "What about Padme?" Obi-Wan could be such a sarcastic Master.

 

Took a "What member of the Jedi High Council are you?" quiz on Buzzfeed and got Obi-Wan as my result.

I'm irrationally happy about that. Best thing that happened to me all day. Way to beat the Monday blues.