Iām about to get on a tangent here, but Iāve seen a ton of hot takes on Anakin and Obi Wanās relationship since Kenobi came out. Be warnedāspoilers for the prequels, A New Hope, and slight for Kenobi ahead.
The major take, of course, focuses on how, since his fall in RotS to A New Hope, the Emperor always felt threatened by Obi Wan. Hence the whole āyour feelings for your old master cloud your judgmentā comment. Anakin spent most of his life with Obi Wan. He learned from him, looked up to him, and sought his approval. He loved him.
And, while I guess I understand where the ship comes from, I donāt think it was a romantic love or a crush. Padme was always Anakinās true love, but Obi Wan was something else. Not quite a father. Not quite but close. Think of Anakinās childhood. A mother who loved him more than anything but was helpless to save him from the circumstances they were both entrapped by. No father. The closest thing to a male role model he had as a boy was Watto, which obviously doesnāt count because he legit owned Anakin. There were no heroes for him to look up to as a kid.
Enter two Jedi who are everything heās ever idealized them to be. Qui Gon seems to instantly connect with him, sensing his Force sensitivity, and steps in as something like a paternal figure. Obi Wanās first impressions are different. Now, I havenāt read the Phantom Menace book, so Iām going solely of the film here. Obi Wan is suspicious of the whole situation at first. He knows how the Council will feel about Qui Gon attempting to take on Anakin as a Padawan, and he warns him against it. Considering he currently is Qui Gonās Padawanāand, if we follow the Jedi Apprentice storyline, we know all that he went through to become his Padawan and how much he values that titleāit might stand to reason Obi Wan could feel just the tiniest bit envious. After losing his previous Padawan, Qui Gon did not want to take on another. Obi Wan had to beg and prove himself to get his Master to agree to it. And here Qui Gon is not just desiring to teach Anakin but insisting that he will. You can imagine Obi Wanās emotions were extremely conflicted during this period.
By the end of TPM, though, that source of conflict is tragically and brutally removed (I have a special place in my heart for Darth Maul, but Iāll never forgive him for killing Qui Gon Jinn like that). Obi Wan grows substantially in that time, and he learns exactly why Qui Gon wanted to train Anakin: he is the Chosen One, and he will bring balance to the Force. So, with or without the Councilās permission, he chooses to fulfill his Masterās dying wish and train Anakin. Not wanting to lose Obi Wan, the Council allows it, despite Anakinās clear inner turmoil.
So, now Obi Wan has the large (literally) shoes of Qui Gon Jinn to fill, and he has only just be promoted from Padawan to Jedi Knight. Not only is his apprentice older than most, heās also the Chosen One. A prodigy by all accounts. Thatās a lot of pressure on one approximately 20-something year old. Even while Anakinās initial training takes place at the Temple, Obi Wan must feel that long oppressive shadow looming over him. And yet he prevails. By Attack of the Clones, he is older and wiser. Anakin has grown as well, but he is still headstrong and cocky. He displays everything a Jedi is not meant to be, in spite or perhaps because of his raw talent in the Force. There is tension building there between them throughout. The feeling of a young man teetering on the precipice of adulthood and seeking to show his mentor he is ready.
We see this in their arguments in AotC, but we also see it in the flashbacks in Kenobi. Anakin knows heās good. He knows heās strong in the Force. He knows heās an excellent lightsaber duelist. He just wants Obi Wan to acknowledge that as well, and he will go so far as to dive into a battle with Count Dookuāa Sith Lord three times his age with extensive experience killing Jediāto accomplish it. Consequently, he loses his hand but not his Masterās respect.
For his part, Obi Wan knows how powerful Anakin is. He believes in Anakin, and he loves him. But he can also sense the Dark Sideās power within him. He loves Anakin very much, but he also fears what he could become. He worries over him. I imagine that, each time he sees his Padawan displaying passion and brash anger and even violent hatred, Obi Wan hears the words of the Council echoed in his mind. Of the dark power within him. Couple that with his obvious strength, and Obi Wan fears everything he has taught Anakin could be used for the enemy.
He is hesitant to give praise. Mindful to reprimand. Quick to discipline. In the end, this is the way in which Obi Wan fails Anakin.
This is not to say Obi Wan is to blame for Anakinās fall. He isnāt. That is clear in RotS. When we meet the pair then, they are no longer Master and Padawan. Yes, there is still a level of reverence for Obi Wan from Anakin, but they are equals. Two Jedi Knights, renowned for their skill and success in the Clone Wars. Obi Wan turns to Anakin for help during their missions as often as Anakin does himāmaybe even more. They are friends. Brothers. This is where the change comes. Obi Wan was never Anakinās father figure. He was his older brother, his confidant and his most trustworthy friend. Even when Anakin didnāt know it, Obi Wan was always on his side. Always fighting for him.
So, how did Obi Wan fail Anakin if their relationship was so great? Well, as I said earlier, Anakin is nothing if not desperate for approval. He always has been. When he was a Padawan, Obi Wan was not quick to give that. Not necessarily his faultāthat appears to canonically be the way most Masters behave with their Padawans, barring a few. However, when Anakin achieves Knighthood and shows such promise, such devotion to the Order and the Republic, those fears are muted for Obi Wan. He loves Anakin so much. He has known him so long. He cannot conceive that he could fall. Anakin overcame his anger and hatred back on Tatooine. He has learned to accept loss of his loved ones. His training is complete.
With this change of relationship, though, Anakinās issues do not magically go away. As we all know, the treatment we receive from those we look up to as children follow us throughout life. He still wants to prove the doubts of Obi Wan and the Council wrong. Enter Sheev Palpatine, the creepiest Senator in the galaxy. Seriously, rewatch RotS. Tell me he does not look at Anakin like a slab of meat. Unlike Obi Wan, Palpatine is always quick to praise Anakin as the best and brightest of the Order. He befriends him at a disturbingly young age (i.e. their interactions in AotC) and gives him the positive attention and reinforcement that Obi Wan does not, albeit with sinister intent. He slithers his way between the two and drives a wedge there. A wedge he then spends the next two films and, say, 10-15 years building. He tries to become that role model Obi Wan is to Anakin.
But he canāt. Not for a while. Not ever, one could argue. When they rescue him from Dooku in RotS, Palpatine tries to convince Anakin to leave him for dead. Anakin refuses, accepting possible death with Obi Wan over abandoning his former Master. He can manipulate Anakin against the Council. Against Mace Windu and Yoda and the Republic itself. He cannot manipulate him against Obi Wan.
The only person who can do that, coincidentally, is Anakin himself. His self doubt. His fear of losing Padme. That is what turns him against Obi Wan. Itās clear that he thinks something is stirring between Obi Wan and Padme. He gets angry when Padme suggests telling Obi Wan about her pregnancy earlier in the film. He is jealous of his Master. Because, deep down, Obi Wan is the pinnacle of what Anakin longs to be. He has looked up to him almost his entire life. He has seen how the Council interacts with Obi Wan versus how they interact with him. And he knows that, without Obi Wan, he wouldnāt even be a Jedi.
Obi Wan is Anakinās hero. Why wouldnāt Padme choose him? Why wouldnāt she let him convince her that Anakin is evil? Why would anyone choose him over the man he holds above all others?
And we all know what happens after that. The two battle and, even in all his dark strength, even with his hatred, Anakin cannot defeat Obi Wan. He is beaten and must be reassembled by Palpatine. In the end, he loses the woman he loved to the very power he thought would save her.
But Kenobi gives us another perspective here. A new lens to view this through. Yes, we see the turmoil between the two through their cat-and-mouse chases as well their confrontations. However, I think Palpatineās words say so much at the end. He knows that Anakin couldnāt kill Obi Wan. But Darth Vader shouldāve been able to. He is the greatest terror in the galaxy. One of the strongest Sith Lords to ever exist. Obi Wan shouldāve never defeated him again. Unless there is still some Ani Skywalker inside of him, buried under all that rage.
That is Palpatineās greatest fear throughout the original trilogy. That is the only thing that concerns him. Not the Rebels. Not the few remaining Jedi in the galaxy. The only thing that could stop him is if he was wrong about Anakin. If he wasnāt able to squelch out all of Obi Wanās lessons after all.
And you know what Iāve been considering lately? What if Obi Wan knew this, too? Maybe not at the end of Kenobi when he walked away from Darth Vader. I think he really was crushed and hopeless at that point. But maybe it came from the only two pieces of his old friend that he could see. Maybe it came from reflecting on his time with Leia. Maybe it came from watching Luke grow from afar. Maybe Obi Wan could sense that the goodness heād known in Anakin was planted in those two kids. And maybe he even knew that, one day, it was the goodness in Luke and Leia that would redeem Anakin Skywalker and bring him back.
Maybe thatās why, when he finally allowed Darth Vader to strike him down willingly, there was a little smile pricking at Old Ben Kenobiās mouth.
