the dichotomy between dr. kenobi and ben is fascintating. the fact that his ex wanted dr. kenobi all the time but he doesn't see himself as dr. kenobi is so interesting! the question of which version of us is our true face and which is the name on the desk that we take off when we leave work. but they're both us, just different facets of the same person. but that begs the question of whether ben views himself as truly separate from dr. kenobi or if that's just how his ex/everyone else sees him and he's just out there living his best life and understood the assignment on being "professional" at work a little too well :P because of course he's not going to be shirtless at work and being able to choose which patients know he has tattoos based on what will make them more comfortable is just being a good therapist.
Yeah, I think there are a lot of layers here that I haven't 100% worked through yet but, hey, let's give it a shot!
So, there are actually sort of three facets at play here:
Dr. Kenobi - behavioral therapist
Ben - the name/persona he uses online
Obi-Wan - the man who is both of those people
Let's start with Dr. Kenobi. I sort of like the idea that this persona is as much a function of self-preservation as it is of professionalism. I could really see Obi-Wan having a difficult time separating himself from his work, at least early on. I can imagine him taking on a lot of his patients' emotions and trauma, sharing more of himself than he should, bringing his work home with him. Eventually, he realizes there needs to be a barrier between Obi-Wan and Dr. Kenobi. So, he creates a "uniform" of sorts to help him make that distinction in his own life. It's less that Dr. Kenobi is a different person and more that Obi-Wan needs to keep that part of his life separate, and when he gets home, he doesn't want to put the fake glasses back on.
Now, Ben— I think Ben more or less is Obi-Wan. Probably a little more uninhibited, though I don't think he needs to be online to be a bit of a freak, but it's definitely a very specific part of him that comes out here.
Oh, for fuck's sake am I splitting this man into id, ego, and super ego??
I'm... does this make me an idiot or a genius?
Let's talk about the ex before I lose my mind.
More than likely, Obi-Wan's ex here is Cody [I have other plans for Satine, plus talking about his ex-husband is a very easy way for Anakin to realize Ben is gay] I'm thinking this was one of those relationships where Boring Partner marries Fun Partner because Fun Parter is Fun but eventually Boring Partner realizes he kind of wishes Fun Partner wasn't so Fun all the time. So, it's not necessarily that Cody wanted him to be "Dr. Kenobi" all the time, but he would take Obi-Wan to fancy cocktail bars and shows in the hopes that Obi-Wan would embrace the suits and the status as his new normal, but no matter how hard he tried, Obi-Wan would always prefer a worn graphic tee and a rock show in a dirty bar. Eventually, it just became clear they wanted very different lives.
There is so much to dig through here, and it will all have to come down to a "who are you really?" kind of conversation. I'm really excited to find those answers.
