7 Things That Made Us Fall In Love With Obi-Wan
Obi-Wan Kenobi is universally known as one of the most beloved Star Wars characters by fans. With his new series coming out soon to Disney+, the hype for his character is even stronger. But what exactly is it about his character that made fans fall in love with him?
1. Some Of The Greatest One-Liners In The Saga
Not only does Ewan McGregor have some great one-liners as Obi-Wan in the prequel trilogy, but Obi-Wan’s very quotable one-liners go all the way back to the originals with some of the most loved and universally quote lines said by Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan. These include the first line Obi-Wan ever says in the saga, “Hello there,” which he said to R2-D2 after saving Luke from the Sand People. McGregor’s Obi-Wan also uses this same line when he's battling General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. It is heavily quoted as one of the best Star Wars lines of all time.
There are also several others that amazing quotable lines from both Obi-Wans:
“That’s no moon, that’s a space station.”
“What I told you was true, from a certain point of view.”
“If you strike me down, I’ll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
“Only a Sith deals in absolutes.”
“You were right about one thing, master: the negotiations were short.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
And of course, the other most quoted Obi-Wan line of all time:
“It’s over Anakin; I have the high ground.”
2. An Amazing Fighter With The Lightsaber
One of the best things about Star Wars is the lightsaber battles. And Obi-Wan gives us some of the best during the saga. He has defeated some powerful Sith Lords, including Darth Maul (more than once) and Anakin turned Darth Vader on Mustafar in one of the most epic lightsaber battles of all time. Obi-Wan also defeated General Grievous, which no other Jedi was able to do, in one-on-one combat while Grievous was using four lightsabers, and Obi-Wan had just one. And in Attack of the Clones, he took down an acklay while handcuffed on Geonosis.
In the lightsaber battles, Obi-Wan used a technique called Soresu, which fits his personality and more defensive style. He used this in the battle against General Grievous and with his rematch against Maul on Tatooine in Star Wars Rebels.
Obi-Wan didn’t always win in his lightsaber duels, as we saw in the showdown with Count Dooku on Geonosis. But usually, if Obi-Wan was fighting an enemy in combat, chances were, he would win that fight and defeat his opponent.
3. Key Role In The Fall of the Sith
Honestly, if it wasn’t for Obi-Wan, the Sith could very well have won the galaxy. Even though he did go against the Jedi Council’s wishes and trained Anakin, who would eventually be seduced over to the dark side, Obi-Wan was still able to play a vital role in helping to defeat the Sith.
Obi-Wan did teach Anakin everything he knew, which made Anakin an amazing fighter and strategist. Anakin also saw the good in Obi-Wan and how he treated others, which deep down, was something that Anakin was never able to completely forget, even in the dark side, and it helped in his redemption. And eventually, after a long detour to the dark side, Anakin did bring balance to the Force.
Obi-Wan also destroyed the first Sith to reveal himself in a thousand years: Darth Maul.
Although, Obi-Wan’s biggest contribution to the defeat of the Sith was his watching over and caring for Luke Skywalker and helping to give him the opportunity that he needed to leave Tatooine to become an integral part of the Rebellion and a major player in the downfall of the Sith. And, in part of that, Obi-Wan had to sacrifice himself to make sure that he gave Luke the final push to continue on his path to becoming a Jedi and finding Darth Vader. If he hadn’t done any of that, Darth Vader most likely would have kept on helping to rule the galaxy with Palpatine for a long time.
4. Thinking Like The Enemy And Staying One Step Ahead
Throughout the saga, Obi-Wan was able to expertly think like and stay ahead of the enemy. He was a valuable general because of this. And he had amazing strategy. He was thinking ahead when he allowed Darth Vader to kill him in the duel in A New Hope so that he could assist Luke as a Force-ghost and spur him on to win. He also had the foresight to go to Padme because he knew something was wrong with Anakin.
5. Knew When To Follow Rules And When To Bend Them
Obi-Wan is fiercely loyal to the Jedi Order. When Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan that he wanted to train Anakin against the council’s wishes, Obi-Wan advised him not to. However, when Qui-Gon died, Obi-Wan did actually take on Anakin as a Padawan to honor his master’s wishes. In the other prequel movies and the Clone Wars series, there are multiple moments where Obi-Wan bends the rules just slightly while also following the way of the Jedi. Unlike Anakin, he did not marry his love, Satine Kryze, because even though he wanted to, he knew it would go against the Code. However, he also did not stop having feelings for her either, therefore, bending the rules a little. Obi-Wan embodied what a Jedi should be.
6. Extremely Wise, Even In His Youth
Obi-Wan's one of the wisest characters in the Star Wars saga, seeming to act more sanely and deliberately because of this. Obviously, when the fans met Obi-Wan, he was a very wise old man who had a plan and knew exactly what he was doing. This is usually a trope that used in a lot of storytelling: wise old man/woman mentoring young man/woman. However, when we met Obi-Wan while he was still a Padawan in The Phantom Menace, he still showed that wisdom with his council, his comments/advice to his master and the Jedi Council, interactions with Anakin and Padme, etc. And Obi-Wan quickly earned a seat on the Jedi Council. This wisdom is also shown in The Clone Wars, when he was a general and brilliant strategist.
7. The Hardest Path
In some ways, Obi-Wan's a tragic character. He's staunch in the Jedi teachings and way of life, so he could not follow his love. He didn't necessarily want to train Anakin to be a Jedi because he agreed with the Council that Anakin was too old, but he did it anyway to honor Qui-Gon's memory. Then, he had to put up with Anakin as a Padawan and usually ended up having to fix Anakin’s mistakes or get him out of situations. Ultimately, he ended up losing Anakin, who was very much a brother to him, and had to hear Anakin tell him that he hates him. Then, he had to go into hiding for 19 years only to reemerge to help Luke start on his journey. And ultimately, Darth Vader ended up killing him in the end. So, if you think about it, Obi-Wan had a hard road. But that is one of the reasons that he is so loved by fans. He stayed true to himself, and he deeply loved those he cared about.