Star Wars Legends, Obi-Wanās Many Love Interests, & the Fractals of Obitine
Happy Valentineās Day, fellow Obi-Wan stans! Hereās a little something I put together in honor of Valentineās.
If youāre at all familiar with Obi-Wan Kenobiās storyline in the Legends/Expanded Universe (EU) content, then odds are that youāve probably noticed some similarities between his Legends/EU storyline and his canon storyline. If youāre like me and youāre especially familiar with Legends/EU Obi-Wan Kenobi content because you obsessively consumed it as a lonely teenager, youāve probably noticed that Obi-Wanās love life in Legends/EU is suspiciously similar the story of Obi-Wan and Satine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In fact, I believe that the creators of The Clone Wars intentionally wove the tales of Obi-Wanās Legends/EU love interests into the love story of Obi-Wan and Satine, similar to the way that some myths are a conglomerate of older myths.
All that to say, buckle up, everyone; hereās my breakdown of all of the ways Obitine echoes Obi-Wanās love interests in Legends/EU.
But first, some honorable mentionsā¦
Before we get to the main discussion, though, I need to point out a few Obi-Wan love interests that I wonāt be comparing with Obitine. Here they are, in no particular orderā¦
While I enjoyed the chemistry and (sort of) romantic arc between Obi-Wan and Ventress in Legends/EU (especially in When They Were Brothers), I donāt feel like their relationship shared enough similarities with Obitine to be mentioned in this post, other than to mention that Ventressās death scene is oddly similar to Satineās:
While itās mentioned in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter that Obi-Wan finds fellow adult padawan Darsha AssantĀ āeasy on the eyes,ā it never goes any further than that. This is a little similar to the story of Lena Cobral (which I will be discussing more in-depth in this post), but Lena and Obi-Wanās story differs in that their arc actually shares some commonalities with the Mandalore arc while Obi-Wanās attraction to Darsha does not.
Now, I really like the Sugi x Obi-Wan shipāespecially since Anna Graves (AKA Satine Kryze herself) voices her. In my opinion, their chemistry and mildly sexual banter is worthy of all the chefās kisses. But that being said, Iām not counting Sugi in this list for the pure and simple fact that sheās a canon character and was never part of Legends/EU.
I shouldnāt have to say this, but Obi-Wan x Sabe ship was never a thingāneither in Legends/EU nor in the current canon. Why not? Sabe is only 14 at the time of Phantom Menace, while Obi-Wan was 25. In case you hadnāt heard, thatās statutory rapeāand no shame if you ship them, but I donāt romanticize rape or sexual assault on my blog.
But all that being said, letās get on to our main discussion: Obi-Wanās Legends/EU love interests and the fractals of Obitine.
Cerasi, Melida/Daan, and The Mandalorian Civil Wars
In the Jedi Apprentice books Defenders of the Dead and The Uncertain Path, a 15-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi fell in love with a girl named Cerasi during his time on Melida/Daan. In a plot point that will be repeated throughout Obi-Wanās Legends/EU romances, this relationship doesnāt last longāa few weeks or months compared to Obi-Wan and Satineās year on Mandalore. However, despite these surface differences, youāll notice a few key similarities between the story of Cerasi and Obi-Wan and the romance of Obi-Wan and Satine:
Cerasi and Obi-Wan fall in love while fighting with the Young to end theĀ civil war between the Melida and the Daan; Satine and Obi-Wan fall in love while Obi-Wan is protecting her during the Mandalorian civil war.
Cerasi is part of the Young, a faction that wants to bring peace to Melida/Daan; Satine is a member of the New Mandalorian movement which wants to peace to Mandalore.
Obi-Wan leaves the Jedi Order to stay with Cerasi; Obi-Wan states in Voyage of Temptation that he would have left the Jedi Order to start a life with Satine.
Cerasi is killed during the Melida/Daan war and dies in Obi-Wanās arms; Satine is killed during the civil war between Maulās loyalists and Bo-Katanās true Mandalorians, dying in Obi-Wanās arms.
Lena Cobral, The Cobral Assassination Plot, and the Voyage on the Coronet
In The Only Witness, yet another Jedi Apprentice story, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn are assigned to protect Lena Cobral, who is set to testify against her own family for the murder of her late husband. The problem? Her family is a notorious crime-family. Understandably, Qui-Gon is mistrustful of Lenaās allegiances as they escort her to Coruscantāis this a trap set for the Jedi? Is she going to betray them? But luckily for her, Obi-Wan continually advocates for Lenaālargely in part due to his infatuation with the young widow. This story, you might have noticed, is quite similar to the plot of Voyage of Temptation:
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon escort Lena Cobral to Coruscant aboard a ship; Obi-Wan and Anakin act as escorts for Satineās voyage to Coruscant aboard the Coronet.
Obi-Wan has strong feelings for Lena that may or may not be reciprocated by her; Obi-Wan still maintains feelings for Satine after over 15 years apart, and doesnāt discover until later that she reciprocates his feelings.
Obi-Wanās attraction toward Lena appears to influence his judgment throughout The Only Witness, prompting him to defend Lena against Qui-Gonās suspicions like a simp; Obi-Wanās love for Satine seems to cloud his judgment during the voyage on the Coronet, whether itās his unprofessionalism during his argument with Satine or the fact that he seems to be acting primarily out of fear once Satine is capture by Merrick.
Obi-Wan comes to the rescue when Lenaās traitorous mother-in-law tries to assassinate her; Obi-Wan saves Satine from the assassin probes released by the traitorous Tal Merrick, and although he isnāt the one who ultimately stops Merrick from kidnapping Satine (Anakin is one who saves the day in that instance), he plays a role in her rescue by occupying Merrick and not allowing him to simply wisk Satine off the ship as soon as sheās in his grasp.
At the end of The Only Witness, Obi-Wan ultimately recognizes the power of his emotions and passion to cloud his judgment, deciding that he wonāt allow his decision-making skills to compromised in such a way in the future; at the end of Voyage of Temptation, itās clear that both Obi-Wan and Satine have come to terms with the strength of their feelings for each other, and are wholly committed to their responsibilities regardless of how they feel about each other.
Taria Damsin, The Death of the Heroines, & Anakin Doesnāt Know to Feel
At some point in Obi-Wanās younger days (are we sensing a pattern here?), he fell in love with Jedi Shadow Taria Damsināwho, unlike Lena Cobral, actually reciprocated his feelings. As far as I can remember, there was never a definite timeline for when Obi-Wan and Taria were in a relationship; I canāt recall it ever being mentioned if they were both padawans or if their brief romance took place sometime when they were both Knights and Anakin was too young to go on missions with his master. Itās also difficult to tell how serious their relationship was. When Obi-Wan talks to Anakin about their relationship in Clone Wars Gambit: Siege, he only says that they needed each other for a brief time, and parted when that mutual need subsided. What we do know is that the Taria and Obi-Wanās relationship bears some similarities with Obi-Wan and Satineās storyāwhich could be in part due to the date that Taria was introduced as a character. Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth, the novel which first introduced us to Taria and her past with Obi-Wan, was released February 2010, the same month that both Voyage of Temptation and The Duchess of Mandalore were released. Who knowsāmaybe Karen Miller, the author of the Clone Wars Gambit duology, was privy to the plotline of the Mandalore but wasnāt allowed to use Satine in her story.
Whatever the real reason for the similarities, however, I present you with the parallels between Taria/Obi-Wan and Obitineāas well as a few differences:
Taria and Obi-Wan remained close friends after ending their romantic relationship, to the extent that Obi-Wan allowed himself to be extremely unguarded and vulnerable with Taria. Satine and Obi-Wan remained friends when they reunited after their 15-year-long separation, and although they often flirted with each other or seemed to indicate sexual tension when they were together, Obi-Wan and Satine were both clearly comfortable in each otherās company, allowing themselves to be much more vulnerable than they were with anyone else.
Taria is dying of Borotavi syndrome, and although her death is never confirmed in the Legends/EU material, Obi-Wan recognizes that Taria has pushed herself too far after rescuing him from Lanteeb and that she doesnāt have much time left. This results in him fighting against his urge to grieve for Taria in order to savor the time he has left with her. Satine dies in front of Obi-Wan, and although no canon material explores his grief extensively, itās clear in Old Friends Not Forgotten that heās still torn between his love and grief for Satine.
[And on another noteā¦the fact that many of Obi-Wanās love interests had to die in order to develop Obi-Wanās character is a blatant example of fridging. All of these women deserved better.]
Now hereās where the differences come in. Remember the scene when Anakin learns of Taria and Obi-Wan relationship In Clone Wars Gambit: Siege? Contrast this with Anakinās discovery of Obi-Wan and Satineās past.
When Anakin sees Taria physically comforting Obi-Wan, he realizes that their level of intimacy is too deep for them to have only been friends. He surmises that they mustāve been lovers at some point and angrily confronts Obi-Wan about it, feeling as if Obi-Wan has been a hypocrite for forbidding Anakin to be with Padme (remember that scene in Clone Wars: Wild Space when Obi-Wan visited Padme in the middle of the night and basically told her Anakin was off-limits to her?). When Obi-Wan is truthful about their past and tells Anakin that he and Taria are now content being friends, Anakinās genuinely surprised. Obi-Wan senses that Anakinās trying to figure out if he could get away with a āno-strings-attachedā relationship with Padme, prompting Obi-Wan to ask if Anakin would ever be satisfied with being just friends (with benefits?) with Padme. In contrast, Anakinās intrigued by the obvious sexual tension between Satine and Obi-Wan during their infamous throneroom/bedroom(?) argument, asking Obi-Wan about the history of their relationship. The nature of Anakinās questioning of Obi-Wan in this scene is also probing, as if heās trying to gauge whether he can trust Obi-Wan with the secret of his marriage to Padme; however, Obi-Wan doesnāt seem to pick up on the fact that Anakinās considering disclosing his secret marriage to him.
Although both stories are interesting, I actually like theĀ āAnakin feels like Obi-Wan is a hypocriteā reaction a little more. With as much crap as Obi-Wan gives Anakin for his feelings for Padme in Attack of the Clones, you would think Anakin wouldāve felt betrayed by the fact that Obi-Wan had hidden his past from himāespecially since he had several opportunities to talk about Satine during Attack of the Clones, most notably during theĀ āBe mindful of thoughts, they betray youā exchange. This doesnāt mean that the story we got was bad; as you all know, Iām utterly transfixed by the Mandalore arc, and I think it would be showing too much to have Anakin blatantly point out Obi-Wanās hypocrisy. But I think it might have been in better keeping with Anakinās character for him to at least seem a little upset at discovering Obi-Wanās history with Satine.Ā
Siri Tachi, The Death of the Heroines (Again), & Obi-Wanās Willful Ignorance
Full disclosure for this segment: I used to be a Siriwan shipper. Repeat: I USED TO BE A SIRIWAN SHIPPER. Why? Prior to 2010, when the Mandalore arc was first released on Cartoon Network, this was the only Kenobi-centric romance that I found personally compelling. And, if you couldnāt tell from the content of this post thus far,Ā I was a huge fan of Jude Watsonās Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest series; consequently, I really couldnāt get away from Siri or Obi-Wan interacting during my early teen years.Ā
Now, I need to make a quick distinction between canon Siri and the Legends/EU Siri. In the current canon, Siri was just another fellow youngling that Obi-Wan was crushing on. The relationship didnāt really go anywhere; they were probably both tweens at the time, and the most they ever did was hold hands under the dinner table. And really, the canon version of her isnāt so much of a character as an anecdote for Obi-Wan to reflect upon during the events of The Empire Strikes Back. But in Legends/EU, she was a fully-fleshed out characterāand, unlike Cerasi or Lena Cobral, her storyline went beyond her importance to Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact, the entire romance between Obi-Wan and Siri only lasts a few days, ending at the halfway point of Jude Watsonās Secrets of the Jedi. Or, in other words, her character was allowed to develop and grow apart from Obi-Wan, which I find pretty empowering. She gets to have love, romance, heartbreakābut these things donāt ultimately define her. In this essay, I will try to justify my 13-year-old selfās obsession with Siri Tachiā¦
But apart from the fact that Siri Tachi was a kick-butt character in her own right, I also find her similarities to Satine Kryze to be fascinating:
Siri and Obi-Wanās relationship begins as antagonistic, with Siri intensely disliking Obi-Wan for leaving the Jedi Order on Melida/Daan. Satine and Obi-Wan, as hinted at in Clone Wars and discussed in the junior novel Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy, were antagonist much of the time, arguing about nearly everything they discussed.
Siri is often written as the opposite of Obi-Wan, her brashness, impatience, and blatant disregard for protocol contrasting with Obi-Wanās level-headedness, patience, and insistence on following rules. Satine is portrayed as somewhat similar to Obi-Wan in some regards (e.g., theyāre both opinionated, confident, and British AF), but her commitment to peace, her ability to go against the grain, her softness and compassion and distinct femininityāthese are all in stark contrast to Obi-Wanās support of the Clone Wars, unyielding orthodoxy, and stereotypically masculine support of the status quo.
Siri and Obi-Wan realize their feelings for each while on the run from bounty hunters on the planet Cirrus, where they get to spend quite a bit of alone time in caves which definitely isnāt a symbol for a vagina or anything; Satine and Obi-Wanās feelings develop while theyāre on the run from bounty hunters in the Mandalore system, where itās implied that they mightāve spent quite some time alone together because how else would Korkie be conceived.
Recognizing that leaving the Jedi Order for each other might lead them to become resentful of one another, Siri and Obi-Wan decide to part ways. Although itās never explicitly stated why Satine never asked Obi-Wan to leave the Order for her or why Obi-Wan felt that the decision to be together was up to Satine, it can be inferred that being a Jedi was central to Obi-Wanās identity, and that Satineās decision not to ask was based on her recognition of this fact.
Siri is killed by a bounty hunter from Obi-Wanās past, dying in Obi-Wanās arms; Satineās killed by Maul, an enemy from Obi-Wanās past, and dies in Obi-Wanās arms.Ā
Now, if these similarities werenāt enough for you, thereās something I recently noticed when re-reading parts of Secrets of the Jedi. What caught my attention was this brief scene that shows Obi-Wanās reflections following Siriās death:
Now, what sticks out to me in this scene isnāt that Obi-Wan was aware of Anakin and Padmeās relationship; in both the current canon and Legends/EU, it was pretty clear that he suspected there was something going on between them. In fact, the magnum opus that is the Revenge of the Sith novelization has a very poignant scene between Obi-Wan and Padme in which Obi-Wan straight-up tells Padme that heās known about she and Anakin for some time, and that he just hasnāt said anything about it. What does strike me is that weāre pretty much given an explicit acknowledgement of not only why Obi-Wan refuses to disclose Padme and Anakinās relationship, but that this reason has something to do with his own personal experiences with love. In the ROTS novelization scene, Obi-Wan tells Padme that heās been willfully ignorant of their relationship because he recognized that she was one of the few things that could make Anakin happyābut in this scene from Secrets of the Jedi, itās implied that Obi-Wan chooses to ignore their relationship because he in some ways wanted what Anakin and Padme had. In other words, if he was in their shoes, he wouldnāt want someone ratting him out because he knows how wonderful it is to be in love.
If youāre wondering what this has to do with Obitine, think back on all the moments in the Clone Wars where itās hinted that Obi-Wan knows about Anakin and Padme. For example, while itās clear in The Rise of Clovis that Obi-Wan doesnāt approve of how Anakinās attachment to Padme can interfere with his duties, he never indicates that heās inclined to report Anakin to the council. In fact, in the same scene, Obi-Wan admits that he understands Anakinās feelings for Padme, affirming that itās not wrong to be attracted to another person. Why? Because he once had feelings for Satine, and, as this scene implies, it wasnāt wrong for him to be in a relationship with Satine during their time on Mandalore; their relationship would have only become problematic if heād been possessive of Satine or if heād been like Anakin and tried to balance his duties as a Jedi with a clandestine relationship. In short, Obi-Wan doesnāt want to report Anakin because he knows what itās like to be in love, and wants Anakin to be given the choice to be with Padme rather than being forced apart by circumstance. Itās not totally in line with his reasoning during Secrets of the Jedi, but I canāt help but wonder if the Clone Wars creators saw the Siriwan story and wanted to give Obi-Wan similar motivations for being willfully ignorant of Anakin and Padmeās relationship.
Annileen Calwell, Attachment, & Letting GoĀ
As youāll notice, I have no actual images of Annileen Calwell for this section. And why is this, you may ask? Well, for some reason, thereās no art of Annileen Calwell to be found on the internetāofficial, fanart, or otherwise. So if there are any artists out there who want to try their hand at bringing Annileen to lifeā¦*cough cough*
But in all seriousness, I feel like the fact that this character is overlooked in official art and fanart is just a symptom of the overall lack of acknowledgment that this character receives in the Star Wars fandom. MostĀ āevery woman Obi-Wan ever lovedā articles, fan videos, or posts will talk about Cerasi, Siri, and Satine, but hardly anyone talks about Obi-Wanās relationship to women like Taria and Annileen. This isnāt to say that I think itās wrong for fans to overlook these charactersāeveryone has their own preferencesābut I think the lack of dialogue about Annilheen and Obi-Wan story is a huge disservice to the larger conversation about Obi-Wanās character, as I feel this story has a lot of things to say about his personal journey with attachment, loss, and grief. And letās be realāAnnileen is a pretty great female character even without her connection to Obi-Wan. And also, she doesnāt die, which is a nice touch given the track record Star Wars has for fridging Obi-Wanās love interests.
All awesomeness aside, though, it was a little difficult for me to think of how Annileenās story echoes the story of Obi-Wan and Satine. But nevertheless, here are all the ways Annileen x Obi-Wan echoes Obitine:
Annileen is blond, smart, independent, and implied to be physically attractive; both Siri and Satine are blond and portrayed to be conventionally attractive, and both are extremely intelligent, capable, assertive, and independent women. In fact, during this private meditations, Obi-Wan actually reflects on his relationships with Siri and Satine (they were both canon at this point), insinuating that Annileen reminds him of them in some capacity.
Annileen calls Obi-WanĀ āBen,ā as she isnāt privy to his actual name; Satine originally gave Obi-Wan the nameĀ āBenā as a nickname, a fact which was going to be revealed in the Mandalore arc but was instead revealed later on in the Kenobi novel.
Annileen is the one who makes the first romantic move, only to be rejected when Obi-Wan makes it clear heās not looking for a relationship, even though Obi-Wan private meditations reveal that he is in fact attracted to her and is considering the possibility of a life with her. Satine, according to a 2010 interview with Anna Graves, made the first move with Obi-Wanāand although we donāt know he reacted to her initial advances, we know that Obi-Wan eventually reciprocated and was at one point considering a future with her.
During his private meditation, Obi-Wanās feelings for Annileen make him reflect upon the Jediās teaching on attachment. During his talk with Anakin aboard the Coronet in Voyage of Temptation, Obi-Wanās reawakened feelings make him reflect upon the Jediās position on attachment, musing in a somewhat bitter tone that the Jedi often overlook theĀ āundercurrent of remorseā when teaching the principle of non-attachment.
This last one, as you noticed, is a themeāthe theme of attachment, and what it means to hold onto someone. But I also think that in the end, both Annileen x Obi-Wan and Obitine are stories about letting go. As Obi-Wan recognizes in both the Kenobi novel and the Mandalore arc, attachment isnāt necessarily bad; in fact, he comes to realize during his time on Tatooine with Annileen that attachment becomes problematic when you begin to feel like you own or possess the other person. You need to be able to allow the other person toā¦well, as the kids these day say,Ā ābe their own person.ā More importantly, you need to be willing to let them go when somethingāor someoneāelse needs you more. And thatās exactly what Obi-Wan does in Kenobi. He doesnāt obsess over Annileen and insist that she stay with him. Quite the opposite, actually. When Obi-Wan realizes that a relationship with Annileen could potentially endanger baby Luke Skywalker and the future of the galaxy, he decides to let Annileen know he was lying to herāa fact that pushes her away, and ultimately keeps Luke safe and lets Annileen pursue her dream of studying at university. We can argue whether Obi-Wan was right in doing thisāyou could say that Annileen didnāt have much choice in the scenario, even if it ended up being what sheād always wantedābut you can see that his view of attachment in this situation has evolved from what it was in the past. Rather than being the passionate, immature love and infatuation he felt for Cerasi or Lena, or the resignation to the Jedi Code he demonstrated with Satine and Siri, he shows that heās able to take a more nuanced view of what it truly means to love another person.Ā