Well, that sucks

Dooku:…what are you doing

Obi-Wan, panicking slightly: I’m a double agent. Passing them bad intel.

Dooku: I didn’t ask you to do that

Obi-Wan: …i’m taking initiative????

Dooku:

Dooku: My boy would never do such a thing

So we also have an unhinged (but in the OTHER direction) Anakin chasing Obi-Wan across the galaxy going: 'Come back to the light side, Master, you're my brother!'

"Ah yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi, fought him in a rain storm atop a moving speeder that one time. We nearly killed each other. Excellent word play, could use more armor. Did, in fact, keep his whiny burden of a employer alive, dispite my best efforts. Would recommend. (for hire of Bounty Hunter Service, presumably.) " Aaaaaaand send! *click*

*Obi-Wan, face down at his desk, receives Yet Another glowing review from the Mandalorian of the week*

Jedi reviews on the holo go nuts,

Obi-wan a solid rating, gonna beat your ass but at least you may get a compliment or a pretty sure

Mace's reviews are great, very effective very efficient its a good time for what is likey ruining your bounty hunting bad guy activites

Just? *boring guard duty* *two unrelated Mandos* "...." "......" ".....so there I was, on the moon of Krrrysk." <-(quote from a particularly hilarious Yoda Letter, which has since become a meme)

*other Mando snort laughs*

“Ooh, look at Master Structuralist over here with his ever-so-deep ‘everything is attachment actually’ reading”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who calls every new opinion ‘new depths of their relationship with the Force’”

“The Jedi Order is a social construct–”

“Could you stuff the po-mo and pick up a book once in a while? These aren’t new ideas! You are not a pioneer because you asked one question!”

“I think you could all benefit on more reflection on how our rooting in the Force is actually deeply sexual–”

yes please I need more jedi symposiums with knights who had different views than consulars who have different views than shadows. Temple-centered jedi versus those who lead frequent diplomatic or medical missions versus exploratory and research jedi who spend most of their time in uninhabited wild space and the outer rim.

Dooku take advantage of the facts that you are not required to be a Jedi to attend, for his first 10 years post-Order, and the fact that they can’t legally arrest him for the next three.

Anakin is 14 the first time the Nightsister is invited, and is only doing this presentation for the video of Obi-Wan’s face, so that he can bribe Quinlan into giving him speeder parts with it.

Mace loves it, because it’s the one time of year he gets to see Skywalker cause everybody but him a headache.

This never goes well for the bounty hunters. There is a specific kind of chaos the Jedi come to this conference to enjoy and they are NOT it. Of course, they have enough respect for their fellow Jedi not to hand them over to bounty hunters, but also they came here for academic chaos, not ‘wanted dead or alive’ chaos.

Someone has to moderate the fights duels that inevitably arise. That person has to either prove their ability to be neutral hand or just genuinely not give a shit about the arguments regarding the Force.

One year Anakin invites the Supreme Chancellor to the conference after he expressed a desire to “better understand the mysterious ways of the jedi and the force.” Anakin’s worried that the Chancellor will think less of the Order after witnessing multiple jedi attempt to use folding chairs as weapons, but for some unexplainable reason, Palpatine is the happiest that Anakin has ever seen him.

^^^ Palpatine joins the conference at one point and tries to argue that being a Sith should merely count as following a different branch of the Force.

Wasn’t there a holocube in the Old Republic comics that was basically an old Jedi Master recording his salty commentary about his contemporaries and his personal interpretation of the force?

Alpha-17 shows up, having lost(or won?) the to rock-papaer-scissors match with the rest of the Alpha Batch n Clone Commanders. All of who both HAVE through nebulous means been dropkicked through time. And ARE causing chaos just off screen to vent their frustration about it.

Shows up! For? Tubie Time. He has been Assigned™ the Jedi Tubies.

This is the Face Of Paternal Instincts.

Fucker just SHOWS UP for his shift at the Creche, in full armor and a stolen jedi robe, like "Vos had a nightmare and Krrrsksts threw up." *hands over one of the two babies he was rocking. Steals their coffee. Keeps walking* like? Huh. Did we get a new helper? We must have.

It would be RUDE and unspeakably un-jedi to ask him to remove his cultural dress(armor). Or suggest he's some sort of imposter. Granted, none of us know him... but SURELY someone verified this man! He's here isn't he?

*Alpha-17 walks by, cuddling baby-wan, whispering all the best places to stab a man under his breathe as a soothing lullaby*

Alpha-17 acknowledges that maybe there’s a thing in the mandalorian adjacent make up of himself that sets of baby fever

HOWEVER unlike some losers Alpha-17 doesn’t let baby fever make him think an entire clone army for a baby is at all a smart choice

That? Is such a shit deal! Just take? All?? Of them??? Then you have MANY tubies. All for yourself!

Man you SUCK, Prime.

He, however, does NOT suck at his job. HE, quite reasonably (debatable), just fuckin moves in. They ALREADY communally raise kids. That's free real-estate! Just steal the jedi, Prime. It's not that hard. Look at all this tubie generals! All the cute of kids, none of the bullshit "Will Of The Force~✨️" (look, Alpha-17! A clearly cursed object/temple/cliff face! Let me throw my stupid, loveable, UNARMORED jedi ass DIRECTLY AT IT~☆! Because I clearly want to die~☆ and probably take you with meeeee~♡!) Nonsense!

Tubies don't run full sprint directly at danger. Tubies just want to cuddle. Tubies obey orders to sit still and eat something, General. *looks pointedly at Baby-wan, who blinks back in the happy blank confusion of babies everywhere*

Creche-helper... 17, was it? (Odd name, but who are they, to judge a culture's naming practices? Perhaps the strange Mandalorian clone cult he originated from simply uses numbers for ease of use, in differentiating each child? They will have to ask some time. When it is not flu season.)

(It is always, some form of flu season. They have a multi-species Creche. There is ALWAYS some disease hitting SOMEBODY. Children are drool covered disease vectors that like to chew on each other. We love them anyway.)

[The best part? Everyone who points out that Alpha-17 is as force sensitive as a ROCK is looked at with scandalized, pearl clutching HORROR! How COULD you!? How DARE you!? Oh, Helper 17! You must be so offended and upset! Dear, do you need to sit down? Take a moment to release and re-center your emotions? Meditate? We are here if you need us.

And Padawan/Knight/Master So-n-So! How DARE you say such hurtful things about your fellow jedi! Not everything is about sabers and atari flips! Jedi 17 is mindful of his presence to help sooth the children in his care! As we ALL should be! *several hour lecture on how hurtful false accusations can be. How judging our fellow jedi based on how "strong" their connection to the Force is, is wrong. And how they WILL be taking a mindfulness and Empathy For Others module!*

All while Alpha-17 stands in the background, holding a baby, going -> *blank yet somehow unbearly smug face* like? You little shit. They're on to you!

Yeah? How's gonna prove it?

☝️🤨->🤔->😶->😐->🙁->😟

AND he makes such a lovely sparring partner! So few fellow jedi will spar unarmed! (Having a lightsaber around grabby, curious, force sensitive infants is a BAD IDEA. They get entranced by the kyber crystal inside and try to grab it. It's a disaster waiting to happen.)

Besiiiides! You can't fool a room full of HIGHLY attuned Force Sensitive babies. They'll react to the TINIEST of negative impulses or intents! (By crying and screaming) And they all love their dear Helper 17! He must be a jedi! Probably from an outlying temple or something.

Yan Dooku, who possess The Common Sense and Scepticism rare to most Jedi? Presses X to Doubt. Unfortunately babies make him nervous. Which upsets the babies. And Alpha-17 keeps playing social conventions against him. Ironically, it actually DOES save him from the dark side! He's too busy with his Nemesis™ to respond to a senators calls.

So like? It goes on for weeks. Months of Alpha-17 just casually invading the temple. Eating this man's food. Deliberately tripping this man's colleges. Looming ominously.

Weeks! Before: pat pat pat~ *up walks bby Kenobi* "who're you?" "I'm an Alpha Clone" "that's not an answer!" "Wanna learn to use a blas-" *interrupted by a rather startled Sifo-Dyas* "wait. You can see him TOO? :o "

Like? What do you MEAN you let a dangerous and heavily armed Mandalorian follow you for weeks cause you thought you were seeing things! Tell? Somebody??!

Master Sifo "the Horrors™ are unrelenting" Dyas: lol, sure buddy.

Vader: You’re a rebel. I just had a fight with your entire rebel fleet and followed you here. Straight from the rebels. Of which you are a part

For my money Leia’s best moment is when she lies about the location of the rebel base and Tarkin believes her. Doesn’t stop him blowing up Alderaan, but he is so mad when he finds out there’s nothing on Dantooine. You gotta figure Tarkin’s good at seeing through deceptions, or he wouldn’t be where he is… but it’s already pretty much canon that Leia’s Force sensitivity helped her resist torture and mind probing, so I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that she gave Tarkin just the slightest nudge toward “she’s telling me the truth.”

jedi padawan they captured, panicking: oh yeah? then how come you aren’t even strong enough to come to the light? huh? checkmate, buddy!!

sith:

via @tolkienaboutit THAT’S WHAT I WAS SAYING

I remember an Expanded Universe comic set immediately after RotJ where Leia tells Luke words to the effect of "Vader literally had me tortured and blew up my homeworld. What, am I supposed to feel kinship with him just because I discovered he's my dad yesterday?"

The important thing that happens in Return of the Jedi is that the Emperor dies and the planet-killing superweapon gets blown up. Vader spent the last two hours of his life doing something good after 25 years of genocide, mass murder and torture, and even then, it was partly out of vengeful hatred. Vader fucking hated Palpatine for a quarter century and never had the spine to do anything about it. It was only after his own son was being tortured to death in front of him that he chose to act - and he'd cut off the kid's hand like two years before that! That's not a fucking redemption arc.

So one, yes, absolutely it is entirely correct to take issue with Darth Vader's apparent forgiveness by the Force, there is no need for Leia to accept him as her father or to feel anything for him besides hate and contempt, redemption takes more than turning back for a couple of hours and then getting out of culpability by dying, all fair.

That said: the original trilogy is Luke Skywalker's story and the story of Luke Skywalker, on a meta level, is about being a young adult in the 60s and 70s who did not experience WWII or the depths of fascism personally, but who grew up with gaping familial wounds - family members who you never knew but who older people refer to or talk around, people they compare you to, figures who other children had in their lives but you didn't. Someone who as a child was given fantasies of heroes fighting daring battles, who was told it was all about nationhood and fighting for your people and the course of civilization, someone who internalized those principles as guiding lights for their own morality and who they want to be... and THEN finding out when you become an adult, and are permitted to know about the horrors, that it is not just honor and glory in your heritage, that you, 70s white boy, may have evil and darkness and the corruption of all your values as a potential to fall into just as your father did, the temptation to hate and cruelty and domination and atrocity. And the absences in your family are maybe not just because of death, of noble sacrifice, but perhaps instead because those people who shared your blood became monsters, severed from their family because of their terrible actions, and still live as awful hateful versions of themselves, enslaved to evil, and that could be you.

And what do you do with that? Will you strike your father down with all of your hatred, when the thing that corrupted him by his hate for its own ends is sitting there grinning and laughing, waiting to do the same to you? Is violence the answer against that creature, infinitely better at taking advantage from violence than you are? Or will you just die - and even just walking away here means death, sooner or later - and let the evil persist?

Or will you, privileged young person with ideals and hopes, with a family member who has done terrible unforgivable things but who still holds affection for you, make use of that affection to tempt them to just turn their back on that evil for a moment, the thing it will never expect from the person it made its slave for longer than you've been alive? Neither you nor he can pay back the crimes of those years, but perhaps you can stop the evil, here and now, from going on.

So you do that. And what is your reward? Is it appropriate for Luke, whose whole story has been about becoming the ideal he grew up admiring and defeating the evil that ideal had the potential to become, both halves of it embodied in the being of his father, to come back to his friends and then have the universe say to him 'your father was unredeemable, and had nothing good enough in him to deserve peace in death'? Or to say there was a darkness lifted from him, and a light restored?

It doesn’t mean people will forgive you - hell no. The things Vader did were unforgivable, and he knew that. But because of that, he believed the only path left was to keep committing atrocities, to wallow in self-hatred and anger for decades and take it out on the galaxy. He says it himself: “It’s too late for me, son”.

But what Luke shows Vader is that we ALWAYS have a choice: To be a better person, and to choose compassion. Anakin doesn’t kill the Emperor out of hatred, or even because he thinks it’ll make up for anything he did: He knows nothing ever will. He chooses to save Luke, and break the cycle of violence because it’s the right, kind thing to do.

Vader/Anakin isn’t fully redeemed by the end of Return of the Jedi: He simply takes his first step back into the light. Obi-Wan and Yoda chose to give him that second chance, but that was their decision to make. The people you hurt are by NO means obligated to forgive you - but you should still strive to be better regardless.

Hate bonding, the best kind of bonding. First off, thank you! This blog is just me rambling, so it’s really cool that someone is connecting with it lol. I don’t have a set favorite starwars character, but Satine is definitely in the rotation so I love being asked abt her. My take is that Satine was basically set up to fail (like many sw characters, unforch), from a writer’s standpoint, and it feels very obvious to me, but many fans seem to not care and hate her for DF’s bullshit anyway (which is interesting to me, because I don’t think for example the clones are particularly well written in post CW08 projects either, and yet they’re given loads of carefully thought out fanon and their flat writing for the most part isn’t held against them. Interesting. Wonder why). Satine had one purpose for existing: making revenge of the sith hit harder. That’s it. She was supposed to be a “oh, see, Obi-Wan understands Anakin, but put his duty first, so sad!” and that’s pretty much it. I mean, they literally brought Maul back for the sole purpose of fridging Satine. Her writing was not approached with much care, so I understand and share criticisms of that, but there still IS so much that can be appreciated about her if people were willing to think about her for more than three seconds.

I don’t think that Filoni knows what a pacifist is? At least, has an extremely narrow view of pacifism. The Republic was supposed to be pacifist (pre war, obviously). So I think attempting to make this a point of tension between Satine and Obi-Wan was a really, really dumb move. Even if their ideals were that different, with what we know about both of them, they have so much more in common than not. And with such a weak foundation to their interactions, (+TCW dialogue being clunky in the first place) those scenes with Obi-Wan really only read as “gasp! Obi-Wan and a woman! How scandalous!” I think their “arguments” at least should’ve honed in more on the fact that Obi-Wan is working for a government that now wants to occupy his friend’s homeworld, and that can extend to his guilt over Satine not having much of a support system, exactly as alone as she was when she had to rebuild Mandalore all by herself, and Obi-Wan still not being able to help. Not, like, whatever that was, with Obi-Wan calling her delusional or something.

I think when fans call her incompetent they’re largely going based off assumption of what she had or hadn’t done, and since we have so little time with her, we really can’t say. It’s kind of mind blowing to me that so few people have gone “hey, maybe there’s a reason she’s so headstrong about this subject, I mean how would you feel if your parents died because of war and a fascist cult groomed your little sister into hating you.” Satine isn’t bad for being opposed to war and violence. I don’t think fans have to agree with her on all fronts, but when people start calling her a bad person is definitely a red flag. (Also anon mentioned DW sympathizers… yeah, if I am debating someone about Satine and I realize they’re a DW apologist I immediately end the conversation, because if we are that far apart in our views there’s no way we’re gonna get anywhere productive. There’s absolutely no point). It’s too often forgotten as well that Satine was the head of the Council of Neutral Systems, which is up to 10,000 systems (if I recall correctly), so it isn’t just her people looking to her, she speaks for many, many worlds. That’s like a massive thing and people never talk about it. Again I don’t think you have to agree with everything she’s ever said but god when you glaze the hell out of characters like Jango and Boba and then call Satine the devil I am gonna look at you sideways. Kinda insane that this has to be said. This brings me to a side note that really bothers me. So many fans view her as incompetent and weak because she’s nonviolent, and because of that there seems to be a lot of fanon where their view of her ideals being weak and passive leads to them thinking her personality is the same. And this directly contradicts with canon. She is headstrong, and yells at like a hell of a lot of people in CW. She almost never stays silent. So for a good number of fans, it seems to be not only that they might disagree with her on whatever, but that she’s not strong or edgy or badass in the way they want her to be, and they’re completely unwilling to see her as such. How are Jango and Dooku your goats, but Satine is malicious and stupid?

Anyway, DF doesn’t care about the Kryze sisters. Satine was created to be fridged, and Bo-Katan has no discernible arc. Really unfortunate because imo Satine has the potential to be one of the most fascinating starwars characters. In fact, I enjoy the idea of her being such a polarizing figure, if only so much of that wasn’t rooted in misogyny.

(Another side note, you brought up mando clones in fanon and I just wanted to say I also don’t like how that whole situation is treated. I doubt all clones would want Jango’s culture. Jango possibly raising the first batches with the culture could be interesting, but I definitely disagree with the whole clone = mando thing. Many would definitely choose differently. That’s a whole separate issue, but I am so far removed from the idea of Cody or another clone being the Mand’alor I don’t have much to say about it other than… typical fandom stuff, I guess. I largely ignore it. I don’t think most fans who write mando’a speaking clones understand how bilingual people talk anyway lmfao).

More specifically, the Fanon Obi-Wan problem.

(Alright, my tiktok buddies convinced me to get tumblr just to share this here. I caved, because I do think this is much more fit for tumblr. So, hello everyone).

It goes without saying (if you know me) that I am a fan of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I could sit here and talk about how much he’s influenced who I am, and how my experience is just one of many lives that Obi-Wan has touched, but unfortunately that is not my purpose in this rant. Despite occasional exceptions, Obi-Wan is generally beloved in the Star Wars fandom, to such a scale that he is known for being beloved.

Among this, of which will be found in every fandom, one contrived of millions of people no less, issues and mischaracterizations will arise. Even in all my years of loving and studying this character, I am still trying to wrap my head around how deeply these fallacies run when it comes to Obi-Wan Kenobi, still trying to untangle the fabrication from canon.

I will make a few things abundantly clear before I lay my discussion. In no way do I claim to understand or love Obi-Wan Kenobi “the most”. Such a claim cannot be made by anyone, nor does it matter, when millions of voices so frequently join to celebrate this character. I am not here with a possessive mindset, nor am I trying to exert moral superiority. However, animosity for the fanon version of a character who has captured my heart so fiercely has been building for as long as I’ve been a Star Wars fan, and I am finally making an effort to properly give my voice and hopefully debunk popular fanons of Obi-Wan built on false foundations.

The Perfect Jedi, The Unfortunate Candidate

Many Star Wars fans are familiar with the glaring issues in the dynamic between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, no matter how much love the two characters had for each other. Obi-Wan concluded that the best way to guide Anakin in the Jedi way was to emulate a so called “perfect Jedi”, while Anakin took this as Obi-Wan being such a model Jedi, that he could never relate to Anakin’s struggles, thus Anakin tried to hide his true emotions from Obi-Wan. This misunderstanding is the eventual downfall of their relationship after years of harboring resentment. None of this is new to us as fans.

Even while knowing this, several in the fandom, whether consciously or subconsciously, have fallen for Anakin’s misjudgment of his master. It is laced in the language they use for Obi-Wan, in their view of Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side. How can this be?

As Far As Your Wisdom Goes, You’re No Qui-Gon Jinn.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is a vessel utilized by the Force directly many times. Obi-Wan’s entire life is dictated by the will of the Force. Even if he is not the Chosen One, he directly mentors both Chosen Ones. He was responsible for Anakin Skywalker for a decade. Playing such a crucial role in the fate of the galaxy, so integral that some of been moved to say “there is no Star Wars without Obi-Wan Kenobi,” criticism of his behavior will arise, as of course it should. The beauty of fiction can often be highlighted most in character flaws.

Natural, too, is the comparison to Qui-Gon Jinn. Especially when considering the individual role’s Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan play in the will of the Force.

“After all, if Obi-Wan had been the one to die on Naboo, wouldn’t the rise of Darth Vader and the downfall of the Republic never happened? Isn’t that why it’s called Duel of the Fates? Obi-Wan was overly critical, and held Anakin back from being a master, which harbored Anakin’s resentment for the Order, ergo Vader.”

I will give flowers where flowers are due, there are true elements to such a viewpoint. And in simple terms, yes, Obi-Wan needed to live for Darth Vader to be born. But he is not the origin of Darth Vader, nor is Darth Vader a direct design of Obi-Wan Kenobi, as some fans like to claim.

Am I in any way going to imply that Obi-Wan was a perfect teacher? Not at all. Is he above criticism? Of course he isn’t. However, I do believe such popular fan conclusions do not depict an accurate image of Obi-Wan’s role in creation of Darth Vader.

In the claim that Obi-Wan was presenting as the perfect Jedi, many take this to believe that he was harsh, dismissive, and unfeeling. In such assumptions, it is obvious that they do not understand the Jedi Order at all. Nor do they understand Obi-Wan’s failure in his perfect Jedi mask.

There is a recurring impression that Obi-Wan left Anakin alone to flail in a sea of unfamiliar Jedi tenets, and expected Anakin to fall in line with a foreign Order without exceptional difficulty. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, and is a basis that relies on a weak foundation of if it wasn’t shown on screen, it didn’t happen.

Obi-Wan is shown both critiquing and praising Anakin throughout Attack of the Clones. In The Clone Wars Season 4 Episode 11, Kidnapped, Obi-Wan talks with Ahsoka about making sure to look out for Anakin, considering his past as a slave, as they had been sent on a mission to free Togruta colonists from the Zygerrian Slave Empire (the argument that Anakin should not have been on such a mission in the first place will undoubtedly arise, which of course is true, although not something Obi-Wan can control. And if Anakin himself is being brazen and headstrong about the mission, restless to barge in “guns o’blazing”—how much less can Obi-Wan dictate where he goes and what he does? He is no longer responsible for Anakin.)

In Season 6, Episode 5 of The Clone Wars, The Rise of Clovis, Obi-Wan takes the initiative and privately talks with Anakin, to offer a listening ear and hopefully some comfort to Anakin after Obi-Wan noticed Anakin’s troubled state. In the scene, he approaches Anakin not as a Master, but as a friend, eager to ease Anakin’s discomfort. Obi-Wan encourages Anakin to open up about the true nature of his feelings for Padmé, gently promoted Anakin to reason aloud that it was jealousy that had him perturbed. This scene has always struck me, because Obi-Wan himself goes as far as to open up about his feelings for Satine Kryze, even though this couldn’t have been more than a few months after her death, very likely less than that. Obi-Wan’s demeanor and voice are gentle, non-threatening, not accusatory, not judgmental. He talks to Anakin with a perspective of understanding. It is Anakin who brushes him off and refuses to confront his feelings for Padmé out loud to Obi-Wan.

In fact, Anakin is shown lashing out far more than he opens up. In most cases, while Obi-Wan tries to level with him, Anakin is far more inclined to point fingers. Again, this is not to say all the time. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin sincerely apologizes to Obi-Wan for his bad attitude, and Obi-Wan reinforces his admiration of Anakin. I am not trying to paint Anakin as the root of every issue, but I am saying he was responsible for his own decisions.

The creation of Darth Vader should not be attributed to a single moment. But I am of the firm belief that fans give Anakin too much credit on this front. It is shown as well as stated in The Phantom Menace that Anakin always had the Dark Side of the Force in him, in a way that would result as an unbalanced, unstable Jedi. This is not something I am trying to blame Anakin for, at the time he was a child. In fact, having Anakin trained at all doomed both him and his Master. I believe making sweeping claims of finality about either’s attitude completely misunderstands the point of Star Wars. The situation was greatly complicated, and I have no intention to oversimplify it. Both master and apprentice had their strong moments and their incredibly low ones, but I also believe that Darth Vader will always boil down to Anakin’s inability to accept his own failure, Anakin’s arrogance, and Palpatine’s years of manipulation, not Obi-Wan’s conduct as a master.

You’ll forgive me, I have scoured the internet, but I cannot find the source of this comic panel. If anyone does know, please inform me. However, there is a lovely post by @thesecondbatgirl that I think drives my point home.

The suggestion that Obi-Wan is insensitive, harsh, cold, or anything of the sort, are all ideas given to us from Anakin’s point of view—Anakin, who is known to be arrogant, and unable to face criticism.

Knowing all of this, it is logical to conclude that Anakin’s judgement of Obi-Wan’s performance as a master cannot be a fair one, with this hubris and tendency to blame Obi-Wan for things that are not Obi-Wan’s fault so painfully obvious. Even so, many fans have adopted his attitude towards Obi-Wan, whether consciously or subconsciously.

I am not saying Obi-Wan never misjudged Anakin, or that he always reacted well when Anakin made an understandable, youthful blunder—but that’s exactly my point, sometimes is incredibly different from always. Just because it exists doesn’t mean it exists all the time. Obi-Wan is the farthest from perfect, he is shown making terrible mistakes, especially in The Clone Wars, like in the Deception arc, where Obi-Wan did not take into account just how deeply his actions would hurt his loved ones and severely broke trust

However, the notion that Obi-Wan was an unfair master who expected too much of Anakin is one that must be stopped. In reality, Obi-Wan was just as desperate to please Anakin as Anakin was to please him, if not more so. After feeling cast aside by Qui-Gon, then bearing the undeserved responsibility of training the Chosen One, it is ridiculous to assume that Obi-Wan could fit well into the ideal Jedi mold. Or at least, what people perceive to be the “ideal Jedi mold”.

Does the Prequel Trilogy clearly explain the causes of Darth Vader in a way that is sound and cohesive? In my opinion, no. There is vital context added in The Clone Wars, such as Anakin’s Padawan leaving the Order. So too, are his actions explained more soundly in the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover. Therefore, I cannot completely blame those who attribute more blame to Obi-Wan than is necessary, especially if they are a more casual fan, given the poor framing of the movies.

My point is, Obi-Wan (and by extension, the Jedi Order) is commonly used as a scapegoat, discounting any and all good he does especially towards Anakin, typically to bolster Anakin if they favor his character. Therein lies a refusal to see things from Obi-Wan’s point of view, and in doing this strip Anakin’s agency from him by blaming Anakin’s actions on others. This also suggests a muddled view of Anakin’s intentions. At the very least, there has been a failure to offer a little more grace to Obi-Wan, who always gave his all to everything he did.

Now that I have laid my case about Obi-Wan and the creation of Vader , the rest of my discussion will delve into a far more widespread fanon. And one that in my opinion, paints Obi-Wan in a far more detrimental light than any unfair ridicule he might face.

Fandom’s Chosen One

If you consider yourself in a Fandom, then you very likely have some experience with fanfiction—whether having occasionally skimmed websites, to your fic being the main project in your life. From fanfiction, essentially anything can blossom. Many times, perceived versions of characters stem from fanfiction, and bleed into our perceptions of canon. This can be great fun, and a great tool. Sadly, it is all too easy for such perceptions to be misguided, to an extent that does a disservice to the original story rather than showing honor and appreciation for it.

Before we get into the fanfic contents, we should at least consider what these fanfiction writers are basing their works off of.

George Lucas has never been subtle in his storytelling. Much of his writing in the Prequel Trilogy relies heavily on exposition. Lucas has also been very transparent about taking inspiration from real-world events, which is evident especially when considering the timing of writing. Despite this, unfortunately, a large number of fans have missed the clear messaging from Lucas, and Obi-Wan is by no means an exception.

George Lucas wrote Obi-Wan Kenobi with heavy East Asian coding, as he did with the Jedi Order as a whole. In the Original Trilogy, Obi-Wan was meant to be Lucas’ version of the wise, Samurai mentor stereotype. Lucas’ initial idea in writing Obi-Wan was for Toshiro Mifune, a Japanese actor, to portray him. Mifune turned down the role, however, and Alec Guinness was cast. Asian influence is perhaps most obvious in Obi-Wan’s name, which follows similar consonant-vowel patterns found in Chinese and Japanese.

But what does any of this mean for Fandom, our perception (or misperception) of Obi-Wan, and our patterns in portraying him?

“Space Scotland”

The name Stewjon is the only specific thing we know about Obi-Wan’s home planet, because the Jedi Order are meant to be perceived as his culture and family—his adopted heritage.

Ewan Mcgregor is a Scottish actor. Because of this, many fans have decided that Obi-Wan’s home planet should be based off of Scotland, and this has turned into relatively popular fanon. Fans quickly latched onto the playful remark made by Lucas as an homage to Jon Stewart in calling Obi-Wan’s home planet Stewjon, and such, a relatively consistent culture of Stewjon has remained prevalent in fanfic. This is hardly questioned by those interested in exploring what has been written of Stewjon. I was in a similar boat, I had seen jokes of Obi-Wan being Scottish by birth, never thought about it one way or another, because I knew what little information we had about his origins. As far as my personal projects as of yet, Stewjon was not relevant to me or my portrayal of Obi-Wan

Mcgregor brings none of his Scottish heritage into his portrayal of Obi-Wan, not even using his natural accent. So then, why? Why must Obi-Wan be Scottish? It seemed random to me, the more I thought about it. There is no inspiration taken from Alec Guinness’ background to comprise Obi-Wan’s birth culture. Moreover, the concept of “Space Scotland” goes against what we do know about Obi-Wan’s culture in canon. That being his name.

Below, I have linked two essays from Archive of Our Own that expertly provide answers to such questions of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s heritage and the fanon that has been built around it. The first linked is written by tellinowritesmeta (tellino), a Scottish Star Wars fan, giving a full explanation of why Obi-Wan Kenobi is quite clearly not Scottish, and never has been.

Stewjon Isn't Gaelic: Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Problem with "Space Scotland"

The second, an essay that came before tellino’s and inspired it, is by an Asian American Star Wars fanfiction writer, detailing the East Asian influence in Star Wars, and the coding around Obi-Wan specifically.

Obi-Wan, Ben, and the AU

I cannot fit every essential point surrounding Stewjon specifically here, my intention is to connect such issues to a larger misinterpretation of Obi-Wan, which is why I implore you to read both essays linked if you can. They both give far more in-depth, relevant information regarding how Fandom treats Obi-Wan’s mysterious Stewjoni heritage, and lead to points of my larger critiques of how fans choose to view Obi-Wan himself. If you are a Star Wars fan who loves Obi-Wan, both are worth your time.

But what is the issue here? Isn’t “Space Scotland” still technically treated as a Fandom inside joke? Or, relatively harmless fan-speculation utilized by fancreators?

As tellinowritesmeta’s essay throughly explains, “Stewjon” is commonly presented as a lazy mockery of what non-Scottish, people unwilling to do research perceive Scottish culture to be. In everything I have read detailing Stewjon, it has been a mock-up of Gaelic cultures, mixed and matched, based off of stereotypes, with some aspects of Scottish culture being completely thrown out, presumably because it didn’t fit the “aesthetic”. But beyond the ignorance prevalent in such fanon, “Space Scotland” tosses the culture Obi-Wan was written around aside completely.

George Lucas wrote the Jedi with heavy East Asian coding, basing their tenets off of Buddhism, basing their style off of samurai warriors. With the Force, he echoes Chinese concepts such as Qi.

So, we have his adopted culture, the inspiration for his character, and the name Obi-Wan Kenobi.

All of which have been almost completely disregarded by Fandom.

In a refusal to embrace what we are given from canon, in a refusal to understand the Jedi, they do not understand Obi-Wan. They cannot reflect him accurately in their portrayals. They look at him, how loyal and devoted he is to an Order that seems so mystical and foreign. Perhaps this stems from a misguided view of the Jedi, because of Anakin, or some internal bias. And they refuse to acknowledge how these ideals, this culture, these beliefs influence, Obi-Wan. It’s not comfortable. So, they strip all of that away, they don’t take into account the heavy coding around East Asian culture Obi-Wan was written with.

“Space Scotland” is a concept just foreign enough to still intrigue them, to make Obi-Wan “exotic” while still fitting him into their mold, making him more palatable. There is even a trend to rename him Ben—as a given name—not to acknowledge someone who has been torn from their home and is now isolated (as is what Ben means to him in canon, the whole point being that it’s not the true him) as reflects the lives of many diaspora—they use it because it’s familiar in western culture. And then, they make a ridiculous pastiche of Scotland, one full of stereotypes and a blatant lack of research. There is absolutely no basis for it whatsoever. It’s for the aesthetic, it’s convenient for them. It’s nothing short of erasure.

There are headcanons, patterns, memes, that I have seen from fans that have for years led me to the realization (though I had not truly comprehended how large the scope of it was until recently).

So many fans do not want Obi-Wan Kenobi. They want an attractive white man who they shape to become more relatable, more familiar, so they can mold him into something that never aligned with his character, while keeping just enough of the “exoticism” by having him based off a foreign culture. Because how could they possibly relate to him without all those pesky Jedi teachings in the way! Well maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t live a lifestyle like yours.

(Note: this is not me saying that exploring Obi-Wan as a non-Jedi or bringing him into a modern AU is at all wrong in itself, but it is all about how it’s presented and the attitude towards him and his coding as a whole.)

Now that we’ve identified the all-too-common Obi-Wan caricature, we will consider another area in which he has been completely divorced from his canon portrayal.

The Negotiator

Obi-Wan Kenobi is portrayed by Ewan Mcgregor in the the prequel trilogy. Ewan Mcgregor is a conventionally attractive man. Obi-Wan is canonically described as charismatic, and dubbed “The Negotiator” for his diplomatic skills. Obi-Wan is appealing to Fandom. Of course, how could he not be? He’s kind, his sarcasm and wit entertains us for hours, and he never loses his integrity, no matter what he faces. Fandom has been enchanted by him for years, and will certainly continue to be.

He’s a stylish man, flashy to an extent, obviously gives a damn about looking neat, and isn’t afraid to utilize his charms.

However, aspects of him have been cherry-picked, and specific traits have snowballed. Specifically, the idea of Obi-Wan using his body, for business and for pleasure, is taken as canon. Frankly, I would be surprised if you had not heard the term “Slut Obi-Wan. It’s played for memes, it’s expressed in fanfiction, in casual mentions of his character. Frankly, it is everywhere.

What aspects of his personality allude to this? Well, the first and foremost thing has nothing to do with his personality at all, because it’s simply: people are physically attracted to him. In itself, there is nothing wrong with this. However, this, paired with his charisma, projection onto the character himself has been blown ridiculously out of proportion. But what does the text say? What would happen if we really looked at these interactions? But, of course, most of Fandom will not do this, and I do not expect them to. Why examine any further, after all, when it’s so easy and comfortable here?

But don’t take my word for it. Let’s examine Obi-Wan’s mindset from the canon.

I’m sure no one is surprised that the first interactions we are going to examine are those between Obi-Wan and Asajj Ventress. In almost every duel they have, playful banter that often crosses into flirtatiousness is played for comedy.

In the canon (as of now) novel Dark Disciple by Christie Golden, this is addressed directly.

However, it is stated to be purely tactical in nature. (Note: this discussion will not be me dictating who you can and cannot ship him with. merely, when we refer to canon Obi-Wan, and how he has processed romance and intimacy).

Nothing about this is for physical pleasure, merely a mental challenge, a way to hopefully catch the other off guard. It’s not difficult to understand that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Asajj Ventress have no genuine interest in each other, aside from the possibility of an amusing challenge from an intellectual equal, hence the mind games. Adding to this, too, they both have different canon love interests, and both characters are shown to be devoted only to their canon love interests, as far as romance goes.

In The Clone Wars season 2 episode 17, Bounty Hunters, Obi-Wan and a bounty hunter named Sugi are somewhat depicted to be fraternizing, with playful banter that wouldn’t be a stretch to label as flirting. However, if you’ll notice, the second she turns away, Obi-Wan’s demeanor completely changes, with his face immediately hardening into something devoid of playfulness or anything resembling desire. It is clear his only purpose in entertaining such a dynamic with the bounty hunter is to keep her as an ally and soften her view towards the Jedi’s involvement.

In The Clone Wars episode Innocnets of Ryloth, a droid states that General Kenobi is “known for his deceptive maneuvers.”

Obi-Wan is also shown using his charisma in ways that don’t involve anything flirtatious or remotely romantic. He is simply charming, puts people at ease, a balance of non-threatening calm with the confidence of a leader. He is shown staging fake surrenders, and speaks calmly to his enemies far more than he raises his voice.

So, in the canon, is Obi-Wan seeking physical pleasure, or does he merely act out of tactical necessity?

The Real Voyage of Temptation

Among the many things Fandom will happily graze over to stuff Obi-Wan into their caricatured version of him, how he processes sex and romance is one of the most prevalent misinterpretations. In the novel Padawan by Kirseten White, Obi-Wan explains that sexual intercourse always seemed “more like an obstacle, rather than a temptation.”

Because of what is in canon, I will now mention his relationship with Satine Kryze through his eyes. However, I will reference his EU love interest, Siri Tachi from the Jedi Apprentice series, because the same points apply.

We don’t have much about Obi-Wan and Satine during the blossom of their romance. We know that they were between the ages 15 to 18, that they had a year’s worth of time in proximity, and that they were constantly in life-or-death circumstances. Mirroring his relationship with Siri, he and Satine would often bicker. The root of the tumultuous bickering with Satine is typically their differing political views, but as with Siri, it is meant to depict their begrudging romantic attraction. However, both overcome their difference with Obi-Wan. The basis for romance had a foundation of trust and compromise. And in both cases, Obi-Wan chooses duty over love.

Despite fanon speculation (such as the theory that Korkie Kryze is the illegitimate son of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Satine Kryze, one Obi-Wan does not know about) in Obi-Wan’s relationship with Satine, it is implied that they do not acknowledge their feelings aloud until long into after they have built lives in which the other had no involvement. The first time they confess to each other’s faces is during a famous confrontation in The Clone Wars episode, Voyage of Temptation.

When Obi-Wan says his famous line “had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order,” what struck me upon first hearing the line is his use of past tense. He is admitting to Satine that he loved her enough to leave the Order as a teenager, but now he has so much more responsibility and such a different life, it is obvious that he would not leave the Order for her now. This is proven when later this same episode we see the two sharing a bittersweet goodbye. This situation mirrors Obi-Wan’s Legends romance with Siri Tachi. The two Padawans planned to leave the Jedi Order to be together whilst forced into proximity on a mission. However, upon their return to the Temple, they cancelled this plan and vowed to never speak of their feelings for each other again.

Siri Tachi and Satine Kryze both die in Obi-Wan’s arms during the Clone Wars, and they both reaffirm their love for him as they do so. Obi-Wan lets them both go.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is only ever shown having romantic interest for someone he trusts deeply, and has a strong emotional bond and sense of camaraderie with. And in both cases, he chose to stay in the Jedi Order.

In Padawan, after being away from the Temple for some time Obi-Wan identifies a desire for attachment—but not necessarily a romantic one. He describes having a best friend, a true one, a confidant, an equal, someone he can share emotional intimacy with.

“Obi-Wan was hit with a sudden pang of longing. Not for any of them, specifically, but for that intimacy with anyone, generally. To clasp fingers, sneak off into the dark, have the weight of secrets, and affection and… connection. Attachment.”

However, immediately after identifying this, he rebukes himself, saying it bordered too close to attachment. This is obviously sometime he had to fight all his life. And, of course, the fight was hard-won, but won nonetheless.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was loyal to the Jedi Order, whether he wanted it or not. In both timelines where he has romantic feelings for someone, he never forgets them, nor does he let his attachment overcome his life.

On another extreme, there is a tendency to undermine Obi-Wan’s love for such characters in a way that infantilizes him (again, this is not to say not shipping him with these canon love interests, I do not ship him with these characters. This is something else entirely). Among his choosing to stay in the Jedi Order, I have picked up a mild trend among fanfiction, that show characters such as Satine Kryze, or perhaps whomever the author would prefer to pair Obi-Wan with, emotionally or even physically “preying” on Obi-Wan. There is a delicate balance between how much he desires romance, how much he desires sex, and his dedication to the Jedi Order, all of which are blown far out of proportion by fanon. Once again—the issue lies when such things are taken as canon. His sexual desires are extremely low, as is obvious in many Star Wars novels, and yet he is objectified heavily. He can recognize his romantic feelings for both of the love interests he has had through Star Wars, while also deciding the Order is where he belongs.

These are his desires, and his priorities. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s actions speak of someone who is fiercely loyal, who loves deeply, and who is certainly not self-indulgent. Nothing about him says that he would share himself in such a way with a stranger, especially not if he harbored romantic feelings for someone else. Especially not when it took so much for him to fall in love in the first place.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Why This Matters)

“Millie, why does any of this matter? Fandoms have been mischaracterizing & embellishing canon since the dawn of time. Why do you care so much?”

Well, I could state the obvious that anyone who loves storytelling in some capacity will have to be familiar with, fiction reflects reality. So, yes, it does and always will matter how we chose to portray our world and the people in it.

Years ago, I finally made the decision that I would stop kicking around what little information I had with the core nine movies and finally watch The Clone Wars. And since then, I have loved Obi-Wan so deeply it has uprooted and changed my life. I have studied him as best I can. I’ve made wrong assumptions, I’ve concluded things about him that were false. But every single time, I have done all I could to research what was given to me from canon. There are trials in this, Obi-Wan has been portrayed by a myriad of different authors and writers over the years, and I have identified discrepancies between portrayals, especially if one considers canon vs. the EU. But beyond that, I just want to try and know him. And because of that, I am angry at what this Fandom does to him, and will no doubt continue to do to appease their idea of what he should be.

If you genuinely don’t care about him—if you enjoy your, fetishized, simplified, empty version of him after reading everything just covered, then there is likely nothing I can say to give canon Obi-Wan a modicum of merit in your eyes.

give me more jedi comparing a non-jedi's familial relationship to that of an apprentice and a master - at least that would make sense!

jedi going "yeah, an adult who guides and protects you and you're supposed to listen to them? yeah thats a master- oh, your mom is like that too? neat :)"

more jedi not really understanding non-jedi family dynamics. more jedi being horrified at the concept of someone being rejected or mistreated by their parent, because "why did they choose to have you then???"

Jedi who know they don't really have 'parents', like there's the crechemasters which is kind of parental and when you're a youngling you're growing up in a world where all the grownups do watch out for you and you get taught different things and cared for in different ways and you're expected to be respectful in different ways to and by different adults, but you don't have one specific adult as your go-to adult until you're nearly a teenager.

And you meet someone from outside the Temple who is so well meaning and says 'oh so like a parent' and they're wrong, they're incredibly wrong in ways you can't begin to express because you'd have to explain your whole culture from the ground up and you're twelve. But based on what you've read about normal childrearing structures in the greater Galaxy, that this well meaning stranger knows and you don't, yeah, sure, 'parent' is probably about as close as you're going to get without making it weird.

honestly, though? you put it in words exactly - there's no real way to convey the cultural differences for either parties.

they're wrong, they're incredibly wrong in ways you can't begin to express because you'd have to explain your whole culture from the ground up and you're twelve

The Jedi are no more culty and brianwashing than any other religion/culture/society.

“But the Jedi believe that love is wrong!” *INCORRECT BUZZER*, they discourage love to the point of obsession and possession. What Anakin had with Padmé wasn’t just live, it was possessive and unhealthy. The Jedi thrive on love, caring for others, empathy, they just don’t allow it to control your logical decision making.

“But they’re groomed into believing Jedi ideas” no shit?? All people are so called groomed into their society…that’s how learning to function in your specific culture works. You don’t come out of the womb knowing to say please and thank you, knowing that you will work a 9-to-5 one day, those things are taught…obviously Jedi are raised to believe Jedi ideas.

when we talk about representation in star wars, the conversation often stops at what’s visible or credited. star wars has a long-standing problem with the lack of asian leads or asian-coded worlds, but sometimes what’s more insidious is the erasure of asian influence where it once existed, or where it was clearly intended to be.

take obi-wan kenobi. before alec guinness was cast, george lucas had reportedly wanted a japanese actor to play the role, toshirō mifune, most famously known for his work with akira kurosawa. lucas has never strayed away from citing the hidden fortress as a direct inspiration for a new hope, and the jedi, in their original conception, from eastern philosophies, particularly bushido and zen buddhism. this was not accidental. it’s embedded into the language, “obi” (the sash of a kimono), “wan” (a name component common in chinese and southeast asian names), and “kenobi,” which emulates the structure of japanese surnames. it is an asian-inspired name, heavily so.

but when mifune declined, lucas pivoted. and instead of keeping that vision intact, the jedi master archetype, the wise elder, steeped in tradition, was lifted from its asian origins and handed to a white british actor. and then later, to ewan mcgregor, whose performance, while incredible, westernized the role further. we are told obi-wan is from “stewjon,” a planet born out of a joke, a merging of jon stewart’s name, after he asked lucas where obi-wan was from. then “space scotland” became the shorthand. that change from asian inspiration to european performance was never really questioned.

it’s not about demanding obi-wan look asian. it’s that the character was rooted in an asian framework, and that framework was abandoned the moment it became inconvenient to uphold. and that sets the tone for much of star wars, aesthetic borrowing without meaningful credit.

naboo is another case where this shows up. the common narrative is that naboo was inspired by renaissance europe, with its lush italian architecture, baroque dresses, and romanticized monarchy. those elements are there. but there’s a consistent thread of asian influence that is almost never acknowledged.

the names of the monarchs are a starting point. padmé, from the sanskrit “padma,” meaning lotus. sabé and saché, echoing asian and hindi name constructions. queen jamillia, whose name stems from arabic roots, suggests influence from islamic culture. even the name “naboo” itself sounds curiously close to nebo, a mesopotamian god, or nabu, the sumerian deity of wisdom. the planets closest to naboo in the galactic grid, like sereno and ord mantell, also carry vague echoes of eurasian tone.

but most significantly, look at the costume design in the phantom menace. trisha biggar drew from a range of global influences, but some of queen amidala’s most iconic gowns were directly modeled after traditional mongolian royal attire, specifically the headdress and layered robes worn by mongolian empresses. the high collars, rich brocades, and facial makeup are unmistakable. yet, in the lore, naboo is labeled as european. not central asian. not global. and certainly not asian.