Why OBI-WAN KENOBI is the Most Important Character in STAR WARS | Character Study
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- Опубликовано: 24 май 2022
- Obi-Wan Kenobi's legacy spans Star Wars Trilogies and animated shows, and he is a central figure in the lives of 3 generations of Skywalkers. The entire saga hinged on Obi-Wan's choices and his failures. In this character study, we break down why Obi Wan was the most crucial character in the saga.
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Written and Edited by Pavel Terehovsky (pavel8866.wixsite.com/pavelt) pavel8866@gmail.com
Hosted by Ryan Arey ( / ryanarey )
#ObiWanKenobi #StarWars #CharacterStudy
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a learner, a brother, a lover, a mentor. He is the ideal jedi knight. Well, at least the Jedi of his age.
He is the smart negotiator, a noble warrior, a leader respected by all of his peers. A man who faced countless tragedies, but never fell to the darkside. Oh, also, he’s the master of the high ground, and the most sassy troll in the galaxy.
And yet, Obi-Wan represents all the flaws and failures of the jedi of his time. He embodies the jedi creed, the dogmatic views that brought down a republic and allowed an empire to rise.
But from another point of view, Obi-Wan is one of the wisest and best characters in Star Wars.
His wisdom and mistakes influenced
three Skywalker generations.
And his actions and choices shaped the Skywalker saga.
Obi-Wan is the first jedi we have ever met.
He was presented as a space wizard, a noble knight who embodies what is good and right.
Naturally old Ben Kenobi was perceived as the ideal jedi, a paragon of the light side.
But under the surface, Obi-Wan is a relic of a bygone era, the last member of a legendary fallen order.
Kenobi is also a mysterious promise for the gander story. Luke’s, and our, guide on an adventure like no other. Our gateway to the larger Star Wars universe.
However, even back in his introduction, it was apparent that the old wise master was scarred by the past, haunted by painful tragedies that will be revealed only following his death.
After learning that his father is Darth Vader, the benevolent image of Obi-Wan began to shatter. The concept of the ideal jedi was called into question.
We started seeing the other side of the equation. That the jedi are far from being the perfect paragons of good they present themselves to be. Obi-Wan was flawed, same as the order he represented.
Obi-Wan’s “from a certain point of view” is one of the most crucial scenes in the entire Skywalker saga. It establishes that this epic story is far more complicated than just light vs dark.
Obi-Wan’s words are an introduction to the jedi in the prequels, and all of their flaws and failings. On the surface, it seems like Obi-Wan is dealing in absolutes, just like a Sith. But there’s so much more nuance to this scene, and we will explain it in a bit.
Obi-Wan’s importance to the Skywalker saga begins at the very start. The Phantom Menace is the inception that will intertwine Kenobi with 3 generations of Skywalkers.
While he was mostly sidelined in episode 1, Obi-Wan still played a crucial role in the movie.
When we meet Obi-Wan in the prequels, he’s completely different from the wise master we knew.
The young Obi-Wan was rebellious, constantly at odds with his master.
Part of it is because Qui-Gon challenged the council, and this led to Obi-Wan constantly questioning him. The apprentice pleaded with the master to be more like the other Jedi, since he perceived masters like Yoda as the ideal representation of what a Jedi needs to be.
But as a young padawan, Obi-Wan dealt with an imbalance in his emotions, having much to learn before becoming a wise master. While Qui-Gon went against the curve, it’s his independence and wisdom that will later shape Obi-Wan. And that will then in turn shape Anakin and Luke.
Learning is what makes Obi-Wan so wise.
He constantly learns from his mistakes, his failures allow him to evolve and change.
While his skills as a jedi are legendary, Obi-Wan became the ideal jedi thanks to his wisdom. This allowed him to become a respected leader during the Clone Wars.
Obi-Wan represents the key difference between knowledge and wisdom.
Obi-Wan’s first major change in the saga is Qui-Gon’s death.
Before we dive into the meaning of it all, I have to bring up this amazing moment. [obi-wan goes after maul with anger]
This is why the prequels’ lightsabers duels are some of my favorites. They always told a story through action. It’s never just mindless and flashy swings.
Well, mostly always, cause some of these flips are really not necessary.
I love how Obi-Wan charges Maul, as if he’s been fired out of a blaster, fueled by so much rage after witnessing his master killed by this hellish demon. 
Кино
Who do you want to see appear in Obi-Wan's show?
I much rather the show focus on Obi-Wan then shoe horn cameos
Doug the Mandalorian. duh!
Ezra Bridger
i dont want many people to cameo but if anyone, i think Black K should show up to recreate obi wan giving him the scar
Obi-Wan...just Obi-Wan. What more to do need?
I feel like Obi-Wan also says “Don’t try it” to Anakin before he jumps because he did the same against Maul & knew to counter it resulting in cuttin off Anakin’s legs & other arm
I had never seen it like that. Brilliant
I mean…… it’s a core principle of physical combat. Also there are plenty of times where jumping has been beneficial to fighting and I’m just picturing the Clone Wars. Is a lovely thing for them to say but holds no real truth because in the final battle they were on the same level, one wasn’t higher then the other.
@@b00nz0r sure
@@b00nz0r wtf are you smoking? Obi was literally standing on a hill above Anakin.
That’s exactly why he said it…
Obi was able to defeat Maul and Grevious both while they had the high ground because they both became arrogant. Obi knew all he had to do was stay focused.
Maul died because he played with Obi wan while he was hanging and Grevious never considered the blaster as an option for Obi because he thought a jedi without a saber was useless.
That transition to Qui Gon's fighting style is a beautiful evolution of Obi-Wan's character. This video is fantastic!
Qui-Gon used Ataru not Soresu
I never even realized he switched till I seen this video, it was beautiful!
I think you mean 'from' Qui-Gon's style. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan together used Ataru. After Qui-Gon's death, Obi-Wan switched to Soresu.
He is arugably the most Jedi of all Jedis without being a perfect Jedi
He is the archetype
Anakin grew up hearing about Obi-Wan defeating Maul. Anakin thought he could do the same thing. Obi-Wan was trying to reach out by pleading, "don't try it"
Maul is off guard but obi didn't
Actually I believe R2D2 is the most important character in Star Wars. Without R2, death star plans aren't delivered, Luke Skywalker doesn't escape from Jabbas barge, and Rey doesn't find the location of Master Skywalker, among other important story arcs that are slipping my mind at this time. Never underestimate a droid!
Padme never escapes Naboo, obiwans transmission never gets passed on to the council initiating the arena battle on geonosis, and obiwan and anakin have a lot of elevator troubles…
R2D2 also saves Anakin, Obi-Wan and Papltine lives on the Spaceship in Revenge of the sith.
Bro I swear to God I was just about to say R2-D2!!Good $h!t!
Me and my cousin were just having this conversation. R2 is like the heart or the backbone of this franchise.
the shit that droid has seen is not ok.
did he download the lightsaber archives? how much does he truly know?
Also, note how Obi-Wan lost his trolling sense of humor between SW III and SW IV. That's really showing how broken he became.
The Obi Wan Kenobi series will show you how he did lose it.
It always irked me that no one seemed to realize that Anakin did fulfill the prophecy of the chosen one in revenge of the sith. Balance meant equality between the light and dark sides of the Force whereas up to the turning point of the emperor, Mace, and Anakin; the light side was in power in overwhelming numbers. By the end, there were two key players on each side of this coin, Obi wan and Yoda for the light, and Vader and the emperor for the dark. To me, that was the balance. The prophecy was a warning, not an end of evil. Even Yoda said that a prophecy misinterpreted it may have been. Luke was a new hope, because it was his faith in people, not dogma, that brought goodness back to the galaxy.
Lucas has contradicted himself on this so many times. He's called the Dark Side an imbalance and cancer and said Anakin technically brought "balance."
The Sith ruling the Galaxy and the Jedi are as good as wiped out? Sounds not like balance to me.
@@danmarusan2878 it is balanced. As the Jedi held the most power before the fall of the republic.
I agree with you on this, the thing is that there never was really any good or evil in the greater scope of things in the universe, the only thing is that the jedi come from a bad understanding of stoism (yeah yeah it generally isn't that good either) with some Kantian ethics in the mix which they are higgghly inaccurate with (killing is bad but you also kill people like all the time, yeah sure values) and the sith mostly come from a utilitarian amoral side (think of it like this, this is a universe where killing is pretty much the norm sooo they are just pretty normal utilitarians, or even existentialists, some like plagueis, by our understanding projected there. And there is the machiavellian understanding of the clone wars period. George Lucas doesn't seem to get what he has created and that makes it even more interesting, he sees it weirdly from a good and bad kind of angle. If we look at it from the perspective we know now of the universe, it is really clear that the adminstration doesn't really matter for the most (%99.9) percent of the universe. This is made really clear in the Bane books but also in the newer material. So yeah the story in its state right now is just a really neutral and amoral look onto a philosophical conflict between the two sides neither being good or evil.
Its all about balancing the force, if the jedi are strong in numbers or still have a wise master, the force will influence greatly to the dark side in the galaxy pretty much flaring up embers that's were once charred.
Agreed. And OMG I never put that connection between Obi-Wan and Maul/Vader and the High Ground. In both duels, Obi-Wan starts from bellow, moves up and cuts his opponent down severely. There are parallels between both duels.
It’s like poetry it rhymes
Anakin actually tried the same move earlier in the fight (right after he says “This so the end for you, my Master”) but almost fell off of the platform, if he didn’t almost fall he would have succeeded in doing the same move to Obi as Obi did to Maul
Revenge of the Sith really hits hard no matter how much you rewatch it, I LOVE STAR WARS so much such an amazing series!!!
It’s actually such an amazing complex story, with a couple of horrible performances that almost ruin it.
Obi-Won has always been my favorite Star Wars character. He reminds me of the wise judge, Samuel, in the Old Testament. He also was the last of his kind and a teacher to future leaders. Super pumped about the show!😁
And it’s why I’m really crossing my fingers they do him Justice in his own show. Always been my favorite character growing up.
I’ve always loved that scene….Obi Wan Kenobi anxiously waiting for the shield to deactivate so he could get at Darth Maul…so good
Very interesting angle of how he couldn't kill Anakin, but when he realized Maul knew about Luke he knew he needed to kill him - and why he pushed Luke to kill Vader as he knew not being willing to do so created such a mess. But Luke wouldn't do it - and maybe just after all the pain Vader went through he was ready to hear it from Luke when he wasn't ready to hear it from Obi-Wan as Obi-Wan represented all that was wrong with the Jedi but Luke represented what could be right/better
It doesn’t make sense that Luke would lose Ben to the dark side, like how could you see the good in Darth Vader, who murdered millions of innocent lives, and see darkness in Ben, who literally didn’t do anything wrong
@Tori Ben Solo (Kylo Ren)
Vader didn't blow up Alderaan, Tarkin did.
@@MrBazBake your right, from his lightsaber not millions but definitely thousands, but he still approved of the destroying of the planet
Luke saw the future, a Jedi ability Anakin also had. He didn't just see darkness, he saw Ben (Kylo) killing his best friend, Han. Plenty of reason to have that one moment of uncontrollable anger.
A trait he had in the original movies as well. Remember Luke going berserk on Vader after Vader found out about his sister.
People should pay WAY more attention to everything...
@@DeSvenster Luke never saw Vader’s future, and was still optimistic about him, Kylo Ren hadn’t done ANYTHING and yet Luke STILL ignited his lightsaber, that goes against all of his character development. It makes no sense
Obi wan is one of the most inspirational characters in sw. he became extremely accomplished despite having a low midichlorian count
I’m so mad that people still try to use midiclorians as an explanation for the force.
I think they have a pill for that.
@@oldboywoody3835 why?
@@oldboywoody3835 eitherways, he doesnt even rely on the force. Sure he can use it a lot but he doesnt rely on it like Anakin/Darth Vader does.
@@JonCollinsMedia Many people felt that it makes The Force too "scientific" and that it removes its mystical effect.
I really did not think about this until now. Obi-Wan took something from Vader in the first Star Wars by dying. That one thing that drove him deep down inside was no longer there. And the fact it was him just giving up would have made it that much more I think. I really have to wonder what would have been going thru Vader after that fight. Not right away, just in the quiet times that must have been full of Obi-Wan hate in his head now quiet. Was that the point he was floating free and could go back to the light?
Exactly. Vader killed him, but Vader did NOT beat him. Once Obi Wan looked over to Luke, and then smiled and sacrificed himself, Vader lost; he just didn’t know it yet.
Im a huge fan of your way of seeing the strife and turmoil Obi-Wan. he is truly a broken and flawed man. I hope this new show shows that. he is so complex... his story is so deep..
Beautifully made and delivered Ryan! Great job 👏
So, basically this video is exactly what I was hoping the Kenobi series would give us: a well-considered meditation on the strengths, failures and evolution of Obi-Wan, the most interesting character in Star Wars. We have only had the first four episodes released, as of this writing, but so far I would rather have watched this channel than anything I have seen out of Disney's Star Wars this year. Keep it up!
"we crashed the ship your way" is one of my favorite lines in star wars ever
I love how you are able to talk about the sequels without treating them like the goddamn plaige, like everyone else. Thank you for not alienating your audience!
You Ryan are simply the best commentator bar none on this forum. You bring clever insight and clarity of thought which this viewer highly respects. No rants of immature emotions etc…kudos to you sir. I hope others view your videos and learn from your approach.
Loved this video. This is one of my favourite ones of your Ryan but I watch them all. Great content 👍🏻
Anakin actually tried the same move earlier in the fight (right after he says “This so the end for you, my Master”) but almost fell off of the platform, if he didn’t almost fall he would have succeeded in doing the same move to Obi as Obi did to Maul
Can’t wait for your breakdowns for the new show
Thank you for this gift! 🎉❤️
You are 100% right, from a certain point of view. 😂
Actually, I think I agree with just about everything. I especially loved Clone Wars and Rebels. I’m really looking forward to his new story… how did he go from Episode 3 to Rebels/A New Hope? That’s what I hope we see.
This is a great video! Everything so well said and explained! Thank you!!
Thanks for this, Ryan. You made me love Obi-Wan even more, and I didn't think that was possible.
It's crazy how this video gave me an entire mood change. Thank you
Great video Ryan...makes a lot of parallels that makes sense..
Great work Ryan!
Love how you gave side-eye to the camera while saying, "from a certain point of view". Nice
my fav video from Ryan on Star Wars lore so far!!!!! so many levels of intepretation that can be channeled onto our own lives and expieriences and lives and expieriences of other generations, AMAZING, thank you
This has been THE Best Screen Crush video I’ve ever seen. 🤩 From analysis to video clips: just perfect! I never really thought of Obi-Wan like this and I WATCHED all of Clone Wars and Rebels, and all the movies. Wow! Total mind blown here. 🤯😅 Great job guys! 👍🏾👍🏾 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very well done, Ryan.
Wonderful overview of Obi-Wan Kenobi's effect in the Star Wars Universe.
Very very good narrative and refresher. Good job.
What an EXCELLENT Analysis...thank you
This might be your best video ever. So deep.
Amazing work!!!
Great video! I love how you delve into the psychology! Just brilliant!
16:40 is some of the coolest editing
ALRIGHT alright here. Have my subscription. Love your stuff man.
I have to say that I think Anakin was and still is the chosen one. Hear me out here-He did actually bring balance to the force. But it was a Monkeys paw prophecy.
That is- he brought balance but not the balance they were expecting. They wanted him to make the Jedi order and the council more powerful - which would arguably be a problem considering that the Council was already in power : we’re they just power hungry ??
Instead Anakin brought the new order. Which depending on perspective-could just be the other side of coin- hence balance. One side should never completely dominate the other regardless good or evil. Yin and Yang define one another.
Although the council wanted More for their side of the fight - Anakin was ultimately the one to stop the Jedi’s growing lost for control and power.
Great job Ryan, thank you.
I absolutely enjoy your essays.
So dang stoked for the Kenobi series
With the added context of the Clone Wars (especially Season 7), we see Ahsoka become one of the lynchpins keeping Anakin in the order, with him learning as much from her as her from him. And Obi-Wan too grows from this relationship. When Obi-Wan doubted the council's decision to have Anakin spy on Palpatine. He tells her "the council isn't always right". And Ahsoka responds by telling him to "tell Anakin". So instead of approaching Anakin as an authority figure, berating/lecturing him about what he should and shouldn't do and how the council knows best, instead he approaches Anakin as someone to confide in, having faith in him openly instead of taking the council's side. That's what lead Obi-Wan to tell Anakin how proud of him he was before they went their separate ways. The tragedy is that by then it was too late and Palpatine's claws had already been sunken too deep into Anakin.
Thanks, Ryan! 🌌
excellent analysis and video.
Excellent Analysis about Obi-Wan
Absolutely brilliant video essay. Love it and agree whole heartedly.
Fantastic!
Honestly the more you look back at Phantom Menace the more you see how underrated it was. Quigon and Obiwans archs are so good. Not to mention some incredible action scenes (podracing and duel of the fates are at the top)
The Phantom Menace was justifiably rated poorly. The highs were outstanding, but the far more frequent lows were a joke. The interminable and boring pod race scene, the racist caucus caricature aliens, the stilted and awkward dialogue...it was just bad. But the best parts of it were outstanding, so I choose to focus on those.
Excellent video.
Bravo
Ryan at his very best!! ❤️👏👏👏
I like your analysis. Thanks for all your hard work putting the video together.
This video was beautifully made
Great video. You always make a rewatch have a bit more depth
This was SO good. Wow 👍👍
Excellent vid!!!
Wonder insight. Love this!
Incredible video!
brilliant analysis!
Really excellent analysis Ryan. You do great work. I just hope the Obi-Wan show is really about this character that we want to see explored and not used as an opportunity to introduce same new, uninteresting character.
Wonderful analysis. Very well done.
Love your take on all things SW. Thank you.
Nice depth, and good recap for the coming spin-off series
Amazing video
This is a brilliantly written analysis of one of the greatest epic heroes of our modern mythology.
Thanks Ryan
I still feel that Luke's character in the sequel trilogy is simply a lazy deconstruction out of lack of creativity, not a choice looping into the larger narrative. The decision was made simply to promote Rey as better than predecessors without actually making a character that is.
That's probably why the entire sum of analysis of the sequel trilogy was summed up with about 3% of the length of this video
Yeah, this video is really lazy regarding that.
Luke in the sequels and Lucas's treatment was a reflection of how George Lucas felt his generation failed to protect later generations and how dejected the hippy baby boomers were with the rise of the political right.
Great video as always. You even had me ALMOST have respect for the sequel. Hard to do
Brilliant and beautifully explained. Straight to the core of your thinking. 🌟 just for not being boring as other well known channels!
May I add that Ewan McGregor Scott humor and swagger made a perfect Obi Wan…?
Obi-Wan is the true chosen one
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant
More Character Studies please!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
AHHHHHH IM SO PUMPED FOR THE NEW SERIES
Great video
Bravo! This episode was Awesome!
Mugatu fanboying over Obi Wan vs Maul just made my whole day :)
And my favourite too. The role that put Ewan McGregor on the map
I love Obi-Wan and Ewan McGregor but I think Trainspotting but him on the map. Star Wars propelled him off the charts.
Some of the best Star Wars casting ever.
Obi Wan did three poses before his final fight with Maul. Young Obi arm up and to the right. Older Obi Wan pose with two hands in front of him from the Death Star fight, before finally settling on the opening pose of Qui Gon. Poetry dude
Great video.
Character study is a series I'm ready for more of 😁
I IMMEDIATELY clicked on this video when it came up in my alerts. You and Doug are my favorites when it comes to Star Wars videos. Your trailer breakdowns are pretty wizard too!
I think Leia was pulled from Obi-Wan's mind - I hope we see that in the show after he rescues her and teaches her to strengthen her mind with The Force (she was able to resist Vader in SW:ANH)
Good point - that would be great to see in the show!!!
Very Well Said, Love Star Wars
Love the vids
Very compelling argument!
Well played sir...well played
And the moral of the day is: No matter who has the high ground, Obi-wan always wins!
Brilliant
Very good.
The High Ground is the key to all of this
Damn this made me love Obi-Wan even more. I'm not crying you are!
When Obi-Wan told Luke to kill Darth Vader, I personally think that it was more of a metaphor for Luke turning Vader back to Anakin.
In the end, I think that Obi-Wan was the key to everything. Without him, Qui-Gon may not have been the one sent to help Naboo. The other Jedi most likely wouldn't have been as reckless as Qui-Gon was on Tatooine and they wouldn't have tried to defy the council to train Anakin, if they did get the boy freed. Then, if Qui-Gon did survive and train Anakin, he might not have married Padme and have Luke and Leia. I also believe that part of the reason Anakin fell wasn't fully that Obi-Wan failed, but that Obi-Wan wasn't there to help guide Anakin when he needed him most; when he had to choose light or dark. In a way, the council failed by separating Obi-Wan and Anakin when their bond needed to be at its strongest.
Very excited about tomorrow💚🇬🇧🌱
3:02 I like to call that series of laser shields a Parallel-Laser Oscillating Threshold (P.L.O.T.) device.