Obi-Wan Kenobi did more than just show what the Jedi Master did between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The Disney+ series also gave us greater insights into what was going on in the galaxy far, far away during its darkest days. Some of those revelations changed what we know about Star Wars forever. Others will have huge ramifications for the franchise going forward. These seven are the biggest and most important moments from Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The Path Kept Force Users Safe and Hidden
Order 66 did not succeed in killing every Jedi. Even if it had, it didn’t mean no other Force users would ever be born. But with Palpatine’s Inquisitors hunting them down, those gifted individuals always seemed to be on their own. As we saw with Benny Safdie’s Jedi Nari, that often meant a lonely death.
But Obi-Wan Kenobi revealed that the galaxy had its own Underground Railroad for Force sensitive individuals, especially children. The Path kept their true identities a secret and ushered them to safe havens where they could live in peace. It also helped to conceal some of the remaining Jedi who survived Order 66. And some of them continued to serve the light side of the Force even at great risk to themselves.
Jedi Quinlan Vos Survived Order 66
We now know another famous Jedi survived Palpatine’s massacre. Quinlan Vos not only lived, he was one of the people serving the Path. Obi-Wan found Quinlan’s signature and message of hope engraved in the wall of the Path’s safe house on Mapuzo.
Quinlan Vos was a free-thinker; he often did things his own way, in direct contrast with the ways of the Jedi Order. But for a man who once lost himself to the dark side, when the galaxy needed him most he continued to answer the call.
Obi-Wan Lost His Connection With the Force For a Time
Obi-Wan went into hiding on Tattooine after delivering Luke to Owen and Beru Lars. Revenge of the Sith indicated that he then began the additional training Yoda told him about during the two Jedi Masters last meeting. Qui-Gon had learned the way to immortality and would teach it to Obi-Wan. Considering Kenobi knew how to become one with the Force in A New Hope, it was clear he would learn that lesson.
But at the start of the Disney+ series, Obi-Wan had lost his connection with the Force. He could not commune with his old Master. That’s why he strained to save a falling Leia, something that would have been easy for him just a decade earlier. Like Luke decades later, even a Jedi as wise and powerful as Obi-Wan could break enough to break his connection with the Force. Thankfully he found his way back in time to save both of Padmé’s kids and complete his training.
Obi-Wan and Vader Met Again Before A New Hope
Obi-Wan left his former Padawan engulfed in flames along the shores of Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith. Darth Vader then struck down his old Master in A New Hope, which always seemed to be the next encounter between the two. Now Obi-Wan Kenobi has shown that roughly halfway between those two movies the pair met again. While Vader had the upper hand initially, by the time they dueled alone on an empty planet, Obi-Wan’s renewed strength in the Force allowed him to best his Padawan again. That exchange also made Obi-Wan give up believing in his friend. Darth Vader took full responsibility for Anakin Skywalker’s demise.
Darth Vader Gave Obi-Wan His “Certain Point of View”
Turns out Luke Skywalker shouldn’t blame Obi-Wan for lying/not telling him the full truth about his father. Obi-Wan’s infamous “certain point of view” story about Anakin Skywalker came from Darth Vader himself. The Sith Lord was the one who told Obi-Wan about who killed Anakin. Years later Obi-Wan would repeat that same story to Luke, who did not appreciate that perspective when he discovered Darth Vader was actually his father.
Palpatine Kept Force Users Perfectly Preserved
The Star Wars prequels revealed Emperor Palpatine had used dark science and secrets only the Sith knew to resurrect himself. The Mandalorian then showed the cloning project that made both Snoke and Palpatine’s new body possible. But Obi-Wan Kenobi revealed the origins of Palpatine’s quest for immortality started long before that. At the height of his powers, the Emperor kept Jedi and Force sensitive individuals bodies perfectly preserved in an amber-like tomb. That was no tomb at Fortress Inquisitorius, it was a science lab. And while it doesn’t appear to have proven fruitful in Palpatine’s darkest of endeavors, it did lay the ground work for the project that did.
Obi-Wan and Leia Knew Each Other
The single biggest revelation from Obi-Wan Kenobi came from its smallest character. Princess Leia Organa didn’t send a desperate plea to her father’s old Clone War colleague in A New Hope. “General Kenobi” was her friend and protector Obi-Wan, a Jedi she first met as a young child. The two shared a secret friendship, one they rightfully kept hidden from the Empire. In some ways that relationship even exceeded the one the Jedi eventually had with her brother, Luke.
One of the galaxy far, far away’s greatest Jedi was a seminal figure in the lives of both Skywalker children. And like Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s other biggest revelations, it only makes Star Wars a richer place to revisit during any era.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
