One brief yet impactful scene in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 changed Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s character arc forever. Star Wars: The Clone Wars has become a cornerstone of Star Wars’ storytelling. By filling in the blanks between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, many of Star Wars’ most important characters were given the character development and nuance they deserved. One such character was undoubtedly Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose relationship with Anakin Skywalker, his loyalty to the Jedi Order, and his personal life were all explored in meticulous detail.

Obi-Wan’s relationship with Anakin, especially, is at the heart of the Skywalker saga. Despite their working relationship as Master and Padawan, Obi-Wan and Anakin became something more. They were friends, even brothers, and their character arcs in The Clone Wars, individually and together, made Anakin’s downfall and his and Obi-Wan’s duel on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith all the more tragic. One surprising part of Obi-Wan’s history made his relationship with Anakin much more understandable, as one scene in The Clone Wars solidified just how much Anakin’s happiness meant to Obi-Wan.

Clone Wars Confirmed Obi-Wan Knew About Anakin & Padmé All Along

In The Clone Wars season 7, there is a scene in which Anakin sneaks away from his fellow Jedi to call his wife, Padmé Amidala. At this point, she’s already pregnant, and the end of the Clone Wars is in sight. Captain Rex, one of Anakin’s most loyal stormtroopers and friends, guards the door to the room where Anakin makes the call. When Obi-Wan approaches to speak to Anakin, Rex makes up an excuse, but Obi-Wan surprises everyone when, just as Anakin leaves the room, he says: “I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello.”

This all-too-brief scene has a major impact on Obi-Wan’s character arc. It implicitly confirms that Obi-Wan knew about Anakin’s secret romantic relationship with Padmé all along. One of Obi-Wan’s most important character traits is his loyalty to the Jedi Order and their code. It infiltrated his relationship with his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, changed how he viewed the Jedi’s role in the Clone Wars, and led to him becoming a vital member of the Jedi Council. So why didn’t Obi-Wan ever say anything? Why didn’t he, at the very least, tell Anakin that he knew his biggest secret?

Obi-Wan Was Wilfully Blind To Anakin & Padme’s Relationship

One of the biggest revelations in The Clone Wars was that Obi-Wan had a love story of his own too. Within the show, it is revealed that when he was still a Padawan, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were assigned to protect Satine Kryze, the young Duchess of Mandalore. It was a long, arduous mission, and Obi-Wan and Satine fell in love during their time together. Years later, when they were reunited during the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan confessed to Satine that if she had asked him to leave the Jedi Order to be with her, he would have done so.

Not only did this prove that his love for Satine was real, but it also proved just how strong his loyalty was to the Jedi Order. Instead of trying to have it all, as Anakin did, Obi-Wan knew that he had to make a choice. All of this makes it seem as though Obi-Wan was a model Jedi. He knew how to have relationships without letting them cloud his judgment, he was fair, kind, and loyal to the light.

And yet, according to the novel Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen, Obi-Wan never revealed that he knew about Anakin’s relationship with Padmé because he wanted Anakin to live the type of life he never had the chance to. He wanted Anakin to experience love and be a Jedi at the same time. This makes Obi-Wan’s story all the more heartbreaking. He gave up his chance at happiness but worked tirelessly to ensure that others could find that happiness for themselves.

Obi-Wan’s Attachment To Anakin Was His Fatal Flaw

Obi-Wan wanting his friend to find happiness was understandable, but his attachment to Anakin proved to be his fatal flaw. Keeping Anakin’s secret proved that Obi-Wan cared more about Anakin’s happiness than the Jedi Code. Even when he sat on the Jedi Council, Obi-Wan withheld Anakin’s dangerous secret. How could he ever make fair and balanced decisions while hiding something so monumental? Obi-Wan wasn’t the perfect Jedi everyone believed him to be. Despite his previous choices, he allowed his personal life to get in the way and unwittingly played a part in the downfall of the Jedi Order as a whole.

That brief scene in The Clone Wars season 7, in which Obi-Wan confirms that he knew about Anakin’s secret all along, changed everything that Obi-Wan stood for. It showed that even the most outwardly loyal Jedi weren’t infallible and that the Jedi Code was more restrictive than it truly needed to be. Star Wars: The Clone Wars added so much depth to the Skywalker saga, but Obi-Wan Kenobi’s character was undoubtedly affected the most.