The first Jedi power that Obi-Wan Kenobi used in Star Wars proved why he could never bring balance to the Force, despite being such a strong and upstanding member of the Jedi Order. In the first Star Wars movie, later retitled A New Hope, audiences got their first glimpse of what the Jedi and the Force were capable of. Using the power of the Force, Obi-Wan convinces a stormtrooper to let him and Luke Skywalker pass. This was hardly the last time the Jedi would use this Force power, now known as the Jedi mind trick.

The Jedi mind trick allows a Jedi to alter someone’s thoughts and actions using the power of suggestion. Though the Jedi have often used it to accomplish goals for the greater good – Obi-Wan and Luke needed to find a pilot to help them save Leia, and other Jedi have used it during times of war and crisis to save innocent civilians – the Jedi mind trick has the potential to lead a Jedi down a dangerous path. Obi-Wan’s frequent use of it throughout Star Wars proved that he, like many other Jedi of the prequel era, had already lost his way.

Obi-Wan’s First Jedi Power Has A Dark Side To It

Though a Jedi using the mind trick to ensure someone lets them pass or forgets they were ever there seems innocent enough, it’s still a violation of a person’s free will. Suddenly, the target is no longer in control of their thoughts and actions. Most of those who are susceptible to the sway of the Jedi mind trick are unable to fight back against it, too. The Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers, they are supposed to exhaust all other options before resorting to violence – but the Jedi mind trick is essentially another, perhaps less obvious form of violence.

How easy would it be to use the Jedi mind trick to force someone to hurt themselves, or others? Though the Jedi are largely benevolent, the Jedi mind trick is, worryingly, not all that far removed from another mind-altering Force power: the dark side mind probe. Though the mind probe is most often used to interrogate and torture someone into submission, forcing them to give up their secrets and their memories, the underlying technique is essentially the same. Both sides use the Force to alter and manipulate someone’s mind.

Obi-Wan Grew Up In A Jedi Order That Had Lost Its Balance

As Star Wars has proven again and again, the Jedi of the prequel era were deeply flawed. The Order had already lost its balance by the time Obi-Wan arrived and began training as a Jedi. It was too closely linked to galactic politics, its code was arguably too restrictive, and once the Clone Wars began, the Jedi were too quick to resort to violence, even if their primary enemies were machines and droids. At one point, they were even willing to consider outright assassination, as revealed in Christie Golden’s novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple.

During the Clone Wars, the Jedi also resorted to using the Jedi mind trick to interrogate someone. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 2, episode 3, “Children of the Force,” Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, and Mace Windu combined their power to force Cad Bane, a notorious bounty hunter, to reveal the location of a Jedi Holocron. Though Bane wasn’t innocent, the Jedi’s combined efforts clearly hurt him. If Obi-Wan was willing to use the Jedi mind trick that way, how could he, or anyone else who’d ever condone that kind of action, ever hope to restore balance to the Force?

As Great A Jedi As He Was, Obi-Wan Was Still Out Of Balance

On the surface, Obi-Wan Kenobi was always a model Jedi. He was a skilled fighter, an excellent negotiator, a fair teacher, and an empathetic listener. He even gave up his chance at love and happiness because of his loyalty to the Order. He was wiser than most – he knew he could never have it all, and so he poured all of his compassion into his work as a Jedi. And yet, the Clone Wars, and his relationship with Anakin, knocked Obi-Wan off-balance. The war took a toll on all the Jedi, but Obi-Wan was especially affected.

He kept Anakin’s marriage a secret, despite knowing that it would affect Anakin’s judgment as a Jedi. He allowed his attachment to his Padawan to cloud his own judgment, too. He resorted to violence when he shouldn’t have, even if it was for the greater good, and supported the Jedi Council’s plan to assassinate Count Dooku during the Clone Wars. Though Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first use of the Jedi mind trick in Star Wars was innocent enough, using that power for so many years, and without much thought, proved that he wasn’t as balanced as a Jedi should be.