Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Star Wars love story proves that he was not only a better Jedi than Anakin Skywalker, but a better person as well. Despite the Jedi’s rules against attachments, many have struggled to process romantic relationships and the feelings that develop while falling in love. Anakin’s secret love affair with Padmé Amidala, a prominent politician from the planet Naboo, is Star Wars’ most infamous Jedi love story, but it is far from the only one. His Jedi Master, Obi-Wan, once fell in love, too, as was revealed in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
This was a rather surprising revelation, as Obi-Wan has often been viewed as the ideal Jedi, but it added a significant amount of depth to his character and proved exactly why he was such an honorable Jedi. As a young Padawan, Obi-Wan met and fell in love with Duchess Satine Kryze, the eventual ruler of the planet Mandalore, whilst on a long security mission with his old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Though Obi-Wan and Satine’s relationship has been woefully underexplored in the Star Wars franchise, one detail from The Clone Wars proves just how different Obi-Wan and Anakin were as people and as Jedi.
Obi-Wan Would Have Left The Jedi Order To Be With Satine
So far, audiences have only seen Obi-Wan and Satine interact during the Clone Wars. As a result, many of their interactions were fraught with tension – not just because they still had feelings for one another, despite first falling in love when they were teenagers, but because of the ideological conflict between the Republic and Mandalore, as well. This made it hard to gauge exactly how deep their feelings for one another were until Obi-Wan made the ultimate proclamation in The Clone Wars season 2, episode 13: “Had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order.”
Clearly, their love for one another was real, and Obi-Wan admitting that he was willing to abandon the Jedi Order and the only life he had ever known for Satine proved that. Not only that, but it also proved that Obi-Wan had genuine integrity – he understood and respected the reason for the Jedi’s rules against attachment, accepted that Jedi can’t have and shouldn’t want to have everything all at once, and decided that he would have given up his power to be with the woman he loved if she had asked him to. That’s true, honest, and selfless love.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episodes In Chronological Order (Correct Watch Order)
With Star Wars: The Clone Wars being released non-chronologically, you need the correct viewing order to make sense of its different plotlines.
Anakin Wanted Everything, Which Ultimately Led To His Downfall
Anakin, on the other hand, couldn’t bear the thought of parting with either Padmé or the Jedi Order, acting on his fears and desires rather than fighting for integrity and honesty. Anakin wanted it all at the same time – love, power, and status. While this made him undeniably human and relatable, it also ultimately proved that Anakin was driven by personal gain, directly opposing the Jedi’s beliefs. This point was reinforced in the Skywalker family biography, Skywalker: A Family At War by Kristin Braver, which had this to say about Anakin’s decisions as a young and driven Jedi:
“He had spurned their strict code and violated their protocols again and again in the name of justice and desire. But he was not strong enough to take a stand and walk away. The Jedi Order had been his life. The Jedi had freed him from slavery and offered him a home… He owed them too much.”
Anakin’s refusal to give up his love for either Padmé or the Jedi is understandable – he’d led a tragic life, one filled with loss and trauma, and both Padmé and the Jedi brought him some form of comfort. But his staunch refusal to accept the Jedi’s rules put him, Padmé, and the entirety of the Jedi Order at risk, his inability to let go of his attachments making him vulnerable to manipulation, as Palpatine so effortlessly proved. Obi-Wan fell in love but didn’t let it consume him – he acted with thought for both the Jedi and Satine. Anakin did the exact opposite, and in doing so, changed the fate of the galaxy in Star Wars forever.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place between Episodes 2 and 3 of the Star Wars film saga. The fan-favorite series expands the story of the prequel trilogy through characters including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, and more fan-favorite jedi.
- Release Date
- October 3, 2008
- Cast
- Matt Lanter , james arnold taylor , Ashley Eckstein , Dee Bradley Baker , Matthew Wood , Tom Kane , Catherine Taber , Terrence Carson , Corey Burton , Nika Futterman , Katee Sackhoff , Sam Witwer
- Seasons
- 7
- Writers
- Dave Filoni , George Lucas
- Network
- Disney Channel
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
- Franchise(s)
- Star Wars
- Directors
- Dave Filoni
- Showrunner
- Dave Filoni
