Obi-Wan Ruined His Chance to Save Anakin Just Hours After Qui-Gon's Death

Summary Obi-Wan made Anakin feel isolated from the start, paving the way for Palpatine to prey on his vulnerabilities.

Anakin needed someone like Qui-Gon who fully believed in him to prevent his fall to the dark side.

Obi-Wan's failure to save Anakin from Palpatine can be traced back to this crucial interaction in The Phantom Menace.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special! It’s been well-noted in Star Wars lore that Obi-Wan Kenobi blames himself for Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, with the added guilt that he couldn’t live up to the final wishes of his master, Qui-Gon Jinn. While Darth Vader himself absolved Obi-Wan of that guilt in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, perhaps he shouldn’t have - and perhaps Obi-Wan was right to blame himself for Anakin’s corruption. In fact, Obi-Wan effectively ruined his chance to save Anakin just hours after Qui-Gon Jinn’s death.

In Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special by Greg Pak and Will Sliney, fans are given invaluable insight into the iconic characters of Episode I that they didn’t get from watching the film alone. Not only that, but lines of dialogue from the film are given added emphasis in the comic, allowing fans the chance to dissect them a bit more than they otherwise would. And one such conversation between Anakin and Obi-Wan is a bit of a doozy.

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Mere hours after Qui-Gon Jinn dies, and makes Obi-Wan promise to train Anakin - even if the Jedi Council doesn’t approve - Obi-Wan makes it clear to Anakin that he’s only training him because of that promise he made to Qui-Gon, not because he actually has faith in Anakin.

Their interaction was on Naboo, right after Anakin heard that Qui-Gon was dead, and he was upset that the only person who believed in him was gone, and now he felt utterly alone. Rather than assuring Anakin that he has faith in him too, Obi-Wan simply says, “His last wish… was that I should train you. And I will keep that promise”. It sounded like the right thing to say, but Obi-Wan accidentally reinforced Anakin’s feelings that he was alone - more than that, he was a burden to Obi-Wan and the entire Jedi Council.

Obi-Wan Made Anakin Feel Isolated From the Start, Making Him Easy Prey for Palpatine

Anakin Skywalker was told to his face by the Jedi Council that he was not to be trained as a Jedi, and the only one who pushed for that training was Qui-Gon Jinn. Then, Qui-Gon died, and Obi-Wan became Anakin’s master purely out of obligation. Indeed, Obi-Wan said himself that he agreed with the Council’s decision - again, right in front of Anakin. Obi-Wan telling Anakin that the only reason he would train him was to fulfill his promise to Qui-Gon wasn’t enough to make up for the levels of rejection Anakin already experienced from both Obi-Wan and the Council.

From the start, Anakin felt isolated from the Jedi - including and especially his own master - which made him easy prey for Palpatine. While Palpatine primarily used Anakin’s fear of losing Padmé to corrupt him, he also drove wedges between Anakin and the Jedi subtly, over many years, which was easy to do given how unsteady Anakin’s relationship with the Jedi was at the very beginning of his training.

Qui-Gon Jinn Could Have Saved Anakin From Palpatine

The key factor that is highlighted in the interaction between Obi-Wan and Anakin in this Star Wars tie-in comic was that Anakin needed someone to fully be on his side, and Qui-Gon was the only one who truly was. Obi-Wan didn’t believe in Anakin the way Qui-Gon did, and the Jedi Council made it clear that they didn’t trust Anakin. That only left Palpatine, who pretended to always be on Anakin’s side in order to groom him as his future Sith Apprentice.

If Anakin found that level of mutual trust and safety with Qui-Gon (which he would have gotten), then he wouldn’t have sought it out in Palpatine, meaning he may not have fallen to the dark side.

While Star Wars fans will never know if Qui-Gon could have saved Anakin from the evil clutches of Palpatine, they do know that Obi-Wan definitely could not. And that failure can be traced all the way back to their interaction in The Phantom Menace, when Obi-Wan Kenobi ruined his chance to save Anakin Skywalker just hours after Qui-Gon Jinn’s death.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special by Marvel Comics is available now.