He essentially tells Anakin, “I know you have feelings for Senator Amidala” then he actually tells him 'it’s not that we’re not allowed to have these feelings. Obi-Wan is the one who goes to Anakin here with the explicit purpose of checking in, and again, he shares personal info to try and connect, to let Anakin know he understands and it’s okay for them to openly discuss what’s going on. He willingly tells Anakin the story of him and Satine, not just sticking to the practical details, but expressing a personal struggle with the ‘no attachments’ principle, and admitting openly “the undercurrent of remorse.”Īnd i was looking for you. When Obi-Wan and Anakin have heart-to-heart (ish) conversations in canon, it’s so often Obi-Wan who starts the conversation, Obi-Wan who cracks open the door for “hey what’s wrong let’s talk.”

Obi-Wan sees Anakin struggling with so much - as his student, as his child - and I sort of feel like he doesn’t want to burden him with his own issues? Anakin, of course, probably wouldn’t see it as a burden, but Obi-Wan does, and speaking as a teacher myself, I just think Obi-Wan believes he is meant to be the supporter, not the supported.Īnyone who’s ever been in a caregiver role probably knows the feeling I’m talking about.īut then what I really love about this dynamic (and what I don’t see pop up much in discussion, so I really do want to give Obi-Wan credit) is that even with how difficult it is for Obi-Wan to open up, he always tries when he sees that Anakin needs him to do so/would benefit from him doing so. And while I think Obi-Wan really does do an admirable job of eventually sorting through all that stuff on his own, I don’t think the set of priorities he develops during that time period ever really changes: Anakin’s needs first, personal needs last. I mean, he’s never had more Stuff to sort through than at that particular moment he’s got so much to hold, and the thing is, he has to hold on to it, and quietly, because it’s not Stuff that’s appropriate for him to sort out with or in front of a child, not least one who’s relying on him to be surrogate parent and teacher both. Nine year-old kids need to be taken care of, you know, completely, in all areas, and Obi-Wan becomes - no, makes himself into - that steady and capable adult almost overnight, because he knows that’s what the child needs, and he knows that doing so means he’ll be able to serve the child better.īut it also means putting so much of his own stuff away. I’ve always interpreted him as being a very private person across the board, but like you said, with Anakin it’s even a little more complicated, and I guess I’ve always sort of imagined that phenomenon as developing naturally out of their situation at the very beginning of the apprenticeship, when Anakin was this tiny little baby child and Obi-Wan was very much…well, it’s like, here’s this nine year-old, and Obi-Wan is pretty sure nine year-olds need capable and steady adult figures around them, not guardians who are perpetually overwhelmed and scrabbling to rein in all these parts of their life that are suddenly spiraling out of control and wrestling 24/7 with feelings that aren’t neat and manageable and simple to accept/release. I definitely agree about that kind of sharing being difficult for Obi-Wan. Not that I’m criticizing him for it…that’s my preferred coping strategy as well XD Omg haha secluded corner in the middle of nowhere, yes, that definitely sounds like Obi-Wan’s preferred coping strategy.

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