I guess that is a possible explanation, but I think it would have been a lot cleaner if Lucas just didn’t include R2 or 3PO in the prequels at all. There is zero reason they needed to be there other than nostalgia.
Even if he does have a low opinion of droids, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t remember the fact that he owned one for the entire duration of the Clone Wars, since he was actually on a first-name basis with said droid.
I know Owen wasn’t explicitly confirmed to be Anakin’s actual brother, but even then it was heavily implied that Owen was around when Anakin was taken to be a Jedi: Obi-Wan says that Owen “thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved”, and that isn’t really possible when Owen only meets Anakin 10 years after he became a Jedi.
George may have greenlit the Clone Wars cartoon, but what I mean by “the cartoons don’t count” is that they can’t be used as a way to hide the movies’ flaws. Lucas should have thought of a way to have Obi-Wan serve Bail when he was actually writing the prequels, instead of having Filoni make up a rationalization 5 years later.
This is exactly what I was talking about when I said “it was the Force” isn’t a valid explanation. Way too often, fans use “it was the Force” as a cheap way to cover up plot issues. And no matter what rationalization you use, I still think it would be a lot cleaner if Luke actually was on Dagobah when he was very young.
That moment where Obi-Wan grabs the robot was pretty reckless, but it’s pretty much the only moment where he was actually shown being reckless. I’m pretty sure he actually got the Council’s approval to train Anakin. It really feels like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were originally supposed to be the same character, but they transferred all the “Obi-Wan” character elements (including the recklessness) onto Qui-Gon, causing Obi-Wan’s character to feel weird.
I guess he was technically there when all that stuff happened, but I guess it just feels weird that neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda ever mentioned Qui-Gon throughout the entire OT. Once again, it really seems like Qui-Gon was a last minute addition to the prequels, and his role was originally going to be filled by Obi-Wan.
Lucas wasn’t even going to make a sequel trilogy until he wrote a preliminary plot treatment for Disney to take inspiration from just before he sold the franchise, so I’m only taking the OT and prequels into account here. And the dialogue in ROTJ clearly indicates that Leia’s memories are supposed to be actual memories: she says that Padme “died when she was very young,” not that she died in childbirth.
He may have been on defense most of the time, but his mission was still to kill him. And even if he secretly was hoping Vader would return to the light, Vader wouldn’t know that since he was so absorbed in his “The Jedi turned against me” mindset at the time, so it’s weird that Vader is the one who says that Obi-Wan thought he could be redeemed.
-
The stories are told through the eyes of the droids. It’s like Ancient Greek theatre. R2 is meant to recount the story of the Skywalker family to the Keeper of the Whills. It’s R2’s story in a general sense. He’s meant to relate the story years after the Skywalker saga ends.
-
True. It could just as much be PTSD. That’s headcanon though but trauma does affect your memory. I’ve experienced it first hand.
-
I see what you mean on this point. It’s definitely the plot point I find isn’t conveyed as good as it should be in the George Lucas canon of seeing things. For me I see it as Owen Lars remembers hearing the name “Obi-Wan Kenobi” when R2 interrupts Shimi’s funeral then years later he and Obi-Wan have a confrontation and Owen blames him for taking Anakin on the “Idealistic Crusade” which is the Clone War as he’s the only one who he feels he can blame as he thinks Anakin is dead. He doesn’t want Luke to have the lightsaber as he fears a similar fate. Dooku is referred to as a “Political Idealist” and the whole Clone War has roots in different ideology views. That’s how I see it but I do admit I think it can be a bit jarring. However things do happen off screen.
-
I suppose so but the series is George’s last Star Wars stories. The majority of the content they made for it comes directly from him. So I see it as an extension to the films. Attack of the Clones we see the beginning of the war and Revenge of the Sith we see the end of it. The details of what exactly happened during it are filled in during the series. The Prequels for me show the bigger picture ideas of what happened in stages. Episode I shows Palpatine coming to power and the fragile senate that he exploited. Episode II shows the distortion he’s further creating and the beginning of the proxy war. Episode III is the rise of the Empire. This is juxtaposed with the personal story of Anakin’s rise and fall.
-
I agree in part absolutely. The Force can’t be used to wave off everything but it is something more spiritual and also entirely unexplainable. In a general sense it’s God. I see it as human’s free will and we think we have control over things but in reality we don’t. In a general sense this is the Whills telling Luke and everyone else their destiny as they have some control over him. Just like reality. This is also subjective I suppose to everyone’s point of view.
-
The Council did approve but they sensed grave danger in Anakin being trained. They only agreed reluctantly. Obi-Wan would’ve done it either way as he gave Qui-Gon his word. None of them knew what to do with Anakin except for Qui-Gon.
-
It is unfortunate that Qui-Gon wasn’t mentioned in the Original Trilogy but Luke seemed to be on a need to know basis. So I don’t consider it a bad thing.
-
Actually he started writing in 2011 before Disney came into the picture and he nearly made Episode VII himself. There’s so much misinformation about this out there that keeping track of what actually was going to happen and what wasn’t is hard to find. Same with what was in George’s treatments before it was unveiled a bit more in detail. I do see what you mean though as it does imply that but it doesn’t bother me too much.
-
His mission may have been set by Yoda to kill him but he is his own individual at the same time. He has a personal point of view just as Vader could’ve realised as much in the years after that Obi-Wan was only trying to save and protect him upon reflection. Twenty four years is a long time.