@Anotherbatmanfan Agreed, although they were similar in many ways and got along just fine for the most part, I believe that Anakin and Obi-Wan had massive differences when it came to ideals, peace, morality and justice. These differences might have seemed somewhat trivial during The Clone Wars, but we see their conflict come to a head in Episode 3.

@Fisher Fan Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed! I agree, this wasn't the main factor in Anakin's fall as he was already prone to the dark side, but I definitely think a more fitting mentor could have prevented Anakin from becoming Vader.

Keep up the good work, @SlingyTheWhill !

Darth Sidious had a very good grasp of how to manipulate events surrounding Anakin’s life to direct him towards becoming his next Sith apprentice. A vital part of that plan was placing himself as the doting father figure in Anakin’s life.

Whereas Obi Wan was more like an older brother, Qui Gon would have played a more genuine, nurturing, and fatherly role. He would have trained Anakin against the council’s wishes and would have used methods that weren’t consistent with the approved doctrine, but they would have been methods that would have fit with Anakin’s situation and personality, which would have guided him towards becoming a more successful, compassionate, and independent-thinking Jedi.

Obi Wan did the best he could in a very, very difficult situation. I don’t think it was his fault that Anakin turned. I feel like the entire Jedi Order is complicit, because they were so rigid and clinical by the time of the PT era. They made no attempts to adjust Anakin’s training to help him control his volatile emotions, which had been brewing for some time having endured years of slavery with his mother and leaving her. Then, they placed this burden of him being their prophesied savior, but only speak of it behind his back. The fact that the Father is really the first one to concretely tell Anakin that he is the Chosen One illustrates how the Order is equally responsible for Anakin’s fall as Sidious himself.

It’s like a point that I found brought up in a HoF post ‘Do the Jedi Believe in Equality?’ they believe in equality but not in equity. They gave Anakin practically the same training as a normal Jedi but he was anything but and so they should’ve definitely tried something different

@Caedus2187 Thanks! I agree that Obi-Wan made the best of a bad situation, it was clear Anakin needed a father figure that he respected more to guide him and keep him from the influence of the dark side. I don't think Anakin nor Obi-Wan are to blame in this situation, as you pointed out it was primarily the Council's fault. It just adds to the fact that by the time of TPM, the Jedi Order had become blind and arrogant. First they denied Anakin training, then did a complete 180 and gave him an extremely inexperienced master, then made Anakin's life unnecessarily difficult the entire time.

@Revival Stories2020 Exactly, Anakin was acknowledged to be the prophesied "Chosen One" by the council, yet they put him in the exact same training programs as any other youngling. This led to Anakin feeling out of place as he was surrounded by peers much younger and much less powerful than himself. In the Age of Republic comic I mentioned, Obi-Wan noted this and actively tried to make Anakin feel more included by taking him on missions and becoming more of a friend to him than a master, which contributed to their brotherly relationship.

Great article Slingy, was looking forward to it! I totally agree with all your points. I never thought of Duel of the Fates in such a metaphorical way though- veeery interesting!

I do think Qui-Gon would've made a better master; he had the authority and wisdom that Obi-Wan seemingly lacked. I still love Kenobi to bits but agree that "this isn't the teacher you're looking for". I definitely think the Council was largely to blame for Anakin's turn; instead of understanding or encouraging him, they judged and alienated him. However, I do believe this issue opens up a wider debate: were Yoda and Windu the right Jedi to lead the Council? My answer is no!

Great post though!

(P.S) Ordered the Rise of Kylo Ren- it's on its way :))

@Aragorn Skywalker Of House Stark Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed! I agree that Yoda and Mace weren't necessarily the best choices to lead the Council. I believe that both were rather blind and arrogant, however later on during his exile Yoda would see the error of his ways. That's why I love his quote in TLJ "We are what they grow beyond." He realised his mistakes and showed Luke that Rey would become better than both of them, having learned from their errors. I just love the way that sequence ties together the Prequels, Originals and Sequels.

Also, great reading choice! The Rise of Kylo Ren is probably my favourite Canon comic book so far, it adds quite a bit of lore and depth to Luke and his Jedi Order, Ben Solo, Snoke and the Knights of Ren. Hope you enjoy the comic as much as I did!

It was nice to see the change in character (in TLJ) when he said that the Jedi texts were worthless "old books" and that it didn't matter if they did burn- the Council's Yoda would NEVER have said that. I was never a big fan of Windu. Always found him to be too much like Ki-Adi Mundi- arrogant and unwilling to see justice achieved for ALL, not just the privileged few.

And thank you, I'm sure I will :))

Yeah to me Windu really is the embodiment of the Jedi Order at that point, trying their best and does good primarily but is too stern, arrogant, and blindsided to the truth and what actually was supposed to be done to do good. Hey Slingy I have an idea for the next one, it’d be an up there idea but: the controversy and why people don’t like the sequels or/and why people don’t like Canon/the creation of Legends as it’s called now

@Revival Stories2020 At one point I considered writing a post similar to your suggestion, providing both sides of the argument for Canon/Legends as I personally enjoy each, but I thought it might end up being a little divisive. With these posts, I tend to avoid giving my opinions on Star Wars and try keep the subject matter in-universe. Although it's a good idea, unfortunately I can see it getting ugly in the comments and I like to keep the discussions here healthy, so decided against it. I would certainly like to write a post on the subject of Legends and Canon at some point, but maybe separate from the Force for Thought series just to keep it consistent and positive. Great suggestion though! Also, I definitely agree with your point about Windu. He had good intentions, but was the pinnacle of Jedi rigidity, hubris and arrogance.

I think too many people on here think that the role of a teacher is to force a student to be obedient. That's certainly what Obi Wan's approach was, and we judge Anakin for being "bad" or "disobedient" and "rebellious". I ask, would we say that about a student in the real world? That he was inherently evil for acting on his own initiative, or simply being an individual? Nope. Then why do we say it about Anakin. People are not all the same, not everyone fits the mould. Some people have special needs, some need more support. Some have special talents and abilities. Such as the case with Anakin. I don't think it was the case that the Jedi simply put Anakin "younger children who were less powerful than him". The real problem is that they said he was "different" from day 1. Basically, they put a target on his back. Children are going to pick on anyone who is considered "different", and such a thing happened with Anakin. He just became more lonely and isolated in the Jedi academy during his youth, which was why he tended to form closer relationships with the few friends he did have