#against the empire

Names are important.

I mentioned in my previous post that Obi-wan’s single reference to Anakin in last night’s episode was to call him “Vader,” which is such a purposeful distancing move that must have been tearing Obi-wan up inside.

But what I find interesting is how Obi-wan himself is referred to. Reva, Bail, and Nari all call him “Obi-wan,” are all referring to the man he once was, all referencing the history of the Jedi, the Republic, the myth of Obi-wan Kenobi. In contrast, Leia and Tala (by and large) just call him “Ben,” Tala specifically switching to “Ben” at his request. Leia has no idea who Obi-wan is. Tala accepts the man over the myth. (Vader, of course, engages in the classic Star Wars villain “Kenobi” moniker, beloved of Grievous, Dooku, and of course and infamously, Maul).

When we meet Ben Kenobi years later during ANH, he states that Obi-wan is a name he hasn’t heard in a long time. And now seeing this show, I believe it. He’s not that man anymore, just like he said, although not in the way he intended. He’s both darker in action and yet more committed to the light. He’s a Jedi, but in spirit, not in organizational and political chains. What we’re seeing happen, in real time, is the literal transformation of Obi-wan into Ben, an entirely new being. And I think it’s going to be Ben, more than Obi-wan, who encounters Vader for the inevitable second exchange.

Look what he has risen above.

(And Disney, if you want to give me the continuing adventures of Ben Kenobi, Ben who is less afraid to play dirty, who wields the Force with a careful eye, who, I now believe, had to be running sixteen side operations on and off Tatooine while he was looking after Luke - I would be here for it.)