What Is Known About Obi-Wan’s Past?

A curious thing happened in the latest episode of Obi-Wan, and it’s something that many people outside of those that have read the many different books showcasing Obi-Wan as a young man would rarely think about. The fact is that Obi-Wan Kenobi hasn’t always been a Jedi, and that like every other Jedi, he did come from somewhere. What plenty of folks likely don’t know is that at one time it wasn’t looking good for Kenobi when it came to his future in the Jedi Order, since he was almost sent to the agricultural corps at one time thanks to his inability to prove that he could be an astute student of the Force. It’s tough to have illusions shattered in this manner, isn’t it? But Obi-Wan wasn’t always the great Jedi he turned out to be, since at one time he was an uncertain padawan, and he did have his own issues with his temper and the idea of attachment to other individuals. In other words, Kenobi was a less than adequate individual within the order, and he had to work his butt off to become the Jedi he was before Order 66. 

The mention of his past in the third episode makes it even easier to guess where he came from, but the explanation given by Kenobi, or ‘Ben’ as he’s taken up the name, is that he vaguely remembers his father’s hands and his mother’s shawl, but only glimpses. Some might take this to mean pretty much anything when it comes to Kenobi and his life, and what his life might have been like if his parents hadn’t given him up. But then again, it’s fair to wonder if his life would have been that great if he’d been kept by his parents. This kind of brings into mind the practices of the Jedi Order back in the day, since often the Jedi would accept a baby that is seen as Force-sensitive into the order, but would not take the children that had already grown up a bit. Anakin Skywalker was an outlier, an exception to the rule that was pushed thanks to Qui-Gon Jinn and his belief in the one who would bring balance to the Force. 

But fate does work in several different ways, which means that had Obi-Wan not been identified, or given up, it’s hard to say which happened, then the trajectory of the Star Wars universe might have been very different. Kenobi has been highly instrumental in forming the Star Wars universe since he stood up to the Jedi Order when they didn’t want to see Anakin trained as a Jedi. This might have been seen as a poor decision in hindsight, but if not for the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader, things might have gone very differently. This doesn’t say much for Kenobi’s past, but it does feel as though moral fiber was ingrained into this character no matter that as he grew up he was defiant and even kind of a handful at times to deal with. It does feel that his birth parents might have been well off or at least the type of people who knew the value of hard work and discipline since Obi-Wan has been a rather straight-laced character for as long as many people have known him. 

The explanation that George Lucas gave to Jon Stewart during an interview of where Kenobi was from, the planet Stewjon, isn’t all that satisfactory to a lot of fans since it was made up on the spot no doubt, but it’s still interesting to think that someone at Lucasfilm might have taken that to heart and actually put it in the data files for Kenobi. That might make it possible to give him a past, as few Jedi know where they came from unless there were extenuating circumstances that allowed them to return for one reason or another. Obi-Wan’s future looked pretty bleak for a while when he was a young man since he had nowhere else to go except to a world where he’d be part of a group that benefited the Jedi but didn’t exactly get to be a part of the Order. 

As it stands now, Obi-Wan is considered to be one of the greatest Jedi that’s ever been a part of the Order, and his legend has continued to grow over the years as the Star Wars franchise has moved forward without him. But with his own show to depict what went on in the decade following Order 66, it’s been seen that Kenobi is a bit more complex than people realize, which was easy to determine before now. Just because it’s a point of interest though, it would be intriguing to find out as much about his past as possible to see where he came from.