Why Anakin Couldn't Beat Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith

[@vta2265]

Obi wan was underrated and often overlooked as a duelist. Even Sidious underestimated him. Other than those fights with Dooku, the man was probably the best defensive duelist ever

[@PeacePetal]

Dooku is literally the only person he lost to. He beat Maul as a padawan, steamrolled Grevious, and took down the Chosen One. Kenobi was the biggest thorn in Sidious's side. Both the characters and the fans of Star Wars have underestimated his abilities, but his combat record speaks for itself.

[@greezythumb]

More like pure offense and arrogance versus pure defense and supreme mental and strategic awareness

[@drakethesnek6429]

Good explanation, but i would add that anakin almost won. Obiwan was exhausted while anakin was only getting stronger.

[@greezythumb]

There are no points for close in combat to the death. That's only in horseshoes

[@joecota2644]

And at that point Obi struck him down.

[@Trick-Framed]

@@greezythumb Horseshoes and handgrenades...

[@marksanderson-md7vh]

Despite what people mite think, or mite wanna try and explain away form 3 is meant for exactly this sort of fight. As tough as he may have found it was obi wan's mastery of that form kept him alive, he had the the most control overall. Allowing anikin to think he had the advantage, playing on his arrogance and over confidence. It wasn't just a physical fight, it was mind screw job that messed with anikins head. He then saw his chance and ended it knowing if he didn't finish right then and there, the chances of it going south for him would increase.

[@PeacePetal]

I've seen this take before, but as was noted in the video, Soresu did exactly what it was designed to do. If you take a close look at the choreography, Obi-Wan nearly finished the duel at several other points. If Anakin didn't make the mistake of trying to jump over Obi-Wan, he would have just made another mistake later on. That's how Soresu works. The fact that Anakin couldn't cut through Obi-Wan's defense in the longest duel in the film saga, even using the same moves that had taken out the masterful Count Dooku, suggests to me that he was never going to top Obi-Wan.

[@kimberlyl9844]

I'm going to paraphrase Apollo Creed from Rocky III. Anakin fought great. Obi-Wan was a great fighter. No matter how powerful Anakin was in the Force, he just wasn't as good as Obi-Wan was as a lightsaber duelist. Not to mention that Obi-Wan knew Anakin as well as Anakin knew himself.

[@damianstasek8946]

13:29 to explain he had the high ground...

[@Beymaster20247]

I wonder if the force itself had a part to play in Anakins defeat

[@user-kq7gi7eh1s]

There's no free will in the universe, but only the force itself my brother🌟🌟

[@gabrielolson5995]

It did, if Anakin won then the universe would have been doomed

[@frankdees507]

I believe so. Everything from him betraying the light side to killing younglings played a part in his injuries and resulting consequences

[@gabrielaj2066]

@@gabrielolson5995exactly.

[@Trick-Framed]

You mean George Lucas aka The Whils, AKA The Force. It was the will of George Lucas lol.

[@pt5728]

It pretty much comes down to Anakin over confidence, Anakin 100% could’ve beaten obi wan and if the fight had kept going obi wan would’ve eventually been overwhelmed by Anakin raw power.

[@taetrrtot6205]

I don't think so I think Obi Wan understood Anakin too well and was too clever to simply be overpowered. Although I do think Anakin was by far more talented and powerful than his former master

[@offroader9965]

@@taetrrtot6205 well Obi Wan was barley fending Anakin off.. if it went a little longer I do believe Anakin would have won. But Anakin was in his head WAY too much and Obi Wan knew that.. hence the flip onto the lava riverbank then to the high ground and of course a certain point of view

[@christinestevenson4304]

In the novel obi wan knew anakin would beat him because he could feel anakin getting stronger while he was getting weaker. The flip off was his saving grace!

[@vic5015]

Well, that and he was too blinded by rage to think straight. Which might explain why Vader stopped Luks when he gave in to his anger and went to strike down Palpatine. He knew what would happen.

[@greezythumb]

What exactly is your point? Who have you ever seen not dispatch their opponent in combat when they could? Oh let me not kill him now while I can and wait until I no longer have the stamina. Who does that? This isn't NFL overtime rules. It's mortal combat. Anakin didn't kill Obi Wan because he couldn't. If he could have he would've. He didn't have the skill nor the strategy and mental fortitude to defeat Obi Wan. He had to wait until Obi Wan got tired. Obi Wan knew the assignment and completed it.

[@blackhole495]

Plot armor is a pathway many consider to be unnatural.

[@PeacePetal]

Or maybe Obi-Wan is just that good. Only person he ever lost to was Dooku, and Dooku fought Yoda to a draw in Attack of the Clones.

[@everythingmario7726]

@@PeacePetalhe’s not same thing happened in the kenobi series. plot armor

[@PeacePetal]

@@everythingmario7726 How many fights does Obi-Wan have to win before you stop calling it plot armor and acknowledge it as skill?

[@everythingmario7726]

@@PeacePetal its always been plot armor he was weaker in ROTS and won and he was weaker in Kenobi and won Lol its just that he's the good guy

[@ThePhysicalReaction]

When your opponent is extremely over aggressive, they are also extremely predictable.

[@ozmozis6073]

Two notes. 1. I don't believe Anakin/Vader and Kenobi were 2 halves of a coin; even on Mustafar and in the series Kenobi, Obi-Wan was always the master, he always had the edge and I believe he'd always keep that edge. On the Death Star, Obi-Wan gave into the Force and denied Vader the victory he sought. 2. Obi-Wan did fail Anakin. It was that failure that separated them and this is never explored. Why did Obi-Wan turn a blind eye to Anakin, knowing how strong in the Force he was, for all his indiscretions and lack of control? For his lust for Padme and close fraternization of Palpatine? The temper tantrums? Obi-Wan knew these character flaws and only when they were overt, did he act. In the final battle on Mustafar, he knew Anikin's attitude and waited for them to show. You'd think in all that time, Obi-Wan would've helped Anikin address these flaws. Anikin thought he had the power and the technique, while Obi-Wan held a little back. They weren't even or brothers. Anikin resented Obi-Wan and this bubbled to the surface; was it based in holding him back, not helping his mother? Did Obi-Wan hold back as this wasn't a promise he really mean to keep to Qui-Gon? A promise he only meant in part, but not really?

[@Trick-Framed]

I would sooner think along the lines of Anakin being Obi-Wan's first padawan and these are his mistakes as a first time teacher/master. Huge mistakes, sure, but there you have it.

[@alphonsehawkins4259]

Came because of the Temu brand Obi-Wan in the thumbnail, stayed for a good video.

[@RetneysHolocron]

Well thanks, but that is literally Ewan Mcgregor 💀

[@decades1912]

I would be interested in some of your head canon on Star Wars, Canon &/or Legends. Also your fan fic is good & I'd like to see more

[@Unneededinfo]

High ground!!!

[@wewatchmovies4446]

They should have illuminated this in the script. Anyhoo, thank you for the great analysis!

[@astrobonk]

The tragedy of Anakin skywalker is that the man basically never succeeded in his life outside of maybe being knighted at a young age: -He couldn't save his mother. -He couldn't earn the favor of the council on literally anything. -He couldn't show the maturity and wisdom required to convince the council that he was maybe ready for the rank of master. -He couldn't find anyone to confide in who wasn't a shady politician. -He couldn't ask the simple question of "why is this Sith helping me anyway" -When he did turn, he couldn't display the basic mental composition and observation skills required to realize that Obi-wan basically had him play into his hands the entire fight and that he was doomed to lose from the start. -He couldn't overthrow his Sith master despite realizing that said master viewed him as more disposable than a deathstick wrapper. The only thing he ever succeeded in was saving his son, arguably the only person who never lost faith in him and knew that he can at least be put out of his misery instead of serving out his life as a Sith apprentice. What a genuinely tragic character that was screwed over by a twisted prophecy, circumstances he couldn't control, and mostly his personal failings. No wonder people relate to him so much. Also 69th comment. Nice. :D

[@michaelgarcia8602]

You told your point of View very well. & I agree with you on every thing.

[@rebeccacabrera3497]

I now want to watch this fight

[@Storjas41]

Anakins overconfidence came from the fact that Obiwan was using a defensive form and immersed himself in it, as you say. He hadn't went for a full on strike since he was over Anakin on the table and he half arsed that kill strike. So yeh, i think Anakin actually doubted he would cut him up mid jump.

[@chrisrenshaw6372]

The main reason Anakin lost is due to his overconfidence also due to the fact that he was conflicted, and he had no full control over using the dark side of the force. It takes time and patience plus, he was conflicted on being between the light and the dark.

[@greezythumb]

Anakin simply wasn't good enough to beat Obi Wan. Combat is more than speed and strength. This has been shown throughout military history. Throughout the entire fight, Obi Wan was always a step ahead of Anakin.

[@ADB358]

​@@greezythumb "Military history" is irrelevant to Star Wars lore. If you watched the film, you would know that Anakin beat Count Dooku fair and square. Dooku was on par with Windu, and close to Yoda. Dooku embarrassed Kenobi twice. Anakin was the 3rd ranked Jedi after Mace, and Yoda. At no point during the Mustafar duel did Kenobi ever have momentum. Kenobi admitted he was growing tired, and losing. Anakin grew too overzealous, and beat himself.

[@joecota2644]

@@greezythumb uh the whole point is that Anakin would never ever be strong enough to beat ObiWan because he was conflicted and arrogant

[@greezythumb]

@@joecota2644 Him being conflicted has nothing to do with it. He was dedicated to killing Obi Wan. But Obi Wan was conflicted also so where's the advantage for Obi Wan in that? Arrogance yes definitely. But the other thing that led to Anakins defeat that doesn't get mentioned as it should is Obi Wan was a better tactician and strategist. He was always one step ahead of Anakin.

[@ADB358]

@@greezythumb Obi Wan is an inferior "tactician" to Anakin. Anakin was the hero the Clone Wars for a reason. He saved Kenobi's ass multiple times. If Obi Wan was always a "step ahead", he would have been able to outclass Anakin, like how he himself was outclassed by Dooku. Or like how Vader outclassed him on the Death Star.

[@TK-ev]

I disagree with Anakin getting frustrated and tired. Obi-Wan was visibly tired. Anakin knew this and became increasingly overconfident by the minute. It is why he jumped on the small platform to fight (and nearly decapitate Obi-Wan) and why he foolishly tried to beat Obi-Wan with his own move. Obi-Wan's mastery of form 3 didn't give him an advantage. It was form 3 combined with thousands of hours sparring with Anakin, combined with Anakin being unbalanced that gave Obi-Wan *time*. Extra time allowed him to survive a better duelist longer than normal. And when his time was at the final moments, he made a masterful strategy of provoking Anakin into a maneuver destined to fail. That is what makes his win is so impressive.

[@joecota2644]

I think he ment tired of the fight itself

[@HenhousetheRed]

Easy Meme Comment: HE DIDN'T HAVE THE HIGH GROUND Deep Lore Comment: They were closer than brothers, almost as intimate as lovers ...

[@maitrehg]

Obi is simply an overall better fighter. He'll kick Vader's butt again a few years later.

[@SurefireMa156]

Nah his form, experience training Anakin and knowing Anakin better than anybody lead to his victory. Anakin was winning the fight, the novelization even says Obiwan was getting weaker and Anakin was getting stronger as the duel went on. Now you can say Obiwan out thought and took advantage of his personal knowledge of Anakin’s personality, but to say he’s a better fighter is just wrong. If Obiwan never trained Anakin and they met on mustafar, it’s over for Obiwan.

[@maitrehg]

@@SurefireMa156 So Anakin didn't know Obi-Wan's weaknesses? It works both ways. In addition, Vader is supposed to be stronger than the newly dark side Anakin and despite this, Obi-Wan still kicks his ass in the Kenobi series. Obi is the best.

[@SurefireMa156]

@@maitrehg dude, Anakin’s personality is his weakness. This is talked about in the show, not to mention with the dark side fueling him he became even more arrogant in the moment, wanting to defeat Obiwan the same way Obiwan defeated maul. Obiwan is a true follower of the Jedi way and thus has less of an emotional state to take advantage of. I’d definitely say Obiwan gained a lot more from his knowledge of Anakin than Anakin did of his knowledge of Obiwan.

[@SurefireMa156]

@@maitrehg and yes vader was stronger, and he kinda proved that in that fight too. But when a Jedi becomes “one with the force” and lets go of everything it is equivalent to a sith basking in dark side power, it brings them to the heights of their own power. And why did darth vader lose? His insistence on proving himself stronger instead of just winning. Vader is never at 100% when fighting anyone who brings forward feeling of his past, hence sidious saying he’s been weakened by his focus on Obiwan. If Anakin or Vader fought Obiwan without any knowledge of each other and no past, Obiwan losses everyday.

[@maitrehg]

@@SurefireMa156 Disagree. Obi-Wan always wins because he is not only ultra talented but he is smart and sly as a fox.

[@maxpowers2785]

I wonder you can make a video about why Obi-Wan let Darth Vader kill him aboard the Death Stsr in Episode 4.

[@Trick-Framed]

Obi Wan tricked his little brother. The end. He knew he was a sucker for Maul and the way he defeated Maul. Anakin turns to the Darkside and decides to make the same mistake Maul did. In wanting to prove he was more powerful than Obi-Wan, which he was however he also made the next mistake Maul did as well, who was also more powerful than Obi-Wan when they dueled, underestimating Obi-Wan which is a recurring theme in Star Wars.

[@AndriushaMem]

First Comment!!! I need a medal Retney

[@RetneysHolocron]

🥇

[@octavioherschberg5280]

Obi-Wan knew Anakin was a master at getting caught.

[@SpendingAddict]

I think it's much simpler than all this. It's the same reason I as a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu can't beat my teacher, a black belt. I may reach black belt at some point and he will also be a black belt but he will still be far better than me because he will always have more experience than me.

[@FrostedSeagull]

I take offence to the phrase, " after Obi-Wan left Anakin mutilated " . We genteel folk would say: " Obi-Wan sliced, diced, and had him char grilled him to ... . . well done ? 👏 👏

[@That0therG]

your intro is fucking awesome!

[@RetneysHolocron]

Thanks dude 🥹

[@CaptainFantastik1]

The timeline of events is a little sloppy in ROTS at this part. Palpatine gets there awfully quick. And if Obi saw Palps' shuttle while still on the lava bank there's no way he gets back to the landing pad before they arrive.

[@zagon8692]

Love the starfield soundtrack

[@RetneysHolocron]

lol it isn’t from starfield!

[@everythingmario7726]

High ground. Anikan was overwhelming him the whole time obi wan was smarter and got the high ground

[@claimedlizard3209]

the AI Obi wan in the thumbnail got me scared

[@gabrielaj2066]

Obi wan was very grounded with the force by this point in time because he saw everything that happened during the Jedi temple and he saw anakin killing some Jedi in the recordings. And also younglins and yoda told obi wan to destroy the sith we must, so yeah obi wan completely detached himself from his friend anakin and instead was now fighting a sith called darth Vader which is why he said I WILL DO WHAT I MUST meaning he will stop the sith no matter the cost. And he did.

[@Trick-Framed]

No, he didn't. He failed. Miserably. Vader goes on to cause more pain and misery over the course of the next 20 years than he had up to then exponentially. He never killed the Sith. Leaving someone to die is far worse than ending their suffering and as a Jedi, he didn't even do that. No, he failed Anakin in every possible way. While Obi-Wan was kissing council ass to become a master on the council, Anakin got put on the back burner and Sidious was able to sway him. All Obi-Wan's fault. I mean, you can blame Qui-Gon for being dumb enough to ask his teenage Padawan if he would train "The Chosen One" while he was dying, but only so much. I can also blame his Force Ghost for coming back to check on Anakin's progress and also getting nothing done. In the end this was the council's fault in general as they trained all of them and although they had the most powerful little kid in the galaxy in their chambers they were willing to send him back to being a slave after he had already learned he himself was capable of using the force. How long was it going to be before the kid went to a Hutt to find someone to train him just to be met by Sidious anyway? The council in its infinite wisdom should have had him training with their absolute best day in day out. Not Obi-Wan. No, Obi-Wan, through his watered down training, failed Anakin just as the council failed him.

[@masonpyle5929]

I thought it was because Obi-Wan had the high ground.

[@glasses685]

People don't give Obi-Wan enough credit here. Yes, Anakin was arrogant, but ultimately Obi was just the better duelist. Midichlorian count isn't everything.

[@parsoniareigns]

High ground?

[@user-eh5ro2rz6u]

If that is true …. How come OB1 couldn’t defend himself against Dooku in early of Episode 3 ?

[@astrobonk]

because Dooku uses form 2, which is specifically meant to dismantle defensive styles and create openings for decisive strikes.

[@olympicnut]

Obi-Wan would not have had to walk down to Anakin to kill him. A Force push would have taken care of the situation.

[@stephenacton9347]

SW games fix all non sense surrounding the films😊 The Best example is the Force unleashed, especially for PSP😮

[@JackNCoke2008]

obi Wan only won in order to move the saga’s plot along.

[@serqetk8987]

Anakin lost to Anakin...per the norm. Obiwan was going to lose.

[@SaucyboyShaun]

His arrogance was his weakness but then again obi wan would’ve won either way

[@astrobonk]

nah, if Anakin was literally a bit more patient and observant of what Obi was doing, he could've won. That's his whole tragedy, tho. Had he been more patient about anything, he wouldn't have fell to the darkside in the first place.

[@SanttuCarlsson]

Anakin lose because Obiwan was better than him amen

[@kseniaboytseva4714]

Kenobi could not start a fight at all, but talk calmly, being more sensitive and diplomatic. Especially not knowing the situation from the point of view of Anakin, who was driven to the handle by the whole order and then exposed to blame. Seeing that his friend was not himself, Obi Wan could to apply a Jedi technique to calm down Anakin, and then talk to Anakin about Padma, Shmi and Qui-Gon, who would not be thrilled with all this. So as not to regret later that Kenobi abandoned his friend, did not help, plunged him even more into the dark side. He hadn't given Anakin a chance to redeem himself before. Although the Force had its own plan for the chosen one, which it followed.

[@-Gunnarsson-]

cos its a movie and the bad side can never win😂

[@defiantno10]

Anakin had the right to defend himself, wait...?