56
Love and loss in the time of
(the Clone) war
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 5, episode 16, “The Lawless”
Writer: Chris Collins
Director: Brian Kallen O’Connell
Romance certainly has its place in Star Wars. It never ends well, though, but we keep falling for it. Whether it be the opposite attracts bickering banter of Han and Leia, the idealistic Shakespearean-like youthful passion with no boundaries of Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, or the forbidden, ill-fated love of Anakin and Padmé, we invest in the grand sweeping nature of these storybook-love affairs, only to be hurt time and time again. So, when The Clone Wars animated series revealed a grand love in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s past and brought him face-to-face with the simmering heat of that dangerous passion, we should have known better. We should have been prepared. Yet when Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore died in the arms of Kenobi, murdered by his rival Maul and confessing her long-held love with her last words, we found ourselves in a familiar spot: heart broken and better for it.
Duchess Satine and Obi-Wan had first met when they were young. As a Padawan, Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn were tasked with protecting her. On the run for over a year, the Duchess and the Padawan found comfort in each other. Delicious and tantalizing comfort. This was certainly shaping up to be one hell of a sweeping romance. They kind we love in Star Wars.
That’s why this one hurt so much. Once it became apparent that the often stoic and responsibly rigid Obi-Wan Kenobi had a long-held love for this vibrant, insightful leader, we wanted their love to work. We wanted it to happen even if we knew all along that it couldn’t. With her well-earned accomplishments, bold leadership in troubled times, and thought-provoking beliefs, there was enough for fans to give Satine their attention outside of this romantic tale, but we knew that Satine was the perfect match for Kenobi. She made him better while creating for herself a legacy that cannot be undervalued.
Before the Clone Wars, Satine took over the rule of Mandalore and refused to go along with the violent ways of her culture. Mandalorians were raised for generation after generation to crave war, believe in violence, but Satine didn’t just want a better way. She led her people there. She was a pacifist in a galaxy at war. Which, of course, was an admirable philosophical stand that created enemies within and put her at odds with—of all people—the Jedi.
The Jedi were at war now, you see. Generals leading clone armies. One had to question whether they were fighting because they had to or because they wanted to. Obedient and brave, General Kenobi believed everything the Jedi did was to protect democracy and fight evil. Hard to disagree with that, but Duchess Satine directly challenged that notion and made Kenobi rethink his views of the Jedi. Naturally, he should fall in love with her. There was a lot for him to learn from her.
After years apart and out of communication, their destinies became intertwined once again, thanks to the raging Clone War, but, sadly, this time, there was an interloper: that ball of rage and vengeance that was Darth Maul (now just Maul). The former Sith apprentice could never leave behind his all-consuming hatred for Obi-Wan Kenobi. He took Mandalore with his brother Savage Opress at his side and had power, allies, an army, even the legendary Darksaber, but all that paled in comparison to what he really wanted to do: destroy Kenobi. So, he used Satine as bait and Kenobi took it because he had to. There was no other way.
How romantic.
How tragically romantic.
It was no small measure that Kenobi tried to rescue her. The mission and bigger picture always come first for him because that’s what the Jedi want. However, Satine’s safety was not part of that picture. The Jedi were not going to come sweeping in to save the day. The same Jedi Master who once told Anakin to leave Padmé behind over the rolling dunes of Geonosis, so they could fight Count Dooku, was now faced with having to do the same thing for the person he loved. Years of training, discipline, and belief had now run straight into unbridled love and passion.
It was Obi-Wan Kenobi’s heart versus everything he was trained to do.
He defied orders and snuck off to save her. Not for duty. Not for the Republic. Not for the Jedi. This was for him. This was for Satine. A defiant act for love.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, we learn, would have left the Jedi Order for her. He claims she only had to ask. That’s a huge revelation. Whether you first met him as Old Ben Kenobi living out beyond the Jundland Wastes or as a younger, dashing knight in the middle of war, he was always the classic Jedi. He toed the line, followed orders, and stringently adhered to all of his learned codes and beliefs. He spent twenty years in isolation dutifully guarding Luke Skywalker. But for Satine, he would have turned away from all of it. However, she never asked, and he never left. They both lived lives centered around service to others and it kept them apart until the very end. Maul, his blood boiling with revenge, brutally killed her in front of him, plunging that Darksaber into her heart. The collective breath of the fandom was taken away, removed from our very beings with a guttural gasp as Satine’s final confession of love found Obi-Wan’s ears and heart. Star Wars romance had done it to us again.
Yet, the tragic tale of Duchess Satine and Obi-Wan Kenobi remains as one of the more beloved romances in the franchise. It added layers to a classic character often thought to just be quietly waiting in the wings for his return to the story. It gave us an inspiring leader that changed a culture. It gave us two people that could never be together because they pursued purpose over self. Romance does have an important place in Star Wars and even though we always seem to know how sad it’s going to end, like Satine and Obi-Wan, we hold onto those brief moments of love and know that it was worth it.