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Well in ESB as you all know Obi-Wan tells Luke he has to fight Darth Vader alone and " I cannot interfere". Why not? Is there something stopping him? If the books shed any light on this please someone tell me.

ive always wondered this very same thing, it always made me think of the movie mortal kombat when raiden cant go to the netherworld, but i think obi was just letting him know that in his ghost form he can only advise luke and cant physically help him, but who knows

Originally posted by SithSpy
ive always wondered this very same thing, it always made me think of the movie mortal kombat when raiden cant go to the netherworld, but i think obi was just letting him know that in his ghost form he can only advise luke and cant physically help him, but who knows

Yeah , but he could at least distract Vader in the middle of a lightsaber duel or spy on the Empires plans and report back to Luke. Would have saved a lot of Ewok lives...

well that would be answered by the same reason leia dosent see them at the end of ROTJ, they only appear to luke, for whatever reason, whether he had a connection to them or whatever it may be

But just because they are not seen by anyone doesn't mean that they aren't there. A reason Leia didn't see them would be explained probably because of her inexperience of the force.

What is he going to do, wave at him?

What do you think the term 'cannot' means?

His only ability at this point is to help Luke- that is conceptual, try not to read so much into things.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
What is he going to do, wave at him?

What do you think the term 'cannot' means?

His only ability at this point is to help Luke- that is conceptual, try not to read so much into things.

First of all I'll read into whatever I like. Thats my right. If I have an opinion or a question I'll express it.

Secondly the reason I made this thread was to question why he couldn't interfere. Obi-Wan never offered a reason as to why he couldn't , thats why I was confused. If you take into account the simple fact that as a spirit Obi-Wan can appear seemingly anywhere in the galaxy and talk to Luke it makes perfect sense he could be used to the benefit of the Rebel Alliance. I'm not saying this should of happened because it would make the films less interesting I just noticed a credible flaw in the make-up of the film.

I thought the books might have explained that he couldn't, as a Jedi spirit, interfere directly in the affairs of the living or something like that. Thats the reason I asked in the first post.

Ok, then that is your error to read so much into it. Of course it is your right- it is just not a very helpful or constructive thing to do. Like I said, it was conceptual- Obi-Wan is there to help Luke, and nothing else., Just accept it.

I've always thought this was funny. In ANH Obi-Wan is like...

"Dude...Vader...you better watch out because if you kick my ass to kingdom come...I'll end up being more powerful than you can possibly imagine!"

Vader says, "STFU...You'll be dead so you can't even kiss my ass."

In EMPIRE, Obi-Wan has this realization, "Shit! I'm only a ghost. Damn I guess I should have run for my life ... BUT NOOOOOOOOO. Now I get to be a disembodied voice and I can't drink beer!"

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Ok, then that is your error to read so much into it. Of course it is your right- it is just not a very helpful or constructive thing to do. Like I said, it was conceptual- Obi-Wan is there to help Luke, and nothing else., Just accept it.

Theres people on this Star Wars forum questioning the colour changes of a ****ing lightsaber and I get pulled up for this because you feel so adamant I am discussing a bad topic. You are not right all the time Ush, just accept that and move on.

Look, he can't interfere because it is no longer his war to fight. He's dead now, it's Luke's battle.
Why? The Emperor and Vader want Luke, and it's Luke's choice to join them if he wishes to. Obi Wan can't interfere in that choice. And he knows that as soon as Luke meets Vader, that choice will be given to him.

He can't interfere in Luke's duel, because it's a duel. And in a duel only two people fight, if you start bringing other people into the mix, it's no longer a duel.

It's Luke's destiny to meet Vader, the Force's will. Obi Wan cannot intefere in that and whatever will happen.

It's all a question of wisdom. Luke must go on by himself. Obi Wan and Yoda have done what they could to help him by training him and teaching him the ways of the force.

I think Ushgarak got annoyed with you because you should of understood that for yourself from the beginning. And hence your question makes it annoying to answer. As you can see, my answer is a little confused. It's one of these hard things to answer you must understand for yourslef.

Saying he should have understood it from the beginning is like saying he shouldn't have posted his question. Well, this forum is for asking questions so he did nothing wrong.

Ush, I know you like to think that nothing can be read into, but things can. Just because you say they can't be doesn't mean you are right. You are not right all the time. If you want to get your point across, I think it can be done without seeming so offensive all the time. Telling someone to just accept something is like telling them not to think creatively.

Just saying.

I thought the question was valid. As a force ghost, is he just not able to alter any events or confrontations between the light and dark? Like a time traveller, they have to be careful not to alter the past. Perhaps as a force ghost, interfeiring with a lightsaber battle would be altering their destinies? From what we've understood, up until Episode III, no Jedi knew how to do this. Now that Obi-Wan and Yoda can retain consciousness, isn't that 'bending the rules' enough as it is?

Originally posted by JKozzy
I thought the question was valid. As a force ghost, is he just not able to alter any events or confrontations between the light and dark? Like a time traveller, they have to be careful not to alter the past. Perhaps as a force ghost, interfeiring with a lightsaber battle would be altering their destinies? From what we've understood, up until Episode III, no Jedi knew how to do this. Now that Obi-Wan and Yoda can retain consciousness, isn't that 'bending the rules' enough as it is?

Exactly my point.

Yoda and Ben as ghosts are playing the same role in Lukes life as they were when they were alive. So whats the point of Yoda and Ben actually dying? Theres no point Obi-Wan saying to Vader "If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine" if there is no extra-ordinary powers or advantage he would gain from this.
So either:

1. Obi-Wan told the truth ("from a certain point of view" and he can't physically interfere in the affairs of the force as a Jedi spirit.

2. He's lying to Luke because he doesn't want to face Vader himself, even in purely a mental or visual capacity.

3. George Lucas didn't explain the force spirit idea well enough
(or hasn't yet and ROTS might well go into it)

I hope someone stops George talking about Force spirits or he'll start busting out midichlorians left right and center

Originally posted by Lord Shadow Z
Well in ESB as you all know Obi-Wan tells Luke he has to fight Darth Vader alone and " I cannot interfere". Why not? Is there something stopping him? If the books shed any light on this please someone tell me.

I think that Obi one knew that what was going to happen and he did not want luke to get involved and get killed too!jm