Registered: Jan 2020
Location: Chiss Defense Fleet
Regarding Rebels Kenobi vs. Maul??
Do you guys think Kenobi was able to beat Maul so easily because he was just that much better, thanks to his greater connection to the Force and him protecting Luke.
Or do you think it had more to do with Maul trying to use the same killing strike on Kenobi that he used on Qui-gon, and Kenobi was just prepared to counter it?
Was supposed to display the mindset of both combatants.
Also note Filoni wanted it to be a very brief fight but S7 Maul vs Ashoka to be an extended fight, despite outright stating Maul is clearly her superior.
Also given Rebels Maul looked fairly on par with Rebels Ahsoka, how much difference could there realistically be between him and Ben Kenobi?
Kenobi and Maul's final duel wasn't a traditional lightsaber duel, it was a psychological battle. It's almost like Kenobi had some psychological advantage over Maul that's akin to the psychological advantage he had over Anakin. Kenobi will always have Maul and Anakin's number, he knows them too well.
Filoni literally stated "maul can't beat kenobi". They may be circumstances for the shortness of the fight. That kenobi is superioir is pretty indisputable though.
The question is how/why hes superior though. And everything Filoni states indicates their frame of mind at this point. Saber skills or power in the Force are never mentioned as a factor for Ben being superior, except for when (as Pr mentioned), it came to protecting Luke which gave Ben that extra dose of invincibility.
Last edited by Darth Thor on Jun 2nd, 2020 at 04:55 PM
I think up until that point, Kenobi would have let Maul walk if he'd changed his mind. But then Maul says what he says, and Obi-Wan realises that Maul has to die. IMO it's why he only ignites his lightsaber at that point.
People get too caught up in "training" and "skill" and treat the Force as if it's something mechanical, a mana pool that allows you to move big rocks. But the Force is spiritual, it's metaphysical. I guess you can say it was "mindset" but that word doesn't quite capture it either, it's more appropriate for a tennis match or a cooking competition.
Kenobi won because he was at his strongest, Maul lost because he was at his weakest. Spiritually.
Kenobi at that point reached a moment of "oneness", a clarity and an unshakable sense of purpose to protect the child who he knew was the hope for a better galaxy. That's a Jedi at his finest. There was no way he could lose in that moment, not against anyone.
Maul at that point was half-mad and waiting to be put out of his misery. For the whole episode he was wandering through the desert mindlessly muttering to himself and having hallucinations. By that point he had spent decades wallowing in hatred, despair, self-pity and grief. He probably wanted to die.
In my opinion, at that point it's useless to compare them in terms of "saber skill" and "TK feats". It's as simple as this: Kenobi won because he was a winner, Maul lost because he was a loser.
Many are focused on evaluating FEATS in isolation instead of looking at developments in a deeper context like that. This is the impact of too much focus on versus topics instead of understanding characters on a deeper level.
Matt Martin claims that if anything he was older and out of practice.
Although as Galan points out his Force powers should only increase over time going by Leias quote in TROS.
Regardless I agree with points brought up in this thread, that if Maul is weaker its more likely due to his broken mind than being out of practice.
Wheras Ben Kenobis pristine clarity of his mission in life and lessons learned from the failure of the Jedi (look what I have risen above!), likely puts his connection to the force at its peak, despite the fact that he probably isnt using his Lightsaber very often.
Jun 2nd, 2020 11:49 AM
Thanks Scribble!
