The Clone Wars: James Arnold Taylor weighs in on what Obi-Wan knew of Anakin and Padmé’s relationship

There’s more to Obi-Wan Kenobi than just his friendship with Anakin Skywalker. He might be loyal to the Jedi Order, but even he had his secrets in Star Wars.

In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi is mentioned as being a close friend of Luke Skywalker’s father, Anakin. The prequel trilogy highlighted the close bond the two men had before the young Jedi Knight’s fall to the side of evil.

During The Clone Wars series, we see the relationship go from father and son as depicted in Attack of the Clones to one of brotherhood. However, the famed Jedi Master was far from perfect.

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We learn through his adventures with Anakin that he had a secret love affair with Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore. This comes years before his best friend caught Qui-Gon Jinn’s attention on Tatooine. The love he had for the Mandalorian ruler remained, but ended by at the hands of ex-Sith Lord Maul.

Obi-Wan’s forbidden relationship could never have prepared him for the mammoth secret his former apprentice hid from him. Anakin married Padmé Amidala upon the onset of the Clone Wars. Though, he kept the union quiet in fear of retribution. Near the end of the conflict, the Jedi Knight fell to the dark side upon receiving visions of his wife’s demise in childbirth. This devastated Kenobi so much that he thought he’d try to make for it by watching over his son.

Discovering this, Kenobi goes to the senator for information before dropping a bomb on her; that he knows of her union with his BFF. He questioned if her husband was the father of her unborn child. While she did not issue a response, the Jedi Master knew all he needed. Though one thread of this revelation has always remained open; how much knowledge did he have?

In an article on CinemaBlend back in March, voice actor James Arnold Taylor weighed into the conversation of what the Negotiator had worked out. Taylor voice Kenobi in The Clone Wars.

"I think he’s always sensed it. He’s known ever since the beginning that there was a spark between these two. Dave Filoni and I have discussed this and he’s said in interviews as well, so I know it’s safe to say Obi-Wan’s not an idiot; he knows what’s going on,  but he doesn’t know the intensity and magnitude of it. He certainly doesn’t know they’re married, I think."

He and The Clone Wars producer, Dave Filoni had spoken extensively about the topic and they agreed that while the fan-favorite knew about the relationship between his honorary brother and the senator from Naboo, he didn’t know all the details or how deep it went.

This is confirmed in the Season 7 episode ‘A Distant Echo’ where Obi-Wan casually says: “I hope you told Padmé I said hello,” which leaves Anakin a little perplexed.

The actor adds:

"I always feel like with Obi-Wan, he’s the true believer in all of this, even more so probably than Master Yoda or Qui-Gon. He’s just a true believer in the code… he wants to do the right things, and I do believe that if you were to sit down in a one-on-one, if Obi-Wan Kenobi was here on the podcast, and he was just talking one-on-one and he said, ‘Well, nobody’s gonna hear this, right? Yoda won’t hear this? Yes, I do believe that the Jedi should be able to express their feelings more in this way.’"

Taylor says this is how Kenobi views attachments versus how his fellow Jedi see them.

If anything, Obi-Wan’s views are more complicated than what we thought initially. Yes, he’s obedient to the ways of the Jed Order, but he’s also been in Anakin’s shoes. He’s had his love and chose his career over having a relationship. Consider his perspective as a two-way street; he can have one, but not both.

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It’s unknown why he never confronted Anakin, but if a guess had to be made, it would be to preserve the loyalty and respect he had for his former student. We can warrant a theory into what the future Darth Vader would’ve thought when Bo-Katan called Obi-Wan out in ‘Old Friends Not Forgotten’.

Kenobi called Anakin out on his personal feelings for Padmé three years earlier when the senator fell from the gunship during the First Battle of Geonosis. During that time, he hid his relationship with Satine from Skywalker. This would’ve been deemed as hypocritical by the younger Jedi Knight.

Anakin learning of Obi-Wan’s secret liaison so late into their friendship is bound to set off a few alarm bells that prompts their friendship to crumble. It’s a lie, and they were supposed to trust each other.

Did you suspect Obi-Wan knew about Anakin and Padmé from the beginning? Let us know below!