10. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi
The opening scene of The Phantom Menace re-introduced us to Obi-Wan Kenobi, but many years before the man we came to know in A New Hope. Obi-Wan is the young Padawan of a Jedi Master named Qui-Gon Jinn. Qui-Gon is wise and full of conviction, and early on, we get the sense that he’s a free-thinker who doesn’t just blindly accept what the Jedi Council dictates. When we see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace, their relationship is pretty strong, but it wasn’t always that way.
Claudia Gray’s novel Master and Apprentice tells the story of a much earlier time in their relationship, and it’s a relationship marked by strain and distrust. Obi-Wan feels like he can’t be anything other than a disappointment to Qui-Gon, and Qui-Gon feels like Obi-Wan would be better off with another master. A daring mission to protect a young princess forces them to overcome their differences, which strengthens their connection. When Qui-Gon dies near the end of The Phantom Menace, his last request of Obi-Wan is a promise to train Anakin to be a Jedi. Obi-Wan loves his master and agrees to the promise to honor him.