Obi-Wan Nearly Left The Jedi Order To Be With The Love Of His Life

Satine became the Duchess of Mandalore shortly before the Invasion of Naboo during The Phantom Menace. She was part of the New Mandalorian movement that successfully broke away from the planet’s violent past and helped establish Mandalore as a neutral entity within the galaxy. For some time, Satine, along with other members of the movement, were able to rebuild Mandalore, which had been devastated after years of war.

While some of the Mandalorians were reluctant to abandon their warmongering ways, many of the planet’s people welcomed Satine and this new chapter in Mandalore’s history. In addition to playing a key role in this movement, Satine was also the leader of the Council of Neutral Systems, an organization of over 1,000 planetary systems that chose to remain neutral during the devastating Clone Wars.

Obi-Wan and Satine first met when Obi-Wan was still under the tutelage of his master, Qui-Gon Jinn. He and Qui-Gon were sent to Mandalore by the Jedi Council to protect Satine, who had recently become duchess. Their mission was to protect Satine from a group of insurgents who wanted to overthrow the current regime. This time of turmoil played a crucial role in Satine’s decision to become a pacifist.

During the Mandalorian Civil War, Satine’s life was under constant threat by bounty hunters. In order to keep her safe, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Satine had to live on-the-run. Obi-Wan tells Anakin that the three of them had to live “hand-to-mouth, never sure what the next day would bring” – a scenario Anakin calls romantic (minus Qui-Gon, we’re guessing). Indeed, over the course of that year, the two slowly fell in love.

Despite their feelings for one another, Obi-Wan and Satine didn’t always see eye-to-eye. The two public figures had some ideological conflicts. Satine, who had decided to adhere to a life of pacifism, was scathingly critical of the Jedi’s violent, bloody, and in her opinion, hypocritical, “peacekeeping” methods. Their differing beliefs often lead to heated banter that often reached Han-and-Leia levels of sexual tension. Everyone knows Obi-Wan is the ultimate sass-master in the Star Wars galaxy, but Satine was able to match and even out-sass the Jedi at every turn. 

During the Clone Wars, when Obi-Wan and Satine are reunited and are facing what appears to be certain death, the two confess their love for one another. Satine tells the Jedi that she had loved him ever since he came to her aid all those years ago. Obi-Wan reveals that if she had said the word, he would have left the Jedi Order for her.

When they were younger, their budding romance ended abruptly – Satine had to rebuild a broken Mandalore and Obi-Wan returned to his Jedi studies. When the two admit that they still love each other years later, nothing changes. Anakin saves their lives at the last moment, but instead of running off into the sunset together, Satine and Obi-Wan return to their respective duties.

Dave Filoni, the supervising director of The Clone Wars, said he based Satine’s character and appearance off of Cate Blanchett’s performance in Elizabeth, a period film that followed Queen Elizabeth I’s rise to power. In an interview, Feloni said, “I just loved the way she carried herself in that film, and it was a big inspiration for how to do this character because to have a female character that… I wanted her to stand right there with Obi-Wan Kenobi and be every bit as smart. Stand toe-to-toe with him and even be a bit wiser perhaps, and I think she does that really nicely.”