Star Wars has revealed how Darth Maul actually made Anakin Skywalker a better Jedi. Anakin Skywalker was only nine years old in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and he was otherwise engaged while Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi fought their final duel against Darth Maul.
And yet, for all that's the case, Anakin Skywalker's fate was decided at that power plant on Theed. Qui-Gon Jinn would have saved Anakin from the dark side, although ironically probably not as a Jedi; he had a unique understanding of the concept of balance in the Force, and as a result, he would most likely ended up leaving the Jedi to give Anakin a rather more unique form of training, as Anakin seriously considered leaving as a padawan, and Obi-Wan would have gone with him. And yet, surprisingly, Darth Maul may well have affected Anakin's life in another way - because he shaped the training Obi-Wan gave in Qui-Gon's place.
Claudia Gray's recently-published novel Into The Dark reveals the Jedi had ceased to train for lightsaber duels, neglecting many of the traditional dueling forms because they believed the Sith to be extinct. But when Obi-Wan trained his apprentice Anakin, he knew the Sith were out there, and consequently he trained Anakin in more offensive forms. A Master of Form III, Soresu, Obi-Wan ensured Anakin was trained in Form V so he would be able to take on the Sith. It is possible that, even at this early stage, he had concluded the Chosen One was destined to destroy the Sith - a conclusion he would only vocalize in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
This is actually quite appropriate. Form V was actually developed in the first place by practitioners of Soresu who sought to give themselves an edge in combat against the Sith. Obi-Wan would presumably have been well aware of this historical irony; indeed, this may well have been the reason he believed it better to train Anakin primarily in Form V in the first place, although he did not neglect some other lightsaber forms as well. In a strange way, then, Obi-Wan's experience of Darth Maul led Anakin to become such a great Jedi - and a hero of the Clone Wars.
Unfortunately, this same form became deadly when Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, because Form V was perfectly suited for the Dark Lord of the Sith, who was incapable of the gymnastics associated with the likes of Form IV. But it certainly did not mean Darth Vader was able to defeat Obi-Wan in a simple duel on Mustafar, even though Obi-Wan was the one who had literally taught Anakin everything he knew.
Anakin was always gifted and meant for great things, but Anakin's journey as a Jedi was ill-fated, but if he had left the Jedi Order, or even remained and his training wasn't influenced by knowledge of the Sith's return, he may not have been as influential of a Jedi as he ultimately became or a hero in the Clone Wars.
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February 04, 2021 at 06:18AM
