Obi-Wan and the Council don't TRUST me

Originally posted on July 7, 2006

Obi-Wan and the Council don't trust me. Anakin to Padme, ROTS
They trust you with their lives. Padme' to Anakin, ROTS

I started thinking about this the other night while I was watching ROTS. We all know when and where this conversation between Anakin and Padme' occurs and what happens afterward. What "struck" me here was this whole idea of trust, and how Anakin was beginning to feel "lost," not knowing who to trust. The questions that came to my mind were: Just how important is trust in a Jedi's life? Did they or could they trust anyone? Then I started thinking about Anakin...how important a role it appeared to play in his life and, perhaps more important, the role it had in his downfall. He wanted to be accepted, to be trusted by everyone in his life...and his feeling of not being trusted helped to plague his mind about those around him until he could no longer trust himself or those closest to him--particularly Padme' and Obi-Wan. But where does this mistrust/distrust of Anakin by the Council begin? From the moment he faced the Council, from the moment he was accepted as a Padawan, or from the moment he became a Jedi Knight?

In AOTC, Obi-Wan had verbalized to Mace Windu his "unease" with Anakin taking on the assignment of escorting and protecting Padme' on Naboo. The reasons, according to the film, were that he was not ready and that he was arrogant. However, in the novel, another reason was given...that of Anakin's feelings for Padme', feelings he had since they first met. Both Yoda and Mace stated that the Council was confident in its decision to give Anakin this particular assignment, and let it rest at that.

Fast forward to ROTS...what had changed in terms of their confidence in Anakin and his abilities? He was now a Jedi Knight, no longer a Padawan. His "duties" to the Order had changed, and he was facing the track toward Master. He had "saved" Obi-Wan during various assignments and had even helped to "rescue" the Chancellor from General Grievous. However, after Obi-Wan had given Anakin the task of "spying" on Palpatine, Mace verbalized his distrust of Anakin: very dangerous putting those two together. I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him. To this, Obi-Wan responded with all due respect, Master...He will not let me down. He never has. Although Mace had verbalized his distrust of Anakin, Obi-Wan defended him by essentially saying that he could be trusted. Mace had also referred to Anakin as a boy, not the man we all know him to have become. Every time I hear these words, I cannot help but think how much did Mace not trust, not respect, and not regard Anakin? We all know that Mace had not particularly cared for Anakin since the day Qui-Gon brought him before the Council...but was this really where his distrust of Anakin started?  I have pondered this, and have not come up with an answer.

To all of this add Palpatine's portrayl of how the Jedi did not trust Anakin, and we begin to see why Anakin became "lost" and confused as to who could be trusted. When Anakin told Palpatine the news of Obi-Wan's engaging General Grievous, the conversation started to revolve around Palpatine "searching" Anakin's mind for why he (Ani) thought the Council would not make him a Master. And what was Palpatine's response to Anakin's thoughts? They don't trust you, Anakin. Later, after Anakin turned and became Vader, Palpatine again said because the Council did not trust you my young apprentice... To me, this was the epitome of his plan to "turn" Anakin to the Dark Side and join him in destroying those who he had considered commrades all those years. Palpatine even, according to the ROTS novelization, made it appear that neither Padme' nor Obi-Wan could be trusted...as he eluded to an "affair" between the two occurring behind Anakin's back. Now his wife and his mentor were not being honest with him...and why would he not believe Palpatine?

As Anakin slips further into the Darkness, it is not difficult to see the change in him from someone who blindly trusted that the Jedi would protect him to someone who realizes his abilities and does not understand why everyone is holding him back to someone who has lost faith in those closest to him...those he "thought" he could trust. It is ironic...the one person Anakin thought he could trust the most after Padme' and Obi-Wan, was the one who should not have been trusted to begin with--Paplatine.

Now...the questions I posed at the beginning really have not been answered here. I was unable to answer these questions while contemplating this entry at work last night (isn't it nice to see what the "brain" of a "night-shifter" thinks while watching her patients' sleep?). Also, this was a little longer than I had anticipated, so I thank you for "sticking in there"...that is, if you made it this far.  I would like to know your thoughts on those questions I posed at the beginning of this entry regarding the Jedi and trust, and even your thoughts on anything else I mentioned here. Thank you again for reading.

May the Force Be With You