Speaking of ROTS, I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseam but I just haven't come across it. Is there a good explanation for the logic behind Obi-Wan and Yoda splitting up to take on Anakin and Palpatine? Both Jedi were right there on Coruscant already, so why not team up to improve the odds against Palpatine first?
Anakin's whereabouts were unknown, right? So it would take hours (if not days) to get to him even if they found out where he was. And he wasn't going to be able to do much more damage to the Jedi since they were pretty much wiped out already.
Palpatine was clearly the more urgent threat, not just the tougher opponent. The Sith mastermind pulling all the strings, the only one with governmental power, and the one in control of the clones. Kill him first, and then go hunt for Anakin (also together, thus improving the odds against him as well). Why wouldn't that make more sense?
There are multiple reasons for why they didn't take Palpatine or Vader together.
First, it was Yoda's decision because in the film he says there is no time to question it.
Now, the logic of that decision...
The Jedi Order and Republic were collapsing at that very moment. It was a time sensitive issue. Both were huge threats. They kill Palpatine, Vader takes over. They kill Vader, Palpatine senses it in the force and knows he has Yoda and Kenobi gunning for him, same goes for Vader, he would sense his masters death and know they are coming for him. Best way to avoid this is to split up and hope both get the job done before they become damn near untouchable.
Second, Yoda may view Obi-Wan as a liability in the fight. I don't believe Obi-Wan would have been a liability. He can deflect force lightning. He held his own against Count Dooku. He beat Maul and Grievous (and eventually Anakin). But, Palpatine sliced through 3 Jedi and toyed with Windu, using Kenobi against Yoda could have led to the defeat of both. No Kenobi, means Yoda is free to go all out.
Third, Yoda was overconfident and arrogant. He thought he could have defeated Palpatine. I believe that is why he went into exile, because ultimately he was a monstrous failure whose orders shortcomings led to their downfall. Plus, whether he knew it or not, that decision to stay and live to train any future Jedi (aka Luke) proved worthwhile.
Fourth, Yoda may have believed that Anakin could still be saved with just Kenobi showing up. Kenobi was reluctant the whole time up until the "I will do what I must."
Fifth, you can't put all your eggs in one basket. If they both show up and die, it's over. As odd as it sounds, I feel like splitting up was mitigating that risk.
If I were to come up with an "in universe" reason (since we all know the real reason is just that George wanted two lightsaber duels occurring simultaneously) I'd say that Yoda believed that Palpatine's power was so far above Obi-Wan's that Kenobi would simply get in the way (as he did when Anakin faced Dooku.) I think Yoda wanted to have the freedom to go all out against Palpatine without having to simultaneously defend his weaker ally.
Yup, that is one good reason.
Man, watching TCW finale and then going back to the original 2008 TCW film I am blown away by how much more it makes me realize what an utter FAILURE the PT was in establishing arguably the single most important relationship of the trilogy and that is the one between Obi-Wan and Anakin. I realized this when watching this scene because it was *such* a beautiful little moment:
It's after their first battle together and at first Anakin kind of lays into Ahsoka about her shortcomings which really brings her down. Then they sit quietly and he says "you would have never made it as Obi-Wan's apprentice." (which hits her even harder) "But...you may just make it as mine." And then when he smiles and her sadness turns to elation, I'm not kidding it was a real gut punch knowing that such raw tenderness between them (two CARTOON characters no less!) wouldn't last and that things would end so horribly.
I *never* feel that when Qui Gon introduces Obi-Wan to Jake Lloyd in TPM or any point during AOTC or ROTS when Obi-Wan and Anakin are supposedly these amazing friends/partners/brothers. It's just always two individuals who are largely going through the motions of dialogue just so they can get to the next CG action scene. What a travesty.
This kid's show with low paid television actors and animators accomplished what one of the biggest trilogies in the world could not.
That relationship is still better than the utter FAILURE the ST was in establishing any relationships whatsoever. Rey/Kylo? Garbage. Rey/Luke? Two days of garbage. Rey/Leia? Doesn't make any sense. Rey/Chewbacca? Chewbacca was her slave. Rey/any female character whatsoever. lol, nope. Rey/Han? Probably the best one, but ultimately she doesn't give a **** about Han.
At least you have Anakin saying that Kenobi feels like a father/brother, you see the emotion in their relationships far more than anything in the ST.
The problem that creates now is that Anakin seemed like he cared more for Ashoka than Padme or so it seems that way to me lol
Look I?m not about to start buying into this conflicted Darth Vader crap because RO/ANH/ESB Vader was ruthless and was never in the slightest ever thinking of good times with Ashoka.
If anything thinking of Padme would just make him more ruthless.
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I don't see that as true. Ahsoka leaves the order, he does nothing. Padme might die based on a dream, he goes ape **** and destroys the galaxy and Jedi.
Vader to me was always conflicted. He channeled that into rage at times. Just because he is ruthless doesn't mean he isn't conflcited.
Yeah, unfortunately I think Yoda and Obi-Wan being clueless is the answer that actually holds up best.
But I guess I could go with your theory about both parents on the same plane. It would also tie in to the arrogance you're referencing about Yoda. After all, he'd be assuming that both "parents" weren't going to die in individual duels against crazy-powerful opponents.
The idea of Yoda being arrogant bugs me, but that's based on getting to know him in ESB. Maybe he was an arrogant little sucker most of his life, and then being humbled by the events of the PT is what made him more of the wiser version in the OT.
Hopefully you don't still see them as clueless. Yoda had a plan and Kenobi was just lost and reluctant. Heartbroken himself and realizing his failures to Anakin and Qui-Gon. I mean, Yoda at least had the same feelings as Kenobi, multipled by a thousand.
Another fair explanation. Still makes me wonder why Yoda would bother sending Obi-Wan alone to battle the virgin-birth "Chosen One" if he felt Obi-Wan would be so outmatched by Palps to the point of being a liability. I can't see why there was such urgency in getting to Anakin right away, so I don't know why Yoda wouldn't want to be there helping Kenobi. I guess we'd need to believe that Yoda didn't think Anakin was all that.
Thanks for the answers, fellas. Either of your explanations is better than just having to concede that Yoda was an idiot.
This whole thing came to mind when watching TROS on D+. When Rey stalls to get Ben in the throne room, it makes total sense that you'd want to outnumber the big bad in order to improve your odds. Not the logic used in ROTS.
Well, in TROS there was only one villain. So there was no need to split it up when it was just one. And the urgency to get to Vader was so he doesn't simply take over.
Agreed. Why would Vader be conflicted after Padme died, and before knowing that his son survived? Vader was only conflicted in the OT after confronting his son face to face. He seemed to be fully embracing the dark side in ANH and ESB. Didn't seem to show any hint of being conflicted.
You guys are forgetting that the PT was made 15-20 years after the OT. It's kind of odd to criticize one or the other because they don't make line by line references. Vader was conflicted in ESB. Otherwise he would have just killed Luke right then and there. Toyed with him the whole time. Could have slaughtered his friends and blown up C-3PO too
Yeah pretty much, lol.
I mean think about it. How much better the PT could have been if Lucas just had Luke and Leia's real mom be a younger Jedi that Anakin had fallen in love with. It's so much more fun watching Ahsoka dual wield lightsabers alongside Anakin and Obi-Wan than watching Padme try to keep up by riding that ridiculous hairless donkey thing in the Geonosis arena, lol.
They could have probably even kept the Clone Wars largely the same but just having Ahsoka (as Anakin's hidden wife) be newly pregnant at the very end while she's standing there in her cloak having missed the opportunity to tell Anakin that she was expecting. Then she goes off and marries Bail Organa and ROTJ Leia's memory of her real mother could have remained intact. Yeah they'd have to change Ahsoka to a human being but otherwise they could have still had all the same themes of forbidden love, scandal, and all that but with a female protagonist much more capable of hanging with the guy heroes similar to how Leia was in the OT.
Then let Ahsoka's end being left ambiguous with her either never appearing in Rebels or anything else or maybe have her "death" turn out to be fake or something (maybe say she separated herself from Leia to protect her once she realized who Darth Vader was) so as not to conflict with Leia's memory if they really wanted to bring her back. Then the spirits of both grandparents could have encouraged Rey along with both twins, everything. That would have been so cool.
Oh well, "woulda shoulda coulda" as always.
So, you want Anakin to be a **** and crush for his underage padawan. Then have that padawan marry some older man. And, since she is still alive, I doubt she would split up her kids. There would be no point if she was still keeping one, still huge risks as Vader would never stop to find her.
I don't mind that whole falling in love with another Jedi thing ultimately, but I think there are some holes.
They're piling up. 
