Theory: Why Kenobi Had Two Lightsabers Buried Than His One

In the first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master explains that he buried two lightsabers in the desert dunes of Tatooine. Obi-Wan Kenobi thought

By Akshay Sharma
May 30,2022
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In the first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master explains that he buried two lightsabers in the desert dunes of Tatooine. Obi-Wan Kenobi thought his time as a Jedi Master was coming to an end when he arrived in Tatooine. After all, the Jedi had failed; they were supposed to be champions of the light; yet they had failed to perceive the dark side’s growing power in the Republic’s heart. They were then wiped out in Star Wars’ Order 66, as a result of the clone troopers’ unanticipated defection.

In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan told Anakin Skywalker, “This weapon is your life.” This wasn’t simply sound advice; the lightsaber is a tool that allows a Jedi to focus on the Force by allowing them to become attuned to the kyber crystal at the saber’s heart. When Obi-Wan Kenobi exiled himself on Tatooine, he buried his lightsaber in the desert sands, as shown in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1. The Jedi Order had crumbled, and Obi-Wan would not serve as a Jedi for the next two decades. His mission was to keep his head down and wait for Luke Skywalker to mature before attempting to train the youngster.

Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi

Two lightsabers were buried by Obi-Wan. There was his own lightsaber, and then there was Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, which Obi-Wan had grabbed after defeating his apprentice on Mustafar. Obi-Wan felt Anakin had perished there, and by removing the lightsaber and presenting it to his son, he was striving to respect his former Padawan’s legacy. Obi-second Wan’s lightsaber would have reflected so much to him: it would have represented both his regrets and his wishes for Luke to become what Anakin was not. According to the Star Wars Rebels episode “Twin Suns,” Obi-Wan grew to believe Luke, rather than Anakin, was the Chosen One. Obi-Wan hoped Luke would succeed where Anakin had failed, and the lightsaber was a symbol of this.

It’s remarkable to note how easily Obi-Wan was able to locate the lightsabers. Obi-Wan episode 1 plainly showed no visible landmarks as he buried them in the shifting dunes of Tatooine. Despite this, Obi-Wan was aware of the general region in where he had buried them, and he must have detected the kyber crystals within. A Jedi’s lightsaber has been characterized as “a lens that concentrates the light within the Jedi” in tie-ins, implying that the lightsaber he had wielded for decades had nearly become a part of him. It’s no surprise he was able to detect the lightsabers so quickly.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader fight on Mustafar in new concept art

Obi-Wan’s lightsabers, of course, are strikingly similar to the two lightsabers Rey buried at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Whereas Obi-Wan buried both Anakin’s and his own lightsaber, Rey buried Luke’s and Leia’s while creating a new one for herself. She lived in a different era, when Jedi light was re-emerging and she had nothing to fear. Her decision to bury Luke and Leia’s lightsabers was an attempt to give them a new legacy. She chose a site with a landmark so that even someone without a direct link to the kyber crystals may find them one day. Rey’s decision to bury the lightsabers in the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV series is thus a perfect inversion of Obi-Wan’s.