About the High Ground...
Few lines in the Star Wars prequels are as simultaneously iconic and confusing as Obi-Wan Kenobi's declaration to Anakin in Revenge of the Sith that "It's over...I have the high ground."
Memes galore (including many of my own making) and endless jokes have their genesis in this line. But why did Obi-Wan say it? Was it simply more of George Lucas's infamously bad dialogue? Possibly, but I want to argue otherwise.
I think this is best accomplished by first seeking to understand all the reasons Obi-Wan did not say it for. First, I don't think he expected Anakin to be like "Dang it! You got me bro!" and put down his lightsaber. Nor did he actually believe the slightly higher elevation granted some kind of special advantage. It might help but it is hardly decisvie in personal, hand to hand combat. Obi-Wan was a seasoned warrior and knew better than to believe the high ground was the trump card.
So why did he make a big deal out of his elevation? First, to gain a mental advantage, not a physical one. Think about Anakin's emotional status at this point. He is angry, suppressed feelings finally surfacing in this duel with his former master. We have heard him tell Padme that he believed himself "more powerful" than Darth Sidious. Simply put, he is drunk on his power. But his power is raw, and thus vulnerable. Hate, pride and lust for more consume him, and Obi-Wan plays these emotions perfectly.
How do you defeat a powerful enemy who is prideful? You attack his pride. When Obi-Wan jumps onto the shore, Anakin could literally step to the side. He doesn't, because Obi-Wan, whom he hates deeply and resents for holding him back, has just challenged him: "I have the high ground." Take it from me, if you can. What is Anakin's response? Basically, "I totally can take it from you" and anger at Obi-Wan for the implied insult. The problem for Anakin is that he is not quite as powerful as he claims to be...
Of course, Obi-Wan is no stranger to desperate jumps against an opponent possessing the high ground, executing the same maneuver in The Phantom Menace against Darth Maul. The difference? Darth Maul was not expecting the ostensibly defeated Padawan to attempt such a move and was taken by surprise. But Obi-Wan was ready.
The deliberate jab at Anakin's ego prompted him to perform a vulnerable feat that ended badly for the young Sith Lord.
So it was a mind game on Obi-Wan's part. But it was also, story wise, a complete circle for the Prequel Trilogy. In the first movie, we have a Sith with the high ground and Jedi without it. The Jedi, Obi-Wan, overcomes the challenge and defeats his enemy. In the last movie, the exact opposite happens. For Darth Maul, pride prevented him from believing the padawan could "rise" to the occasion. Pride prevented Anakin from taking his Master seriously. Pride ultimately leads to the downfall of the Sith, and the Jedi would do well to take heed.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on "the high ground" and I hope you enjoyed them. While I do not write exclusively about Star Wars, I have Star Wars posts planned for the not too distant future. I want to spend some time looking at the pacing/ editing flaws of Attack of the Clones and how that movie could have been decent, a comparison of The Force Awakens and Rogue One in terms of Characters vs Story, and after The Last Jedi comes out in December 2017, a ranking of all the Star Wars movies to date.
Memes galore (including many of my own making) and endless jokes have their genesis in this line. But why did Obi-Wan say it? Was it simply more of George Lucas's infamously bad dialogue? Possibly, but I want to argue otherwise.
I think this is best accomplished by first seeking to understand all the reasons Obi-Wan did not say it for. First, I don't think he expected Anakin to be like "Dang it! You got me bro!" and put down his lightsaber. Nor did he actually believe the slightly higher elevation granted some kind of special advantage. It might help but it is hardly decisvie in personal, hand to hand combat. Obi-Wan was a seasoned warrior and knew better than to believe the high ground was the trump card.
So why did he make a big deal out of his elevation? First, to gain a mental advantage, not a physical one. Think about Anakin's emotional status at this point. He is angry, suppressed feelings finally surfacing in this duel with his former master. We have heard him tell Padme that he believed himself "more powerful" than Darth Sidious. Simply put, he is drunk on his power. But his power is raw, and thus vulnerable. Hate, pride and lust for more consume him, and Obi-Wan plays these emotions perfectly.
How do you defeat a powerful enemy who is prideful? You attack his pride. When Obi-Wan jumps onto the shore, Anakin could literally step to the side. He doesn't, because Obi-Wan, whom he hates deeply and resents for holding him back, has just challenged him: "I have the high ground." Take it from me, if you can. What is Anakin's response? Basically, "I totally can take it from you" and anger at Obi-Wan for the implied insult. The problem for Anakin is that he is not quite as powerful as he claims to be...
Of course, Obi-Wan is no stranger to desperate jumps against an opponent possessing the high ground, executing the same maneuver in The Phantom Menace against Darth Maul. The difference? Darth Maul was not expecting the ostensibly defeated Padawan to attempt such a move and was taken by surprise. But Obi-Wan was ready.
The deliberate jab at Anakin's ego prompted him to perform a vulnerable feat that ended badly for the young Sith Lord.
So it was a mind game on Obi-Wan's part. But it was also, story wise, a complete circle for the Prequel Trilogy. In the first movie, we have a Sith with the high ground and Jedi without it. The Jedi, Obi-Wan, overcomes the challenge and defeats his enemy. In the last movie, the exact opposite happens. For Darth Maul, pride prevented him from believing the padawan could "rise" to the occasion. Pride prevented Anakin from taking his Master seriously. Pride ultimately leads to the downfall of the Sith, and the Jedi would do well to take heed.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on "the high ground" and I hope you enjoyed them. While I do not write exclusively about Star Wars, I have Star Wars posts planned for the not too distant future. I want to spend some time looking at the pacing/ editing flaws of Attack of the Clones and how that movie could have been decent, a comparison of The Force Awakens and Rogue One in terms of Characters vs Story, and after The Last Jedi comes out in December 2017, a ranking of all the Star Wars movies to date.
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