Obi-Wan was arguably one of the most important Jedi of all time in Star Wars. By the time he left Tatooine for his final mission in Star War: Episode IV - A New Hope, he was regarded as one of the wisest Masters, too. Through the prequels, however, it's established that Obi-Wan wasn't always quite so reserved. Starting with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan was still a headstrong Padawan forced into becoming a reluctant mentor before he was truly ready. Continuing on through The Clone Wars, he matured and grew wiser, but he carried a cockiness with him until the end of the war. A gifted Force user, Obi-Wan had always been a Jedi to be reckoned with.
That being said, Obi-Wan didn't even need to use the Force to pull his greatest psychological trick on Darth Maul during their final fight in Star Wars Rebels. In just a single scene, Kenobi took viewers on a journey of growth and of strategy, from his past as Obi-Wan to his present and future as Ben.
It's no secret that Darth Maul was obsessed with tracking down and finally vanquishing his nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi. When, in Clone Wars, Maul's brother Savage Opress found him, it was a surprise (but a welcome one, to be sure) that Maul had even survived being cut in half by Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace. The Dark Side truly sustained him and kept him alive, but so, too, did his all-consuming vendetta against "Kenobi!" Throughout Clone Wars and Rebels, his ultimate goal for revenge didn't waver, though it did seem his hatred of Obi-Wan was also balanced by an admiration and a respect that can only be found in epic mutual enemies.
When in Rebels, Ezra Bridger accidentally allowed Maul to learn the location of Obi-Wan after all those years, the former Sith hurried off to finally meet his foe, being pulled by an insatiable call to settle the score. Though Ezra managed to locate Obi-Wan on Tatooine, it was mere moments before Maul did. After sending Ezra away, as both Obi-Wan and Maul shared a desire to protect Ezra as well as an understanding that whatever happened next had been fated by the Force, it was finally down to just the two of them.
As they both prepared to fight, Obi-Wan first assumed his classic prequels Form III fighting stance, the same one he used with passion as he prepared to face off against General Grievous for a final time in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and the same Form he used against Maul immediately following Qui-Gon's death. This position was only for an instant this time, but it certainly conjured up memories of the younger and cockier Padawan Obi-Wan had been decades ago, the last time he had faced Maul. But Obi-Wan quickly transitioned into the Form IV stance favored by his old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. It was the same fighting style Qui-Gon had used all those years ago when Maul was able to get the upper hand and kill him, and the same Form Obi-Wan himself had favored at the very beginning of the Duel of the Fates.
Obi-Wan's transition of stances satisfied two objectives. First, Obi-Wan recognized that the old ways were gone, and he was no longer the same Jedi he was ages ago. As Ben Kenobi, he was wiser and calmer. Second, however, was Obi-Wan's smartest trick. By assuming the pre-fight pose of Qui-Gon, this triggered Maul into thinking he could use the same move that had killed his former Master, and Maul rushed to attack the Jedi. But it was a carefully laid trap and Obi-Wan fulfilled the poetic circle by blocking Maul's signature move, the one that had killed Qui-Gon, and instead mortally wounding Maul.
As he lay dying, Maul seemed to finally be at peace. He'd completed his journey and, in his final moments, learned from his old rival that there was perhaps hope that Emperor Palpatine, Maul's own former tortuous Master, would be defeated. Star Wars creator George Lucas has famously said of the franchise that "it's like poetry, it rhymes." And so, it was Maul's inability to let go of the past that finally ended his own story - in the same way that he himself unknowingly helped begin the story of Skywalker.
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