Why Are Obi-Wan Kenobi & Bail Organa so Close? Their History Explained!

Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries has just premiered and people seem to be quite satisfied, despite a slow start. Ewan McGregor has finally returned to the role that made him famous and fans around the world are happy to have him back. But, McGregor is not the only actor whose appearance has surprised fans. Namely, after seeing the first two episodes of the the new Star Wars miniseries, fans have been excited because of the return of Senator Bail Organa to the universe, played once again by Jimmy Smits. In this article, we are going to explain why Senator Organa is so close to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Senator Bail Organa go way back. Namely, during Palpatine’s takeover of the Republic, Senator Organa was one of the rare Republican politicians who trusted the Jedi and saw the danger of Palpatine’s maneuvers. He remained in contact with both Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, ultimately saving them and enabling them to go into hiding.

This article is going to be dedicated to the relationship between Obi-Wan and Senator Organa Star Wars universe. We are going to go over their shared history to explain why the two of them are so close and why Organa considers Obi-Wan to be a close friend and ally, but also why Obi-Wan decided to risk his life to help his friend.

Why are Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa so close?

Now, in order to fully explain the story of Obi-Wan and Bail Organa, we have to go back to the last years of the Republic. Shortly before the Battle of Christophsis during the Clone Wars, Organa led a relief force on the planet of Christophsis to aid the beleaguered people as well as the Galactic Republic troops based on the planet.

During his humanitarian efforts, Organa was trapped on the surface of Christophsis by the forces of General Whorm Loathsom and a Separatist blockade led by the infamous Admiral Trench. When Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi led an assault against Trench’s fleet in an attempt to break through and help Organa, Trench responded with a withering attack, forcing the Jedi to retreat behind a nearby moon. T

rench staged several devastating attacks on Organa at her camp at the Minister of Sustenance compound in Chaleydonia to draw Skywalker and Kenobi from behind the moon, but eventually their blockade was broken thanks to a stealth ship piloted by Skywalker and Admiral Wullf Yularen. Organa then thanked Skywalker for supplying her and watched as Loathsom’s forces retreated.

This where Obi-Wan and Senator Organa started their shared history, although you have to know that Organ had always been a firm ally of the Jedi and believed in their cause, as well as their role as protectors of the Republic.

At the end of the Clone Wars, clone troopers attacked the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and Organa made his way there and attempted to request access to its interior. Suddenly, a fugitive Jedi attempted to escape and was executed before Bail’s eyes by Clone Sergeant Appo and his men, so the senator returned to his ship intending to find any surviving Jedi.

Organa was able to successfully locate and rescue Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom Organa brought back to Coruscant to urge any surviving Jedi to remain in hiding. With the end of the Clone Wars, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine transformed the democratic Galactic Republic into the authoritarian Galactic Empire, granting himself the title of Galactic Emperor.

Following the end of the Clone Wars and the execution of Order 66, Organa decided to adopt the newborn Leia, daughter of the late Padmé Amidala and the fallen Jedi Anakin Skywalker, to protect the child from harm at the hands of the Emperor. Organa and his wife, Queen Breha Organa, had always wanted a girl, and easily raised Leia as an Alderaanian princess.

Organa, along with other dissidents from the newly created Imperial Senate, such as Mon Mothma, would begin to form what would become the Alliance to Restore the Republic, with the aim of bringing democracy back to the galaxy. Over time, Leia became a politician in her own right and a dedicated member of the Rebel Alliance. During the Empire’s reign, Bail remained a senator from Alderaan in the Imperial Senate, secretly rebelling against the Empire.

Organa was one of the few people in the galaxy who knew of Yoda and Kenobi’s whereabouts after the Great Jedi Purge. Although he eventually confided in Mothma about Kenobi’s survival, he did not reveal that information to anyone else and even lied to his rebel allies in the years that followed, claiming that Kenobi had died during the Purge.

The kidnapping of Leia Organa

The fact that Senator Organa was entrusted with the locations of both Yoda and Obi-Wan spoke for itself; at this point, during the early years of the Empire, Bail Organa was probably the closest ally that the two highest-ranking surviving Jedi had. This is why he contacted Obi-Wan Kenobi to save Leia, pleading with him using these words:

“You couldn’t save Anakin, but you can save her.“
“And what if I can’t?“
“There is no one I trust more with my child than you. Please, old friend. For her. One last fight.“

Of course Obi-Wan wouldn’t really refuse and the rest is history (or will be once the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries runs its course). The two seemingly had no contact later on, but as the events of Rogue One revealed, he did not forget about Obi-Wan Kenobi. In 0 BBY, Organa spoke with Mon Mothma after her meeting with Jyn Erso.

Organa believed that the Imperial Senate would not act even if Jyn’s father, scientist Galen Erso, provided evidence of the Galactic Empire’s construction of a superweapon, the Death Star. According to Organa, giving in to the wishes of Emperor Sheev Palpatine had become second nature to the members of the Senate.

However, Mothma assured him that while it was still standing, the Rebel Alliance must always try to pursue the diplomatic route first, while always being prepared for an alternative. Organa was present at a meeting of the rebel forces on Yavin 4 to discuss the threat of the Galactic Empire’s newest weapon: the Death Star.

Organa supported Jyn Erso’s idea of ​​fighting the Empire. After the meeting, Organa spoke briefly with Mothma, informing her that he would be returning to Alderaan to prepare for the coming war as a result of Erso’s actions. Mothma asked Organa to enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was in hiding on Tatooine.

Bail was unable to make his way to Tatooine himself because he had to prepare Alderaan for action, so he decided to send one of his agents to look for Kenobi in his place. Mothma asked if Bail was going to send someone he could trust, and Organa replied that he would send someone he would trust with even his life, his adopted daughter Leia.

Not long after this meeting, Bail Organa would meet his death when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, while R2-D2 and C-3PO would make their way to Luke Skywalker, who would, in turn, seek out Ben Kenobi and start the events of the Original Trilogy. This is the story of the cooperation and friendship between Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Before we finish, we shall answer one more question related to this topic.

Why does Obi-Wan risk his life to help Bail Organa?

Well, the answer to this question should be quite obvious by now, if you’ve read everything we’ve said in the previous section. Now, there are two reasons why Obi-Wan ultimately decided to risk his life for Leia. The first is the fact that he felt responsible for her, just as he did for Luke. Although Leia was given to the Organas, it was Obi-Wan who ultimately cared for both Skywalker siblings, although Leia was safer on Alderaan than Luke was on Tatooine.

The second reason is, of course, his loyalty to Bail Organa. The two were very close during the final years of the Republic and Organa was a loyal ally throughout the whole process. He helped both Obi-Wan and Yoda, and Obi-Wan knew that he had a lifelong friend and ally in Organa. Despite his initial resistance – the cause of which was his sense of not being worthy enough to save Leia, because he was insecure in his powers – Obi-Wan never really planned on turning Bail Organa down, which is what Organa knew in the end.