The Skywalker family is known for its pilots. Luke Skywalker loved to fly, as did his father, Anakin. Even Luke’s brother-in-law, Han Solo, could fly the Millennium Falcon. Even his nephew, Ben, learned to fly from a young age.
Luke’s uncle, Owen Lars, Anakin’s stepbrother, lied to him throughout his youth by telling him his father was a navigator on a spice freighter. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin’s former best friend and Jedi Master, said that this was untrue and that his ex-BFF was the best starfighter pilot in the galaxy. However, we learned via the Prequel Trilogy that there is more to this.
Obi-Wan hated flying, and part of the reason was Anakin’s recklessness. We thought we’d do something fun and look at why the future Sith apprentice shouldn’t be allowed to fly.
Crash Landings
Anakin is notorious for crashing ships and nearly getting everyone killed. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka would often internally cringe at this antic. One such example is the speeder Anakin all but totalled during the chase through Coruscant in the search for Zam Wesell.
A second example is the Twilight, a ship Anakin and Ahsoka found to return Rotta the Huttlet to his father during their first mission together. Despite the ship already being a “junker”, as Ahsoka rightfully points out, the ship was relevantly okay to fly as Anakin did his best to maintain it. He crashes the ship on Tatooine but could get it running again.
During one mission, Anakin allows Obi-Wan to take the ship to Mandalore. Tragically, it is destroyed by Maul’s forces. However, one good thing did come from it. After the ship’s destruction, Anakin salvaged certain parts to teach Ahsoka basic mechanics in case she ever needed the skill.
A significant factor in our argument that Anakin should never fly is the situation in the Invisible Hand. After Skywalker kills Count Dooku, he, an unconscious Obi-Wan, Palpatine and R2-D2 are forced to escape the flagship. With Kenobi unable to walk, Anakin carries him.
R2 hurries to find a way out. The Chancellor is not far behind the Jedi. Unfortunately, they almost get killed when the astromech droid reactivates the lift. Eventually, they end up on the ship’s bridge and lose half of it when they hit orbit. The remaining part of the flagship crashes into several buildings, probably killing hundreds of people on the way down.
When Anakin announces they’ve “lost something”, Obi-Wan jokes they’re still flying half a ship. Once the ship lands, he remarks, “Another happy landing.” The statement sums up Anakin’s crashes in a single sentence.
Teaching Ahsoka Bad Flight Habits
Anakin was initially hesitant to let Ahsoka fly in her first space battle. However, he realised that he couldn’t protect her forever and had to let her make her own mistakes. Unfortunately, this occurs, costing the Padawan most of her squadron.
Having flown as Anakin’s co-pilot multiple times, Ahsoka felt she was ready to take command. Instead, she disobeys her master’s orders, which results in the deaths of her squadron. Anakin lectures her on her actions and tells her that while she was reckless, it wasn’t her fault as she’d fallen into a trap.
This situation teaches Anakin two things. The first is that Ahsoka follows his example with the recklessness he performs daily. The second thing is his teaching methods require altering.
Picky
Before the Clone Wars begin, Anakin and Obi-Wan reunite with Padmé Amidala after a decade. When the senator becomes an assassination target, the master-padawan duo charge after the assassin.
Obi-Wan jumps out the window after the assassin droid while Anakin runs to the landing bay and grabs a speeder. First, though, he takes his sweet time, which his master notes when they’re reunited sometime later. Anakin tells him that he wanted one that wasn’t slow. If he weren’t so picky, Obi-Wan wouldn’t have had to freefall.
