Every Easter Egg Carved Into That Wall In Obi-Wan Kenobi
Episode 5 of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is a powerful one, and if you haven't watched it yet, I implore you to do so before you read further. There are spoilers ahead.
This week, Obi-Wan, Leia, and the gang end up on Jabiim, the safehouse planet for the Path, the road that secrets away Jedi and Force sensitive people out of the reach of the Empire. There is a whole lot happening in this episode, including me tearing up over a loss and last words, but that's not what I'm talking about today, mostly. As in many places where people stay temporarily while in desperate situations, they often carve their names or quotes or pictures into the walls. If you visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and hit the Egyptian room with the Temple of Dendur, you can see carved graffiti from visitors to the site when it was still in Egypt. If you visit the Tower of London, there are carvings in the stone walls from prisoners, including possibly Anne Boleyn, the beheaded queen. We as humans feel the need to make our mark, and likely more so when our lives are in danger.
Two episodes ago, we saw carvings in the safehouse that Tala took Leia and Obi-Wan to. Now, we see Obi-Wan reading more carvings in the wall on Jabiim. It's in Aurebesh, the language of Star Wars. Our own Bryan Young found a lot of stuff on there, and I did my level best with my printed Aurebesh alphabet to see some more of them.
Quick note: I'm using the Jedi symbol in the center of the wall carvings as a point of reference.
'There is no death'
"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."
This is the Jedi code, something the Jedi learn from the time they're taken away from their parents and families (way too young, which is a major issue with the Jedi). It's a lovely sentiment for the most part, despite it being a bit much for even a Force sensitive person to really commit to. Still, it's comforting. One of the things written on the wall on Jabiim is a line from that code, "There is no death." It's in the upper left corner.
Likely the reason this is written out as the only line from the code is the death of so many Jedi during Order 66. All the lightsabers we see from fallen Jedi (especially the younglings) here and in the Fortress Inquisitorius from earlier episodes are heartbreaking, and likely the survivors are dealing with grief. Reminding oneself that there is no death, and only the Force is a powerful thing. Those who have left us are never really gone if we remember them.
'May the Force be with you'
My heart breaks for Tala and Ned-B, who sacrificed themselves to save the refugees with a thermal detonator. Her last words were, "May the Force be with you." Really didn't expect to be crying this early in the morning, folks. Anyway, another thing carved on that wall, right above the Jedi symbol is "May the Force be with you."
It's a line we've heard since the very beginning of the "Star Wars" saga, a nod to the connection between all living beings, a connection that one can draw on if one is sensitive enough to do so, but something that feels very much like the deeper meanings of "aloha" or "namaste." It's an acknowledgement of the light that flows through us and lives within us. It's been used as a goodbye before when things are dire, from Holdo to Leia and back. RIP Tala and Ned-B, you wonderful silent droid.
Seriously, I did not expect to go this deep before I've finished my coffee.
'The light fades but is never forgotten'
"The light fades but is never forgotten."
That one is under the Jedi symbol on the wall. It's not part of any saying I could find, but it does feel like something one says after a loss. Considering that this is "Star Wars" though, it could also mean the passing of a Force ghost who was advising a Jedi. They glow with light. I might be reaching here, but it was my first thought.
Since I'm already getting heavy with this stuff, here's another thought. Not that I think the fictional carver would have meant this specifically, but the light has faded from Anakin, who has turned to the dark side of the Force, but as we know from "Return of the Jedi," Padme was right. There was still good in him. His son Luke does uncover it, right at the end. Anakin's light faded, but in the end, wasn't forgotten.
Youngling crest?
Credit to DrunkWooky for finding this, because there is no way I would have figured out that carving, but to the right of the Jedi symbol is another one, that appears to be the crest of the Jedi younglings. It's a sort of circle right under what looks like the letters VAO, but in Aurebesh is "YOU" from the "May the Force be with you" line.
It looks like a wing with a four-pointed star balanced on the second feather. This one is heartbreaking, not just because the killing of the younglings was the point Anakin couldn't come back from. It's brutal and awful, and especially poignant in both our current world and in episode 5. We learn in this episode that Reva pretended to be dead among the bodies of her slain friends to survive and it's so close to the news right now that I'm having a hard time typing this.
Corwin Shelvay
In the big letters, to the left of the Jedi symbol, is the name Corwin Shelvay. This character was introduced in the RPG "Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments of the Rim" from 1993. Corwin was a human Jedi Knight during Palpatine's Jedi Purge. According to Wookieepedia, he was the apprentice of Darrin Arkanian, who died saving him from the Empire. He was tempted by the dark side as he wanted revenge. Later he joined the Rebel Alliance and joined the New Jedi Order.
This is from the Legends side of things, before the dark times, before the decision to make older Star Wars stories non-canon. (I'm mostly kidding, but not completely.) It's been very interesting to see which things from Legends that Disney has been allowing to seep into the current canon. We might not hear more about him, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. In his review, Bryan does mention another Legends character named Corran Horn listed in the credits, who was a member of Luke's Jedi Order, so he's on Jabiim as well.
'Tiberus'
Diagonally to the left, under the Jedi symbol, to the right of Corwin Shelvay's name is what I believe says "Tiberus." The only one I could find is Tiberus Anderlock from "Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed," an extension pack from 2004 that added on to the MMORPG "Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided."
Tiberus Anderlock was a human Jedi pilot. We don't know a lot about him, but he was killed after the Battle of Yavin while he was piloting a Kihraxz assault fighter in the Dathomir system. If that sounds familiar to you, it's because of the Witches of Dathomir who were mentioned in "The Book of Boba Fett," which our own Danielle Ryan did an explainer about.
Tiberus was an NPC, but if he lived until the Battle of Yavin, it means he survived until "A New Hope." It's not much, but at least he made it that far.
Ekria
Under the name "Shelvay" is something very tiny. It's hard to see and Drunk Wooky found this one as well. I did get my Aurebesh alphabet out to double check and I also translated Ekria.
Ekria is a Barolian Jedi Padawan who later served in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars, according to Wookiepedia. What's important about her, other than just being a Force user in her own right, is that she served under Jedi Master Aayla Secura, who was the first Jedi to fall in Order 66, or at least the first one we saw. Aalya was the padawan of Quinlan Vos, whose name we saw carved on a wall in an earlier episode. He was the one that Obi-Wan mentioned still being alive and who Tala said helps out with the Path from time to time.
Roganda Ismaren
Under the Jedi symbol, sort of on the left side, there are two double letter symbols, and under that we have Roganda Ismaren. I could translate the first name, but had to look it up to get the second. According to Wookieepedia, she is a Jedi Initiate from Alderaan (sniff) who first appeared in the "Children of the Jedi" novel, but I haven't read that one. She survived Order 66 by being smuggled out with other younglings (which would make seeing her name here make sense), but was taken by Imperial fighters. She was — give yourself a moment before you read this — one of Palpatine's concubines. She fell to the dark side and had a son who killed her.
I'm very squicked out by this one, just as I was when I learned that Palpatine had a kid. Nope. I don't want to think about that.
There were a few others that I just couldn't translate, like what appears to be "Niami" to the lower right of the Jedi symbol, but I couldn't find that name anywhere. It's that first letter. I've tried every iteration, but no luck. Do let me know if you figure that one out!