The following contains significant spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi Parts I and II, streaming now on Disney+.
As Obi-Wan Kenobi opens it is the year 9 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin) and Kenobi has been hidden among the flotsam of Tattooine’s blue-collar workforce for a decade. Forced to watch injustice breed with impunity to keep Luke safe, Kenobi has been banished from the Lars homestead in no uncertain terms while trying to keep an eye on his ward and his head down. Unfortunately, three members of the Imperial Inquisition land on the arid planet looking for a Jedi rumored to be in the area. One particularly bellicose member of their party, Reva the Third Sister, seemed to have some personal connection to Kenobi and was single-minded in her zeal to bring him before Darth Vader.
Her superior, the loquacious Grand Inquisitor, attempted to dissuade her hunt for Kenobi. Their other companion, the Fifth Brother, was convinced that Kenobi is nowhere to be found and didn’t understand Reva’s compulsion to find the lost Jedi. While this schism between their set of priorities is interesting and invites curious speculation about what is motivating the Third Sister, it also seems as if they feel like there are no other Jedi worth taking seriously. Which begs the obvious question, why aren’t they concerned about Yoda?
The Inquisitors came to Tattooine looking for a young Jedi named Nari, who they had no trouble locating. When he was initially found he scoffed at their pursuit, remarking that there were way too many Jedi for the Inquisition to completely extinguish. The Inquisitors ignored him before engaging in a fruitless pursuit, but Reva displayed a real disdain for their function. She was very clear in expressing that chasing fugitives like Nari was beneath her talents and took umbrage at the fact her skills were being squandered on such low priority targets. Her colleagues reminded her that the only Jedi left were from the same pool of importance, indicating that they must feel as if they have eliminated all the other high profile Jedi who survived Order 66.
Nari may have been bluffing about the size of the fugitive Jedi population, though there didn’t seem to be much reason for it if he was telling the truth and the Inquisition has anything remotely close to a reliable database, then the audience can assume that Reva’s fury is not manufactured. While the Fifth Brother is convinced that all the worthy prey has already been mounted on their wall, Reva knows otherwise but is solely invested in Kenobi. Yoda was the longest-serving member of the Jedi Council at the time of the Purge and yet neither Reva, the Fifth Brother, nor the Grand Inquisitor referenced him in any way.
Perhaps Palpatine lied about his battle with Yoda. The Emperor may have told the galaxy that he killed the Jedi Master since there had been witnesses to their battle in the Grand Senate Chamber. Palpatine would have had to have been pretty confident that the diminutive Jedi wasn’t going to show up somewhere and taint his propaganda’s credibility. Even if he lied to the citizenry about Yoda’s fate, there would be no reason to lie to his Inquisitorius. He had a vested interest in finding Yoda, and it is the only reason for their existence. If Palpatine mandated his Dark Side acolytes to ferret Yoda out then it seems as if they would have done so with relish, or at the very least lament that he has escaped their grasp.
Yoda chose Dagobah as his place of exile for much the same reason Obi-Wan severed his connection to the Force. Other sentient beings attuned to the Force can use it to trace other resonances within the Force. To stay hidden, Obi-Wan shielded himself from its flow. The spiritual damage of doing something that severe to one’s soul can be jarring, especially for someone who has spent their whole life surfing its tides. Yoda went to Dagobah because it was rich in the Dark Side of the Force. Cloaked within its hungry shroud of gloom, Yoda could exist in whatever peace he might find on the swamp planet without fear of discovery.
If his Force camouflage were convincing enough there is a chance that Palpatine would think that Yoda must have passed on. The little green Jedi was already almost a thousand years old and fairly venerable when they were last in each other’s company. Considering the massive imprint that Yoda presumably imparts on the Force, the lack of it to someone who is used to it must be profound, and therefore convincing. As adepts who were extending their perception, as well as their spy networks, to find rogue Jedi, then it is also entirely possible that they would have confirmed what Palpatine sensed, or rather what he didn’t sense.
If that is true then Yoda’s best concealment was his old age. The presumption of him succumbing to natural causes, or perhaps Palpatine allowed himself to think he left him critically injured, would all amount to the same thing. No Yoda for either the Emperor or the Inquisition to eliminate. The lack of a Force signature must be pretty difficult to forge since it is so convincing, though Reva for some reason is not fooled.
During A New Hope, Vader tells Moff Tarkin that he can feel the presence of Obi-Wan on the Death Star while Tarkin is convinced that the Jedi must be dead by now. Vader however is certain and can even discern his thoughts, or at least his intentions, from a distance. At that moment he must have felt the return of something long missed and perhaps as the series continues, audiences will almost assuredly see another battle between the two, hopefully with each of them full in the Force.
To see Yoda get ignored, for now, Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes every Wednesday.
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