Obi-Wan Used A Jedi Mind Trick Against Darth Maul In This Iconic Scene
The first use of the “old Jedi Mind Trick” we see in the Star Wars saga is by Ben Kenobi. We all remember the iconic line, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” From that moment on, we saw the Jedi Mind Trick used in various movies and shows in countless ways by many Jedi, including Kenobi. However, his greatest use of the mind trick may have come in his final confrontation with Darth Maul just a few years before A New Hope, and he might not have even needed the Force to pull it off. While the act happened during Rebels, it called all the way back to The Phantom Menace.
After years of searching, Maul finally tracked down Obi-Wan and confronted him on Tatooine. Maul obviously wanted vengeance on Kenobi for cutting him in half and dropping him down the seemingly bottomless pit. Ezra initially followed Maul to Tatooine, but Obi-Wan and Maul quickly sent him away as they both believe this confrontation was fated by the Force. The two exchanged a few words, and then Maul started the fight. However, it was over almost as soon as it started, and this was where the "mind trick" came into play.
Obi-Wan initially struck his famous Form III stance, which we have seen him use against General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. Then he switched to a Form IV stance that Qui-Gon used in their original duel in The Phantom Menace. Maul’s eyes flicker with recognition at the stance, and realized that he could win. Maul moved in with confidence, using the same attacks he used to defeat Qui-Gon when he used the Form IV stance. However, it was all a ploy by Obi-Wan, and he quickly countered. In three quick moves, Obi-Wan had won the duel once again, and the battle was over just as quickly as it began.
What was really important about this duel was that it showed the difference in the two characters’ journey since their last battle. When they first dueled, Obi-Wan, while certainly skilled, was still a brash and young Padawan. He was then thrust into the role of the master at the end of the film, and tasked with instructing a new young and brash Padawan. Obi-Wan would instruct Anakin as best he could, and he would go on to become a great Jedi Master and general of the Republic Army. The Clone War gave him more experience and wisdom than he could ever ask for, not to mention drastically increasing his combat skills. By the time we saw him in Rebels, he had seen the fall of the Jedi, which has further enlightened him to the folly of the Jedi and the will of the Force. The child that initially fought Maul was long gone.
Maul's path was quite the opposite, however. While he did survive the fall and earn a second chance, his heart was consumed with rage. He was completely obsessed with getting revenge on Kenobi, to the point that he did not focus on anything else. He did work on some other goals and took several detours, but his main goal remained. His eyes were set on settling the score with Kenobi. It could be argued that this was why Maul seemed to fail at all of his endeavors. His unwillingness to change, grow, and forget the past kept him from maintaining any form of success. That was why he was so easily tricked by Kenobi. Obi-Wan Kenobi had changed and grown substantially from when he first fought Maul, but Maul still tried to attack him as if they are back fighting on Naboo. You could even see it in the dialogue when Obi-Wan told Maul to “look at what I have risen above.”
In the end, Obi-Wan’s “mind trick” was the result of his evolution as a fighter and a Jedi. Meanwhile, Maul’s obsession with vengeance blinded him to his opponent, and he failed to achieve his goal. While it did not end the way Maul wanted, he seemed to have died with some peace. It could have been the closure on his long quest or the knowledge Obi-Wan shared about the “chosen one.” Maul was finally at peace in the end, and that was no trick.
Source: CBR