Palpatine never hid his hatred for the Jedi. We’ve seen how he spent decades plotting their downfall—manipulating them from the shadows and ultimately wiping them out. To him, the Jedi weren’t just enemies. They were weak, misguided, and completely blind to the true nature of power.
And yet, despite all that, there was one Jedi who stood out. One Jedi who forced Palpatine to take notice. While he saw most Jedi as naive, disposable, or beneath him, this one was different. Honestly, Obi-Wan might’ve been the only Jedi Palpatine actually respected. And here’s why.
We can all see that Obi-Wan was the one Jedi who never wavered. Unlike Anakin, Mace Windu, or even Yoda, he didn’t let emotions cloud his judgment, he didn’t fall into arrogance, and no matter how much he lost, he never strayed from the Jedi path.
We know that Palpatine was a master at exploiting weaknesses—he used Anakin’s fear of loss to turn him, he twisted Mace Windu’s aggression against him, and he even mocked Yoda for the Jedi Order’s failure. But what could he use against Obi-Wan? That’s something worth thinking about.
Even after losing everything—his master, his apprentice, the Republic, and the Jedi Order itself—he never fell. He didn’t seek revenge, he didn’t let grief consume him, and he never once tried to claim power for himself. Instead, he held onto what it truly meant to be a Jedi, even when there was nothing left. That kind of strength is rare, and whether he’d admit it or not, Palpatine had to respect that.
If there was one moment that forced Palpatine to take Obi-Wan seriously, it was Mustafar. Anakin Skywalker was Palpatine’s greatest creation, the ultimate weapon he had spent years grooming to become his Sith apprentice. And yet, Obi-Wan destroyed him.
Palpatine put all his faith in Anakin, believing that he was destined to surpass all Jedi and Sith alike. But when it came down to it, Obi-Wan’s skill, discipline, and mastery of Form III allowed him to outduel the most powerful Force user of his time. That wasn’t just a setback for Palpatine—it was a humiliating failure. Instead of the perfect Sith Lord, he was left with a broken apprentice who would never reach his full potential.
Would Palpatine ever admit he respected Obi-Wan? Of course not. But the fact that he never underestimated him, never sought a direct fight, and never manipulated him the way he did others tells us everything we need to know. In his own way, Palpatine saw Obi-Wan as one of the greatest Jedi of all time.
And if there’s one moment that really highlights this, it’s the fact that Obi-Wan had the chance to end the Sith completely. If he had finished the job on Mustafar, if he had truly ended Anakin’s life, then we wouldn’t have had Darth Vader, and the Sith would have died with Palpatine.
We actually get confirmation of this in Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, where Palpatine himself admits:
“Obi-Wan triumphed because he went to Mustafar with a single intention in mind: to kill Darth Vader. If the Jedi Order had shown such resolute intention, if it had remained focused on what needed to be done rather than on fears of the dark side, it might have proven more difficult to topple and eradicate. You and I might have lost everything.”
Even Palpatine, in his own twisted way, recognized how dangerous Obi-Wan was. Not because of power, ambition, or aggression, but because when it came down to it, Obi-Wan was the one Jedi who could have truly stopped him.
As the book goes on to explain, Palpatine hadn’t seen this outcome coming. He never imagined that Obi-Wan would be the one to bring down Anakin. For a moment, he even considered the possibility that Anakin might actually die on Mustafar—and realized that if that happened, it could take decades to find another apprentice with even half of Anakin’s potential. That’s how devastating Obi-Wan’s victory truly was.
“But even Sidious hadn’t foreseen Anakin’s defeat by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar. Anakin had still been between worlds then, and vulnerable. The failure to defeat his former Master had worked to prolong that vulnerability.”
The book even shows us Palpatine reflecting on that moment—the moment he almost lost everything. He remembered racing to Mustafar, using every ounce of power and every tool in his medkit to keep Anakin alive. That wasn’t just a rescue. That was panic. That was fear.
“Sidious recalled the desperate return trip to Coruscant; recalled using all his powers and all the potions and devices contained in his medkit, to minister to Anakin’s hopelessly blistered body and truncated limbs. He recalled thinking: What if Anakin should die?
How many years would he have had to search for an apprentice even half as powerful in the Force, let alone one created by the Force itself to restore balance, by allowing the dark side to percolate fully to the surface after a millennium of being stifled? None would be found.”