In the original Star Wars (1977) film, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi famously tells Luke the following as they look both look down on Mos Eisley from a nearby cliff:
“Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”
Did Ben Kenobi really need to point this out to Luke? I mean they seem to have made a special/specific stop on that cliff simply to look at Mos Eisley in the distance… Why?
It seems to me that Luke Skywalker would have known about Mos Eisley (and possibly Mos Espa) since he was a gearhead who clearly tinkered with his X-34 landspeeder and the T-16 skyhopper on his aunt and uncle’s homestead. He even talks about going to Tosche Station to get some power convertors after his uncle purchases the droids from the Jawas. And it’s hinted that he explored the areas around him as well. Maybe Luke never visited it before, but would Ben Kenobi really make such a big deal out of showing it to Luke?
Is Ben Kenobi being obtuse—and a bit presumptuous—on purpose? Or is he just being a patronizing old man who is “mansplaining” the world to someone when he introduces Luke to Mos Eisley spaceport?
Looking for an in-universe canonical explanation. If a “Legends” rationale exists, let’s go for that; but canon takes precedent.
