The voice ofAnakin Skywalker piercing the mask of dark Vador is the most heartbreaking moment ofObi-Wan Kenobi. The season finale concludes Kenobi’s rescue of Leia, gives Reva her redemption, and sets up Ben Kenobi’s nomadic life in A New Hope. It also resolves the guilt ofObi-Wan Kenobi regarding Anakin’s fall to the dark side in a lightsaber battle that leads to a devastating moment for the character.
To prevent the Imperial Destroyer from attacking Leia and the fleeing refugee ship, Obi Wan attracted Vader to a nearby planet to confront him. Buried alive in the struggle, Kenobi finally finds the strength to defeat Vader and protect the future of the Skywalker twins. It’s a final battle that showcases the conflict between the characters of Hayden Christensen and D’Ewan McGregor more than did Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Siththanks to a particularly poignant key moment.
After regaining his Jedi strength, Obi Wan retaliates to Vader by smashing his chest and slicing his helmet in half. Before he can deliver the coup de grace, Kenobi look at the eyeAnakin Skywalker, horrified. Confronted with what his former padawan has become, Kenobi’s guilt bubbles up and turns into a moving and heartbreaking apology. Hear the raw and tortured voice ofanakin demonstrate to Obi Wan that the passionate, outspoken kid he first met on Tatooine is still out there somewhere. It’s a heartbreaking moment that better justifies the redemption of Vader in Return of the Jedi and which brings a satisfying conclusion to the emotional arc ofObi Wan and the thematic heart of the miniseries.
From the massacre of children in Revenge of the Sith to the murder of innocent villagers in episode 3 ofObi-Wan Kenobithe prequels of Star Wars risked making dark Vador and, by association, Anakin Skywalker, unrecoverable. The fact that James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen both embody Vader and anakin in the end ofObi Wan clearly shows the difference between the two characters.
Obi Wan Kenobi ©Disney+ ©Lucasfilm
When Obi Wan apologize toanakin for everything that happened to him, anakin respond :
“I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker. It’s me. »
The sound changes from Hayden Christensen’s voice to that of James Earl Jonesthe two dubbing voices are also easily discernible in the French version, this underlines Anakin’s transition to Vader. By this statement, anakin exculpates his former master, suggesting that Vader’s darkness has always been within him. Seeing how much he suffers, Kenobi cannot bring himself to end Anakin’s life, a decision that will lead to the death ofObi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope.
While Obi-Wan notes that his friend truly died before leaving Vader gasping on the planet, this heartbreaking scene suggests otherwise. If he really believed him, he would have killed Vader on the spot. and dealt a fatal blow to the rise of the Empire. Kenobi knows giving Vader the chance to kill him in anger would only complete Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader.. That’s the reason why he drops his saber in A New Hopeand when Palpatine concerned about the link between anakin and his former master, he emphasizes even more that he is not unsalvageable. The very fact that Anakin bears the responsibility for his fall to the dark side as dark Vador allows to Obi-Wan to free himself from the chains of guilt. The end ofObi-Wan Kenobi is a touching and emotional episode that proves that, even if the paths ofObi Wan and D’anakin have diverged, they still understand what is best for each other. The part still very present of Anakin, who seems to reappear inexorably in the presence of his former master, wanted to lighten the latter, his old friend, a vestige of the Jedi era, of this weight which overwhelms him, whileObi-Wan Kenobi perceived, on several occasions, Anakin Skywalker, tortured in the guise of Dark Vador. He knows that redemption could come one day.