Why Obi-Wan Can’t Win His Rematch Against Darth Vader
"When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master."
The fight between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader in A New Hope is a primary example of how Star Wars has always gone back into its own timeline to make its best moments even more impactful. Through the prequel trilogy, The Clone Wars animated series, and the various comics and novels, we have seen the relationship between Obi-Wan and his reckless apprentice Anakin Skywalker evolve into a tragic story of a mentor and student torn apart by war, loss, fear, and distrust. This makes many Star Wars fans all the more shocked to hear that the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, headed by acclaimed Mandalorian director Deborah Chow, will have Obi-Wan and Darth Vader engage each other in another duel between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Obviously, such a development will have massive implications for the entire Star Wars universe. Since 2005, we are made to believe that Obi-Wan and Anakin's only other duel aside from their final encounter in 1977 was on the volcanic world of Mustafar amidst the rise of the Galactic Empire. Now, we know that their true second duel will be occurring during the highly anticipated streaming series. While a good number of fans have been understandably skeptical towards such an idea, many other fans such as myself are open to the concept and are very much looking forward to seeing Obi-Wan and Anakin duke it out for a third and final time on screen. Though my reasons for accepting this new development come down to a specific fact that others have pointed out as well. Obi-Wan Kenobi cannot win this fight.
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Going back to the quotation at the top of the article, we know that Obi-Wan and Vader's final duel is meant to be a sort of vindication for the Sith Lord, showing he is no longer the learner he used to be. Though this does seem to work fairly well following their duel on Mustafar, there are a few inconsistencies that others have pointed out. For one thing, Vader says "When I left you," even though Obi-Wan was the one who left Anakin to be burned alive on the volcanic world. There is also the specific phrasing of "Now I am the master," which implies that Vader has already proven his superiority to Kenobi, even though Vader lost his previous duel with the Jedi. These inconsistencies could be easily fixed if their encounter in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series concluded with Vader winning against his former master, proving definitively that he is the master before leaving the aging Jedi to die.
The main point that leads me to believe that Obi-Wan will not win this duel is Obi-Wan's state of mind. At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan's story throughout the prequels is left on a slightly hopeful note when Padmé assures him that there is still good in Anakin. Yet by the time of the original trilogy, Obi-Wan has completely lost hope in redeeming his apprentice and believes that all he can do now is convince Luke to kill his father without informing him of their shared lineage. In order for Obi-Wan to get from where he is at the end of the prequel trilogy to where is at the beginning of the original trilogy, he has to lose any remaining shred of hope that Vader could ever be saved from the dark side. What better way to convey that than to have Obi-Wan try to bring his apprentice back to the light and be nearly killed by him as a result?
In order for the Obi-Wan of the prequel trilogy to fully lead into the Obi-Wan of the original trilogy, Obi-Wan Kenobi will have to essentially end with the titular Jedi being completely broken and resigning himself to Tatooine, believing there is nothing more he can do for his former apprentice and that both their futures now rest in the hands of Luke and Leia. Obi-Wan Kenobi might not just be a series about Obi-Wan doing Obi-Wan things. It may very well be a tragic story about the death of a friendship and an old man having to come to terms with his own limits as he passes on the torch to the next generation.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to premiere May 25th, commemorating the 45th anniversary of Star Wars and possibly marking Ewan McGregor's final time playing the iconic Jedi Master. Whatever direction this series ends up taking, it is surely going to be a bold one.
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