Will Darth Vader Tell The Emperor That Obi-Wan Is Alive?
Darth Vader and Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi had a long relationship that rivaled that of Maul's unbridled hate-filled existence in seeking vengeance all those years ago. Dating back to Attack of the Clones when Anakin felt contempt for Kenobi, that hatred morphed and twisted Anakin into a Dark Lord of the Sith. Vader was filled with hate, pain, regret, and an overabundance of emotions. After being lied to by Sheev Palpatine, he developed a lack of trust in anyone. The Anakin trapped inside Vader was very untrusting, especially of the Emperor. This begs the question, will Darth Vader reveal to the Emperor that Kenobi is alive in the show Obi-Wan Kenobi?
We can assume through previous instances where Vader is wary of the Emperor that the Dark Lord will keep the information to himself and to others on a need-to-know basis. Darth Vader sees himself as a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy, so why would he need the Emperor peering into his business at all moments on every mission? Let's take a look back at the moments when Vader felt compelled to keep information from the Emperor.
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Writers like Charles Soule, who wrote the comic book series Star Wars: Dark Lord of the Sith, claimed that Vader was wary of the Emperor, especially moments after becoming encased in his trademark armor. He had just learned that Padme, Anakin's wife, was dead even after being told by Palpatine that the dark side was a source of unnatural abilities which could extend life. Feeling lied to, Vader attempted to use the Force against the Emperor and was struck down, reminded of his place. Naturally, after such treatment, it was sure to have left Vader filled with even more regret and utter remorse for his actions leading up to that very point. Deeming it too late, Vader must now atone for his sins by doing the bidding of his new Master.
In the 2008 legends video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Lord Vader hunted Jedi, which was how he encountered the young force-sensitive child Galen Marek. Taking him into his care (if you would call it that), Vader trained Marek in secret, forging him into a weapon against the Emperor. The story takes an interesting set of twists. However, the main goal for Darth Vader is to undermine the rule of the Emperor by any means at his disposal, without revealing his true intentions to Palpatine himself.
In The Empire Strikes Back we saw an attempt by Darth Vader when he reveals that he is Luke's father in a shocking moment. Luke, unable to believe it so, is further coerced by Vader when he says, "Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son." This implies that Vader has other plans to, with the help of his extremely powerful son, make a decisive move against the Emperor. After years of being in constant torment and pain, Anakin, who Vader struggled to snuff out, felt the regret of falling for the ruse Palpatine had set up years ago.
Some would argue that Vader had begun his return to the light in Return of the Jedi. When Luke turned himself into the Empire's custody Vader simply replied, "It's too late for me son." This also implies that Vader had, at one point, considered the notion of making his way to the light, but didn’t for reasons unknown.
In the film's third act, we see the Emperor’s failed attempts to seduce Luke to the dark side. Using the Force to electrocute Luke, the Emperor is unrelenting. As Vader stands by, we can see under the mask that Anakin has reclaimed his humanity to save his son. By killing the Emperor, Vader is redeemed, after so many years it was over. Imagine that relief, finally being free of such a vicious emotional and mental grip. After seeing these examples of Vader having little faith and trust in the Emperor, we can assume that Vader would most likely keep the location of Kenobi to himself. Feeling the need to be free and autonomous of the Emperor as much as possible, Vader would handle hunting his former master himself.
However, there is still one way the Emperor could be made aware of Kenobi being alive, that being his Inquisitors. It remains to be seen whether or not Vader will betray his former master, but the ramifications of either possibility are sure to be dire. Obi-Wan Kenobi will be available to stream Friday, May 27th on Disney+.
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Source(s): Star Wars Audio Comics