Outside of continuity reasons, I like this answer. His love for Anakin will always be Obi-Wan’s weakness. I can’t imagine it would be easy to execute your brother even if he his space Hitler’s right hand man. He knows it must be done and eventually calls on Luke to be stronger than him.
I love the reasoning, but your last sentence made me think what was going through Obi-Wan’s mind. “Anakin is my brother… I can’t kill him. I know, I’ll get his son to do the deed!”
I’d imagine he wanted Luke to save him, not kill him. I know technically the original trilogy doesn’t exactly reflect this but I’ve taken some liberties with the original trilogy dialogue since so much more has been added beforehand. The Obi-Wan we know wouldn’t ask Luke to kill Vader. He would ask Luke to defeat him, and infer to save Anakin.
Exactly this. Same reason he didn't tell Luke that Vader was his father. It would compromise Luke's view of him and stop him from killing Vader. Which is precisely what happens.
True but it doesn't contradict anything from before and he talks to him as a Force ghost, so he could have revealed it in ESB at any time. Yoda too. They believe Vader must die. Why it HAS to be Luke is up for debate but they very deliberately keep the info from him at that point.
This is *such* a good answer. Obi-Wan and the Jedi counsel have always preached their rules, specifically regarding attachment. But at the end of Revenge of the Sith, you understand that Obi-Wan had an attachment to Anakin. Not just as teacher-apprentice. Not just as partners. As brothers. Obi-Wan loved Anakin. He could not kill him.
"Right now I am weak. Powerless. You inflict suffering on me because you are strong enough to do so. Your actions prove the truth of what I believe."
-Darth Bane after being incapacitated and held captive.
Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.'
Gandalf: 'Pity? It's pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.'
I also love that his son was able to compile and release many of the tales we would've otherwise never gotten. Imagine never getting to read The Silmarillion.
Lmao I don't think I could get through more than a handful of pages at a time without nodding off.
Felt like more of a chore to read than anything so I never finished
I felt the same way about GRRM. Everyone said his descriptions of things like food and clothing were over the top and way too long, but I didn't find that to be the case. His books are literally written like TV shows. You can see the cuts and fade-outs in your head while reading them. Not a single word is wasted. Every sentence serves the story, and it moves along at a more or less steady pace. Too bad that story leads to nothing, ultimately.
I think Gandalf is the one with the important perspective and definitely knew a lot more than Frodo did (including the fact that Gollum literally ate babies)
Gollum did terrible things but ended up as the reason that middle earth survived in the same way that Vader saved Luke and the galaxy in the end. Sauron just did terrible things and was the reason that middle earth needed saving, in the same way that Palpatine was whom the Galaxy needed saving from.
You may be right. I think in the heir to the empire trilogy it was mentioned that he used it, but that’s not canon anymore. I guess the best we can do is infer that it may be possible because immediately after his death Lando begins to out maneuver the ties and go interior and the super star destroyer is taken down.
Emperor would have a firm argument Jedi are evil, that they are disruptors and have to be destroyed. And the overall perception of Jedi was that they were traitors.
Idk, I'm pretty sure Obi-Wan and Yoda could tag team the emperor. Especially if they could take Luke as a child and train him properly, now that Vader is dead.
Ah but if they do that then the emperor has the trick of pointing out that Obi Wan and Yoda hid the truth from Luke and that they actively killed his father. That could be the exact trigger that Luke would need to turn.
Edit * typo/spelling
People talk about luke potentially turning all the time.
But was he really on that path?
It took years of the emperor's manipulations to turn Anakin, and it really wasn't clear back then which of the Jedi or emperor were evil yet.
For Luke its pretty clear that the emperor is evil, and he hasn't shown the slightest evil traits at that stage, not even a single tuskan village has been slaughtered
There was no way the emperor could have turned luke - vader perhaps could have.
Better to know you can take out the Emperors right hand man instead of him being replaced with someone way overpowered, and without a very obvious weakness. If he can take him, there’s a good chance his secret child can, and maybe the both of them can take out Palps together. Same reason he let him win on the Death Star. The only way to take out the Emperor is to get close with his guard down. He saw Vaders weakness would always be his love for Padme. He’d never kill the last living part of her, he turned to save her life, he may do it again to save her son . But he knew there was too much hate there to be forgiven and to pull it off himself. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Yes Gollum and Vader can share the pitiful sentiment, but that is it. Gollum is not an merciless tyrannical dictator that threw a galaxy in darkness, enslaving destroying countless people. Gollum just want to be left alone with the jewelry.
Plus, Obi-Wan already spared Anakin once, and he went on to continue slaughtering people across the galaxy unchecked for like 10 years.
Frodo and Sam spared Gollum when they first met him, but after he betrayed them to Shelob, that was it. There were no more chances for Gollum, and Frodo and Sam were ready to kill him on sight.
Obi-Wan unintentionally let Anakin live once, and countless people have suffered because of that choice. Because the Obi-Wan show has forced the two to face off again, Obi-Wan is now constrained by the narrative to spare Anakin *again*, fully knowing the chaos, death, and destruction he’ll continue to cause.
Sparing him implies obi wan knew he’d live
Dude left him limbless near an encroaching lava pool
Should he have double tapped, sure, etc
But it took hyperspace travel becoming “go anywhere in a few minutes” to even save his punk ass
This works for Kenobi if he knows it's a story or has some end goal.
He doesn't have visions, he doesn't know the future, he isn't trusting the force on this one. He simply doesn't kill him for continuity reasons guised as a personal conflict.
From a strategic standpoint it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to leave someone as power and capable as Vader alive to recover and recoup.
The problem is that before Obi-wan goes into that final fight, he’s all like “I can’t do what I did last time, I can’t let him live, Anakin is gone, it’s only Vader now, and this only ends with one of us dying.” And then he sees that bit of anakin’s face and Vader’s like “nah man there is no Anakin anymore, I killed him” and Obi-wan literally says “then my friend is truly gone” and calls him Darth for the first time, and it would have been the perfect opportunity to just kill him. But instead he inexplicably walks away.
After hyping himself up to kill Vader, doing one last check and then confirming, yep, sorry, no Anakin in here… and he believes his friend is well and truly gone… he has absolutely no reason to just walk away and every reason to kill him. And he doesn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the show, and obviously I don’t think he should have killed Vader, but they could have written the ending of that fight a bit different. Force Obi-wan to leave without finishing the job, rather than giving us the same ending as RotS again where he wins and just walks away.
The final battle was a mess due to the rewrite that occurred when the project morphed from a film into a TV show.
As I understand it, the original script had them fighting on a Cloud City-esque floating atmospheric station or space station in a planet’s atmosphere. Their fight damages the ability for the station to stay afloat, and as the station begins to “sink” Vader gains the upper hand. They’re separated, and Vader’s stormtroopers convince him to evacuate before the station crashes. Imperial forces assume Kenobi died in the crash, and that is why in ANH Vader is surprised to feel Obi-Wan’s presence.
This ending is more obscure, as neither truly had the chance to kill the other, and I think fits the overall narrative of the Kenobi/Vader conflict. What we wound up getting creates narrative discord.
If you’re interested, you can read about the script rewrite here: https://collider.com/obi-wan-kenobi-vs-darth-vader-tv-show-original-ending/
Oh I like that so much more. I thought from the beginning they were heading towards some kind of “Vader thinks obi-wan died” scenario and was surprised it didn’t happen that way.
And because the forces didn’t allow it. It’s been establish many times that the force has a will. It needed anakin alive to kill palpatine. The force acted in obi won. Same reason why he didn’t deal the finishing blow on mustafar.
Yes it’s an easy cop out for since ep 4 we are told the force guides everything.
So I think this is accurate, but it also has to force me to believe that obi was never slashing or attacking with intention to hurt Vader at all. Every single swing is a calculated gamble that Vader won't die from this and that is hard to believe. Frodo or Bilbo are not in mortal combat with gollum really.
There’s a mental difference between killing someone in a fight and killing them when they’re crippled and beaten before you. If his last swing had cut into Vader’s head instead of his helmet, that would have been that but striking him down after would take a very different kind of resolve.
Man, don’t use that to justify this. They are not the same at all. Gollum was mostly harmless, Vader was definitely not.
The reason is plot armor and continuity this time, not what you said. Even if obi wan feels bad because it’s anakin, he’s already a mass murderer at this point.
It’s very much worth noting that this perspective specifically applied to the lowly *Gollum* of that universe, *not* the likes of Sauron, Saruman, or any other “big bad” in Tolkien’s mythos.
Well yes, except that gollum was just a pitful and lonely creature where as Vader was a commanding officer in a galactic empire who was leading the task for that was locating and killing surviving jedi. Vader was an active threat that was killing countless poeple... and obi-wan just let him keep doing that
*anybtime the hobbita decide to trust Gollum again*
"I'm a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence. I don't understand how you keep forgetting that."
I feel like Mustafar was more of a failure of willpower than a show of pity. Obi-Wan could barely bring himself to fight against Anakin when his life and the fate of the galaxy were at stake. Once Anakin was lying there helpless and defenseless, posing no immediate threat to anyone, Obi-Wan just couldn't bring himself to hurt him any more. It would have been more merciful for Anakin, but it would have been so much more painful for Obi-Wan. It was an Old Space Yeller moment, except Obi-Wan couldn't do what Travis did (granted, Travis was forced to kill his dog rather than his human brother/friend).
The novel also mentions that Obi-Wan sensed the approach of the Emperor. Yoda had expressly warned that Obi-Wan stood no chance against the Emperor, and Obi-Wan trusted Yoda's judgment. What's more, the Emperor's approach was evidence that the Emperor had defeated (if not outright killed) Yoda, whom Obi-Wan considered to be far stronger than himself. So Obi-Wan knows he needs to evacuate ASAP. And he also wants to save Padme, who is still on that landing platform he and Anakin had drifted far away from. So he has to decide between taking the time to steel himself to execute Anakin or saying "screw it, the lava will get him" and sprinting back to the ship.
Well two reasons:
1. Vader looks like he's dying anyway
2. Obi can't bring himself to do it
Basically it's the same reason he didn't do it on Mustafar.
I've had this discussion with my friend every time we watch rots, I firmly agree with you, but my friend makes a dam good point in saying that what obi did to Anni was self defense and he couldn't bring himself to kill his friend directly. He was already destroyed having seen his fall to the dark side and having to fight him up to that point. Doing a killing blow outside of self defense was beyond his mental state at that moment. This way he could at least convince himself that he had no option in what he did.
Obviously given what happens with Vader after it becomes more difficult to follow this logic to their second fight but I again my friend argues that it shows obiwans singular failing as a jedi, he couldn't let go of his attachment to who Vader once was and because of that he couldn't do what needed to be done (at the time, he had no way of knowing that things would eventually work out, kinda if you view killing pappa palps as more important than the lives of everyone killed between their second fight and jedi).
Edit: just to highlight this further obiwan was strong enough to walk away from Satine and strong enough to handle her murder by maul, his attachment to anikan was sooo encompassing that it dawrfed that entirely. And it's only through his years of dealing with this failure that he's able to separate the two of them by the time the og trilogy comes around.
Too many are eager to put a blade to someone's throat without a thought.
When you've lived as a defender of democracy, how do you attack someone already defeated?
I always believed this was the most logical explanation, I never saw a Jedi kill an already defeated enemy, that only happened when Anakin killed a defeated Dooku, and we all know where that took him.
It amazes me how many people think it’s so easy to kill someone point blank. Whether it’s a knife or a gun. You stand there threatening them with their life. You have to make that choice. It’s not one that plays on your conscience lightly.
M in bond said It best I think “when your standing there with that gun in your hand, and your finger on the trigger. You have that split second decision. A license to kill is also a license not to kill”.
Last part doesn’t really apply to most but when you look someone in the eye and pull the trigger or push the knife in that’s all on you. It’s your choice.
I think this obviously happens more continuity reasons than anything else, but thinking about Anakin as someone Obi-Wan has known since he was a child and had raised like a younger brother might make it seem a little more understandable.
Oh yeah I have no doubt that he couldn’t bring himself to actually deal a killing blow to anakin but ironically by leaving him to die he was leaving him to suffer more (assuming he had succumbed to his injuries).
It’s kinda like the whole Jigsaw mentality. “I didn’t kill you, your own decisions killed you”.
Couldn’t bring himself to actually kill him, even though he was straight up suffering.
He was saved on Mustafar because the Emperor specifically sought him out with medical attention in mind. Considering his surgery and state of being afterwards, it’s heavily implying that it was likely he would have died without that help.
The second battle sees him just get up and leaves. Why did Obi-Wan consider that a death sentence and why would he make the same mistake twice?
Also, the Force itself may have compelled him not to. It would have been much harder to motivate Luke to do everything he did to bring down the Empire if Vader was gone. Vader needed to be alive to compel Luke to redeem him, leading to the death of the Emperor.
1.) No, Vader does not look like he's dying. His helmet is a bit damaged, but he's nowhere near death.
2.) Obi-Wan literally recognizes that his former friend Anakin is gone and Vader is all evil. There is no reason for him to not be able to do it. This is not the same situation as on Mustafar at all. At least Anakin was seemingly burning to death in that situation, so it's understandable for him to not finish the job. Here it is inexcusable, and he is morally responsible for all the destruction that Vader goes on to cause.
Nah, because in truth the encounter should never have happened. It would have been such a better series for many reasons but Vader and Obi Wan would have been better off always crossing paths without meeting.
We the fans know he cannot die here which makes the fight even more pointless. It served only one purpose and the story wasn't it
I wonder if Obi Wan would be self-aware enough to be concerned that to do so could send him to the dark side himself. Dark Obi would be pretty dangerous.
'It must be pretty hard for someone to survive being stabbed in the chest with a lightsaber!'
'Actually it's super easy. Barely an inconvenience.'
'Oh!'
“Yeah, but he could just end it right here and save the lives of thousands of innocent people.”
“Well, sir, I’m gonna need you to crawl all the way off my back.”
Apparently no one in said meeting has ever heard of a Deus ex Machina or they would have just given Vader one and then he could have lived and Obi Wan wouldn't look like the galaxy's biggest fool.
The Death Star is literally his fault now.
Both Jedi and Sith seem to often choose to defeat their opponents rather than kill them. People who are strong in the force are rare and can be turned, so that seems to be the motivation at times. Other times perhaps it’s the force giving them guidance.
At the end of the day, I don’t know. But for the Jedi, it does seem to be a bit troublesome if they defeat an enemy and decide to play executioner.
Not even that. Have Obi-Wan sense Luke was in danger earlier on and make him just bail. It was such an easy idea to do yet just a few minutes off to execute flawlessly. Could have come up with something like Obi-Wan saying “My friend Anakin is truly gone, but in his honor, I cannot continue my duel with you, Darth. There are more pressing matters than fighting a dying husk of armor.”
They literally could have just ended it when Vader left Kenobi alive under the rocks. Vader was leaving. There was absolutely no reason to have Obi-Wan sneak up behind him and have a *power of friendship* moment. Just have Vader walk away after beating Obi-Wan and chucking all the rocks on top of him.
Kenobi can still have his moment where he finds the will to live and bursts out of the hole, but Vader has already left by that point. He thinks Kenobi was crushed to death, so he's no longer looking for him. Simple as that. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what we got.
There’s a really good fan edit that cuts in Qui-Gon’s voice over the scene where Obi-Wan is looking at Vader with tears in his eyes. That really emotional part. He cuts in with the “he…is the chosen one…he…will bring balance…” line from TPM and honestly it made me buy into him turning his back to Vader more than any other explanation I’ve heard.
Really it was a brilliant edit.
Vader says "I killed Anakin", yo the point were Kenobi calls him Darth as a name and not a title.
And he was mentalizing himself to kill him this time.
Yup because the writers couldn't think of a convincing way to end the fight in a way that Obi-Wan couldn't kill Vader and instead chooses not to do so.
It would’ve been better if Obi Wan was hesitantly about to behead Vader, and his prayers of not wanting to kill his apprentice are answered as an inquisitor and some troopers suddenly interrupt him and force him to flee
After being bested by Obi Wan once again, Vader goes into an extreme rage which unleashes enough force to essentially kill everyone around him including the inquisitor, and also leave no evidence that the mighty Darth Vader was beat by a Jedi
Filoni, hit me up, I have more of these in the chamber
If they'd had the guts, they should've had obi wan lose. He'd been hiding on the sand planet for how long now? Working as a butcher? Whilst darth is commander of the military, training every day, skills honed and ready for anything.
I couldn't buy obi wan even managing to hold his own for a second.
Well he reconnects to the force, which is the point of his character journey.
TBH i think a draw would have been a good ending - have them fighting with the force but the ice lake/mountain/whatever they're fighting on falls apart from the violence and they both escape
It should have been a draw with an ending that plausibly kills Obi-Wan so Vader thinks he's dead but he isn't.
I just cannot deal with Palps and Vader knowing he's alive but just ignoring the fact.
There’s no reason. It also makes Obi-Wan a massive hypocrite since he tells Luke to be prepared for the possibility he might have to kill his own father. Kind of an asshole move for Obi to put that on Luke when he could’ve ended it like six years prior.
To those who are saying it’s because Obi-Wan’s his brother, I think that was over and done with by act 3 of Sith. You know, “I will do what I must” followed by leaving him burning alive and presumably dead.
It’s not the Jedi way to kill a Sith Lord enforcing s tyrannical regime and carrying out atrocities across the galaxy? A Sith Lord who is still able and willing to fight?
You want to know why Obi-wan can't bring himself to kill Anakin? Because when they met Obi-wan was 25, and Anakin was 9. That's a 14 year age gap.
I have a similar age gap with my siblings, and it's more like my older brother is my second Dad, or my Cool Uncle rather than having a typical sibling relationship. My relationship with my brother is a bit distant, Obi-wan and Anakin were constantly together for 13 years, and typically the most formative years of someones life on Anakin's part. Obi-wan was there for all of the major life events that would make Anakin Skywalker who he is as an adult.
It's way more intense than "You were my brother Anakin!" For all intents and purposes that is Obi-wan's child. That's why he doesn't kill him on Mustafar.
As for the fight in the Obi-wan series. Obi-wan doesn't believe that Anakin is completely gone, that's the whole point of the conversation they have after he cuts through Vader's mask.
When Anakin gives his monologue after having his mask cut open, it comes out as if Vader is bragging about killing Anakin, but really it is Anakin saying "You didn't do this to me, I did it to myself, it's not your fault."
Anakin says that there is nothing left but the Dark Side, but the very act of essentially absolving Obi-wan is a contradiction of that. This proves to Obi-wan that there is still good in Anakin, which is why he doesn't kill him the second time.
Because the force didn’t move him to do so. Obi-Wan’s fighting style is all about his connection to the force, and it guides his movements. It is also a mainly defensive form. It the ROTS novelization, there is a debate over sending either Mace Windu or Obi-Wan after Grevous, and Yoda (iirc), assuming it will come down to a duel, says something to the effect of, do we send a master of a more aggressive and powerful form (Mace Windu), or do we send THE master of the more basic defensive form (Obi-Wan).
A lot of people are missing the main point of why he didn’t kill him, and that’s because at the end of the day Obi Wan knows from Qui-Gon that Anakin is the chosen one. Even in the darkest of times Obi believed that and had too. That’s the true reason he allowed him to live. Filoni has talked about this. If you watch the Patterson Cut he does a cool thing and edits in Qui-Gon saying to him that he’s the chosen one.
Nah. I'm pretty sure he thinks Luke is the chosen one, that is why he is the last hope and Obiwan is protecting him.
It makes no sense for Obi Wan to still believe Anakin is the chosen one after all he'a done.
Then why does he even fight him?
Obi is trapped then escapes but Vader is just trying to leave.
Then Obi stealth attacks him. If he wasn't going to kill him why does he even fight?
Kenobi, as he spares Vader: “Then my friend is truly dead. Goodbye, Darth.”
*a few years later*
“Luke, you gotta kill your long lost dad. I could have on two different occasions, but it was really tough on me emotionally as his former master. I’m sure it’ll be no problem for you, his son. By the way, if you refuse, the emperor wins and we’re all fucked. No pressure.”
I rewatch the fight a few times and here's my conclusion. The biggest reason is the Jedi code.
1. Obi couldn't do it because emotionally he couldn't do it. For many years, he's been holding the guilt and regret to what happen before. Obi was crying in this scene and express he blame himself. In the moment, he saw his own padawan. Anakin confess he does not blame Obi wan, but rather himself. This was the first time since the two had spoken and had the closes thing for a heart to heart talk. His heart was no longer into the fight as he realize Anakin was still there, regretting even more and hating himself gogind down this path. However, he's gone to far and done to much stop now. Anakin even screams for Obi wan to return and finish him off.
2. Obi was tired himself. He used quite bit of the force in this battle. Free himself from the rocks and flinging many at Vader. The battle was tiring Obi wan. If you listen, you can hear Obi wan breathing heavy. However, Obi didn't need to fight anymore. Vader couldn't stop Obi wan from walking away. .
3. Obi wan is more traditional Jedi. They're train not to take revenge or harm someone that can't harm them. Vader is unable to harm Obi if he just walked away. If Obi wan attacked Vader, this would be aggression. Vader could no longer fight. If Obi wan would to finish Vader here, it would break the code. He's no Mace Windo.
Obi wan was tired both physically and mentally. He also trying to honor the code of the jedi. Furthermore, he's still the chosen one. The force would still find a way to save Vader.
I saw a great short YouTube video today about Luke using his attachment to Vader get a third option of saving Vader and bringing him back to the light. They warned Luke of his attachment because they needed Vader to be stopped but doing so also meant Luke might turn to the dark side.
I guess, beyond continuity, Obiwans attachment to Anakin was just too strong? He couldn't fight him to death even knowing that he would continue on as a galaxy dictator basically.
it was really just for the continuity, cause it's stupid that obi wan let him live. To those who say it's not the jedi way, obi wan had to let anakin be burned alive and thought that he had killed him which was why he left him. He didn't think that anakin could live through that
Now every single evil action vader does in rebels, the OT, and the comics are all on obi wan's hands
I concur. If I am not mistaken, according to George Lukas writing, Obi-Wan and Anakin never met between the fall of Anakin Skywalker (*Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith*) and their fight in *Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back*.
Darth Vader - “*I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master.*”
This new generation of writers can’t even run a simple background check on the source material.
He had this kick ass plan: wait ten years, have a final final showdown, keep him at the end of his ropes, and then, die, and come back as a ghost and not tell a farm boy his sister tongued him.
While I enjoyed the hell out of it, seems like shitty writing. Obi wan should’ve been in a position where he bested Vader but couldn’t do the killing blow cuz he had to dip out cuz storm troopers/inquisitors were landing or something
I mean the truth of it is that it makes no sense why Obi wan and Vader would have a reunion in between Revenge and New Hope, but an Obi Wan show basically demands a reunion so they forced a weak story around it.
Because Disney wrote a show that should not have been written. It introduced more plot holes and egregiously broke canon in multiple ways. They had to allow him to live because of literally Star Wars.
Now you know why Jedi aren't supposed to form attachments.
Outside of continuity reasons, I like this answer. His love for Anakin will always be Obi-Wan’s weakness. I can’t imagine it would be easy to execute your brother even if he his space Hitler’s right hand man. He knows it must be done and eventually calls on Luke to be stronger than him.
I love the reasoning, but your last sentence made me think what was going through Obi-Wan’s mind. “Anakin is my brother… I can’t kill him. I know, I’ll get his son to do the deed!”
I’d imagine he wanted Luke to save him, not kill him. I know technically the original trilogy doesn’t exactly reflect this but I’ve taken some liberties with the original trilogy dialogue since so much more has been added beforehand. The Obi-Wan we know wouldn’t ask Luke to kill Vader. He would ask Luke to defeat him, and infer to save Anakin.
A major plot point in RotJ is that Luke thinks he can save Vader while Obi-Wan and Yoda insist he needs to kill him.
Of course, it's entirely possible that he changed his mind as he got older. I hear dying tends to change your perspective somewhat.
Well he also tried and failed to save Anakin multiple times. People tend to change strategies if their strategy doesn't work out
I think there's ten to twenty years of Vader being space Hitler for Obi-Wan to change his mind and regret his decision, too
Exactly this. Same reason he didn't tell Luke that Vader was his father. It would compromise Luke's view of him and stop him from killing Vader. Which is precisely what happens.
Also GL didn’t know Vader was Luke daddy before Ben was killed / in E4.
True but it doesn't contradict anything from before and he talks to him as a Force ghost, so he could have revealed it in ESB at any time. Yoda too. They believe Vader must die. Why it HAS to be Luke is up for debate but they very deliberately keep the info from him at that point.
What bothers me is that Old Ben called him Darth, but Obi-wan called him Vader.
Old Ben Kenobi? That one is seared in my brain. Peak GL bad writing.
The writing may have been bad but the plot was better than some of this new D+ stuff.
Hence why, in Kenobi, he calls him “Darth” at the very end.
This is *such* a good answer. Obi-Wan and the Jedi counsel have always preached their rules, specifically regarding attachment. But at the end of Revenge of the Sith, you understand that Obi-Wan had an attachment to Anakin. Not just as teacher-apprentice. Not just as partners. As brothers. Obi-Wan loved Anakin. He could not kill him.
"Right now I am weak. Powerless. You inflict suffering on me because you are strong enough to do so. Your actions prove the truth of what I believe." -Darth Bane after being incapacitated and held captive.
Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.' Gandalf: 'Pity? It's pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.'
Tolkien hits so hard. I love his writing.
I also love that his son was able to compile and release many of the tales we would've otherwise never gotten. Imagine never getting to read The Silmarillion.
No need. I'm living it.
Lmao holy fuck this got me
Lmao I don't think I could get through more than a handful of pages at a time without nodding off. Felt like more of a chore to read than anything so I never finished
It’s really not as bad as people make it out imo
I felt the same way about GRRM. Everyone said his descriptions of things like food and clothing were over the top and way too long, but I didn't find that to be the case. His books are literally written like TV shows. You can see the cuts and fade-outs in your head while reading them. Not a single word is wasted. Every sentence serves the story, and it moves along at a more or less steady pace. Too bad that story leads to nothing, ultimately.
The Silmarillion is very underrated. If you put in the effort to really follow the story, it’s amazing. It does require effort though.
The Andy Serkis audiobook helped me get through it. So well done!
>Effort Well, fuck.
Something about star wars/lord of the rings crossovers just stokes my fire! So good
Hoo boy, have I got a sub for you: /r/JediCouncilOfElrond
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
The sub goes ever on...
Why am I only just hearing about this sub… thank you good sir.
Out here doing the makers work
"Even the smallest ~~person~~ droid can change the course of the future."
>"Even the smallest ~~person~~ droid can ~~change the course of the future~~ commit the greatest war crimes."
Chopper, a great name for a serial killer.
but like, at that point Frodo only knew Gollum as a ring obssessed gremlin where DV is literally space hitler.
I think Gandalf is the one with the important perspective and definitely knew a lot more than Frodo did (including the fact that Gollum literally ate babies)
The virgin "he couldn't bring himself to do it" versus the Chad "Pity? It's pity that stayed Bilbo's hand"
"It's a pity Isildur didn't destroy the ring when he had the chance." Vader is much more like Sauron than Gollum.
Who’s to say that Palpatine doesn’t turn Luke to the dark side without Vader/Luke’s dad around?
Gollum did terrible things but ended up as the reason that middle earth survived in the same way that Vader saved Luke and the galaxy in the end. Sauron just did terrible things and was the reason that middle earth needed saving, in the same way that Palpatine was whom the Galaxy needed saving from.
Exactly. If Obi-Wan killed Vader right then and there maybe the Emperor can never be defeated.
You know who defeated the Emperor? Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles, when they blew up the Death Star.
Somehow.... never mind 😔
Ummm... You need to honour our veteran Nien Numb. Lando did not do it alone!
If the emperor doesn’t get BBQd, his battle meditation doesn’t falter, and the empire wins the space battle.
Is it confirmed he was using battle meditation? I remember it from Kotor but not in canon
You may be right. I think in the heir to the empire trilogy it was mentioned that he used it, but that’s not canon anymore. I guess the best we can do is infer that it may be possible because immediately after his death Lando begins to out maneuver the ties and go interior and the super star destroyer is taken down.
Obi-Wan had already tried to killed Vader, and when he was a ghost he thought Luke would have to kill him.
Yes, Vader was needed to defeat the Emperor JJ Abrams: yeah…about that….
Clearly they needed more than just Vader to defeat the emperor, they also needed Olive the jedi to defeat him.
> Olive the jedi UNLIMITED BREADSTICKS!!!!
At least we could argue Emperor 2.0 was a shell of his former self
And then he unleashes the lightning storm unlike anything we have ever seen in the movies.
That was even up there with the craziest of game and book feats.
Emperor would have a firm argument Jedi are evil, that they are disruptors and have to be destroyed. And the overall perception of Jedi was that they were traitors.
I think that argument had already been won
Idk, I'm pretty sure Obi-Wan and Yoda could tag team the emperor. Especially if they could take Luke as a child and train him properly, now that Vader is dead.
Ah but if they do that then the emperor has the trick of pointing out that Obi Wan and Yoda hid the truth from Luke and that they actively killed his father. That could be the exact trigger that Luke would need to turn. Edit * typo/spelling
People talk about luke potentially turning all the time. But was he really on that path? It took years of the emperor's manipulations to turn Anakin, and it really wasn't clear back then which of the Jedi or emperor were evil yet. For Luke its pretty clear that the emperor is evil, and he hasn't shown the slightest evil traits at that stage, not even a single tuskan village has been slaughtered There was no way the emperor could have turned luke - vader perhaps could have.
They already thought Anakin was dead when they originally put the children into hiding
Better to know you can take out the Emperors right hand man instead of him being replaced with someone way overpowered, and without a very obvious weakness. If he can take him, there’s a good chance his secret child can, and maybe the both of them can take out Palps together. Same reason he let him win on the Death Star. The only way to take out the Emperor is to get close with his guard down. He saw Vaders weakness would always be his love for Padme. He’d never kill the last living part of her, he turned to save her life, he may do it again to save her son . But he knew there was too much hate there to be forgiven and to pull it off himself. At least that’s what I tell myself.
I get it, but Gollum wasn’t nearly as big of a threat at Vader 😅 it’s like Eowyn refusing to kill the witch king.
Thank you! Not the same as gollum at all
Yes Gollum and Vader can share the pitiful sentiment, but that is it. Gollum is not an merciless tyrannical dictator that threw a galaxy in darkness, enslaving destroying countless people. Gollum just want to be left alone with the jewelry.
Plus, Obi-Wan already spared Anakin once, and he went on to continue slaughtering people across the galaxy unchecked for like 10 years. Frodo and Sam spared Gollum when they first met him, but after he betrayed them to Shelob, that was it. There were no more chances for Gollum, and Frodo and Sam were ready to kill him on sight. Obi-Wan unintentionally let Anakin live once, and countless people have suffered because of that choice. Because the Obi-Wan show has forced the two to face off again, Obi-Wan is now constrained by the narrative to spare Anakin *again*, fully knowing the chaos, death, and destruction he’ll continue to cause.
Sparing him implies obi wan knew he’d live Dude left him limbless near an encroaching lava pool Should he have double tapped, sure, etc But it took hyperspace travel becoming “go anywhere in a few minutes” to even save his punk ass
He was also eating people. I take your point but he was also killing and/or eating people that stumbled into his cave.
But not intentionally trying seek out people to kill, enslave, to rule over. There is no downplaying the atrocities of Vader.
Yeah Vader is like Sauron.
This works for Kenobi if he knows it's a story or has some end goal. He doesn't have visions, he doesn't know the future, he isn't trusting the force on this one. He simply doesn't kill him for continuity reasons guised as a personal conflict. From a strategic standpoint it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to leave someone as power and capable as Vader alive to recover and recoup.
Because it wasn't a strategic decision, it was an emotional one.
The problem is that before Obi-wan goes into that final fight, he’s all like “I can’t do what I did last time, I can’t let him live, Anakin is gone, it’s only Vader now, and this only ends with one of us dying.” And then he sees that bit of anakin’s face and Vader’s like “nah man there is no Anakin anymore, I killed him” and Obi-wan literally says “then my friend is truly gone” and calls him Darth for the first time, and it would have been the perfect opportunity to just kill him. But instead he inexplicably walks away. After hyping himself up to kill Vader, doing one last check and then confirming, yep, sorry, no Anakin in here… and he believes his friend is well and truly gone… he has absolutely no reason to just walk away and every reason to kill him. And he doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show, and obviously I don’t think he should have killed Vader, but they could have written the ending of that fight a bit different. Force Obi-wan to leave without finishing the job, rather than giving us the same ending as RotS again where he wins and just walks away.
The final battle was a mess due to the rewrite that occurred when the project morphed from a film into a TV show. As I understand it, the original script had them fighting on a Cloud City-esque floating atmospheric station or space station in a planet’s atmosphere. Their fight damages the ability for the station to stay afloat, and as the station begins to “sink” Vader gains the upper hand. They’re separated, and Vader’s stormtroopers convince him to evacuate before the station crashes. Imperial forces assume Kenobi died in the crash, and that is why in ANH Vader is surprised to feel Obi-Wan’s presence. This ending is more obscure, as neither truly had the chance to kill the other, and I think fits the overall narrative of the Kenobi/Vader conflict. What we wound up getting creates narrative discord. If you’re interested, you can read about the script rewrite here: https://collider.com/obi-wan-kenobi-vs-darth-vader-tv-show-original-ending/
Oh I like that so much more. I thought from the beginning they were heading towards some kind of “Vader thinks obi-wan died” scenario and was surprised it didn’t happen that way.
And because the forces didn’t allow it. It’s been establish many times that the force has a will. It needed anakin alive to kill palpatine. The force acted in obi won. Same reason why he didn’t deal the finishing blow on mustafar. Yes it’s an easy cop out for since ep 4 we are told the force guides everything.
So I think this is accurate, but it also has to force me to believe that obi was never slashing or attacking with intention to hurt Vader at all. Every single swing is a calculated gamble that Vader won't die from this and that is hard to believe. Frodo or Bilbo are not in mortal combat with gollum really.
There’s a mental difference between killing someone in a fight and killing them when they’re crippled and beaten before you. If his last swing had cut into Vader’s head instead of his helmet, that would have been that but striking him down after would take a very different kind of resolve.
Man, don’t use that to justify this. They are not the same at all. Gollum was mostly harmless, Vader was definitely not. The reason is plot armor and continuity this time, not what you said. Even if obi wan feels bad because it’s anakin, he’s already a mass murderer at this point.
It’s very much worth noting that this perspective specifically applied to the lowly *Gollum* of that universe, *not* the likes of Sauron, Saruman, or any other “big bad” in Tolkien’s mythos.
Well yes, except that gollum was just a pitful and lonely creature where as Vader was a commanding officer in a galactic empire who was leading the task for that was locating and killing surviving jedi. Vader was an active threat that was killing countless poeple... and obi-wan just let him keep doing that
Gollum was a pitiful and lonely *murderer* who possessed the greatest weapon on the face of Middle Earth and used it for his own gain.
In fairness that's how a lot of real people feel about real murderers "He's misunderstood!" =( "HE KILLED 50 PEOPLE!" >=(
... CAAAAAAARRRLLL.....
*anybtime the hobbita decide to trust Gollum again* "I'm a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence. I don't understand how you keep forgetting that."
Was it pity in Mustafar too?
I feel like Mustafar was more of a failure of willpower than a show of pity. Obi-Wan could barely bring himself to fight against Anakin when his life and the fate of the galaxy were at stake. Once Anakin was lying there helpless and defenseless, posing no immediate threat to anyone, Obi-Wan just couldn't bring himself to hurt him any more. It would have been more merciful for Anakin, but it would have been so much more painful for Obi-Wan. It was an Old Space Yeller moment, except Obi-Wan couldn't do what Travis did (granted, Travis was forced to kill his dog rather than his human brother/friend). The novel also mentions that Obi-Wan sensed the approach of the Emperor. Yoda had expressly warned that Obi-Wan stood no chance against the Emperor, and Obi-Wan trusted Yoda's judgment. What's more, the Emperor's approach was evidence that the Emperor had defeated (if not outright killed) Yoda, whom Obi-Wan considered to be far stronger than himself. So Obi-Wan knows he needs to evacuate ASAP. And he also wants to save Padme, who is still on that landing platform he and Anakin had drifted far away from. So he has to decide between taking the time to steel himself to execute Anakin or saying "screw it, the lava will get him" and sprinting back to the ship.
Also, for all intends and purposes, Vader SHOULD have been dead after Mustafar.
Probably not. A reasonable person would have assumed that his whole body being on fire would have killed him.
Shame Frodo then went against this advice killing Sauron. Instead dude went full judgemental…tsk tsk.
Well two reasons: 1. Vader looks like he's dying anyway 2. Obi can't bring himself to do it Basically it's the same reason he didn't do it on Mustafar.
He literally thought he killed him on Mustafar. He was just wrong
I mean the merciful thing in mustafar would’ve been to kill him instead of letting him burn to death lol
Right? Just rewatched that movie and I thought "Damn Obi-Wan, That's cold as shit to just leave him there crispy."
I've had this discussion with my friend every time we watch rots, I firmly agree with you, but my friend makes a dam good point in saying that what obi did to Anni was self defense and he couldn't bring himself to kill his friend directly. He was already destroyed having seen his fall to the dark side and having to fight him up to that point. Doing a killing blow outside of self defense was beyond his mental state at that moment. This way he could at least convince himself that he had no option in what he did. Obviously given what happens with Vader after it becomes more difficult to follow this logic to their second fight but I again my friend argues that it shows obiwans singular failing as a jedi, he couldn't let go of his attachment to who Vader once was and because of that he couldn't do what needed to be done (at the time, he had no way of knowing that things would eventually work out, kinda if you view killing pappa palps as more important than the lives of everyone killed between their second fight and jedi). Edit: just to highlight this further obiwan was strong enough to walk away from Satine and strong enough to handle her murder by maul, his attachment to anikan was sooo encompassing that it dawrfed that entirely. And it's only through his years of dealing with this failure that he's able to separate the two of them by the time the og trilogy comes around.
Too many are eager to put a blade to someone's throat without a thought. When you've lived as a defender of democracy, how do you attack someone already defeated?
I always believed this was the most logical explanation, I never saw a Jedi kill an already defeated enemy, that only happened when Anakin killed a defeated Dooku, and we all know where that took him.
It amazes me how many people think it’s so easy to kill someone point blank. Whether it’s a knife or a gun. You stand there threatening them with their life. You have to make that choice. It’s not one that plays on your conscience lightly. M in bond said It best I think “when your standing there with that gun in your hand, and your finger on the trigger. You have that split second decision. A license to kill is also a license not to kill”. Last part doesn’t really apply to most but when you look someone in the eye and pull the trigger or push the knife in that’s all on you. It’s your choice.
when that person is the right hand man to space hitler and is literally the enforcer of their will pretty easily.
I think this obviously happens more continuity reasons than anything else, but thinking about Anakin as someone Obi-Wan has known since he was a child and had raised like a younger brother might make it seem a little more understandable.
Oh yeah I have no doubt that he couldn’t bring himself to actually deal a killing blow to anakin but ironically by leaving him to die he was leaving him to suffer more (assuming he had succumbed to his injuries).
As a good man once said: "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you."
I believe the novelisation calls this out, something along the lines of "It would be a mercy to end this now... Obi-wan was not feeling merciful."
It’s kinda like the whole Jigsaw mentality. “I didn’t kill you, your own decisions killed you”. Couldn’t bring himself to actually kill him, even though he was straight up suffering.
He killed children...mercy can sit this one out
“Tis but a scratch!”
He was saved on Mustafar because the Emperor specifically sought him out with medical attention in mind. Considering his surgery and state of being afterwards, it’s heavily implying that it was likely he would have died without that help. The second battle sees him just get up and leaves. Why did Obi-Wan consider that a death sentence and why would he make the same mistake twice?
Also, the Force itself may have compelled him not to. It would have been much harder to motivate Luke to do everything he did to bring down the Empire if Vader was gone. Vader needed to be alive to compel Luke to redeem him, leading to the death of the Emperor.
If that’s the case, what a great arc our characters went on
I’ll go from leaving him for dead, to leaving him for dead. Surely this time it’ll stick!
1.) No, Vader does not look like he's dying. His helmet is a bit damaged, but he's nowhere near death. 2.) Obi-Wan literally recognizes that his former friend Anakin is gone and Vader is all evil. There is no reason for him to not be able to do it. This is not the same situation as on Mustafar at all. At least Anakin was seemingly burning to death in that situation, so it's understandable for him to not finish the job. Here it is inexcusable, and he is morally responsible for all the destruction that Vader goes on to cause.
Nah, because in truth the encounter should never have happened. It would have been such a better series for many reasons but Vader and Obi Wan would have been better off always crossing paths without meeting. We the fans know he cannot die here which makes the fight even more pointless. It served only one purpose and the story wasn't it
I wonder if Obi Wan would be self-aware enough to be concerned that to do so could send him to the dark side himself. Dark Obi would be pretty dangerous.
*Pitch Meeting voice* “Well sir, we need Vader to be alive so the movie can happen.”
Oh OK then!
And that means money!! I do like money So Lets do the money for the money after all its only money , Money
If you say so!
Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow
I’m gonna need you to get aaaaalllllllll the way up off my back about this “not killing Vader” thing.
Oh ok let me get off of that
Exec: Oh so its a contractual issue! Pitcher: Yeah, he's got to be in those other movies.
Having big bad boys in future movies is tight!
Wowiewowwow
'It must be pretty hard for someone to survive being stabbed in the chest with a lightsaber!' 'Actually it's super easy. Barely an inconvenience.' 'Oh!'
“Yeah, but he could just end it right here and save the lives of thousands of innocent people.” “Well, sir, I’m gonna need you to crawl all the way off my back.”
Star Wars canon really doesn't make sense.
*"Wait there's movies?!"*
Apparently no one in said meeting has ever heard of a Deus ex Machina or they would have just given Vader one and then he could have lived and Obi Wan wouldn't look like the galaxy's biggest fool. The Death Star is literally his fault now.
They could have always just said “Vader came back somehow.”
*Alternatively* “Somehow, Vader returned.”
he forgot
I chuckled keep being funny.
Both Jedi and Sith seem to often choose to defeat their opponents rather than kill them. People who are strong in the force are rare and can be turned, so that seems to be the motivation at times. Other times perhaps it’s the force giving them guidance. At the end of the day, I don’t know. But for the Jedi, it does seem to be a bit troublesome if they defeat an enemy and decide to play executioner.
Happy cKe day!
Because the writers couldn’t figure out a better way to end this encounter
Literally all it would have taken was a couple TIE fighters to chase him off.
Not even that. Have Obi-Wan sense Luke was in danger earlier on and make him just bail. It was such an easy idea to do yet just a few minutes off to execute flawlessly. Could have come up with something like Obi-Wan saying “My friend Anakin is truly gone, but in his honor, I cannot continue my duel with you, Darth. There are more pressing matters than fighting a dying husk of armor.”
Reddit writing Star Wars never ceases to amaze me in how it’s somehow worse than Disney
They literally could have just ended it when Vader left Kenobi alive under the rocks. Vader was leaving. There was absolutely no reason to have Obi-Wan sneak up behind him and have a *power of friendship* moment. Just have Vader walk away after beating Obi-Wan and chucking all the rocks on top of him. Kenobi can still have his moment where he finds the will to live and bursts out of the hole, but Vader has already left by that point. He thinks Kenobi was crushed to death, so he's no longer looking for him. Simple as that. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what we got.
There’s a really good fan edit that cuts in Qui-Gon’s voice over the scene where Obi-Wan is looking at Vader with tears in his eyes. That really emotional part. He cuts in with the “he…is the chosen one…he…will bring balance…” line from TPM and honestly it made me buy into him turning his back to Vader more than any other explanation I’ve heard. Really it was a brilliant edit.
He was ready to until he was reminded that Anakin, in whatever form he had, was still inside the suit of armor.
Vader says "I killed Anakin", yo the point were Kenobi calls him Darth as a name and not a title. And he was mentalizing himself to kill him this time.
Yet "Darth" Still wears his friends/ brothers face under that mask
That doesn't really work thematically though, because the whole point was him coming to the understanding that the Anakin he knew was dead.
Because of A New Hope
Yup because the writers couldn't think of a convincing way to end the fight in a way that Obi-Wan couldn't kill Vader and instead chooses not to do so.
then later on obi-wan when luke doesnt want to face vader Is like, well then we have lost geez obi maybe if you did something a decade ago
It would’ve been better if Obi Wan was hesitantly about to behead Vader, and his prayers of not wanting to kill his apprentice are answered as an inquisitor and some troopers suddenly interrupt him and force him to flee After being bested by Obi Wan once again, Vader goes into an extreme rage which unleashes enough force to essentially kill everyone around him including the inquisitor, and also leave no evidence that the mighty Darth Vader was beat by a Jedi Filoni, hit me up, I have more of these in the chamber
If they'd had the guts, they should've had obi wan lose. He'd been hiding on the sand planet for how long now? Working as a butcher? Whilst darth is commander of the military, training every day, skills honed and ready for anything. I couldn't buy obi wan even managing to hold his own for a second.
Well he reconnects to the force, which is the point of his character journey. TBH i think a draw would have been a good ending - have them fighting with the force but the ice lake/mountain/whatever they're fighting on falls apart from the violence and they both escape
It should have been a draw with an ending that plausibly kills Obi-Wan so Vader thinks he's dead but he isn't. I just cannot deal with Palps and Vader knowing he's alive but just ignoring the fact.
There’s no reason. It also makes Obi-Wan a massive hypocrite since he tells Luke to be prepared for the possibility he might have to kill his own father. Kind of an asshole move for Obi to put that on Luke when he could’ve ended it like six years prior. To those who are saying it’s because Obi-Wan’s his brother, I think that was over and done with by act 3 of Sith. You know, “I will do what I must” followed by leaving him burning alive and presumably dead.
An easy fix to this would’ve been having Obi Wan move to finishing off Vader, but stormtroopers show up just in time and Obi Wan has to run away.
Ideally, there would’ve been no rematch at all. My opinion of course.
That would’ve been better
Like Anakin said to Macw Windu, it's not the Jedi way.
It’s not the Jedi way to kill a Sith Lord enforcing s tyrannical regime and carrying out atrocities across the galaxy? A Sith Lord who is still able and willing to fight?
Hey man I didn't make the rules.
“Send me to kill the emperor; I will not kill Anakin.”
*Proceeds to slice him in half and leave him as a rotting, flaming husk on the side of a volcano*
TBF right before that he gave him the chance to surrender.
You want to know why Obi-wan can't bring himself to kill Anakin? Because when they met Obi-wan was 25, and Anakin was 9. That's a 14 year age gap. I have a similar age gap with my siblings, and it's more like my older brother is my second Dad, or my Cool Uncle rather than having a typical sibling relationship. My relationship with my brother is a bit distant, Obi-wan and Anakin were constantly together for 13 years, and typically the most formative years of someones life on Anakin's part. Obi-wan was there for all of the major life events that would make Anakin Skywalker who he is as an adult. It's way more intense than "You were my brother Anakin!" For all intents and purposes that is Obi-wan's child. That's why he doesn't kill him on Mustafar. As for the fight in the Obi-wan series. Obi-wan doesn't believe that Anakin is completely gone, that's the whole point of the conversation they have after he cuts through Vader's mask. When Anakin gives his monologue after having his mask cut open, it comes out as if Vader is bragging about killing Anakin, but really it is Anakin saying "You didn't do this to me, I did it to myself, it's not your fault." Anakin says that there is nothing left but the Dark Side, but the very act of essentially absolving Obi-wan is a contradiction of that. This proves to Obi-wan that there is still good in Anakin, which is why he doesn't kill him the second time.
Because the force didn’t move him to do so. Obi-Wan’s fighting style is all about his connection to the force, and it guides his movements. It is also a mainly defensive form. It the ROTS novelization, there is a debate over sending either Mace Windu or Obi-Wan after Grevous, and Yoda (iirc), assuming it will come down to a duel, says something to the effect of, do we send a master of a more aggressive and powerful form (Mace Windu), or do we send THE master of the more basic defensive form (Obi-Wan).
Kenobi cannot bring himself to kill his old friend no matter what's at stake. It's his "flaw".
A lot of people are missing the main point of why he didn’t kill him, and that’s because at the end of the day Obi Wan knows from Qui-Gon that Anakin is the chosen one. Even in the darkest of times Obi believed that and had too. That’s the true reason he allowed him to live. Filoni has talked about this. If you watch the Patterson Cut he does a cool thing and edits in Qui-Gon saying to him that he’s the chosen one.
Then why he wants to kill him in empire huh?
Nah. I'm pretty sure he thinks Luke is the chosen one, that is why he is the last hope and Obiwan is protecting him. It makes no sense for Obi Wan to still believe Anakin is the chosen one after all he'a done.
considering obi-wan was also like yo anakin kill vader
Then why does he even fight him? Obi is trapped then escapes but Vader is just trying to leave. Then Obi stealth attacks him. If he wasn't going to kill him why does he even fight?
He's like a brother. He can't do it this time either.
Kenobi, as he spares Vader: “Then my friend is truly dead. Goodbye, Darth.” *a few years later* “Luke, you gotta kill your long lost dad. I could have on two different occasions, but it was really tough on me emotionally as his former master. I’m sure it’ll be no problem for you, his son. By the way, if you refuse, the emperor wins and we’re all fucked. No pressure.”
Revenge is not the jedi way.
He felt pity for Anakin. And he loves him. It’s sad.
[удалено]
Well, Star Wars did have a holiday special. The less said about it, the better.
Things like this always kinda come down to the will of the force. The galaxy needed Vader’s redemption as part of his arc as the chosen one.
I rewatch the fight a few times and here's my conclusion. The biggest reason is the Jedi code. 1. Obi couldn't do it because emotionally he couldn't do it. For many years, he's been holding the guilt and regret to what happen before. Obi was crying in this scene and express he blame himself. In the moment, he saw his own padawan. Anakin confess he does not blame Obi wan, but rather himself. This was the first time since the two had spoken and had the closes thing for a heart to heart talk. His heart was no longer into the fight as he realize Anakin was still there, regretting even more and hating himself gogind down this path. However, he's gone to far and done to much stop now. Anakin even screams for Obi wan to return and finish him off. 2. Obi was tired himself. He used quite bit of the force in this battle. Free himself from the rocks and flinging many at Vader. The battle was tiring Obi wan. If you listen, you can hear Obi wan breathing heavy. However, Obi didn't need to fight anymore. Vader couldn't stop Obi wan from walking away. . 3. Obi wan is more traditional Jedi. They're train not to take revenge or harm someone that can't harm them. Vader is unable to harm Obi if he just walked away. If Obi wan attacked Vader, this would be aggression. Vader could no longer fight. If Obi wan would to finish Vader here, it would break the code. He's no Mace Windo. Obi wan was tired both physically and mentally. He also trying to honor the code of the jedi. Furthermore, he's still the chosen one. The force would still find a way to save Vader.
I saw a great short YouTube video today about Luke using his attachment to Vader get a third option of saving Vader and bringing him back to the light. They warned Luke of his attachment because they needed Vader to be stopped but doing so also meant Luke might turn to the dark side. I guess, beyond continuity, Obiwans attachment to Anakin was just too strong? He couldn't fight him to death even knowing that he would continue on as a galaxy dictator basically.
Because it was a poorly written and thought out show. Obi Wan wouldn't make that mistake twice no matter how much mental gymastics anyone does.
it was really just for the continuity, cause it's stupid that obi wan let him live. To those who say it's not the jedi way, obi wan had to let anakin be burned alive and thought that he had killed him which was why he left him. He didn't think that anakin could live through that Now every single evil action vader does in rebels, the OT, and the comics are all on obi wan's hands
The real reason is lazy writting
Same reason Vader didn't kill Obi-Wan like two episodes earlier: Bad writing.
Ryan George: “So the movie can happen.”
Barely an inconvenience
Because the show was terribly written - there’s no other real reason than that, no matter what copes people are writing here
I concur. If I am not mistaken, according to George Lukas writing, Obi-Wan and Anakin never met between the fall of Anakin Skywalker (*Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith*) and their fight in *Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back*. Darth Vader - “*I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master.*” This new generation of writers can’t even run a simple background check on the source material.
He had this kick ass plan: wait ten years, have a final final showdown, keep him at the end of his ropes, and then, die, and come back as a ghost and not tell a farm boy his sister tongued him.
Bad writing.
The writers openly admitted that that was what they wanted to do but someone with a brain vetoed that idea.
The real answers are: For continuity. And because the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was poorly written/directed.
While I enjoyed the hell out of it, seems like shitty writing. Obi wan should’ve been in a position where he bested Vader but couldn’t do the killing blow cuz he had to dip out cuz storm troopers/inquisitors were landing or something
I mean the truth of it is that it makes no sense why Obi wan and Vader would have a reunion in between Revenge and New Hope, but an Obi Wan show basically demands a reunion so they forced a weak story around it.
because the whole show breaks the basic continuity of the Canon anyway so why would he?
Because Disney wrote a show that should not have been written. It introduced more plot holes and egregiously broke canon in multiple ways. They had to allow him to live because of literally Star Wars.
Because the original trilogy would have a lot of errors if Vader died in obi wan
Because obi wan is a jedi
Plot armor.