The newest trailer for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi dropped with some very promising teases. Some of those teases include the debut of new inquisitors on the hunt for the remaining Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi being held accountable for failing Anakin Skywalker, and of course, the return of Anakin himself now sporting his iconic Darth Vader suit. Taken as a whole, the new trailer is promising to address the immediate aftermath of the events that took place in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Perhaps the most promising tease in the new trailer is the follow-up on Vader’s iconic duel with Obi-Wan on the planet Mustafar. Not only did that battle result in Anakin losing his remaining limbs and acquiring the third-degree burns that forced him to spend the rest of his life in a suit, but it’s also the battle that solidified his hatred of Obi-Wan; a strong animosity that continued to fuel his actions as Vader in the decades that followed. But how exactly did he get there? How did Obi-Wan fail Anakin to the point of Luke’s Uncle Owen calling him out on it in the new trailer? To answer that, we need to look at Obi-Wan’s entire history with Anakin.
Obi-Wan first met Anakin on the planet Tatooine in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menance. In the film, Obi-Wan was Qui-Gon Jinn’s adolescent padawan and Anakin was a child slave on Tatooine alongside his mother. Qui-Gon was the first to identify Anakin as The Chosen One that would destroy the Sith and bring balance to the force as prophesied by the Jedi. With this belief, Qui-Gon vouched for Anakin to start training as a Jedi, though the Jedi Council deemed him too old to get started. More disturbing to the Jedi Council yet was Anakin’s inability to control his emotions — especially his anger.
Despite the initial concerns of the Jedi Council, Qui-Gon continued to vouch for Anakin. Before he could follow up on that, however, Qui-Gon was mortally wounded in a duel with Darth Maul, who was then killed by Obi-Wan. Before giving his dying breath, Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan to train Anakin in his stead. Obi-Wan agreed out of respect for his master, but unlike Qui-Gon, he had the same reservations about Anakin as the Jedi Council. This was the start of a long list of problems that inevitably forged Anakin’s tragic path toward becoming Darth Vader.
During his training of Anakin, Obi-Wan was harshly critical of his padawan’s impulsivity and consistently invalidated his ideas. This was most notable in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones where an adolescent Anakin and Obi-Wan chased after a bounty hunter before Anakin was eventually tasked with protecting Padmé Amidala as her bodyguard. Even when he and Padmé attempted to rescue Obi-Wan from Count Dooku, the latter still criticized Anakin for his failure to avoid getting caught. This put Anakin in a position to constantly seek Obi-Wan’s validation — a weakness that was easily exploited by Chancellor Palpatine.
By Revenge of the Sith, Anakin had graduated to the status of Jedi Knight and had grown more confident in his own abilities. His relationship with Obi-Wan had also improved a bit by this point, but his troubles were far from over. To start with, he had secretly married Padmé — something he wasn’t allowed to do as a Jedi — who was also pregnant with Luke and Leia. To add to Anakin’s stress, he had a premonition that Padmé would die in childbirth and sought advice from Master Yoda, to no avail. To add insult to injury, Anakin was denied the rank of Jedi Master when he asked for membership into the Jedi Council.
Having recognized Anakin’s dilemma, Palpatine — who was secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith — began his emotional manipulation of Anakin. In exchange for becoming his new dark apprentice, Palpatine promised to help Anakin save Padmé’s life. Agreeing to Palpatine’s teachings, Anakin was knighted Darth Vader and carried out various Jedi assassinations on his behalf, which didn’t go unnoticed by Obi-Wan and Yoda. To become one with the dark side of the force, Palpatine encouraged Anakin to embrace his anger, which included his internalized resentment of Obi-Wan. Everything built to their confrontation on Mustafar.
The duel on Mustafar was Anakin’s violent way of holding Obi-Wan accountable for his failures as both a mentor and a friend. He didn’t vouch for Anakin to progress within the Jedi ranks the way he should have. Worse yet, Obi-Wan never offered Anakin emotional support when he needed it the most. As Vader, Anakin sought to avenge his own suffering by killing the person who was largely responsible for it: his own master. Unfortunately for Vader, the fight ended in a humiliating defeat. Not only did Obi-Wan dismember him and watch him burn on the edge of a lava river, but he lost Padmé that same day as well.
Given what Anakin has been through as a consequence of Obi-Wan’s failures, it’s all but surprising he’ll be out for blood in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi will hit Disney+ on May 27.
Read Next
About The Author