"Obi-Wan Kenobi" ends with an epic battle sure to please "Star Wars" fans, but how does
it set up the events of "A New Hope"?
Keep watching for the end of the Disney+ series, explained.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part VI has the daunting dual tasks of following up the intense Part
V, and setting up the stage for the movie that started it all.
To pull this off, it delivers the inevitable climactic battle early on, and devotes plenty
of time to set every piece of the chessboard in the places they need to be in the beginning
of "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope."
"Hello."
Instead of a large body count and constant high-octane action, "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part
VI is surprisingly full of happy endings.
Leia makes her way back home, figures out her fashion sense, and agrees to keep her
friendship with Obi-Wan a secret.
The remaining members of the Path evade the Imperial forces.
Reva's arc comes to a surprising conclusion, and even Obi-Wan's impending years as a desert
hermit turn out to be considerably more pleasant than you'd assume.
Let's take a look at the events of the final episode of "Obi-Wan Kenobi," and where it
leaves the main characters.
Considering the difficult relationship between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, it's no surprise
that a big chunk of the finale is dedicated to a massive encounter between the two.
The former master and apprentice begin an epic lightsaber battle just 15 minutes into
the episode, and it only gets more awesome from there.
Vader's absurdly strong Force telekinesis is on full display, and while he doesn't explicitly
show it, the moment he finally gets the high ground must be a pretty cathartic experience.
Obi-Wan takes a bit more time to get his Force engine going, but when he does, Vader finds
out the hard way that he's not the only Force user who can throw massive objects around.
When Obi-Wan finally manages to incapacitate Vader and slice his helmet open, the physical
battle turns into a war of words.
This may just be the most damaging part of the duel for both parties, as Obi-Wan tearfully
apologizes for Mustafar, while Vader denounces his former identity.
The Jedi gets the message.
"Goodbye, Darth."
Obi-Wan says goodbye to Anakin, making clear that he now feels that his former apprentice
no longer exists.
Vader is left in the desert, screaming his opponent's name in vain.
Hey, not everyone can have a happy ending.
For fans, it's a thrilling scene.
It finally shows the audience a bit of Hayden Christensen's Vader face and, thanks to the
broken mask, mixes Anakin's normal voice and his booming Darth Vader voice into a chilling
mish-mash.
Lore-wise, the exchange is also pretty important.
After all, it explains why "A New Hope"-era Obi-Wan keeps Vader's identity secret from
Luke, and insists on calling his former apprentice by his Sith name even when they're alone.
For him, Anakin Skywalker truly doesn't exist anymore.
Owen and Beru Lars have drawn one of the shortest straws in the entire "Star Wars" live-action
franchise.
Their death kicks off Luke Skywalker's arc in the original movie, and while they appear
in the prequel trilogy, their role in the grand scheme of things is ... well, to be
the humble background from which Luke rises to greatness.
Beru and Owen are indeed fairly ordinary characters, especially compared to the Skywalker side
of the family.
Nevertheless, the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" finale shows that they're hardy and fearless people
who aren't afraid to raise the son of a notorious Force user as their own.
They're also cool with keeping Obi-Wan Kenobi's identity secret from the Imperial forces,
dangerous as it may be.
"That wizard is just a crazy old man."
Oh, and if someone does come calling, they have contingency plans to keep young Luke
safe from people who might come for him.
This is particularly impressive, because the person who comes in Part VI is Reva, a highly
dangerous former Inquisitor.
Luckily for Luke, Owen has zero chill toward any lightsaber-wielding authority figure,
and neither he or Beru hesitate to face Reva without backup.
While this ultimately goes as well as you'd expect, the battle is thrilling, and both
Owen and Beru survive the encounter.
Say what you want about Luke's real father, but at least the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" finale confirms
that his uncle and aunt are on top of things.
As the penultimate episode of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" heavily implied, the injured Reva has traveled
to Tatooine to get her hands on Darth Vader's son.
However, when the injured former Inquisitor finally gets Luke within lightsaber distance,
she realizes that blind revenge may not be the way to go after all.
In "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part V, Reva is revealed to be a former Jedi youngling who survived
Anakin Skywalker's attack in "Revenge of the Sith," and she's been seeking retribution
all along.
However, she soon realizes that killing Vader's son to avenge the youngling slaughter would
make her the very thing she hates the most.
When Obi-Wan catches up, the "confrontation" between him and the remorseful Reva is a simple
discussion.
She has realized the error of her ways, and Obi-Wan offers sage advice like the Jedi Master
that he is, advising, "Who you become now, that is up to you."
Reva may have seemed like an out-and-out villain in the beginning, but she ultimately manages
to break the cycle of hate, and becomes free from the burden of revenge.
Since she's one of the few major "Obi-Wan Kenobi" characters whose ultimate fates remain
unknown, it's entirely possible that her story isn't over yet.
Since the Grand Inquisitor is still alive and the pair clearly despise each other, Reva's
potential future appearance might very well involve another meeting between the two.
While Darth Vader might claim that Anakin Skywalker is fully gone, the parallels between
him and Obi-Wan are still very much present.
Part V of the show is framed as a gigantic battle of wits between the pair, and Part
VI continues to measure them against each other ... in more ways than one.
After Obi-Wan accepts that Vader is beyond saving and walks away, both men eventually
end up on their corresponding home grounds — Obi-Wan disappears in Tatooine's desert,
while Vader is seen sulking in his fortress.
In these locations, both of them meet their masters.
Vader has a hologram video call with Emperor Palpatine, who berates his apprentice by questioning
his devotion and focus.
Vader is left to brood alone, with his ominous theme playing in the background.
Later, we see a much more pleasant interaction between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn's force ghost,
who declares that his former apprentice is finally ready to see him.
Qui-Gon also casually confirms that he intends to hang around to keep company for Obi-Wan.
Many fans have been waiting for beloved Jedi Master Qui-Gon's cameo in "Obi-Wan Kenobi,"
and given Vader's huge role in the show, it's not shocking that Emperor Palpatine makes
an appearance, as well.
However, the way the show juxtaposes the two masters and their attitudes toward their students
is surprisingly clever, right down to the fact that both characters appear in incorporeal
form.
No matter how much power or how many underlings Vader has, he's completely alone, and Palpatine
will call him out whenever he detects the tiniest bit of weakness.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan might live in seclusion, but his former master will always be there
for him.
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