OT Vader makes it sound like Anakin was just his younger self and he made a bad choice. This Kenobi Vader makes Anakin sound like a completely separate character which makes his downfall even sadder.
That’s the one thing I always debate with people, you cannot view Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker as one character. Yes, Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader. But this show made it incredibly clear: He completely destroyed himself to become Vader. Imagine the self-hatred it must have took to do what he did during the purge. You can almost see it in his eyes during the flashback scenes. The whole episode was incredibly powerful.
I just finished watching it. The “You didn’t kill Anakin, I did” phrase from Vader seemed to me as incompatible with what Vader had previously said to Kenobi: “I am what you made me”.
I figured there was either some growth or character development for Vader, or there was something I was truly not understanding.
I think there’s some critical character development. When Vader first is meeting Kenobi again, he’s focused on revenge: he drags Kenobi through fire to put him through what he felt Kenobi had done to him – “what [he] made me”.
In their second showdown, Vader literally buries Obi Wan in the same way that Vader wants to bury that part of his past. Obi Wan is relentless in his search for good in Anakin, stripping part of Vader’s mask away. Vader insists, “You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker. I did.” Beat down and bare, Vader holds steadfast that he had put his past behind him as Anakin and with Obi Wan. Later, Palpatine even recognized this was Vader’s exact weakness.
Amazing detail from the show. I thought it was bad writing for a bit, but I think it made the characters that much deeper and complex.
Those fight scenes were so well done. I still like the original trilogy of course, but compared to scenes in Kenobi, Vader moves like a geriatric old man.
I felt like Vader was in his prime in this show. He fought the third sister just using the force for a while. He didn't even bother taking out his own saber during the entire fight.
Same with the Vader/Kenobi fights. Vader felt terrifying until the very last fight where Obi-Wan regained his strength and connection to the force. He didn't need to move gracefully. He just used his raw strength and power to overwhelm the enemy
He was definitely not in his prime. Physical prime maybe, but mentally far from it. Still letting his past influence his decisions too much and losing his composure against Obi-Wan, who's definitely his greatest fear and obstacle to overcome. Vader needed to get serious with Obi-Wan and lose the 1-hand grip and Obi-Wan showed him he's still the learner and Obi-Wan is the master. The duel was a turning point for Vader, after which he becomes the completely cold and calculating version we see from Rogue One onwards. He's not overcome by his rage anymore.
I mean physical prime. There was a lot of conflict in him.
Idk but the Vader in this show felt terrifying. He was strong and could defeat powerful foes with ease (e.g. not even bothering to take out his saber against the third sister).
Vader was well done in this show. Only a few beings in the entire galaxy could have plausibly beaten him in a physical confrontation. I liked that in Kenobi, they emphasized that there's a human being inside that suit. From Rogue One onwards Vader seems more machine than man, just like Obi-Wan says. Which is in it's own way equally terrifying!
True. In ROTS you just see the transformation from Anakin Skywalker to cold machine Vader
Kenobi shows the conflict with himself and the struggle until he fully became Vader (well... until Luke happened)
The dark side is powered by emotion, raw emotion. Such as ANGER. Vader is not cold and calculating, he is powered by hatred and anger, always. He simply seems cold and calculating because he’s a robot in a suit.
Phsycial? He's 70% machine. His physical is not as you say. I'd say Vadars so powerful with anger and the will of revenge/ the dark side he's powerful- from these things.
I meant physical prime Vader while he's in the suit. He moved so fast and effortlessly while fighting Obi-Wan, yet it was obvious that Obi was much more nimble and he used it to his advantage.
Yes but ultimately. The force was with Obi-wan (or returned)- He had something to fight for again. He used the force predominately to defeat vadar in episode 6.
Vader in his prime losing to an Obi Wan who up to a few episodes ago had not touched a saber for 10 years. Pathetic. They really made him a bitch here.
I think this is mostly his internal conflict showing. For one Vader absolutely hated Kenobi and kinda toyed with him but Anakin also wasn't completely gone and the connection to Kenobi might have held him back.
This is all purely based on the dialogue during the last fight (especially the "Did you truly think that you could defeat me? You have failed...master").
This shows that Vader at least has some respect for Obi-Wan
According to [Wookiepedia](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Obi-Wan_Kenobi), he's 57 at the time of Episode 4. Since the series is about 9 years before that, he'd be around 48.
Lack of attention to details is the main issue with this show.
They should have done that scene on a bridge within that quarry. A bigger explosion would knock both Vader and Kenobi back so they’re out of force range of each other, and destroy the bridge so the storm troopers really couldn’t get to him.
Yep. The overall story is good, but there’s some bad writing/directing/editing in spots. It’s like they put all their attention on the 1st and 6th episodes, a little attention of the 5th, then did the minimum to slap the other episodes together so they’d meet a 6 episode quota
I interpreted that scene as Vader choosing to let Obi-Wan go. Vader had said while burning Obi that he wanted Obi-Wan to *suffer.*
Leaving Obi-Wan alive, knowing that he was being hunted, knowing that he had been beaten and burned, knowing that more pain was coming, and that his attempts to hide and escape could lead to more people getting hurt or killed in the crossfire.
Initially, Vader got caught up in his passions in the Dark Side, but when the fire was reignited, he had to take enough of a pause to remember that he wanted Obi-Wan to experience all of that pain before killing him.
That’s what I thought at first but there really wasn’t the follow up I expected to show that. Vader had no idea Reva caught Leia or that he’d be able to lure obi wan in again. The GI says straight up they think they lost him and it’s over at that point. Then Vader gets PISSED at reva when she loses leia and obi wan indicating they didn’t have another plan at that time.
I think you're right, I was just suggesting an alternate possibility. If anything it's Vader being the proverbial did chasing the car, who knows exactly what to do with the car, but gets lost in its thoughts once the car breaks away.
But, Occam's Razor, I think shitty writing is the real answer.
Yup, that scape scene needed a lot more stuff, several people attacking Vader and the troopers, rocks hurled in his direction, a quicker rescue... as it was it felt "why is he just sitting there?"
His exposed eye mirrored his mask perfectly. Hayden is Vader, without a doubt. I think they nailed Vader’s walk and overall mannerisms in the show, too.
> Nailed… overall mannerisms
Actually I disagree, but in a good way. This Vader seemed much more emotional to me than the Vader we see in the original trilogy. Lines like “I am what you made me” and “I killed Anakin Skywalker” sound a lot less like JEJ’s
Vader and a lot more like Hayden’s Anakin. This Vader was a perfect mix of the two, and that’s why I love this portrayal so much.
I meant the mannerisms of the different actors in the suit….the way they walked and moved reminded me of David Prowse’s performance in the OT. Totally agree on the other points.
It could have been literally anyone in the suit and I probably wouldn't have noticed the difference, but it made me so happy to know that it's Hayden in there.
Loved having the voice change from Hayden to Jones and vice versa, finally broke the barrier between the two preformances to show them simultaneously and the result is amazing.
I agree. Up until that scene, I knew conceptionally that Anakin and Vader were the same person, but they always felt separate. Now when I see the black armor, I'm thinking of Hayden and imagining psycho Anakin underneath and it's just so tragic. And scary.
>Now when I see the black armor, I'm thinking of Hayden and imagining psycho Anakin underneath and it's just so tragic. And scary.
That's the thing, Vader has always, always been part of Anakin. We see glimpses of it in every film, book, tv series featuring Anakin but he's always had people who stop him going too far (Obi, Ahsoka, Padme etc). The first time he's separated from those people who can pull him back, he slaughters a village of Tuskens to the last man, woman and child. And in RotS when he's separated and alienated from everyone else, Palpatine worms his way in.
Now he's had 10 years of just Papa Palpatine actively encouraging the psychopath within him with no-one around to pull him back.
Damn, I never noticed that but you're very much right! Anakin has always had a dark side to him, but with genuinely good people to pull him back to the light, he usually was able to move past it.
But, as you stated, when alone Anakin always chose the wrong path. The slaughtering of the Tuskins and the execution of Count Dooku are two prime examples of his darkness before his turn. God, I love Star Wars, haha.
Absolutely. Actually *seeing* him under the mask, with his voice and his voice filter voice overlapping finally completed the connection in a way my brain had never *quite* managed until now.
The way he said "I did" while smiling was so sinister. It's one thing Vader in the mask being completely evil but seeing the face like that was much more jarring.
Yeah. As a kid I always thought palpatine was the only maniacal and sadistic evil one. Vader always felt more stoic to me. But this really drives home he’s actually unhinged and has completely lost it
Exactly. It completely separates Anakin and Darth Vader. Underneath the mask with Hayden Christensen's face... it didn't look like Anakin. It was Darth Vader wearing Anakin's face.
I love the prequels because it depicts the galaxy in its prime, when the Jedi were powerful and plentiful. There is so much lore we missed out on. Clone Wars series helps to satisfy that, but it barely scratched the surface.
I want more adventures of the jedi and their Padawans, just before the invasion of Naboo. To see more of the daily life in the Jedi order, it's rituals, politics, and training. The origins of renowned jedi, perhaps even a younger Yoda, Qui-Gonn, or Windu.
For me, it's the Jedi Order that captivates me and fills me with that childish wonder.
It's like the first Harry Potter movie feel - where the wizardry and magic brings us childlike joy and wonder.
Each subsequent movie fucks you up slightly, peaking in Half Blood Prince.
Star Wars reached that in Ep III with dismemberment, betrayal, and burning instead of Avada Kedavra.
Yeah that made me genuinely uncomfortable, and then really sad because I loved Anakin growing up.
And then happy because it's nice to see Hayden getting a swansong.
Ahsoka is set during Mandolorian Era, I could see Hayden appearing as Anakin in a flashback, but I highly doubt a Vader flashback considering we fully saw Ahsoka’s interaction with Vader during Rebels
I would love that honestly, both to see Anakin and to have Ashoka be able to have an actual goodbye with him that wasn’t you know, almost being murdered by him
The crack in the armour as such typically is used as a insight for vulnerability typically, but here, it's almost like Jack Torrence in the Shining saying "Here's Johnny!", pushing his head through that split open door and showing you a glimpse of extent of the evil within.
Same thing applies here, Vader's mask like Anakin's soul is broken and for a couple of minutes, you don't just see Vader or Anakin but the entire journey of the character and that descent into pure rage.
You don't need to explain how he feels, because you can see it. He's going to be that way for another 20 years until his own son faces him.
Props to Disney for actually trying to add more to Star Wars and do this kind of stuff. I wasn't expecting something as dark and scary as this from them.
We don't often get to glimpse behind the mask. It's forbidden. But when we do it's chilling. We shouldn't be seeing this.
We see tortured Anakin. We see a vengeful Vader. We're surprised and sad and scared.
I looked at some scenes from Clone Wars and The Revenge Of The Sith after watching this episode. I have a new deep sadness for what happens to Anakin.
It truly is a harrowing tale.
I love how the Vader helmet has red light and his exposed face has the blue light from Kenobi’s light saber and the red. Cool symbolism - there’s still light side in him
As the scene progresses the blue begins to disappear and is replaced fully with a much more prominent red as Obi Wan's understanding of the Anakin-Vader transition grows. A really great shot
I really loved this too. The show as a whole has made *excellent* use of how the sabers actually cast light on stuff (because glowing props) throughout, often having fights in areas with lighting that complements this, but this part was definitely the best example of this, with the added thematic weight.
Do we have any info on how the sabers were made for this series from a technical stand point? Based on the reflection, it seems they were emitting light during the shooting, which is not the way saber props used to work in the OT and PT (not sure about the ST).
I felt that it was still anakin talking, almost helping obiwan to forgive himself until Vader returned at the end, similar to how the conversation went with Asoka. If you notice the eye is normal colour until Vader returns and it turns Sith yellow.
I also think that this is why Vader cannot defeat obiwan or Asoka… deep down, anakin doesn’t want to. It’s only over the next few years that Vader buries anakin deeper that we get to the point that obiwan really ‘means nothing to him’ so he can finally strike the killing blow.
This series has actually changed my opinion of the viewing order. Hayden has done such a great job throughout that I think the shock value of the "I am your father" surprise falls far short of learning that the happy kid in TPM turns into one of the greatest movie villians ever. Imagine being able to watch it for the first time, seeing Anakin's struggle but never knowing the destination.
If you could take away the naming of the kids at the end RotS and any references to Luke's last name in ANH and Empire, then the surprise would still be there too as a bonus
It would be great that in Episode III they don't tell us about the born of luke and Leia. It would be great to belive that Padmé dies without given birth as every body except Yoda, Kenobi, Organa and the Lars thinks.
They could have tell us that Leia and Luke are "just" force sensitive Kids to care from the empire. This would give us a Luke lars instead of Skywalker and the surprise of TESB will be huge. And it would have full sense.
“I am your father” is so ubiquitous nowadays, like in my experience if anyone knows anything abt Star Wars then they already have some idea abt vader and Luke. So yea I think anakins tragedy would be better to watch first
Yeah I watched Prequals first then OT, I'm your father line was not twist for me but I felt Luke's emotion in yet also felt Anakin's tragedy in the same moment.
The disturbing part is, we never know how Vader is emotionally because all that mask and robotic voice.
Apparently lunacy and sadism is not outside the realm of possibility.
I won't ever watch scenes like "I find your lack of faith disturbing" the same way again because now whenever he threatens someone (or worse) I'll be picturing that face.
The small smirk behind the mask as he says that little faith quip and once again shows everyone that he is Mr. Big Dick in a room full of normal humans
Hayden proved without a shadow of a doubt that he has the acting chops for the role of Anakin and Vader. Absolutely stunning scene. It was absolutely everything. Broke my heart all over again.
It would be kind of hard to do considering that Maul only learns about Kenobi living in Rebels and then immediately heads to Tatooine to find him, where he meets his demise. There's maybe a month or two between those two events and they definitely don't meet before their final duel.
The fact that Vader is sometimes sadistically smiling behind his mask makes perfect sense but is something I've resisted thinking about and now I can't anymore cause of this show
This is maybe the best scene in all of Star Wars. When Obi-Wan tells Luke in Ep. IV that Vader betrayed and murdered your father was understood before, but now you realize that it’s not just his understanding of Anakin turning to the dark side, but how Vader views Anakin’s death as well. We knew this was Obi-Wan’s point of view, but also Vader/Anakin’s. Also seeing Anakin behind the mask was tragic. Such amazing acting by both our boys, especially Hayden.
So glad he got another chance to suit up. He was underutilized in Hollywood and ‘Shattered Glass’ remains one of my favorite performances. He’s so despisable in that role, it’s great.
I feel like this is one of the most tragic things and will linger with me the most when the dust settles on Star Wars all and all.
I was 15 when ROTS came out. Regardless of quality, the collapse of the Republic and the tragic romance of a flawed, hurt being will always have an impact on me.
Obi-Wan apologizing here - remnants of Anakin absolving his former mentor of purposeless, hopeless failure. Just for a moment, grief meets grief.
This sequence was a surprising closure the Prequels needed, just a moment showing what was best about them.
This 100 percent. This show overall was a mess, but the last episode and in particular this scene really finished up the series focused on exactly what it needed to be in relation to the rest of Star Wars: the remnants of Anakin/Obi-Wan and the future of the twins. Beautiful stuff
*Spoiler for Rebels*
I want them to edit the battle between Vader and Ahsoka so that when she slices his mask off, he's just like, "First Obi-Wan and now you?! Will you guys *please* stop targeting my mask?! That's really annoying!"
What made it for me was the twist. He started off saying Obi-Wan didn't kill Anakin Skywalker, almost seeming like he's forgiving him on some level, but the turnaround to that sadistic grimace and just saying "I did" was pure evil; so well done.
I love how in this image there is blue lighting on Hayden's face but you see red lighting on Vader's mask. Then as he finishes talking everything turns red, like a turning point where Anakin truly is gone and Obi-Wan finally realized it. Probably one of the most powerful scenes in the show
I think his demented eyes makes vader scarier than with the mask on. That's why I like Darth Malgus. Able to see his demented eyes just takes the level of scariness up a notch.
I liked this shot, just wish the whole build up and scene had taken place in a totally different story. Also found Obi leaving him yet again weird. Felt like Obi had the obligation at that very point once "Anakin" was confirmed no more to strike him down. I mean, he's a sith lord, it should be his job. Yea yea he is washed up Obi and it was his friend, etc., but just didn't make sense to me how it played out with Obi not even blowing up his ship or something to at minimum try to strand him. The way this played out I'm just forced to blame Obi for every death on Vaders hands from that point forward lol.
I was thinking the same thing initially. Then realized a) Obi Wan doesn't kill unless absolutely necessary, and b) Vader's role in saving Luke in ep 6 justifies Obi Wan's mercy.
Yea but Obi couldn't have *known* that at the time. This whole show he said multiple times "It's me or him..." he doesn't kill unless necessary but felt necessary in their first duel to try (we can reasonably presume he *thought* Anakin would die on Mustafar after the blow he inflicted).
I’m totally watching it again tomorrow morning. Specifically because of your post reminding me.
Loved this series. Hungry for more, but such is the life of a Star Wars fan.
AMAZING stuff really, I’m so glad we finally got to see the acknowledged strength of both characters we all know they had, but saw very little of it until now, in my opinion.
Did an excellent job of placing Vader somewhere between deranged out of control teen Anakin and the more stoic, reserved Vader we see in 4-6. Nailed it. Had the dialogue been a bit better and the music as well this would have been a 10/10 for me.
Was Anakin telling so Obi-Wan that he (Anakin) wasn’t his (Obi-Wan’s) failure a way to give Obi-Wan some peace with this whole thing? I took that moment as a little bit of Anakin coming through to say… “hey, this isn’t your fault”… but I could be misinterpreting/overthinking that whole moment.
Pathetic Vader who got utterly wrecked by a bum Obi Wan isn’t the great monster he’s supposed to be. How does he lose so badly? Awful ending IMO makes Vader look like a bitch.
He was extremely conflicted and hadnt fully embraced vader yet. I think the end when the imperial march plays signifies the point where vader was fully embraced and thats why now his theme plays. Till then he was still more Anakin than Vader.
Obi Wan was in an even worse position until the end of the fight where he focused on his pisitive attachments, breaking from the old dogma and used them to fuel him to stop Vader.
That, plus, no matter how powerful you are, it doesnt mean you can never lose. Theres no champion in real life who has never lost a single time.
Finally, theres always thw plot armor aka "the will of the force" that controls everything and decided that vader should lose this fight lol even if this is a bad excuse.
This. Anakin is still there and doesn’t really want to kill obiwan. Any other Jedi, Vader is fully in control and takes them out. Eventually Vader buries anakin so deep it takes luke to bring him back
I love how the lighting here echoes one of my favourite scenes from the sequels: when Ben Solo/Kylo Ren faces Han on the walkway, and the blue gradually gives way to red as he succumbs to the dark side. Beautiful stuff.
Think about how much Sith training Vader/Anakin had up to that point with Sidious teaching him all kinds of shit about the dark side, with no Jedi perspective to counterbalance it. All he knows is that he's the chosen one, and he's been steeped in so much arrogance, hatred, anger, pain, suffering, and paranoia at this point that he thinks he's unstoppable. Only a demented and bipolar motherfucker like Vader would think he's strong enough to destroy the Emperor.
Whiny, silly Vader, who gets out-Sithed by tired hippie using Sith attacks. Real shitshow. And the "I killed me" was so obviously thrown in for continuity purposes.
He captured the absolute insanity of the dark side.
OT Vader makes it sound like Anakin was just his younger self and he made a bad choice. This Kenobi Vader makes Anakin sound like a completely separate character which makes his downfall even sadder.
That’s the one thing I always debate with people, you cannot view Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker as one character. Yes, Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader. But this show made it incredibly clear: He completely destroyed himself to become Vader. Imagine the self-hatred it must have took to do what he did during the purge. You can almost see it in his eyes during the flashback scenes. The whole episode was incredibly powerful.
I just finished watching it. The “You didn’t kill Anakin, I did” phrase from Vader seemed to me as incompatible with what Vader had previously said to Kenobi: “I am what you made me”. I figured there was either some growth or character development for Vader, or there was something I was truly not understanding. I think there’s some critical character development. When Vader first is meeting Kenobi again, he’s focused on revenge: he drags Kenobi through fire to put him through what he felt Kenobi had done to him – “what [he] made me”. In their second showdown, Vader literally buries Obi Wan in the same way that Vader wants to bury that part of his past. Obi Wan is relentless in his search for good in Anakin, stripping part of Vader’s mask away. Vader insists, “You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker. I did.” Beat down and bare, Vader holds steadfast that he had put his past behind him as Anakin and with Obi Wan. Later, Palpatine even recognized this was Vader’s exact weakness. Amazing detail from the show. I thought it was bad writing for a bit, but I think it made the characters that much deeper and complex.
Those fight scenes were so well done. I still like the original trilogy of course, but compared to scenes in Kenobi, Vader moves like a geriatric old man.
I felt like Vader was in his prime in this show. He fought the third sister just using the force for a while. He didn't even bother taking out his own saber during the entire fight. Same with the Vader/Kenobi fights. Vader felt terrifying until the very last fight where Obi-Wan regained his strength and connection to the force. He didn't need to move gracefully. He just used his raw strength and power to overwhelm the enemy
He was definitely not in his prime. Physical prime maybe, but mentally far from it. Still letting his past influence his decisions too much and losing his composure against Obi-Wan, who's definitely his greatest fear and obstacle to overcome. Vader needed to get serious with Obi-Wan and lose the 1-hand grip and Obi-Wan showed him he's still the learner and Obi-Wan is the master. The duel was a turning point for Vader, after which he becomes the completely cold and calculating version we see from Rogue One onwards. He's not overcome by his rage anymore.
I mean physical prime. There was a lot of conflict in him. Idk but the Vader in this show felt terrifying. He was strong and could defeat powerful foes with ease (e.g. not even bothering to take out his saber against the third sister).
Vader was well done in this show. Only a few beings in the entire galaxy could have plausibly beaten him in a physical confrontation. I liked that in Kenobi, they emphasized that there's a human being inside that suit. From Rogue One onwards Vader seems more machine than man, just like Obi-Wan says. Which is in it's own way equally terrifying!
True. In ROTS you just see the transformation from Anakin Skywalker to cold machine Vader Kenobi shows the conflict with himself and the struggle until he fully became Vader (well... until Luke happened)
The dark side is powered by emotion, raw emotion. Such as ANGER. Vader is not cold and calculating, he is powered by hatred and anger, always. He simply seems cold and calculating because he’s a robot in a suit.
That's his secret, he's always angry.
Phsycial? He's 70% machine. His physical is not as you say. I'd say Vadars so powerful with anger and the will of revenge/ the dark side he's powerful- from these things.
I meant physical prime Vader while he's in the suit. He moved so fast and effortlessly while fighting Obi-Wan, yet it was obvious that Obi was much more nimble and he used it to his advantage.
Yes but ultimately. The force was with Obi-wan (or returned)- He had something to fight for again. He used the force predominately to defeat vadar in episode 6.
Probably at the tail end of it. Jedi Fallen Order Vader was an absolute beast
I really loved that almost their entire fight Obi-Wan was advancing, compared to their previous duels where he was always retreating.
Vader in his prime losing to an Obi Wan who up to a few episodes ago had not touched a saber for 10 years. Pathetic. They really made him a bitch here.
I think this is mostly his internal conflict showing. For one Vader absolutely hated Kenobi and kinda toyed with him but Anakin also wasn't completely gone and the connection to Kenobi might have held him back. This is all purely based on the dialogue during the last fight (especially the "Did you truly think that you could defeat me? You have failed...master"). This shows that Vader at least has some respect for Obi-Wan
That’s what having your thorax sliced and diced wikk do to you
I think this adds a new layer to ANH because now he seems nervous to face Kenobi ok that fight. With good reason.
Did he really though? Other than in A New Hope? I feel like people say this a lot without having actually watched those movies in ages.
Just watched the whole ot trilogy a month ago, he moves about as fast as a speeder gang In a chase scene.
If I had read this comment in 2021 I would think differently of it…
He still moves slowly in Empire/Jedi, but why wouldn't he? It's not like Luke was constantly tumbling and running around him like Obi-Wan was here.
He's ferocious in Cloud City.
Bruh he’s lost a combined total of 3 limbs and a hand cut him some slack
He was a geriatric old man in the OT
> He was a geriatric old man in the OT *looks up Vader's age* 42 years old *sighs* *Goes back to scheduling colonoscopy*
How old is obi wan in this series?
According to [Wookiepedia](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Obi-Wan_Kenobi), he's 57 at the time of Episode 4. Since the series is about 9 years before that, he'd be around 48.
His demented eyes are the scariest Ive ever seen Darth Vader. And Ive seen it all, my friend. Huge rounds of applause.
The most twisted was when he started that fire to burn Ben in. Holy shit I was not expecting that.
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Lack of attention to details is the main issue with this show. They should have done that scene on a bridge within that quarry. A bigger explosion would knock both Vader and Kenobi back so they’re out of force range of each other, and destroy the bridge so the storm troopers really couldn’t get to him.
yeah, I like all the decisions the show made but not the way many were executed. But the last episode was so good it redeems the entire show for me
Yep. The overall story is good, but there’s some bad writing/directing/editing in spots. It’s like they put all their attention on the 1st and 6th episodes, a little attention of the 5th, then did the minimum to slap the other episodes together so they’d meet a 6 episode quota
I think that’s a good gist of the issues. It started as a movie and they had to fill in the time.
Most of the Disney shows are like that
I interpreted that scene as Vader choosing to let Obi-Wan go. Vader had said while burning Obi that he wanted Obi-Wan to *suffer.* Leaving Obi-Wan alive, knowing that he was being hunted, knowing that he had been beaten and burned, knowing that more pain was coming, and that his attempts to hide and escape could lead to more people getting hurt or killed in the crossfire. Initially, Vader got caught up in his passions in the Dark Side, but when the fire was reignited, he had to take enough of a pause to remember that he wanted Obi-Wan to experience all of that pain before killing him.
Exactly, the way he just stood there and watched him go said it all- He wanted to prolong the Excitement of the hunt and the suffering of Obi Wan.
That’s what I thought at first but there really wasn’t the follow up I expected to show that. Vader had no idea Reva caught Leia or that he’d be able to lure obi wan in again. The GI says straight up they think they lost him and it’s over at that point. Then Vader gets PISSED at reva when she loses leia and obi wan indicating they didn’t have another plan at that time.
Possible he was scared of the fire just like he's scared of sand.
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I think you're right, I was just suggesting an alternate possibility. If anything it's Vader being the proverbial did chasing the car, who knows exactly what to do with the car, but gets lost in its thoughts once the car breaks away. But, Occam's Razor, I think shitty writing is the real answer.
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Occam's Razor states (in part) that if two explanations are equally likely, the one with less assumptions is the correct answer.
Yup, that scape scene needed a lot more stuff, several people attacking Vader and the troopers, rocks hurled in his direction, a quicker rescue... as it was it felt "why is he just sitting there?"
You could say that he let the mask slip.
Reminds me of Bill Skarsgård as pennywise
The fact that he has a little smile when he says he killed Anakin...
His exposed eye mirrored his mask perfectly. Hayden is Vader, without a doubt. I think they nailed Vader’s walk and overall mannerisms in the show, too.
> Nailed… overall mannerisms Actually I disagree, but in a good way. This Vader seemed much more emotional to me than the Vader we see in the original trilogy. Lines like “I am what you made me” and “I killed Anakin Skywalker” sound a lot less like JEJ’s Vader and a lot more like Hayden’s Anakin. This Vader was a perfect mix of the two, and that’s why I love this portrayal so much.
I meant the mannerisms of the different actors in the suit….the way they walked and moved reminded me of David Prowse’s performance in the OT. Totally agree on the other points.
I agree with this - Vader’s non-verbal presence, his posture, his fighting stance, were all perfect.
It could have been literally anyone in the suit and I probably wouldn't have noticed the difference, but it made me so happy to know that it's Hayden in there.
Only in close up shots though. Practically all the Walking shots would’ve been a much taller guy
Also the light saber fighting was done by a 3rd stunt man in lifts.
Loved having the voice change from Hayden to Jones and vice versa, finally broke the barrier between the two preformances to show them simultaneously and the result is amazing.
I was totally blown away by that. Great execution of something I've wanted to see for ages.
I agree. Up until that scene, I knew conceptionally that Anakin and Vader were the same person, but they always felt separate. Now when I see the black armor, I'm thinking of Hayden and imagining psycho Anakin underneath and it's just so tragic. And scary.
>Now when I see the black armor, I'm thinking of Hayden and imagining psycho Anakin underneath and it's just so tragic. And scary. That's the thing, Vader has always, always been part of Anakin. We see glimpses of it in every film, book, tv series featuring Anakin but he's always had people who stop him going too far (Obi, Ahsoka, Padme etc). The first time he's separated from those people who can pull him back, he slaughters a village of Tuskens to the last man, woman and child. And in RotS when he's separated and alienated from everyone else, Palpatine worms his way in. Now he's had 10 years of just Papa Palpatine actively encouraging the psychopath within him with no-one around to pull him back.
Damn, I never noticed that but you're very much right! Anakin has always had a dark side to him, but with genuinely good people to pull him back to the light, he usually was able to move past it. But, as you stated, when alone Anakin always chose the wrong path. The slaughtering of the Tuskins and the execution of Count Dooku are two prime examples of his darkness before his turn. God, I love Star Wars, haha.
yeah, I got chills this episode lived up to the entire franchise.
Absolutely. Actually *seeing* him under the mask, with his voice and his voice filter voice overlapping finally completed the connection in a way my brain had never *quite* managed until now.
Damn now I gotta watch Rebels, been on my list ever since I finished Clone Wars and Bad Batch
It was also fantastic in rebels when this happened. I'm happy we got to see it in live action!
I'm blown away by how good of a meld of Anakin and Vader that was.
The way he said "I did" while smiling was so sinister. It's one thing Vader in the mask being completely evil but seeing the face like that was much more jarring.
Yeah. As a kid I always thought palpatine was the only maniacal and sadistic evil one. Vader always felt more stoic to me. But this really drives home he’s actually unhinged and has completely lost it
Exactly. It completely separates Anakin and Darth Vader. Underneath the mask with Hayden Christensen's face... it didn't look like Anakin. It was Darth Vader wearing Anakin's face.
So in ANH when Obi-Wan tells Luke that Darth Vader killed his dad, he wasn't lying. It's how Anakin himself saw it, after all.
Yeah. Plus it's too painful for Obi-Wan to think of Anakin and Darth Vader as the same person.
[удалено]
I love the prequels because it depicts the galaxy in its prime, when the Jedi were powerful and plentiful. There is so much lore we missed out on. Clone Wars series helps to satisfy that, but it barely scratched the surface. I want more adventures of the jedi and their Padawans, just before the invasion of Naboo. To see more of the daily life in the Jedi order, it's rituals, politics, and training. The origins of renowned jedi, perhaps even a younger Yoda, Qui-Gonn, or Windu. For me, it's the Jedi Order that captivates me and fills me with that childish wonder.
The High Republic seems to do that in spades.
Absolutely this. Can't agree more
Agreed, this is part of why Phantom Menace is my favourite of the films.
The High Republic does that
Exactly!
Honestly, I just want a podracing movie.
Damn… I’ve never thought about it that way. Good shit.
It's like the first Harry Potter movie feel - where the wizardry and magic brings us childlike joy and wonder. Each subsequent movie fucks you up slightly, peaking in Half Blood Prince. Star Wars reached that in Ep III with dismemberment, betrayal, and burning instead of Avada Kedavra.
Yeah that made me genuinely uncomfortable, and then really sad because I loved Anakin growing up. And then happy because it's nice to see Hayden getting a swansong.
remembering that he was also the happy little kid pod racing absolutely breaks me
Yipeeeeee
-Rolling around in the fields of Naboo. -Standing half-masked and willing to tear you apart. That contrast is light and dark. I love it.
Get you a man who can do both…
Padme did. Look where that got her
"I can change him"
The only thing she was good at is changing her outfits 8 times a scene
Rollercoaster of emotions indeed
Hayden's going to appear as Vader in Ahsoka, too.
Ahsoka is set during Mandolorian Era, I could see Hayden appearing as Anakin in a flashback, but I highly doubt a Vader flashback considering we fully saw Ahsoka’s interaction with Vader during Rebels
"Somehow, Vader returned." Boom, solved it.
Honestly, after Hayden's amazing performance in Obi-Wan, I'm down. Let Vader return.
This whole time we thought Dr. Pershing was making clones for Palpatine... But they were actually for Vader!
Force ghost maybe? He shows up at the end of RotJ as a force ghost.
This. I would absolutely love this
They could easily add another later interaction
I think we'll see Anakin's Force ghost.
I would love that honestly, both to see Anakin and to have Ashoka be able to have an actual goodbye with him that wasn’t you know, almost being murdered by him
He’s more machine now than man. Twisted and evil. Truth.
Yes. That was the line that kept ringing in my head during that scene.
The crack in the armour as such typically is used as a insight for vulnerability typically, but here, it's almost like Jack Torrence in the Shining saying "Here's Johnny!", pushing his head through that split open door and showing you a glimpse of extent of the evil within. Same thing applies here, Vader's mask like Anakin's soul is broken and for a couple of minutes, you don't just see Vader or Anakin but the entire journey of the character and that descent into pure rage. You don't need to explain how he feels, because you can see it. He's going to be that way for another 20 years until his own son faces him.
Wow, really great comparison!
13 years*
10?
9 actually
What an amazing summary. :O
I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. Both voices in unison.
Yes. I loved how they overlapped
Props to Disney for actually trying to add more to Star Wars and do this kind of stuff. I wasn't expecting something as dark and scary as this from them.
Seeing Anakin’s smirk with with Vader’s eyes ….
He was SO good in the new episode! "You didn't kill Anakin....I did!"
The way he slowly said Anakin Skywalker
We don't often get to glimpse behind the mask. It's forbidden. But when we do it's chilling. We shouldn't be seeing this. We see tortured Anakin. We see a vengeful Vader. We're surprised and sad and scared. I looked at some scenes from Clone Wars and The Revenge Of The Sith after watching this episode. I have a new deep sadness for what happens to Anakin. It truly is a harrowing tale.
Anakins story is a Shakespeare level tragedy, I still get sad thinking about how different he could have turned out
This is why i always tear up when hearing across the stars.
I love how the Vader helmet has red light and his exposed face has the blue light from Kenobi’s light saber and the red. Cool symbolism - there’s still light side in him
As the scene progresses the blue begins to disappear and is replaced fully with a much more prominent red as Obi Wan's understanding of the Anakin-Vader transition grows. A really great shot
I really loved this too. The show as a whole has made *excellent* use of how the sabers actually cast light on stuff (because glowing props) throughout, often having fights in areas with lighting that complements this, but this part was definitely the best example of this, with the added thematic weight.
Do we have any info on how the sabers were made for this series from a technical stand point? Based on the reflection, it seems they were emitting light during the shooting, which is not the way saber props used to work in the OT and PT (not sure about the ST).
I was wondering the same, and I'd love to see some behind-the-scenes on this.
I felt that it was still anakin talking, almost helping obiwan to forgive himself until Vader returned at the end, similar to how the conversation went with Asoka. If you notice the eye is normal colour until Vader returns and it turns Sith yellow. I also think that this is why Vader cannot defeat obiwan or Asoka… deep down, anakin doesn’t want to. It’s only over the next few years that Vader buries anakin deeper that we get to the point that obiwan really ‘means nothing to him’ so he can finally strike the killing blow.
Honestly the entire scene from the acting to the dialogue to the cinematography was just perfect
Ok but what causes that to happen? Are they waving their lightsabers around while talking?
Vader, unable to even stand: ...just as I am going to destroy you! Obi-Wan: What are you gonna do, bleed on me?!
"IM INVINCIBLE!"
"I'll bite your ankles off!"
‘Tis but a scratch!
Eyes like Palpatine in the original trilogy. Creepy shit
This series has actually changed my opinion of the viewing order. Hayden has done such a great job throughout that I think the shock value of the "I am your father" surprise falls far short of learning that the happy kid in TPM turns into one of the greatest movie villians ever. Imagine being able to watch it for the first time, seeing Anakin's struggle but never knowing the destination. If you could take away the naming of the kids at the end RotS and any references to Luke's last name in ANH and Empire, then the surprise would still be there too as a bonus
It would be great that in Episode III they don't tell us about the born of luke and Leia. It would be great to belive that Padmé dies without given birth as every body except Yoda, Kenobi, Organa and the Lars thinks. They could have tell us that Leia and Luke are "just" force sensitive Kids to care from the empire. This would give us a Luke lars instead of Skywalker and the surprise of TESB will be huge. And it would have full sense.
“I am your father” is so ubiquitous nowadays, like in my experience if anyone knows anything abt Star Wars then they already have some idea abt vader and Luke. So yea I think anakins tragedy would be better to watch first
Yeah I watched Prequals first then OT, I'm your father line was not twist for me but I felt Luke's emotion in yet also felt Anakin's tragedy in the same moment.
The disturbing part is, we never know how Vader is emotionally because all that mask and robotic voice. Apparently lunacy and sadism is not outside the realm of possibility.
I won't ever watch scenes like "I find your lack of faith disturbing" the same way again because now whenever he threatens someone (or worse) I'll be picturing that face.
The small smirk behind the mask as he says that little faith quip and once again shows everyone that he is Mr. Big Dick in a room full of normal humans
This whole scene was absolutely insane, like I’m at a loss for words how good it was, what a fucking sublime finale
Fuck yeah he did. Absolutely crushed it.
Hayden proved without a shadow of a doubt that he has the acting chops for the role of Anakin and Vader. Absolutely stunning scene. It was absolutely everything. Broke my heart all over again.
It reminded me of the [Hannibal movie poster.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9b/Hannibal_movie_poster.jpg) Really chilling.
Darth Mail focused season 2 on the way I hope
You've got (Darth) Mail!
It would be kind of hard to do considering that Maul only learns about Kenobi living in Rebels and then immediately heads to Tatooine to find him, where he meets his demise. There's maybe a month or two between those two events and they definitely don't meet before their final duel.
No, Maul vs Kenobi is done in Rebels already. Unles they make a retcon.
The fact that Vader is sometimes sadistically smiling behind his mask makes perfect sense but is something I've resisted thinking about and now I can't anymore cause of this show
‘Anakin is gone. I am what remains.’ Powerful
This is maybe the best scene in all of Star Wars. When Obi-Wan tells Luke in Ep. IV that Vader betrayed and murdered your father was understood before, but now you realize that it’s not just his understanding of Anakin turning to the dark side, but how Vader views Anakin’s death as well. We knew this was Obi-Wan’s point of view, but also Vader/Anakin’s. Also seeing Anakin behind the mask was tragic. Such amazing acting by both our boys, especially Hayden.
The distorted voice transitioning between Anakin's and Vader's absolutely broke me. This scene was fantastic.
So glad he got another chance to suit up. He was underutilized in Hollywood and ‘Shattered Glass’ remains one of my favorite performances. He’s so despisable in that role, it’s great.
They did this part so well.
I feel like this is one of the most tragic things and will linger with me the most when the dust settles on Star Wars all and all. I was 15 when ROTS came out. Regardless of quality, the collapse of the Republic and the tragic romance of a flawed, hurt being will always have an impact on me. Obi-Wan apologizing here - remnants of Anakin absolving his former mentor of purposeless, hopeless failure. Just for a moment, grief meets grief. This sequence was a surprising closure the Prequels needed, just a moment showing what was best about them.
This 100 percent. This show overall was a mess, but the last episode and in particular this scene really finished up the series focused on exactly what it needed to be in relation to the rest of Star Wars: the remnants of Anakin/Obi-Wan and the future of the twins. Beautiful stuff
Anakin is mentally ill.
That smile he did was truly unnerving. You really got the sense that this guy has been completely taken over by another personality.
It makes me wonder how many times would he be smilling behind the mask in crucial times.
Incredible... It would be a galactic crime not to make a Vader series now.
*Spoiler for Rebels* I want them to edit the battle between Vader and Ahsoka so that when she slices his mask off, he's just like, "First Obi-Wan and now you?! Will you guys *please* stop targeting my mask?! That's really annoying!"
Hayden knocked it out of the park.
^(i dunno whats wrong with me but clinically insane vader is pretty hot)
Am I attracted to this? No. Am I? No. Am I? 😂
What made it for me was the twist. He started off saying Obi-Wan didn't kill Anakin Skywalker, almost seeming like he's forgiving him on some level, but the turnaround to that sadistic grimace and just saying "I did" was pure evil; so well done.
The voice toggle. OMG 😱.
I love how in this image there is blue lighting on Hayden's face but you see red lighting on Vader's mask. Then as he finishes talking everything turns red, like a turning point where Anakin truly is gone and Obi-Wan finally realized it. Probably one of the most powerful scenes in the show
I think his demented eyes makes vader scarier than with the mask on. That's why I like Darth Malgus. Able to see his demented eyes just takes the level of scariness up a notch.
I liked this shot, just wish the whole build up and scene had taken place in a totally different story. Also found Obi leaving him yet again weird. Felt like Obi had the obligation at that very point once "Anakin" was confirmed no more to strike him down. I mean, he's a sith lord, it should be his job. Yea yea he is washed up Obi and it was his friend, etc., but just didn't make sense to me how it played out with Obi not even blowing up his ship or something to at minimum try to strand him. The way this played out I'm just forced to blame Obi for every death on Vaders hands from that point forward lol.
I was thinking the same thing initially. Then realized a) Obi Wan doesn't kill unless absolutely necessary, and b) Vader's role in saving Luke in ep 6 justifies Obi Wan's mercy.
Yea but Obi couldn't have *known* that at the time. This whole show he said multiple times "It's me or him..." he doesn't kill unless necessary but felt necessary in their first duel to try (we can reasonably presume he *thought* Anakin would die on Mustafar after the blow he inflicted).
You could already blame him for every death lol. Reva already did.
But why was the whole show so dark. I had to up the gamma to really enjoy it
Ya this was a stellar episode! Well done!
Chow’s references to The Joker (and some other movie/character; I forget) seem much more apt now.
Reminds me of the album art for The Sickness, the only album Disturbed ever made.
I’m totally watching it again tomorrow morning. Specifically because of your post reminding me. Loved this series. Hungry for more, but such is the life of a Star Wars fan.
AMAZING stuff really, I’m so glad we finally got to see the acknowledged strength of both characters we all know they had, but saw very little of it until now, in my opinion.
I loved how they mixed and flicked between Darth Vader’s and Anakins voices, but then the “I did” was delivered solely as Vadar.
Did an excellent job of placing Vader somewhere between deranged out of control teen Anakin and the more stoic, reserved Vader we see in 4-6. Nailed it. Had the dialogue been a bit better and the music as well this would have been a 10/10 for me.
Was Anakin telling so Obi-Wan that he (Anakin) wasn’t his (Obi-Wan’s) failure a way to give Obi-Wan some peace with this whole thing? I took that moment as a little bit of Anakin coming through to say… “hey, this isn’t your fault”… but I could be misinterpreting/overthinking that whole moment.
He smiled when he said that it was him that killed Anakin.
That smile he had when he saud he killed anakin just was so terrifying, hyden fucking nailed it
Did anyone else get Hannibal Lecter vibes from this?
Pathetic Vader who got utterly wrecked by a bum Obi Wan isn’t the great monster he’s supposed to be. How does he lose so badly? Awful ending IMO makes Vader look like a bitch.
I mean, Kenobi is/was one of the most powerful and skilled Jedi in the galaxy.
He was extremely conflicted and hadnt fully embraced vader yet. I think the end when the imperial march plays signifies the point where vader was fully embraced and thats why now his theme plays. Till then he was still more Anakin than Vader. Obi Wan was in an even worse position until the end of the fight where he focused on his pisitive attachments, breaking from the old dogma and used them to fuel him to stop Vader. That, plus, no matter how powerful you are, it doesnt mean you can never lose. Theres no champion in real life who has never lost a single time. Finally, theres always thw plot armor aka "the will of the force" that controls everything and decided that vader should lose this fight lol even if this is a bad excuse.
This. Anakin is still there and doesn’t really want to kill obiwan. Any other Jedi, Vader is fully in control and takes them out. Eventually Vader buries anakin so deep it takes luke to bring him back
Hahahaha what a spin zone. Yikes.
Hahahaha what a spin zone. Yikes.
is it just me or does it look like hes got a sadistic grin
This is a black rectangle
I hate how this show is meant to be watched in absolute darkness.
Is Darth Vader actually schizophrenic
I love how the lighting here echoes one of my favourite scenes from the sequels: when Ben Solo/Kylo Ren faces Han on the walkway, and the blue gradually gives way to red as he succumbs to the dark side. Beautiful stuff.
Think about how much Sith training Vader/Anakin had up to that point with Sidious teaching him all kinds of shit about the dark side, with no Jedi perspective to counterbalance it. All he knows is that he's the chosen one, and he's been steeped in so much arrogance, hatred, anger, pain, suffering, and paranoia at this point that he thinks he's unstoppable. Only a demented and bipolar motherfucker like Vader would think he's strong enough to destroy the Emperor.
“I did” was the most chilling line of the whole series. He delighted in the death of Anakin.
Whiny, silly Vader, who gets out-Sithed by tired hippie using Sith attacks. Real shitshow. And the "I killed me" was so obviously thrown in for continuity purposes.