The Franchise Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises in the world. One of its iconic characters, Darth Vader, has been the main face of this franchise. Still, in the franchise, he hates Obi-Wan Kenobi from the bottom of his heart, so much that he would sacrifice anything to kill him.
Why does he hate him so much? Let’s dive deep into our Submarine.
Why Does Darth Vader Hate Obi-Wan So Much?
Although Darth Vader was genuine before turning into a whole different person, his personality burned into ashes when he joined forces with the Dark Side and became “Darth Vader”. But even so, is there a reason why he has a burning hatred for Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Vader is now a different personality, but deep inside, there are still a few pieces of his past life hanging around. He might have joined forces with the Dark Side, but small pieces of his old self, Anakin Skywalker, live inside him. That’s why he hates Obi-Wan Kenobi from the bottom of his heart.
The hatred that Vader has for Kenobi is so massive that once he lets a group of Force-Sensitive warriors leave him alone so he can take his revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi. When the Grand Inquisitor consoled him about his recent orders, he told him that Kenobi was not just an ordinary Jedi.
The remaining pieces of Anakin Skywalker still live inside of Vader. He can’t fully extinguish his old self because of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader doesn’t have a burning hatred for Kenobi because he made him suffer, cut his limbs, or left him for dead. He hates him because he can’t get rid of his old self, Anakin Skywalker.
Even in the Sar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Luke believed that there was still a good side living inside that mask. He could pull that good side of Vader and force him to betray the orders of the Emperor and save his son. This wasn’t Darth Vader. It was Anakin who kept Luke, a side of him that he wanted to forget from the inside.
The Emperor of the Dark Side, Darth Sidious, also believed that Anakin was still living inside of Vader because of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sidious also questioned Vader, but he replied that Obi-Wan Kenobi was nobody for him. But it was obvious that Kenobi was the most precious person to him after Padme.
The Sith Lord, Darth Vader, hates Obi-Wan Kenobi from the bottom of his heart because he is the most precious person of Anakin Skywalker, and because of that, he can’t get rid of his old self. He wanted to kill Anakin from the inside, but Kenobi was preventing that from happening.
In the last battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader, the Sith Lord remained victorious. He had thought that he could now forget his old self and become a Darth Vader fully, but Kenobi wasn’t the only important person in his life. His children, Luke and Leia, are the core member of Anakin Skywalker. After knowing about his children being still alive, he could never become Darth Vader fully.
But why was Obi-Wan Kenobi so important for Anakin Skywalker that he couldn’t kill his old self because of him? What is their relationship?
Did Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme had an affair? Kenobi and Anakin’s relationship
Before jumping straight to conclusions, let’s see how these two met for the first time in the franchise.
Obi-Wan Kenobi encountered Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine before the War of Naboo. When he met Anakin, he was just a 10-year-old boy. He was also called the “Chosen One” by Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Even Kenobi was shocked when he saw that a 10-year-old boy was extremely talented.
After the request of Qui-Gon, Kenobi took Anakin as his Padawan and taught him to become a good Jedi. As we all know, Anakin had hold of a powerful force, and he had no idea how to control it. To control such an extraordinary force, he needed the help of a strong Jedi, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was perfect for that.
Kenobi helped the little boy to control his power and taught him many things related to life. He became a good teacher and leader who showed the proper path for Anakin. From that day onwards, they created a deep bond with each other.
Kenobi had played an essential role in the life of Anakin Skywalker. He guided, taught him many things, and eventually made him a good Jedi Warrior, but who knew that this happy moment between Kenobi and Anakin would only last a few moments.
Eventually, Anakin got manipulated by Palpatine. He showed him the flaws of the Jedi and made him believe that they were trying to get rid of him. He even told Anakin that something between Padme and Kenobi was going on as they were having an affair, and this led him to hate Kenobi more than ever.
Palpatine successfully manipulated him and turned him into Darth Vader. Although he had stated that he had released his old self, that was completely false. In the final moments of Padme, she told a name, and it wasn’t of Anakin. Instead, it was Kenobi. She kept calling his name, which made nerves run wild with hatred for Kenobi,
After this event, he believed that Kenobi and his wife must’ve had an affair. He was growing with hatred for Kenobi and started to jump to various conclusions. He started to think of every moment that Kenobi and Padme had spent together. His inner demon began to play games with his emotions.
Vader’s hatred started to grow rapidly and pushed him further to the World of Dark. Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi had a perfect relationship in the beginning. Still, it took no time for them to become each other’s greatest enemies.
Did Obi-Wan Kenobi let Darth Vader win?
The answer is a yes. Kenobi let Darth Vader kill him during their great lightsaber duel. But a question gets raised, why did Kenobi let Vader remain victorious? Let’s find out!
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Dareth Vader encounter each other for the first time in the series at Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. While Kenobi is on his way back to Falcon after rescuing Princess Leia, he encounters his former Padwan.
The most compelling answer for this is that he sacrificed himself to save Luke and the others. He distracted Vader and gave time for others to escape from the Death Star. At the last moment, before he had met his fate, he told Vader something; “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
So why did Kenobi say this, let’s get on our time bus and travel back to Revenge of the Sith. In there, Yoda tells Kenobi that Qui-Fon Jinn was able to comminute using the Force. Although he was dead, he was able to communicate with the other Jedi members.
Yod added that Kenobi would learn about technique when he is in Tattoine. When he was near his final moments, he knew that he could talk with the other JEdoi members using that technique. He understood that, in his death, he’ll become one with the Force and become a much more stronger warrior than he ever was.
He let Vader remain victorious because he knew he was confident that even after his death, he could communicate with others and teach Luke to become one of the powerful Jedi.
Reasons why Darth Vader hates Obi-Wan Kenobi
Now, let’s take a recap and see why Vader has always hated Obi-Wan Kenobi. Here are a few reasons why he hates Kenobi,
Anakin was consumed by the Dark Side.
Palpatine was successful on manipulating Anakin Skywalker since he was of a young age. When he saw Anakin having a dispute with Kenobi, he saw a perfect chance, a golden opportunity to manipulate Anakin and push him further away from the Dark force.
Anakin was now tired of showing that he was giving the best to save Padme, and no one was seeing that part, not Padme nor Obi-Wan Kenobi. He started to feel that the only force that could understand him was non-other than the Dark Force.
He started to get consumed by the Dark Force and hatred of Obi-Wan Kenobi started to grow more and more and reached to its end level. He could no longer believe in anyone. He was tired and rested his shoulder on the Dark Force.
Darth Vader couldn’t erase his past because of Obi-Wan Kenobi
Although Vader believed that he had successfully erased his past self and was the Sith Lord, he was very wrong. The small memories of him being happy when he was a member of the Jedi were still in his memories, and it was because of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Anakin only cared about Padme and Obi-Wan Kenobi. After Padme died, there was no one but Kenobi for him. His good side always tried to cross paths with his Dark Side to stop that from becoming a threat. He wanted to get rid of Obi-Wan Kenobi. That’s why he hated him so much.
He wanted to kill his old self, but Obi-Wan Kenobi was preventing that from happening.
He believed that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme had an affair
When he was being manipulated by Palpatine, he even told him that Obi-Wan Kenobi was seen leaving the house of Padme when Anakin was away from his house. This made him believe that there was something going on between his wife and Kenobi.
When he eventually turned into the Dark Side and became the Darth Vader, he found Padme in her dying moments. During her last moment, she had call the name “Kenobi.” This made Vader madder. After Padme said that, he started to believe more strongly that Padme and Kenobi had an affair.
Because he jumped straight to conclusions, he started to hate Kenobi more from the bottom of his heart for breaking his trust.
Anakin thought Obi-Wan Kenobi was trying to take Padme away from him.
Padme meant the whole world to Anakin Skywalker, and he wanted to rescue her from it, and for that, he would have gone to any length without caring about a single consequence.
He started to see dreams of Padme dying in his dreams. He was afraid that this dream would come true. That’s when Palpatine started to manipulate him and made him believe that Obi-Wan Kenobi was trying to take the love of his life away from him.
He loved Padme so much that the main reason he turned into the Dark Side was for her, to recuse her. When he heard that he was trying to take Padme away from him, his hatred for him started to grow, planting deep roots.
