Darth Vader's Best Obi-Wan Kenobi Scenes Ranked By Wickedness
The quality of the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy is heavily debated, but one thing is for sure — fans of the franchise were excited to see the reunion of Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) in the series "Obi-Wan Kenobi." It turned out to be an emotional experience for both actors, who hadn't worked together for almost 20 years. "The thing that was most exciting was being on the set and watching the two of them get excited," Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy told Empire magazine. "They hadn't seen one another in a long time. I was surprised at just how incredibly emotional it was for each of them to find themselves back in these roles, and just realizing how important 'Star Wars' was to each of them."
The actors may have been happy to see each other again, but the same cannot be said of their characters. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" takes place a decade after the Jedi and the Sith faced off on Mustafar, and the title character has been haunted by the events of that day ever since. Darth Vader has only become more evil in that time, and his villainy is on full display in the Disney+ series. Let's take a look at his most wicked moments in "Obi-Wan Kenobi." Major spoilers for "Obi-Wan Kenobi" ahead.
The sparring scene is a glimpse into Anakin's dark future
In Episode 5, Anakin and Obi-Wan spar in a flashback scene. It's a great moment, particularly because we get to see Hayden Christensen's unaltered face. They are both dressed in their old clothes from the prequels, which provides viewers with a real nostalgia kick. It's like stepping back in time to a period when their relationship wasn't a complete disaster, although the warning signs are definitely there. "You grow too aggressive, Anakin," says Obi-Wan. "Be mindful. A Jedi's goal is to defend life, not take it."
This scene does a good job teasing how wicked Anakin will become in the future, highlighting the traits that ultimately hasten his downfall. Anakin is so focused on victory and blinded by the fear of failing that he begins to make rash decisions and becomes overconfident when he thinks he's won. He attacks fiercely and shows how anger can overtake him when he's trying so hard to prove himself by beating Obi-Wan. "Mercy doesn't defeat the enemy, master," says Anakin. "Which is why you're gonna lose."
In the end, of course, it's Anakin who loses. He claims victory multiple times, but Obi-Wan always rallies. This fascinating flashback gives us a glimpse into the flawed side of Anakin, but it also shows how much love there was between him and his teacher. By reminding us of their former friendship, the breakdown of their relationship becomes all the more heartbreaking.
Darth Vader threatens Reva with death
The scene between Darth Vader and Reva (Moses Ingram, who turned out to be one of the best parts of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" by far) in Episode 3 demonstrates how consumed by revenge Vader has become. With Obi-Wan leaving him to die on Mustafar the way he did, Vader has sought vengeance against his former master for his pain and suffering. He blames Obi-Wan for what's happened to him and the love that he lost. He tells Reva in this scene that getting even with Obi-Wan is all that matters to him now, which shows us how singular his focus is at this point in time.
Vader doesn't care about anything else and can't see past his hate and hurt feelings. He is determined to capture Obi-Wan at any cost and has enlisted Reva to help him do it. In a chilling moment, he tells Reva that if she fails him, she won't live to regret it. He is very matter-of-fact with his threat, but his wickedness is on full display: He expects her to find and deliver Obi-Wan to him, and he will end her life if she doesn't get him exactly what he wants. The mission of obtaining Obi-Wan overshadows everything else in his life, and he'll do every wicked thing he has to in order to get his revenge.
Darth Vader chokes Reva after she fails him
As we have seen over the years, Darth Vader has a tendency to react rashly and jump to conclusions. Like most movie villains, he does not take failure well and will do whatever is necessary to get his way. He is largely driven by emotions, which is especially evident in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Episode 4. He warned Reva that she would suffer the consequences should she fail to capture Obi-Wan for him, and when Vader thinks that she has indeed failed him, he Force chokes her, intending to kill her right there and make good on his threat.
This scene shows that Vader is a man of his word, but it also demonstrates that he is capable of misjudging a situation. Luckily for Reva, she is able to talk her way out of it. Vader stops and lets her live when she manages to blurt out that she let Obi-Wan go on purpose and put a tracker on Princess Leia's droid. By doing this, she will be able to lead Vader not only to Obi-Wan, but to a number of his allies as well. She demonstrates her value in thinking ahead to find more of his enemies, even though the only person Vader is really interested in is his old master.
Darth Vader rips apart a ship with the Force
While we're often told how powerful Darth Vader is, we don't get to see him really flexing his Force muscles very often. He does the chokehold a lot, but there is more to his power than that, as demonstrated in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Episode 5. The version of Vader we see here is definitely more powerful than the one we have seen on the big screen in years gone by. When a fleeing ship takes off, Vader stops it in the air and pulls it back down. He then rips it open with the Force to look inside, all with movement of his hands.
Even though he pulled down the wrong ship (he's looking for Obi-Wan, who isn't on board), this wicked use of the Force is fun to watch. Fans would no doubt like to see him do more of this instead of relying on his underlings to do the dirty work. Seeing him use the Force with such reckless abandon emphasizes just how wicked he really is. The scene went down well with fans of the franchise, who were quick to point out that it was an apparent nod to the classic video game "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed." In the game (which is considered part of the Legends timeline and not official canon), Vader's apprentice Starkiller does something very similar.
Putting the pieces back together
Because so much time has passed since the prequel trilogy, Darth Vader needed a spectacular entrance in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," and he got it in Episode 3. When Vader makes his entrance, he is submerged in a bacta healing tank. Despite this being ten years after his fateful fight with Obi-Wan on Mustafar, he is still using the tank, which shows he's still suffering and trying to heal (though that's not surprising considering he lost limbs and was severely burned following the battle). The contrast between Vader in the tank versus out of the tank is enlightening. He has such a commanding presence with the full Vader outfit on, but in the tank, he shows a vulnerability that he squashes the rest of the time.
Even though we don't see Hayden Christensen's face often, this look at the character is impressive. Even more impressive are the lengths he had to go to while preparing for this scene. "We knew I was going to have to hold my breath for it, so I got to work with a dive instructor to help build up my breath holds," Christensen told Cinemablend. "And I think when we were filming, I got my breath hold up to like two and a half minutes, which was not bad." He says "not bad," we say that's pretty wicked.
Darth Vader buries Obi-Wan alive and taunts him
The last fight scene between Vader and Obi-Wan is the thing we were waiting for the entire season, and we get it in the final episode of "Obi-Wan Kenobi." Their first fight featured an Obi-Wan who was out of touch with the Force and a Vader who just wanted to see him burn. In this fight, Obi-Wan is back up in strength, and Vader intends to get his revenge by making him suffer as he suffered. We see some great moves from both of them during the showdown. Perhaps the coolest moment is when Vader breaks the ground to get to Obi-Wan.
The effect is brilliant, and it's followed by a moment of pure wickedness — Vader bombards Obi-Wan with a bunch of rocks, burying him alive. As the rocks fall on top of Obi-Wan, his former student taunts him, saying, "Did you truly think that you could defeat me?" It shows his skill with the Force, but it also demonstrates that Vader isn't out to actually kill him just yet. He wants to toy with his old master first, savoring the moment he has been thinking about for years. If that isn't wicked, we don't know what is.
Darth Vader attacks innocent people to flush Obi-Wan out
In Episode 3 of "Obi-Wan Kenobi," Darth Vader shows just how wicked he is willing to be in his attempts to flush Obi-Wan out of hiding. He begins to brutally torture the innocent residents of a town, pulling them from their homes with the Force — one unfortunate man gets his neck broken by the rampaging villain as Obi-Wan watches on from the shadows, not wanting to face his former pupil. Vader knows Obi-Wan well and rightfully predicts that he won't stand for this kind of behavior. Even though Obi-Wan hasn't used the Force for years and hasn't been practicing with his lightsaber, the good in him will make him come out of hiding and fight so Vader stops hurting people.
The fact that Vader will hurt and kill others just to get to Obi-Wan shows how wicked he has become. It also shows his desperation to get to his former master and finally get the revenge he feels he deserves for Obi-Wan letting him burn alive. At this point, innocents are just collateral damage in Vader's eyes, mere pawns in the ongoing chess match between him and his former master.
The flashback to Vader killing the younglings
By far the worst thing that Anakin does as he is turning to the dark side in "Revenge of the Sith" is killing the younglings in the temple to get rid of the next generation of Jedi. This scene is brutal and shows what a monster Vader will become. We get a flashback of this shocking event during Episode 5 of "Obi-Wan Kenobi," reliving his most shameful moment. It reminds us how far gone he is and how far he has fallen since his early days under Obi-Wan.
This flashback scene also gives us more information about Reva, which is an interesting twist. By revealing that she survived while other younglings didn't, the Disney+ show gives her a concrete tie to the prequels. What we don't know is whether or not Vader knew she was still alive at the time he murdered the others. It seems like he may have known and let her live to be of use to him later.
The fact that Anakin savagely murdered children is unforgivable. Seeing the incident again is heartbreaking, but it shows what a wicked villain he really is. Killing the Sand People was bad, but this is much worse. He may have been following Palpatine's orders, but it takes a truly wicked individual to carry out such a heinous act.
Leaving Reva to die
While watching "Obi-Wan Kenobi," we are led to believe that Vader has no idea who Reva really is. Even after her true nature is revealed to Obi-Wan — that she was a youngling who survived Anakin's massacre — we are still under the impression that Vader is in the dark. For a while, we think that we know something Vader does not, but that proves not to be the case, as is revealed during Episode 5.
During the scene where Reva finally attacks Vader to seek revenge for him murdering her friends and traumatizing her, it is revealed that he actually knew who she was all along. This demonstrates his intelligence and his connection to the Force. It also shows how cunning he is to keep her in his employ and give her a false sense of hope, allowing her to believe that she will get her revenge one day. Of course, she ends up being no match for him. Like Obi-Wan did to him, the wicked Vader leaves Reva to die, but (again, just like him) she manages to survive.
Crushing Obi-Wan's spirit
The final battle between Obi-Wan and Vader promised to be epic, and it didn't disappoint. Obi-Wan cuts half of Vader's iconic mask off with his lightsaber, and there's a cool exchange in which the villain's voice is a mixture between original Vader voice actor James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen. We get to see some of Christensen's face during the scene, but the makeup artists went all-out to make him look more like the unmasked version of the character fans saw briefly in the original trilogy. "It's a good four to five hours getting all of the prosthetics put on, and I got to work with a great team of makeup artists," Christensen told Collider.
It's a powerful scene, with Ewan McGregor delivering some of his best acting of the series. The Jedi is visibly moved when he sees the face of his old friend, but Vader crushes what's left of his spirit with a wicked line. "I am not your failure, Obi-Wan," Vader tells him. "You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did. The same way I will destroy you." Obi-Wan is done at this point. "Then my friend is truly dead," he replies, a play on the famous scene from "Return of the Jedi" in which Luke Skywalker tells Vader: "Then my father is truly dead."
Burning Obi-Wan is Vader's most wicked moment
There's plenty over them over the course of the show's six episodes, but Darth Vader's most wicked moment in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" comes in Episode 3. While Vader takes responsibility for the destruction of Anakin during his final showdown with Obi-Wan, here he tells his former master: "I am what you made me." He places the blame on Obi-Wan and takes an eye-for-an-eye approach — at the end of their confrontation, Vader starts a huge fire in front of him and plunges Obi-Wan into it, watching him writhe in agony as he burns. "You should've killed me when you had the chance," he tells him. "Now you will suffer, Obi-Wan."
This act shows just how wicked and sadistic Vader is and how he needs to hurt Obi-Wan to feel better. Of course, he is going to spend the rest of the series chasing Obi-Wan since the two can't manage to kill one another at this point. Despite the fact that their fates are already dictated, this does make sense, since they were once so close. Neither of them is ready to fully put an end to things. Vader would rather torture his former master than kill him, which is truly wicked.