After escaping from Daiyu, Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s third episode finds our hero sitting and grappling with the devastating news: His former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, is still alive.
Stowing away with Leia aboard the cargo ship, Obi-Wan again attempts to commune with Qui-Gon, but can’t stop replaying Anakin’s descent to the dark side in his head. That is juxtaposed with scenes of Darth Vader being extracted and unplugged from his bacta tank, and being installed into his iconic suit and helmet.
James Earl Jones returns as the voice of Vader, as the Sith Lord receives an update on Obi-Wan’s whereabouts from Reva. What’s more, she has pinned the slaying of the Grand Inquisitor — who is believed to be dead — on the former Jedi Master. Vader gives her two options: prove herself and become the new Grand Inquisitor, or fail and die.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Leia have landed on a mining system planet named Mapuzo. Obi-Wan observes that the fields that used to be filled with families are now barren and overrun with stormtroopers. He also has a brief vision of Anakin in his Jedi robes, though his onetime padawan isn’t really there.
When they reach the designated checkpoint provided by Haja, Obi-Wan immediately thinks he’s been lied to and now they’re stranded. Leia insists they reach out for help and flags down a repulsor truck driven by an alien named Freck (voiced by Scrubs‘ Zach Braff), who offers the “father/daughter farmers from Tawl” a ride.
The transport also picks up several stormtroopers who are looking for the Jedi outlaw. Obi-Wan nearly blows their cover when he calls Leia by her real name, quickly brushing it off as confusion because when he looks at her, he sees her mother. Which isn’t a total lie. After the stormtroopers exit, Leia picks up on the fact that Obi-Wan knew her birth mother, Padme. She in turn asks if he’s her real father, which he denies. Obi-Wan then reveals that he barely remembers his own childhood, but thinks he had a brother.
Things take a turn when they reach a inspection checkpoint. Freck secretly sells them out to the stormtroopers, forcing Obi-Wan to use his blaster (which he deemed “so uncivilized” in Revenge of the Sith). But as more stormtroopers arrive, it looks like they’re about to be taken in by an officer of the Empire (played by Game of Thrones’ Indira Varma).
That officer, Tala, though, is one of the many secret allies Haja hinted are still out there. She takes them to a safe house, known as the Path, which is used to smuggle out Jedi. Obi-Wan is surprised to see that Quinlan, the Jedi Master he teamed up with in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is a part of the secret operation. (The character also appeared in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.)
Elsewhere, Reva receives a transmission from stormtoopers that Obi-Wan has been found; she was ready to relay that information to Vader, but Fifth Brother stole the honors. Later on Mapuzo, Obi-Wan senses Vader nearby and sends Leia and Tala away. Vader also makes his presence known by murdering a father and son, and literally dragging another local through the streets.
Obi-Wan conspicuously dashes off, drawing Vader to a remote area. And in a long-awaited reunion, Obi-Wan asks Anakin what he has become, to which Vader replies, “I am what you made me.” Master and apprentice then engage in a lightsaber duel, Vader now wielding a red lightsaber while Obi-Wan rocks the classic blue.
In a move that confirms Vader is still upset about Mustafar, he lights the ground on fire with his lightsaber and drags Obi-Wan through the flames. Obi-Wan is thankfully rescued by NED-B, the nonverbal droid he met at the safe house, and Vader can only watch as they escape. Obi-Wan is badly burned, but alive.
Meanwhile, the Inquisitors have been sweeping through the streets searching for Obi-Wan’s companion. Reva found the safe house — and the secret smuggling pathway — and makes her move. And when Leia reaches the rendezvous point where the pilot is supposed to help them escape, she instead finds Reva waiting for her!
What did you think of that Darth Vader reunion in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s third episode? Drop a comment below.