Current Events > Something I really loved about Obi-Wan *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Seriously spoilers.

It showed that as good as Vader was, he was NEVER the equal of Obi-Wan Kenobi and there are multiple reasons you could argue why that is.

1. Fighting styles. Since Kenobi is literally the greatest master of defensive lightsaber fighting, the aggressive power of Vader could never get through the defense. Thus why Yoda told him to fight Vader in Episode 3. If you want to argue that lightsaber forms are canon and important, boom!
2. Vader holds back (subconsciously perhaps) against Obi-Wan as there is a large part of himself that regrets his fall to the dark side. He's not as evil as he tries to be. Against nearly all others this doesn't matter since his own self-loathing and suffering feeds into the dark side and not many people are even close to his equal. However, against Obi-Wan? His hesitation and deep rooted love for his brother in arms impacts him. Narratively you can argue that this is showing that he does still have that "Anakin Skywalker" in him.
3. Vader is actually severely limited by the suit, but his presence and demeanor unnerves his enemies and gives him a huge advantage. However, against someone who actually KNOWS the real person underneath, that psychological advantage is no longer present and thus the handicap of the suit is more prevalent. I believe the canon is that the suit made him much less agile but gave him enhanced strength and endurance... but interesting still to think about.

Arguably you combine all three of these narrative threads and it is clear Vader would never actually defeat Obi-Wan unless Obi-Wan WANTED to lose to become one with the force.

1 and 2 definitely are probably true. Not sure on 3 really in canon. He may be less limber but I'm fully of the opinion that, in the Force at least, Vader is far stronger than Anakin was.

But I think a big part of it too is that Obi-Wan trained him. No matter how far apart they get and how strong Vader grows, he still fundamentally understands the man beneath the mask, for better or worse.

Yeah the movies don't do a great job of showing it, but Obi-Wan is a legit badass with a lightsaber.

You get a better sense of Obi's prowess in the Clone Wars series.

Hayden's Vader performance was the biggest surprise for me. He definitely understands the character

LordYeezus posted...

Hayden's Vader performance was the biggest surprise for me. He definitely understands the character

They've both been toying with the idea rather seriously for what... 15 years? Longer?

Ewan vs Hayden