Why Obi-Wan Let Vader Live AGAIN After Vowing to End Him - My Analysis

In episode 6 of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show on Disney plus, we saw Obi-Wan fight Anakin / Vader once again, and this time, let him live again.
I see a lot of discourse regarding him letting Kenobi live, so here's my take on it.
Do you think Obi-Wan should have let him live? Do you think it makes sense?
I think it fits well with A New Hope where Vader tells Obi-Wan '''when I left you I was but the learner...now I am the master.'

Join this channel to get access to perks:

Continue the conversation on the Theory forums!

[regenschirm]

To me, it would have been cool to see Obi Wan (reluctantly) ready to kill Vader, but Qui Gon's voice tell him not to, kinda like he did to Anakin as he was killing the tusken raiders

[gariciu]

Frodo: “It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance."
Gandalf: "Pity? It is pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment." -Tolkien

[juyeevang]

I kinda hoped Obi-Wan would’ve said something along the lines of “I know there’s good in you. Padme believed there’s still good in you” which would’ve pissed off Vader hearing Padme’s name and lead to him saying “Anakin is gone!” This would also connect to how in Return of the Jedi when Luke said all the “I feel the good in you” stuff, Vader responded with “Obi-Wan once thought as you do.” I think this would’ve made the scene that much more emotional than it already is.

[alexanderthomas]

The problem is that Obi-wan says “then my friend is truly dead.” He realizes that there is no hope to save him, and refers to him as “Darth, ” not Anakin. He now has every reason in that moment to finish him off, in order to protect Luke, Leia, other Jedi in hiding, and the potential millions of innocents that Vader would go on to murder in the future. At the very least he should have finished him off to put him out of his misery, in the name of the love he had for his former best friend.

[porcu]

I think this scene would have been the perfect opportunity to have the Qui-Gon cameo. Have Qui-Gon speak to Obi-Wan's mind and tell him that he would not be the one to defeat Vader, and that he may yet bring balance to the force. It would have made way more sense than Obi-Wan just walking away after vowing moments before that one of them would die, and it would add to why Obi-Wan doesn't even try to beat Vader in A New Hope and just lets him strike him down.

[DLFLux]

If OWK hadn’t seen Anakin’s face, he’d have probably gone for the kill, but after revealing his face, he realised he wasn’t just fighting Vader, he was fighting Anakin. Ben had a burst of power from the force drawing from emotion, thinking about the twins, think of it like an adrenaline rush, seeing Anakin’s face stopped this rush. Kenobi was in beast mode and then once he realised what was going on, the rush was over.

[Wook]

I can see where you're coming from but I don't believe Darth Vader or Obi-Wan are able to be completely honest in their dialogue. My head canon is that Obi-Wan still sensed Anakin in Darth Vader (when he calls him Darth, it comes off as mocking as Obi-Wan believes he is not aware of it himself). As a student of Qui-Gon, someone who believed in the Living Force, Obi-Wan's instincts told him to spare Darth Vader's life. Perhaps in the short term, killing Darth Vader prevents more tragedy but it is not what the Living Force is telling him. I think that Obi-Wan finally being able to see Qui-Gon's Force Ghost is an acknowledgment that Obi-Wan is on the right path and made the decision attuned to the Living Force.

I think something worth mentioning is that I think there's a good chance that Darth Vader might have spared Obi-Wan when he was toying with him in Episode 3.

On the gradient of the pacing, it comes off that they worked backwards from the last episode. The writers knew that they needed Obi-Wan to best Darth Vader (if there was any direct conflict between the two) and they needed to be sure to set the pieces so the story can still flow into A New Hope.

It might be interesting to look into how the 6 different episodes map onto the prequel and original trilogy, they might rhyme.

[TheInvisibleCactusYT]

Obi Wan literally said in the episode 5 flashback “A Jedis purpose is to protect life not take it”

[danielyerbme]

It almost like Vader kind of wants someone to kill him he always toys with people but because they’re not strong/worthy enough they can’t beat him.

[fierceblade]

Similarly Anakin spared Kenobi twice in this series: when he cast him out of the fire and when he left him under the rubble without sensing him going cold. They just can’t bring themselves to kill one another. For Vader it is ab beating Kenobi and for Kenobi it is ab stopping this evil

[MoonMan]

I saw it as Obi-Wan was conflicted about killing Anakin. In his mind he believes Anakin is gone but subconsciously I think he still has hope Anakin could return. He still loves Anakin, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he actually struck him down. Almost similar to how Anakin is conflicted about Obi-Wan aswell.

[michaelaper]

Here’s a theory on Kenobi’s perceived power during this fight with Vader: As you mentioned in another video, Obi Wan enters the fight with renewed strength that was similar to his strength as a Jedi had been. Kenobi’s strength comes full force when he is in desperation and contemplating the twins. Mind you, he’s not just considering his responsibility or duty to them, but he is overwhelmed with his love for them. Time and time again, we see Obi Wan become much more powerful when he allows his attachments to motivate him. He was trained his whole life in the temple to reject attachments, but he can’t help but love Satine, Anakin, Luke, and Leia. His attachment is what strengthens him, so that he comes out of the pit with newfound power to absolutely overwhelm Vader. I think it is similar to their experience on Mustafar in ROTS. Further, this is why Obi Wan is able to see Quigon on Tatooine. Quigon was committed to serving the living force above the Jedi counsel, which is why he was the first to transcend the counsel’s abilities, even that of Yoda. I think that Quigon understands that being a steward of the living force means being balanced in purpose and passions. Star Wars has never been about finding balance between dark and light side. That was the greatest farce of The Last Jedi. To “bring balance to the force” means balance in passion for the sake of love. That is why Quigon became self actualized after death. That is why Luke became a Jedi master. And ultimately, that is why Anakin had the strength to defeat the emperor in ROTJ. Anakin was motivated in the light side of the force by his love for his son. Luke’s mastery was in his understanding of his passion for his friends, his sister, and his father. He never denied himself the passion, he just ruled over the passion rather than letting it rule over him. So when Kenobi fights Vader in this final episode of the season, he is strengthened in the force by his motivation of passion and love. That’s why he defeated Vader, that’s why he couldn’t kill Vader, and that’s why he can begin his training with Quigon.

[NirvanaClay]

The fact that Vader said ‘Anakin wasn’t your failure. I killed Anakin’ actually implied that Anakin was still there, despite what he literally said. Anakin wanted to relieve him of his guilt. That created sympathy in Obi Wan to where he couldn’t kill him.

[alvarobr]

To me Obi-wan was ready to kill Vader, he was fully committed during their fight. It was like the old days, fighting a droid, a very powerful one, very much like facing Grievous again. UNTIL he saw his face, until he heard his voice. Obi-wan face changed, he then realized who he was really fighting. He was so much into putting an end to Vader that he forgot who he really was. After ten years, he saw Anakin again, what remains of him, the very same way he left him, phisically and mentally damaged . His heart broke once again. He could kill Vader, he had defeated him twice now, but he cannot kill Anakin. That is Obi-wan weakness. Anakin was his brother, he'd rather die than kill him. He simply can't. Seeing him again brought enough pain and memories to Obi-wan. So of course he left, how could anyone kill his brother.

"The bond between a jedi teacher and his apprentice is strong"

Anyway that's MY view on this matter. Loved this scene either way. "I'm not your failure, Obi-wan", c'mon i'm already crying

[Podemeister]

As soon as his face was partially revealed and Kenobi's initial reaction was to see Anakin, and feel sorrow, there was no way he was going to be able to kill him. And finishing off somebody when they are down and beaten is "not the Jedi way", as we saw with Luke vs Vader, but not Anakin vs Dooku..

[SWPhoenixSquadron]

Letting him live the first time worked out so well… I’m going to let him live again. What’s the worst that could happen? It’ll be fine…

[boonebanterra]

Vader CLEARLY states that Anakin is dead.
Kenobi CLEARLY accepts and agrees stating “then my friend is truly dead” so then why not eliminate this GALACTIC THREAT AKA VADER? You’re gonna just walk away knowing this? After witnessing him kill those innocent ppl in order to lure out Kenobi?? Kenobi let a Jedi die earlier on but now supposedly has enough “pity” to let a galactic tyrant (because remember, Kenobi has already accepted Anakin is dead) live by just walking away. There should’ve been a final saber blow after the “goodbye Darth” 🤦🏾‍♂️

As much as I really do appreciate Theory trying to make sense of this, one simply cannot piece together things that aren’t there.

[tonybatte]

He did not finish him because this was the exact moment he realized that Qui-Gon was right and the prophecy was true. 

 When he was in the pit of rock he felt the importance of Luke/Leia and this vision gave him his path which gained him strength in the force.. When Obi-Wan cut open Vaders mask and he seen the light and the dark side flashes on his face and in his eyes he knew that Vader/Anakin must live in order to fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the force. Qui-Gon finally appeared to him at the end of the episode signifying this insight.

He understood Anakin must live and never tried to kill him again, even on the Death Star. Obi-Wan knew he must live to fulfill the prophecy, Luke/Leia were critical to this even if he didn't understand exactly why.

[duckymomo]

It would have made more sense if Palpatine went over Vader’s head and ordered a platoon to Stormtroopers to come to his aid. That way Kenobi wins the duel, but is forced to leave.

[gooselord]

He didn't only see leia when he was burried, he also saw luke, I don't think it was his love that gave him strength it was his hope for the future being restored when he saw leia being like padme and Luke (pretending to podrace) being like anakin in the phantom menace. He's seeing them as a second chance for the galaxy where things can turn out better