‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: 3 Ways the Finale Sets Up ‘A New Hope’
Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place in between Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV — A New Hope. Many fans had questions about this series: how it would bridge the gap between the two trilogies and how it would answer any plot holes. The finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi provided several moments that tied into A New Hope and answered several questions brought up by this show’s existence.
It may not clear up everything, but many moments connect the dots between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy.
Here are 3 ways the ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ finale sets up ‘A New Hope’
After their duel, Obi-Wan calls Anakin ‘Darth’
In the second duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen), Obi-Wan cuts a hole in Vader’s mask, revealing the scarred face of his former padawan. Obi-Wan feels guilt over what he has done to Anakin, but Vader says that Obi-Wan did not kill Anakin on Mustafar. Vader killed him when he transitioned to the dark side.
In response, Obi-Wan leaves and says, “Goodbye, Darth,” meaning that in his eyes, Anakin is dead and is no longer the person that Obi-Wan once knew. It also makes more sense now why Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) tells Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) that Vader killed his father in A New Hope. He does explain why he told Luke this in Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, but now we know why Obi-Wan felt this was the truth.
Obi-Wan says goodbye to Leia
One major plot hole that arises with this series is that in A New Hope, Leia (Carrie Fisher) seems to not know who Obi-Wan is in the message she sends to him. This rescue mission contradicts this, considering Leia knows Obi-Wan now. In the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale, after Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) returns to Alderaan with Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), Obi-Wan visits to return her droid, Lola.
Obi-Wan and Leia have a conversation where he tells her more about her parents but also warns her that nobody can know that they know each other or it could put them both in danger. This means that when Leia records her message in A New Hope, she needs to make it seem like they didn’t know each other in case the Empire intercepted the recording.
Darth Vader calls off the search for his former master
In A New Hope, Darth Vader still had not located his son nor Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. After their fight in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale, Vader is filled with rage and wants to tear open every corner of the galaxy in order to find his former master. However, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), appearing via hologram, calls him out, suggesting he may not be over his past.
Sensing the message from his new master, Vader tells Palpatine that Obi-Wan means nothing and that he can move forward without worrying about him. This explains why the Empire never did much digging around Tatooine until the escape pod containing R2-D2 and C-3PO landed on the planet.
The finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney+.
