Rebels played a massive role in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale. It might take place five years after the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Star Wars Rebels has played a more prominent role in the series finale. A couple of episodes ago, the word ‘Dume’ was seen etched into a wall at Tala’s safehouse on Mapuzo. Now, we’ve gotten even more extensive references. It was beautiful and heartfelt and had us in tears.
Join us as we review the Obi-Wan Kenobi-Rebels parallels. We will also mention the references from other Star Wars properties we caught during Obi-Wan Kenobi Part VI. Please note that there will be spoilers, and these will be in no particular order.
1. The Ahsoka Parallels
Obi-Wan was a massive staple in Anakin’s life before his fall to the dark side, as was Ahsoka Tano. The Obi-Wan series finale references Vader’s confrontation with his former Padawan about six years after his duel with Kenobi.
The first nod to the line Vader says going into the fight, “You will die.” He will tell Ahsoka this when she refuses to join him during their duel on Malachor. This immediately caught our attention because of how harrowing it is. However, Sith’s mask is intact when he says it to Obi-Wan, which brings us to our next parallel.
During the last part of the duel, Obi-Wan does significant damage to Vader’s mask and breaks open the right side. Ahsoka will do the same, but she will destroy the left side.
Our third parallel is the voice combination. After Ahsoka breaks the mask open in Rebels, Vader tells her she will die. You can hear Matt Lanter’s voice intertwined with James Earl Jones’. The same applies to Obi-Wan. Likewise, Hayden Christensen’s voice is combined with Jones’.
Another parallel we nearly forgot was when Vader buries Obi-Wan. This is a nod to what happens to Ahsoka during the Malachor fight.
One final Ahsoka Rebels parallel we caught is when the mask splits open. Obi-Wan calls Vader “Anakin”. Ahsoka will do the same when it is confirmed Anakin is under the mask.
Check out what we know about the Ahsoka series post.
2. A Certain Point Of Talking About Parents
When Obi-Wan fulfils his promise to Leia that he’ll come back, their reunion takes place sometime after she is returned to Alderaan. However, before returning to Tatooine, he reveals he lied about not knowing her birth mother.
He tells the princess that she has inherited kindness and wisdom from her mother. Kenobi adds she also was fearless, foresight and passionate, like her father. He then tells her he wishes he could tell her more about Anakin and Padmé.
This is essentially the same thing he will later tell Luke when revealing what happened to his former student from a certain point of view. However, the difference here is that Obi-Wan doesn’t mention anything about Padmé to Luke. This is because it also drives home that Anakin is gone. However, Obi-Wan still loves and respects his old friend and sees him in the little girl who inherited the Skywalker spark of rebellion.
3. The Room Luke Hides In
After watching Screen Crush’s easter egg video, Ryan Arey pointed out that the room Owen and Beru tell Luke to hide in has been seen on screen. Chronologically, the first time we see it is when Anakin confesses to Padmé that he killed the Tuskens who kidnapped his mother during Attack of the Clones. The room would be seen again in A New Hope when Luke takes R2 and 3PO to be cleaned up.
4. Musical Score That Nods To Anakin And Padmé
Screen Crush’s video, which we’ve linked above, mentions during Obi-Wan’s conversation with Leia on Alderaan that the beginning of Across the Stars, the love theme from Attack of the Clones, is used before it merges into Leia’s Theme.
Ryan mentions the score as present to symbolise Anakin and Padmé in the past while their daughter is the future. We had another thought on this. It also represents the love Anakin and Padmé had for each other, which resulted in Leia. Moreover, this is why she embodies qualities from both. But, of course, it could also extend to Luke, but with Luke’s theme.
5. The Floating Rocks
After Darth Vader buries Obi-Wan, the former Jedi Master has a mild panic attack. He hears Anakin/Vader at various points in the past. He then flashes to happier moments with one of the Skywalker twins. This is enough to bring him out of his panicked state. It allows him to tap into his full Force capability. He can climb out of the hole by levitating and throwing the rocks at Vader.
The floating rocks also reference Rey, Palpatine’s granddaughter, while she was training with Luke on Ach-To.
Similar Lines Of Dialogue Courtesy Of Luke
We’ve already covered the Ahsoka lines. But a couple of lines of dialogue were changed to match the situation or the same. One example is when Luke tells his uncle and aunt he’s unafraid. This is the same line he will say as an adult.
Another example is when Obi-Wan tells Anakin/Vader, “Then my friend is truly dead.” Luke will say this is the same line to Vader in Return of the Jedi; however, the ‘friend’ part is replaced with ‘father’, becoming “Then my father is truly dead.”
