Obi-Wan Kenobi had to face his worst nightmare when he was burned (literally) by his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, now known as Darth Vader. During his quest to rescue Vader’s daughter and heir to the throne of Alderaan, Leia, and return her to her adoptive parents, Senator Bail Organa and Queen Breha, he comes face to face with the former Jedi for the first time in a decade. When asked what his former student had become he was met with the comment, “I am what you made me.”
In other words, the Sith Lord has a vendetta against his former friend for allowing him to burn on the lava banks of Mustafar. However, there might be more to “I am what you made me” than meets the eye.
What started out as a father-son dynamic blossomed into a bond closer to that of brothers. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi were the ‘It’ team during the Clone Wars. But they had their own secrets.
Obi-Wan kept his past relationship with Duchess Satine Kryze from Anakin, while Anakin kept his marriage to Padmé a secret from his former master. Though, the pair weren’t stupid. They knew each other’s behavioural shifts enough but never held it against the other.
It’s Obvious!
Kenobi knew that Anakin had feelings for Padmé and had tried to deter him from pursuing them. However, it didn’t work out how he thought it would, so Skywalker never said anything. However, Obi-wan knew enough to piece together that his former student was the father of the senator’s unborn children. Though, he knew that if Anakin wanted to talk about it, he would and therefore didn’t push him.
Until his turn to the dark side, Anakin often made fun of Obi-Wan’s obvious attraction to Satine, hence his “Go find your girlfriend” comment. However, he never criticised him as he had own secrets to protect.
Why The Blame For Anakin’s Time In The Suit?
A massive part of Vader’s hatred for Obi-Wan comes from his role in “turning” Padmé against her husband. Anakin’s issues with Kenobi started long before Amidala re-entered their lives.
As stated in Attack of the Clones, Anakin vents that Obi-Wan is jealous and holding him back. Though, this may not be the issue. He was distraught over the loss of his mother and venting his frustrations.
If we look back further to The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon held Obi-Wan back until he attempted to get permission to train Anakin, which ultimately failed.
It wasn’t until Qui-Gon’s premature death at the hands of Darth Maul that his dying wish was fulfilled. Kenobi even told Yoda that if the council denied him permission to train Anakin, he’d do it anyway.
Obi-Wan did very little to turn Padmé against Anakin. She had been worried about him, and Kenobi had only gone to her to see if she knew where her husband was. He only told her that Skywalker had turned to the dark side because she deserved to know what the father of her children was up to.
Also, another aspect we need to consider is that when Anakin was freshly turned, he didn’t seem bothered when Palpatine said that all the Jedi were enemies of the Republic, including Obi-Wan.
All in all, Vader blames Obi-Wan for putting him in the black suit that would sustain his life.
The Forgiveness
During their final fight of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, when the master slices open the Sith’s helmet à la Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars Rebels, we see flashes of blue and red. Blue for Anakin. Red for Vader.
When the light flickers blue, it’s Anakin speaking. If it’s red, it’s Vader. It’s similar in Ahsoka when Anakin’s eyes go from blue to Sith yellow and red during Ahsoka’s experience in the World Between Worlds.
The slither of Anakin is still present in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He forgives Obi-Wan for what happened. But Vader refuses to allow that and takes over. He also admits that his former master didn’t destroy Anakin, Vader did.
Until Vader learns about Luke being his son in Empire Strikes Back, he is the personality in charge. Anakin doesn’t make a resurgence until Return of the Jedi.
