Onward and inward – Anakin Skywalker’s descent to the Dark Side started as a child. Unable to free his mother, Shmi, from slavery, Skywalker left to pursue his dream of becoming a Jedi. While he accomplished this, the death of the woman who birthed him continued to haunt his existence. It wasn’t until he experienced visions of his heavily pregnant wife, Padmé Amidala’s death in childbirth, that the darkness truly fell, and the birth of Darth Vader began.
Anakin lived a hell inside a black constrictive suit for almost twenty-five years due to burns he sustained on Mustafar. However, in the years before he learns Padmé gave birth to their son, Luke, Vader is a very different human being.
During the events of Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One, Vader is an irate individual who isn’t afraid to kill anyone in his way. But where does that put him just a decade before those events? Well, that’s what we’re going to explore here as the first post as part of our May 4th coverage.
Vader Will Be Very Angry
During Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader will be a different individual from who we’ve come to know over countless appearances. He will not be fully formed as the Darth Vader from A New Hope, but he will not be Anakin Skywalker either.
Gizmodo’s Sabina Graves wrote an article about actor Hayden Christensen binging the entirety of The Clone Wars and Rebels to jump back into the mindset of his character. He took the opportunity to see how deep Dave Filoni could go with Anakin and show the indicators of what pushed him over the edge.
A fully formed Vader is dangerous, but an unformed Vader is deadly. Imagine how many people he can kill when he’s angry. Only a decade will have passed since Mustafar, and we know Anakin holds a grudge, and this continues when he becomes a Sith. Some of his personality still exists but in a much darker capacity.
One example is when he mocks Director Orson Krennic while Force choking him during Rogue One. While this place is almost a decade after Obi-Wan Kenobi, it shows that there is more to Vader than just a menacing presence.
More Than The Scary Enforcer
Vader is the Emperor’s enforcer; it’s as simple as that. He is also the one training the Inquisitorius. He’s doing everything Palpatine doesn’t have time to do while he sits on his throne on Coruscant under the protection of his royal guards.
When we see Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, he will be doing what he does best. However, the hunt for Obi-Wan will be more personal. Why else would he send Reva out looking for him? His journey in the series will be a lot for him to handle. Especially since he has a deep history with Kenobi, both positive and negative.
His mind is only beginning to become the twisted mess we see in Rebels. He still sees the Jedi as evil, which is what the Emperor wants. As said countless times in YouTube videos, he is constantly being tested like Dooku was.
That also, in conclusion, brings us to his line in A New Hope. He tells Obi-Wan that when he left him, he was a learner, but in the present, he is the master. At the time of Revenge of the Sith, his defeat on Mustafar was him learning and then becoming the master.
However, it doesn’t appear to be the case, as he is still learning after being put into his suit. His confrontation with Obi-Wan in the new show will put him through his paces.
