Editor's note: The below article contains spoilers for the entirety of Obi-Wan Kenobi.As Obi-Wan Kenobi completes its fantastic season, "Part VI" stunned viewers with another lightsaber duel between Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen/James Earl Jones) and his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). On a deserted planet, Obi-Wan lures Vader and the Empire away from the escaping rebels. Determined to eliminate his former master, Vader takes a ship and chases down Kenobi and the Jedi and Sith Lord begin their fight. This is definitely not the first time they've fought, and it definitely won't be the last, but even knowing that both Kenobi and Vader are destined to survive this encounter, the scene is still nerve-wracking. At the climax, Darth Vader's helmet is damaged and, torn open, it reveals a fragment of Anakin Skywalker's face. This final scene will be familiar for the fans of Star Wars Rebels, who saw an almost identical scene in the finale of Season 2 of Rebels, "Twilight of the Apprentice."
The fight in Kenobi is full of callbacks to Anakin and Obi-Wan's past. Vader asks Kenobi, "Have you come to destroy me, Obi-Wan?" To which the Jedi replies, "I will do what I must," before igniting his saber. If that line sounds familiar to you, it should. Ten years before, on the planet Mustafar, Obi-Wan said the same words to Anakin before their fateful fight that left Anakin on the brink of death.
Back then, Anakin responded bitterly, "You will try." But this time, Vader, a more sinister foe, simply says, "Then you will die!" The following duel is rather evenly matched as the two force users engage in a deadly match on the sands of an abandoned planet. Not only do the two use their sabers but they also wield the force to deal environmental damage to each other. It seems like it's the end for Obi-Wan, when Vader overwhelms him and buries him under a pile of rocks after pointing out his weakness. But this is not defeat for Kenobi, and when he escapes from beneath the rocks, returns to fight Vader with renewed strength after remembering Leia (Vivian Lyra Blair) and Luke (Grant Feely).
This time, Vader does not gain the upper hand, but Kenobi gets the (metaphorical) upper ground when he damages Vader's suit, his breathing apparatus, and then shatters part of his helmet. What we see next is a glimpse into the man that Obi-Wan once knew: Anakin Skywalker. His skin is pale, his eyes are yellow and bloodshot. But his voice is familiar again, it's distorted, but it's Christensen's voice. The immensely emotional scene has Obi-Wan apologizing to Anakin, blaming himself.
But, Vader replies, "I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. You did not kill Anakin Skywalker. I did."
The moment rocks Obi-Wan, who remarks that his friend is truly dead, before leaving Vader in his half-alive state on the planet.
This fight is a direct parallel to the scene in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twilight of the Apprentice," in which Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) arrives at an ancient Sith Temple on Malachor with Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) and Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.). Ezra is cornered by Darth Vader (Matt Lanter) and caught in a fight with the Sith Lord, who he is woefully ill-equipped against. Just as he is about to be struck down, Ahsoka comes to his rescue.
At this point in time, Vader is far more confident in his rule. When faced with his old apprentice, he asks her to reveal where the remaining Jedi are, and when she retorts that there are none left, he looks to a fallen Ezra, insinuating that he'll get the answers out of him. At this point, Ahsoka says, "I was beginning to believe I knew who you were, behind that mask, but it's impossible. My master could never be as vile as you!"
Vader replies, in a familiar refrain to his conversation with Obi-Wan, "Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him."
Ahsoka then attacks, claiming to avenge her master, and a riveting lightsaber duel ensues. The two fight until, like with Obi-Wan, Vader overpowers Ahsoka, and she falls. But, this is the end of the fight and when she climbs back to the platform where Vader, Ezra, and Kanan are, the temple is crumbling down. She once again saves Ezra from Vader, this time charging at him from behind and damaging his mask, cracking it open so that we see part of Anakin beneath. Vader calls to Ahsoka, and this time his voice is not the familiar one we know from Vader. It's Matt Lanter's voice garbled with the mechanical.
Like Obi-Wan, this revelation leaves Ahsoka shaken and emotional. She tells him, "I won't leave you, not this time." Much like Obi-Wan, Ahsoka shoulders some guilt knowing that her former master became the Sith lord. As Anakin's Padawan, she was not only loyal to him but shared many similar traits to him. She was headstrong and willful, but also inventive and a strong military leader. When the two last saw each other, it was right before Anakin's fall, Ahsoka had returned to his side in order to gather clone troopers to defend Mandalore. The two never saw each other again, although Ahsoka felt it in the force when he turned to the dark side.
At this moment in the Sith temple, Vader seems to consider Ahsoka's words for a moment, but much like he does with Obi-Wan, he only promises that she will be destroyed. The two fight again as the structures fall around them, but Ahsoka is eventually saved the duel ends abruptly with no true victor.
This scene is an emotional peak in Rebels and the clear callbacks to one of the show's most iconic episodes make the two scenes mirrors of one another. Hayden Christensen himself told Collider that he rewatched the episode of Rebels many times as part of his preparation to return as Anakin/Vader. As a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker's two anchors were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano. Had Ahsoka not been cast out of the Jedi Order (another brilliantly stupid decision from the council), there is a chance Anakin would have never fallen to the dark side. Playing these two scenes off of each other not only reveals Vader's own self-hatred and darkness but the impact of his cruelty on the people he once considered family. The two scenes are individually jaw-dropping to watch just as far as fights go, but the deeper meaning beneath the two makes that "Twilight of the Apprentice" an essential scene to watch after that Kenobi finale.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars Rebels are both currently available to stream on Disney+.