Why Did Darth Vader Let Kenobi Go In Episode 3 Of Obi-Wan Kenobi?

In the first three episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” that have been released, “Star Wars” fans have been getting overwhelmed with prequel era nostalgia and some new action and lore. In the latest episode of “Kenobi,” “Star Wars” gave fans something that most thought they would have to wait until the finale for.

At last Obi-Wan and Vader have fought. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprising their iconic roles from the prequel trilogy and yet again crossing blades. The fight was nothing short of epic but the ending left fans wanting more. Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader was extremely aggressive as he killed anyone in his path to Kenobi but after all of that, he lets Kenobi go.

Darth Vader lets Obi-Wan Kenobi escape after their first meeting

After being on the verge of killing the man who took his limbs and sealed his black metal coffin, Vader chose a trait that the Jedi are known for, patience. There is nothing more Vader wants than to kill his former master but when he had him in his grasp he let him get away after a huge blaze separated the two force users. The first and obvious reason is that Kenobi cannot die in this show as this takes place in 9BBY (Before The Battle OF Yavin) which is of course the battle of Yavin 4 in Episode 4 “A New Hope.” In that movie, Vader finally kills a much older Obi-Wan Kenobi.

In a recent YouTube video from the Channel Star Wars Theory at about the 3:50 mark it is explained that Vader wants Kenobi to fear him and Vader wants Kenobi to feel the same pain that he felt all those years ago. It is then explained that Vader may hunt down any remaining friends that Kenobi has and kill them in order to make Obi-Wan suffer.

Vader blames his former master for all of his pain

Vader blames everything that has happened to him on Obi-Wan. Even in “Attack Of The Clones,” Anakin states that Obi-Wan is holding him back. So by killing everyone Obi-Wan cares about Vader will be torturing Kenobi and making him feel the same pain that Vader felt after losing Padme.

So the reason why Vader let Kenobi escape when he could have easily walked through, jumped over, or put out the fire is he wants Kenobi to live in fear of him. By doing this Vader is getting his revenge exactly the way he wants to by making Kenobi suffer. There are still more episodes coming out in the next few weeks so perhaps we will get more insight into why Vader did what he did.