How Did Obi-Wan Find Out That Anakin Survived Mustafar?

Usually if you cut someone’s legs and arm off and leave them engulfed in flames on a lava bank, it’s pretty safe to assume they’re dead. So we can’t really blame Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) for thinking he had killed his former Jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). He left Mustafar thinking that Anakin, who had turned to the Dark Side, was dead. However, unbeknownst to ol’ Ben, Anakin was rescued by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). He was fitted with prosthetics and a mask, and lived on as Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan, meanwhile, self-exiled for 20-years in Tatooine, watching over Luke Skywalker. He adopted a hermit lifestyle and largely kept to himself. The next time that we see Obi-Wan after Revenge of the Sith, is in Star Wars: A New Hope. We meet Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) as an old man who concealed his identity by calling himself Ben Kenobi. When Luke (Mark Hamill) is attacked, though, Obi-Wan saves him and reveals his true identity. In the film, Obi-Wan and Darth Vader face off once more and it is clear that Obi-Wan knows it is Anakin he is dualling.

Hence, somewhere within his 20-years of self-exile Obi-Wan learned that Anakin was alive. Previously, we could only guess at the exact moment or manner in which he found out the truth. However, the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi has now revealed the heartbreaking manner in which Obi-Wan found out Anakin survived.

How did Obi-Wan find out Anakin survived?

In Obi-Wan Kenobi Part II, Obi-Wan leaves Tatooine on a mission to save young Princess Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) who has been kidnapped. It turns out that Reva, the Third Sister (Moses Ingram) had Organa kidnapped specifically to lure Obi-Wan to her, as she wishes to capture him. Reva is an Inquisitor, a Force-sensitive assassin for the Empire whose mission is to hunt Jedi. During their encounter, the Third Sister shocks Obi-Wan when she tells him that Anakin is alive. From his reaction, it is clear that this is the very first time he heard that Anakin is alive.

This means he went about 10 years believing that Anakin was dead, only to find out he was alive all along. That it took 10 years for Obi-Wan to find this out makes sense, considering the hermit lifestyle that he adopted. Even when a young Jedi, Nari (Benny Safdie), seeks out Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan callously turns him away and refuses to help. Similarly, he almost even turns away his old friend and ally Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) who is imploring him to help find his young daughter Leia, whose life is in danger. Hence, even if anyone knew of Darth Vader or Anakin, it isn’t likely Obi-Wan would’ve given them a chance to tell him.

Of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi chose the most heartbreaking way possible to give Obi-Wan the news. We find out first that he has flashbacks and nightmares centered around Anakin. His past with Anakin has led him to cut off the rest of the world and live a quiet, isolated life. Then, when he finally decides to leave Tatooine temporarily, the very first thing he learns is that Anakin is alive. Not only that, but the news is callously dropped by an enemy to a wholly unsuspecting Obi-Wan.

(featured image: Lucasfilm)