#serious interpretation

[weezey-1]

I may be single this Valentine’s Day but I just placed second in Dramatic Interpretation and going to states for Forensics!!!

I’m so happy!!

[rachelamorph54]

Everyone jokes about "It's over Anakin! I have the high ground". I don’t think I've seen anyone ever mention a serious interpretation before. (I can't be the only one who has ever come up with it, maybe i've just not found that corner of the internet yet.) Anyway, That line was less about tactics and more a desperate plea for Anakin to stop.

Obi-wan has just watched the boy he raised Force choke the woman he knows Anakin loves. He has watched a holo of him murdering younlings, and pledging his allegence to the Sith. He has overheard Padmé try to talk sense into him and fail. He's tried to reason with Anakin himself. He's mentally and physically drained. He is tired in his very soul. He just wants Anakin to stop.

Jedi don't aim to kill but to wear out their opponents. They don't kill those that give up, surrender, or run. If Anakin stops he won't have to do what comes next. What he's tried hard not to do since he arrived, hurt Anakin.

Obi-wan has trained him and sparred with him. Maybe he knows historically Anakin doesn't do well when he is at a disadvantage like having the low ground. Maybe it's even something Anakin overcame before becoming a knight, but Obi-wan is grasping at straws, looking for anything that will make him stop.

But Anakin attacks and Obi-wan does what he must. No one won. Physical high ground, moral high ground, it doesn't matter. He lost. Everyone lost. He got to keep his limbs.

Later in the Kenobi series he asks Anakin what have you become? And it's not the physical mask he finds troubling it's the hate he sees and feels inside his old Padawan. Vader/Anakin interprets it as if he's inquiring about his apperance and says I am what you made me. Obi-wan hears this and this only feeds into his guilt.

They fight again and Vader buried Obi-wan in a hole. Obi-wan survives gets out. It was never about the high ground. It was making Anakin stop.

Vader then says the one thing that will make Obi-wan stop. He must be able to sense his old master's love, grief, and guilt pouring out of him. He couldn't fail to miss it on Obi-wan’s face. It's too much for Vader confronted with all those feelings so he says what almost sounds like kindness telling Obi-wan its not is fault that he killed Anakin Skywalker. This was less about helping Obi-wan than it was about making him stop the flood of emotions bombarding him. Vader couldn't cope with that love. He is so lost in the dark that it hurts to feel it. So he pushed his friend away the only way he could. "I killed Anakin Skywalker."

Obi-wan finally sees he can't help him, he never could. And he starts to gain control of his emotions sparing Vader from having to endure them.

People can't be stopped unless they want to. Obi-wan wants to stop feeling lost, guilty, and miserable. Vader doesn't.