A father and son reunion–assumptions regarding the teachings of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the intentions of the dark lord.
By Andrew McAvoy // At the end of A New Hope Darth Vader senses the force in a young Rebel pilot. By the time Vader storms into Hoth, pursuing Luke, his son, at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back much has changed. The gulf is wide. “Obi-Wan has taught you well” Vader advises his son towards that film’s climax. Let’s explore further.
An intriguing line
“Obi-Wan has taught you well”. A short but intriguing line. To the casual viewer it wouldn’t necessarily jar with them. This is because the viewer knows that Luke was taught by Obi-Wan in the basic tenets of the Force in A New Hope. The viewer also knows that Obi-Wan has come back in Force ghost form to instruct and advise Luke alongside Yoda’s formal training.
Thinking about it further, however, the line from Vader raises interesting points. From Vader’s perspective the first knowledge he has is when he senses the Force being “strong with this one” as Luke prepares to take that “one in a million” shot. So by the time of The Empire Strikes Back, what does Darth Vader actually know of Luke?
A Little Knowledge
Factually, Vader knows very little, but can assume quite a lot. He knows that Luke appeared with Obi-Wan. The Marvel Star Wars comic shows that Vader connects this and commissions Boba Fett to capture (alive) the Rebel Pilot (Luke) who was associated with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Fett begins a lethal interrogation process on Tatooine, eventually eliciting Luke’s name from a teenage moisture farmer. After a failed attempt to capture Luke in Kenobi’s former home in the Jundland Wastes, Fett reports back to Vader informing him of Skywalker’s name, but unable to deliver him to Vader. Unwittingly, Fett has informed the Dark Lord of the existence of his son. This tale is borne out in both the Vader and Star Wars Marvel series; as is Vader’s contemplative attitude towards the earth-shattering news. His contemplation is combined with a scorched earth policy (literally) towards the remnants of the Lars homestead on Tatooine.
Assumptions
There remains however significant limitations upon Vader’s factual knowledge of Luke’s life. From what he knows Vader pieces together that Padmé gave birth to his son before she died. He knows that Kenobi survived the Order 66 purge. The assumption must be drawn that Kenobi has instructed Luke (to some extent) in the ways of the Force. He must also have been staggered by the ability of Luke to have made that shot at the end of A New Hope. He knows it wasn’t just pot-luck and is aware of the Force abilities of Luke. We know Anakin was famously too old to begin the training. Vader can only assume this of Luke.
This does beg the question of Vader’s mindset when he encounters Luke on Bespin. It raises intriguing possibilities. There are a number of approaches that can be taken to analyze that one short phrase, “Obi-Wan has taught you well”.
Obi-Wan has taught you well: Disquiet
The first theory is that Vader has become unhinged by the events surrounding Luke’s appearance. Think about it. For nearly 20 years he had no knowledge that he had a son. Likewise after Order 66 he thought he was, in the words of Tarkin, all that remained of the Jedi. Suddenly Kenobi appears out of left field. That, in and of itself, would have destabilized Vader’s world order.
It didn’t stop there though. For Vader the surprises kept coming. His position within the Imperial hierarchy was under some degree of threat after the destruction of the Death Star. The pilot also has Force abilities. The icing on the cake comes when Boba Fett informs him (see Marvel’s in-canon Star Wars title) that all roads led back to Tatooine, that the pilot is called Skywalker. That, coupled with the knowledge that Kenobi was alive and living on Tatooine (and has also just mysteriously vanished with the threat of becoming more powerful than he could possibly imagine), leads Vader to utter the statement that Obi-Wan has taught Luke well.
Think how unsettling this must have been for Vader. Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith show that if Skywalker senior is anything, he is an absolute control freak. Losing control of events and his history could well have unsettled him to the point of seriously questioning his choices. The words “Obi-Wan has taught you well” may very well be a statement of surprise–-he has taught you well, son; I never thought these events would come to pass.
Obi-Wan has taught you well: Mockery
That theory can also be spun on its head. If there is truth in Kenobi’s statement that Vader “killed” Anakin, then it removes the possibility of sentiment. Instead,there remains the Vader of Rogue One: brutal, clinical, and lost to all emotions that are not borne from the dark side. Driven on by physical and mental anguish he channels these into rage and strength. There is no positive emotion in him at the point of his encounter with Luke. He is immune to family ties, and is committed to either using Luke to topple Palpatine as an end in itself or to destroying the Rebellion’s growing threat to the Imperial structures.
Vader is also obsessed with Kenobi’s role. His suspicion of Kenobi’s influence on Padmé led to her demise. There is no reason to suggest that the rage which fuels him at this point doesn’t similarly cloud his judgement. It will take Luke’s intervention on Endor’s moon to finally lift the shroud from the former Anakin Skywalker. At this point, though, Vader is likely to be telling Luke that “Obi-Wan has taught you well” as a form of mockery; a trace of a suggestion that good teaching is an impossibility for Kenobi the traitor.
Obi-Wan has taught you well: Opportunity
It is just as valid that Vader utters the statement “Obi-Wan has taught you well” with advancement in mind. Vader has fallen from the Emperor’s graces following the Battle of Yavin. Palpatine expects Vader to work to regain his former position. Vader is anxious to be dominant once more. Of course this could be done one of two ways. The most obvious lies with capturing Luke. He can then use him as a route to break the Rebel Alliance. If turns Luke to the dark side even better.
Vader is tiring of Palpatine at this point. He closets away information from him in the Vader comic series as he rebuilds his life post-Yavin. In The Empire Strikes Back, he makes the offer to Luke to “Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son.“
With or without Palpatine is the question. Vader in this line of thought sees Luke as his route out of servitude, and the misery that has flowed from his long association with Palpatine. Palpatine himself has instructed him that the dark side is built on strength; he encourages a desire in Vader to topple his master. Vader is likely to see a father/son combination as the answer to that strength-power dynamic (see Palpatine/Vader discussion in Darth Vader, issue 20).
Obi-Wan has taught you well: Sincerity
Obi Wan has taught him well, and Vader is glad. For look at his fate as Palpatine’s apprentice. It may be that Vader’s reappraisal of his position (that came to fruition at Endor) actually began much, much earlier. In fact it starts to germinate as soon as Vader becomes aware that he has a son. He is thinking that he has made the wrong choices. That almost 20 years have passed under the false premise that Padmé’s death meant that he had no children. Perhaps he is starting to feel that his choices have been ruinous for those around him.
By the time of Return of the Jedi such thoughts lie within Vader. The encounter on Bespin and the utterance of the words “Obi-Wan has taught you well” is the first insight to this.
Conclusions
The beauty of Star Wars is that dialogue and expressions are multi-faceted. The line “Obi-Wan has taught you well” is one such line. The considerations above are not mutually exclusive. Rather they are complementary. No doubt, there are additional interpretations or approaches that can be taken. Ultimately, by the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Vader is actively plotting at this point to succeed Palpatine and to overthrow him with his son at his side. The excellent work from Kieron Gillen on the Darth Vader title shows that Vader is contemplating his position vis-a-vis Palpatine.
It also shows us that Vader is continually dwelling on the past. He assesses the turns his life (both as Anakin and Vader) has taken. He undoubtedly wants to build some sort of relationship with Luke. This struggle is succinctly articulated in Darth Vader issue 24. It is to Luke’s credit that by the time of Endor that relationship is established through Vader’s move towards the light, rather than Luke moving to the dark.