The Prequel era of Star Wars concluded with the battle between two brothers when Anakin and Obi-Wan confronted each other on Mustafar, with the latter dismembering his padawan and leaving him for dead on a slope of the lava planet.
It’s true that the Original Trilogy ended on a sweet note and gave the heroes the happy endings they’d fought and sacrificed for, but George Lucas always intended the Prequels to mirror the tragedy of his tale. If Star Wars is the story of the Chosen One, then these movies, and Revenge of the Sith, in particular, depict how even the greatest heroes can fall from grace. At long last, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine’s evil plan came to fruition with the execution of Order 66, prompting the Grand Army of the Republic to hunt down and kill the Jedi Knights. Anakin played a key part in this overtaking, which eventually saw the rise of the Galactic Empire and the destruction of the Jedi Order alongside the Republic.
While what happened to the Clones and their Jedi Generals was difficult to deal with, especially if you’ve seen The Clone Wars animated series, the most heartbreaking scenes in the third entry involved Anakin and Obi-Wan’s duel on Mustafar. Some fans have always wondered why Obi-Wan simply left Anakin to burn alive and didn’t help him. In fact, he could even look after his padawan and nurse him back to health, not to mention try to bring him back to the light side again. So, why did he leave Anakin without hesitation?
I mean, killing younglings is an unforgivable crime, but did Obi-Wan have to be so cruel? Well, according to a new theory posted on Reddit, the Jedi Master knew that his brother was a lost cause since he’d already witnessed his turn to the Dark Side during the Mortis arc in The Clone Wars. Think about it. Obi-Wan has saved Anakin countless times before, so why did he decide to give up on him then? Maybe some part of the Jedi Master bypassed his memory wipe in Mortis and saw that the Chosen One turning to the dark side was an inevitable ordeal.
Of course, this makes the final installment in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy even more tragic and heartbreaking, but I guess that was the point all along.
What do you think about this theory, though? And why do you think Obi-Wan really left Anakin after their fight? As usual, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
