Although not fully explained on screen, Obi-Wan was killed in the physical sense, but he merged with the Force as what is known as a Force Ghost. In essence, the living energy of a person continues to exist after the body is no more.
Essentially, as soon as he dropped his guard to allow Vader to kill him, the Force took him away as he was already going to die regardless of what would happen next. Of course, Darth Vader killed Obi-Wan Kenobi because his lightsaber would have made contact with his old master's body if it didn't disappear.
He does. Right at the end. With Luke crying over him and Vader sensing his anguish and pain he had inflicted on all those who had cared for him.
Darth Vader initially seemed to have won, walking away leaving Obi-Wan buried in rubble, but Obi-Wan focused on the Force. His mind went to those he loved - the young Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. Those thoughts gave him the strength to blast his way out of the rubble using the Force.
While Anakin Skywalker is ultimately reawakened by the love of his son, Darth Vader is relentless in the disdain and loathing he holds towards his enemies - none more than Obi-Wan, who struck him down on Mustafar, leading to Palpatine rebuilding him as his cyborg servant.
moment is where darth vader draws a tear as obi-wan tearfully apologizes to his former. apprentice. his former brother darth vader two cries. but why is this so important and what exactly does this mean well darth vader.
Obi-Wan apologizes for what he did to Anakin, but Vader assures him that he killed Anakin, not Obi-Wan. He then goes on to proclaim that he will destroy Obi-Wan in the same way. Resigned to the fact that his friend is truly gone, Obi-Wan walks away from Vader, calling him "Darth" for the first time.
In the material around the film from the Legends timeline, it's established that by the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi was one of the characters who knew Anakin's Sith name was Darth Vader. However, what he didn't know was that he was still alive after Mustafar.
This could be interpreted as Obi-Wan showing either pity or mercy for his old friend. Despite everything they have been through, the Obi-Wan Kenobi show has firmly established that the Jedi still deeply cares for his former Padawan and remembers him as the great ally he's had for many years.
Obi-Wan also let Vader go because Vader wanted his old master to kill him. Sometimes being left alive is more of a punishment than death. But now Obi-Wan could walk away knowing there was no hope for saving Anakin — until Luke finds a way.
Obi-Wan knew that even if he defeated Darth Vader, he could never have fled the Death Star, so he accepted his fate and let Vader's lightsaber strike him down.
After, he regretted not killing him and wondered if he had only made things worse by pushing Anakin further into dark side and Palpatine's arms. As I said, Obi-wan's regrets are layered and they involve everything that happened in his life.
Darth Vader showed no emotion at all when he killed Obi-Wan Kenobi. If you watch the scene carefully, you will see Kenobi pausing. He was letting Vader kill him. Whether Vader knew this at the time, or discovered it later, is an open question.
Darth Vader hated Obi-Wan Kenobi because he hated himself. This started when he thought that Kenobi was the one that poisoned Padmé into turning against Anakin when he turned to the dark side. But the truth was that Anakin was merely projecting his own self-hatred toward Obi-Wan.
But Vader refuses to accept this apology, shouting "I am not your failure Obi-Wan. You did not kill Anakin Skywalker. I did, the same way I will destroy you!"
In Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Vader was 41 when he encountered Kenobi for a final duel, and in that battle, Vader was finally the victor as Kenobi became one with the Force.
Theory 1: Leia Doesn't Remember Ben Is Obi-Wan
Throughout her encounters with Kenobi in the series, he refers to himself as Ben. The most straightforward explanation would be that Leia knows the person who rescued her is Ben, and never connected the dots that Ben is actually Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan says to Vader, “Then my friend is truly dead,” mirroring a scene in Return of the Jedi: when Vader commands that Luke be brought before the Emperor, Luke looks at Vader and says to him, “Then my father is truly dead.” Obi-Wan's farewell — “Goodbye, Darth” — reflects his resignation that Anakin is now ...
She also knows Obi-Wan, and she knows him well. Her holographic plea for help, already iconic, will never be the same. She knows Obi-Wan's real name as well as his alias of “Ben.” When Luke comes barging into her cell and says, “I'm here with Ben Kenobi,” Leia jumps off the bunk in an instant.
It is unclear whether Yoda would be more or less forgiving than Obi-Wan but one thing is certain - the former Grand Master would be ready to treat Anakin as an ally, following the events on the second Death Star. In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005), Yoda never really lost faith in Anakin in the way Obi-Wan did.
The choice to leave his mother at a young age continues to haunt Anakin throughout his life. He is plagued by nightmares of her and visions of her fate. When he eventually saves her from a group of Tuskens on Tatooine, his blind anger at her dying state consumes him.
Over the years since the Youngling massacre, and even sometime before, Darth Vader has regretted killing the Younglings, recognizing that it was the most terrible thing he had ever done.