Hayden Christensen says that Vader was still very conflicted in OWK

Just found a couple quotes from HC saying that Vader was still “very conflicted” in OWK and that he still has some feelings for Obi-Wan:

“He’s still very conflicted with his fallout with the Jedi order and of course specifically with Obi wan”

https://youtu.be/2wBglXRrgmQ

“When you have someone that you care about as much as these characters do care about eachother there’s always gonna be remnants of that.”

https://youtu.be/HWT8REJarUo

Looking back, this aligns with what he‘s said before:

“He’s a very complex character, and there’s an inherent struggle of identity that is always present – there’s inner conflict.”

And what director Deb Chow said about Vader still being half Anakin:

“Actually, if we were going to use the Vader theme, I don't think we should use it until episode six, because he's still half Anakin, half Vader at this point. When his mask cracks open at the end, and he says 'You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did,' you realize now he's Vader, now he's earned his 'Imperial March'."

And the symbolism with the lighting changing from blue to red on his face at the end:

Notice how he even looks sad when he says “I am not your failure Obi-Wan”, and then he begins to smile as he says “I did”.

And finally you have Palpatine himself saying that Vader’s feelings for Obi-Wan weakened him:

”Perhaps your feelings for your old master have left you weakened”

It all adds up.

And yes before anyone mentions it, I know there is that Insider article that says that Vader wasn’t conflicted about killing Obi-Wan, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t conflicted emotionally.

It’s also important to note that Insider articles aren’t considered canon or reviewed by the story group.

So I’d go with what the show itself says, and the people who actually worked on it.

This is all old news. Discussed to death already.

@a_fine_edition: Haven’t seen anyone discuss those first two HC quotes before, and I’m pretty sure there are still some people here who think he wasn’t conflicted because of the Insider quote

Yeah, agreed, good finds

Nice finds

Interesting

@sonofdarkness:

I'd suppose you're tackling an argument that comes from the wrong angle altogether. In the context of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, it matters not whether Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker was conflicted. His emotional state at this point in time is an advantage when it comes to his powers -- it only makes him stronger. Stronger than at any other point in his life. Calming down and resigning to his new life marks the departure from his prime.

@lord_tenebrous: Palpatine explicitly said that his feelings weakened him so

I sort of just assumed that to be the case because I couldn't see any other reason for Vader losing in that fight.

It's just funny how some fans desperately scrambled to prove that Vader was conflicted just because he lost to Obi-Wan. Sure, maybe he was conflicted and weakened, but that frantic fanboy desperation will never cease to be hilarious to me.

this again? Yes, Vader has been conflicted from ROTS to OWK, and in the last episode his conflict is gone when Imperial March starts playing as that's where he fully becomes Darth Vader

Very nice finds

"Still conflicted." Implying that Anakin always was. Ah, this is seriously gonna hurt the argument of those "Mustafar Vader was fully committed and focused on killing Kenobi. He was not at all hindered" folk. But really this find just reiterates what the script/screen portrayal always intended on communicating to us.

@rocksalt: yeah I was thinking that too actually. Saying he was “still” very conflicted implies that he was on Mustafar as well.

Thanks

You know what else I just realized? Palpatine says almost the exact same thing he said to Vader in ROTJ when he was conflicted af about Luke as he does in OWK.

Return of the Jedi:

I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear Lord Vader.

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

I wonder if your thoughts are clear on this Lord Vader. Perhaps your feelings for your old master have left you weakened.

@sonofdarkness: Yes, exactly. Nice find btw.

@rocksalt: 👍 thanks

More new statements from director Deborah Chow from the Obi-Wan Kenobi collector‘s edition bonus features. She says Vader isn’t quite Anakin or Vader but something between:

“All of a sudden, it’s about them again. It’s about their love, it’s about their fraught relationship and everything they’ve been through. It’s not quite Vader. It’s not quite Anakin. It’s something in between. “

And confirms that the lighting on Vader’s face reflects his emotional conflict, and the emotional shift from Anakin to Vader:

“One of the things that also was amazing is these lightsabers and the lighting that’s going across their faces, particularly obvious on Hayden, you know, we didn’t… this is not… this was not put in in post. This was really happening. And just the way they were using those lightsabers and the lighting effects, it was so reflective of what they were doing emotionally. And so his face, like in this moment… this is, that is just what Hayden is doing with that saber. And you know, you can really feel sort of the shift with it.”