Was Obi-Wan's New Hope Death Inspired By A Kenobi Character?

Warning: SPOILERS for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5.

One character's death in the Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi may have inspired Obi-Wan's sacrifice in A New Hope. Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 sees Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and young Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) try to help refugees get off Jabiim and to safety. Unfortunately, as revealed at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4, Reva (Moses Ingram) had planted a tracker on Leia's droid, leading Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) straight to them. Though a large group of refugees, including Obi-Wan and Leia, manage to make it out, not all characters are so lucky, and two even sacrifice themselves to ensure that the escape plan would succeed.

Reva is sent down to Jabiim by Vader, with the order to launch an attack on the base so that they may capture Obi-Wan. A regiment of stormtroopers accompanies her, and though Obi-Wan tries to reason with Reva, it turns out she has her own motivations for getting close to Vader. Once the Empire busts through the doors of the base, chaos ensues — as Leia tries to get the roof doors open so they may fly out, the refugees and Obi-Wan are forced to fight for their lives until they can manage to escape on their ships.

Tala (Indira Varma), a resistance operative who helped refugees get to safety via the Path, fights alongside Obi-Wan as the refugees are pushed into a corner. In the chaos, Tala is hit by a blaster shot, and though she valiantly tries to continue the fight it's clear that she's struggling and in pain. Her loader droid, NED-B, plants itself in front of her to shield her from the fighting, but it's soon damaged beyond repair, and Tala realizes she's too hurt to go on. Looking back at Obi-Wan, she tells him to run and blasts the doors shut. Tala then arms a thermal detonator and takes half the stormtrooper regiment down with her. Obi-Wan is clearly affected by her sacrifice. He witnessed her bravery and death up close yet there was nothing he could do to stop it. This scene closely parallels Obi-Wan's sacrifice in A New Hope, in which he chooses to die and become part of the Force after his final confrontation with Vader, so that Luke and the others may get to safety after rescuing Princess Leia.

Both Tala's and Obi-Wan's sacrifices are thematically and narratively similar. Tala's death meant that the refugees may have a chance to survive, to find a new life beyond being hunted by the Empire. Obi-Wan's death meant that both Luke and Leia could continue the fight, the Rebels could survive another day and Luke might bring balance to the Force once more. Both Obi-Wan and Tala knew that their individual lives meant less than what they could save for the future. Both scenes are even similarly set up as well. Obi-Wan witnesses Tala's death, and it clearly hurts him; he wants to save her, yet he also knows why it has to happen. Luke witnesses Obi-Wan's death, and while it's clear that watching his first and only mentor in the Force die at Vader's hands doesn't feel worth it, he will come to understand why it had to happen in the long run.

Obi-Wan Kenobi provides much context for Obi-Wan's character, not just in relation to the Star Wars prequel era, but to the original trilogy as well. Obi-Wan's relationship with young Leia lends additional depth to his death in A New Hope; he always knew she was just as important as Luke, and he knew that both of them needed to survive another day if the Rebellion and the galaxy at large were to stand a chance against the Empire. Tala's sacrifice in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 may motivate Obi-Wan's actions in the upcoming finale, but there's a good chance it motivated his actions in A New Hope as well.

Next: Obi-Wan Episode 5 Ending: What The Final Shot Of Luke Skywalker Means

Obi-Wan Kenobi continues Wednesday on Disney+.

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