Warning! SPOILERS for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4.
Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 further included Darth Vader and his Inquisitors, with the show making the former's dark side connection even more horrifying than before. The show up to this point has shown Vader at his most brutal, especially in episode 3. However, episode 4 mentions several things that make Vader's connection to the dark side even stronger.
Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi is played by none other than Hayden Christensen, reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker from the prequel trilogy. One of the main reasons Anakin fell to the dark side was explained by Yoda in Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Yoda stated that fear is the path to the dark side, as fear leads to hate, hate leads to anger, and anger leads to suffering.
A lot of Anakin's fears were introduced in the prequel trilogy, such as his fears of his mother and his wife Padme dying. These fears being the focus for the majority of the prequels allowed Anakin to feel much more sympathetic and complex than Vader was in the original trilogy. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 explored the hatred, anger, and suffering sides of Vader's dark side connection in more ways than one, reinforcing the villain's status as a dark Sith Lord.
Mustafar Being Vader’s Base Keeps Him Linked To The Dark Side
The first way in which Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4 explored Vader's dark side connection is through the Mustafar system. In the episode, it is established that the entirety of the Mustafar system, not just the central planet of Mustafar, is under Vader's jurisdiction. However, as is shown in both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Vader's main base of operations is on the planet of Mustafar. This planet is the location of the climactic confrontation between Anakin and Obi-Wan in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. During this fight, Anakin was maimed and burned at the hands of Obi-Wan, and both physically and metaphorically became Darth Vader completely on this planet.
Mustafar being Darth Vader's home system, both the location of his castle and where Vader was "born," is a way for the Sith Lord to be reminded of his hate and suffering, keeping him linked to the dark side as Yoda said. The hatred comes from Obi-Wan, with Anakin's last words to Kenobi being how much he hates his former master. This hatred of Kenobi, and also the pain and suffering he felt at being burned and wounded by him, keeps Vader's link to the dark side extremely strong. Mustafar was also the site of Anakin's last meeting with Padme in which he Force chokes her, something that Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious said killed her. As seen in Revenge of the Sith, Vader is visibly grief-stricken by Padme's death, meaning his base on Mustafar continuously reminds him of his suffering due to his wife's death, again strengthening his connection to the dark side of the Force.
Kenobi Episode 4’s Jedi Tombs Reminds Vader Of His Hate And Suffering
Where the truly horrifying part of Vader's connection comes into play is at Fortress Inquisitorius on the ocean moon of Nur in the Mustafar system. While Kenobi is exploring the Fortress to find Leia, he comes across a room that serves as a tomb for countless Jedi. While a lot of the Jedi are unrecognizable, some of the dead bodies include a Jedi youngling and Clone Wars' Jedi Tera Sinube. These bodies are another thing that, similar to Mustafar, reinforces Vader's hate and suffering. One of the main things that turns Anakin to the dark side is his suffering at the hands of the Jedi. Due to the strict Jedi rules of foregoing all attachments, Anakin's fears of Padme's death, as well as his mother's, directly leads to this outcome, and Anakin's suffering and hatred of the Jedi Order thus begins.
In keeping all of the dead Jedi that Vader and his Inquisitors have hunted down, Vader will be regularly reminded of his hatred of the Order. Not only that but Vader's suffering and the fact he blames Padme's and his mother's death on the Jedi will only make his connection to the dark side stronger. The way in which Vader reminds himself of this though is horrifying, with countless dead Jedi simply being paraded as trophies in the Mustafar system. Not only does this make Vader's connection to the dark side all the stronger, but it reinforces the Sith Lord's power, strength, ruthlessness, and evil capabilities, something the titular character of Obi-Wan Kenobi will no doubt have to overcome in the final two episodes of the Disney+ show.
New episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi release every Wednesday on Disney+.