Warning! Spoilers ahead for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3.
Obi-Wan Kenobi finally battles Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3, but the Jedi Master appears to be so much weaker than his former Padawan, raising some questions. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen return to the space opera, reprising their respective Star Wars prequel trilogy roles. After a decade since their falling out in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, their paths finally cross again in the Obi-Wan Kenobi episode titled "Part III."
Lucasfilm took a while before landing on the current story of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The involvement of Darth Vader came late in the process but instead of keeping it a secret, his appearance in the show was confirmed early on. Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's duel in the Disney+ show is arguably the most exciting part of it, and instead of waiting until the end of the run, the much-anticipated fight finally goes down in episode 3. Interestingly, however, instead of an intense battle, the fight between the Sith Lord and his former Padawan is significantly lopsided.
In Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3, the Galactic Empire is finally able to corner Obi-Wan and Young Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) in Mapuzo. In order to keep the Alderaan safe, he separates from her to distract Darth Vader. This results in the pair's first face-off since their Mustafar battle a decade earlier and understandably, the Sith Lord is seething. Instead of an intense face-off, however, the pair's encounter isn't even a battle. Darth Vader aggressively attacks Obi-Wan leaving the Jedi Master desperately trying to either defend himself or run away. Obi-Wan is clearly terrified of Darth Vader. This might seem unexpected but it's worth noting that there are a couple of things that factor into Obi-Wan's inability to effectively stand his ground. Firstly, he hasn't fought in years. In order to hide from the Empire, he needed to keep a low profile. This means that he's not in his best fighting form. Couple that with his wavering faith and he isn't really attuned with the Force, further impeding his fighting skills. Meanwhile, Darth Vader is at the height of his powers, leaning on his anger.
Secondly, Obi-Wan was still reeling from learning that Anakin Skywalker survived. In Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2, Third Sister/Reva (Moses Ingram) taunted him with the information which truly shocked him. Despite already being 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, it's clear that Obi-Wan is still harboring immense guilt and regret for what happened to Anakin. He blames himself for his Padawan falling to the dark side which contributes to his loss of faith. Even Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) sees this and tried to convince him to forgive himself and move forward. Considering how rapidly things progressed, Obi-Wan was caught off guard with having to physically reunite with Anakin after all these years. The involvement of Young Leia in all of this made it so much more difficult for him. He was playing catch-up the whole time, making it much more easy for Darth Vader to capture him.
After their reunion in episode 3, it's curious if that's the extent of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan's physical interaction in the show. This way, it can focus on Reva as the primary villain of Obi-Wan Kenobi. That being said, it's also worth noting that their face-off is far off from the "rematch of the century" that it was described. With three more episodes to go, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that they meet each other again.
Obi-Wan Kenobi airs Wednesdays on Disney+.
