I keep thinking about that Doctor Who quote: “All that pain and misery. And loneliness. And it just made it kind.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker both experienced unimaginable pain, misery, and loneliness. Both of them have lost everything they once held dear, people and principles alike, they’re two men living solitary lives, untouchable because they have made themselves so.
But we know where this story is going. We know that Obi-Wan will find hope again, that he will let go of the pain and misery, that it has made him stumble to his knees, but he still has kindness to give when he can, no matter how hard he works to suppress it, that urge is still there every single day, to be kind. And the moment he’s off Tatooine, the moment he’s not endangering Luke with it, we can see that kindness start to shine through again.
But Vader. Oh, Anakin Skywalker. All that pain and misery and loneliness. And it just makes him worse. He seizes on it and becomes cruel with it, he wants Obi-Wan to suffer, this person that he loved so much, the person that was one of the defining figures of his life, the one that this story is about, that theirs is a love story as the creators have said, he wants Obi-Wan to hurt, because he hurts. He drags Obi-Wan through fire because he wants to inflict his own pain and misery onto the people around him.
All that pain and misery and loneliness and such drastically different reactions to it. Even at Obi-Wan’s lowest, he still tries to find little ways to be kind, little gifts to give to bring light and life to others. Toys for Luke, treats for the eopie, money for the homeless vet, fixing Lola for Leia and teaching her about the Force and talking to her about her mother, every chance he gets to be kind, you can see him wanting to reach for it.
And every chance Anakin Skywalker gets to be kind, he rejects it and grabs hold of monstrosity with both hands. When he hurts, he wants others to hurt with him, he wants everyone to feel his wrath. All that pain and misery and loneliness and it just made him cruel.
I’m watching Kenobi and I love how this show is like “You really wanna know how this man ended up looking like Alec McGuinness? One afternoon with Leia Organa.”
