CT What Did Vader Think Happened When Obi-Wan Disappeared?

Its far from definitive I'd agree but again that he doesnt say those things and the way he addresses Obi Wan does feel a bit like he's talking in the present tense,

It would I think be very Sith like to undervalue the importance of advice Obi Wan could still give, to only value power.

 

"This man will never stop surprising me".

 

This scene always bothered me. From Vader's POV, did he even strike Obi-Wan that last time let alone 'kill' him?

Obi-Wan says his line about striking him down and becoming more powerful. He raises his lightsaber as Vader starts to swing his blade. Then *apparently* Obi-Wan simply vanishes as Vader's blade swipes through his now empty robes which fall to the floor leaving Vader to step over and stomp on them *apparently* thinking WTH??

It's the stomping on the empty robes that makes me think that Vader has no clue as to what just happened. I don't think his lightsaber connected with anything other than the fabric of the robes so I don't think Vader would believe he actually struck Obi-Wan down. Since Obi-Wan wasn't physically there anymore maybe that's why Vader later said that he could no longer help Luke as in 'I don't know where he went but he isn't physically here to help the boy anymore'.

Although if Luke heard Ben tell him to run to the Falcon immediately afterward then shouldn't Vader have 'heard' him too? Or perhaps felt Obi-Wan's presence in the Force in that moment?

 

Do not underestimate the Force.

It's very possible Obi-Wan was speaking inside Luke's head (we only hear him for our own purposes) and blocked any attempt on Vader's part to sense him.

 

Yeah my impression at the time was that only Luke can hear him, I felt that his soul became attached to Luke in some way.
I was surprised when Yoda could communicate with him too in ESB and wondered why. Can Obi Wan potentially communicate with any Force user he wants?

 

As long as their minds are open to hearing him, I would presume so.

I thought it was an interesting aspect of the PT and the Clone Wars series that communication with the dead wasn't something the Old Jedi Order really knew about. Which suggests their understanding of the Force wasn't flawless (despite what some corners of fandom might think).

 

Vader is speaking in the present tense of the results of an event that happened in the past. Because Vader killed Obi-Wan, he can not help Luke. It doesn't matter if Obi-Wan died last week or last year. In either case, he can no longer help Luke.

 

It's very possible. +the Sith don't know about Force ghosts at this point. By Return of the Jedi, maybe..but not this early on. Your theory sounds valid to me. Besides Vader was convinced that Obi-Wan was completely finished--physically and spiritually--when he was talking with Tarkin later on.

 

If Vader had seen The Last Jedi he would've thought that Obi-Wan was force-projecting himself from somewhere else lol.

 

Vader may have also thought someone snuck ayahuasca into his life-support system.

 

As for what happened to Obi-Wan, that would have been up to Lucas to explain. His disappearing after the DS duel has neither been addressed nor repeated in any other episode. Yoda vanished or "dissolved" after his death, while Qui-Gon didn't. Ben did, but before his death. The ability to teleport has never again in SW been brought up or shown. I can see why Vader didn't care. But Luke should have. He could in fact directly have asked Ben's ghost what happened. How come he wasn't interested at all?

 

Some characters in Legends like An'ya Kuro have the ability to teleport. But I get what you mean: in the movies. But Ben wasn't teleporting. He released himself from the plane of existence. It's very interesting. I don't know if this has ever been brought up before.. However, I don't think Kenobi would have been afraid at least at that point to have wounded as he died. I'm also not sure if Kenobi became a Force ghost before the blade touched him or not. My guess is it's before. Vader was shocked. That's why he poked at Kenobi's clothes afterwards. He had never seen any thing like that.

 

I think Vader knew that a jedi in complete balance with the force could do this. It maybe the first chink of light in his return

 

So Yoda, obi wan, Ben solo and Luke all transcend
Qui gon, anakin and sol all have pyre funerals
They all had questions still in their hearts?

 

As I wrote, I have no idea. That's why I said you'd have to ask Lucas. It's his story, and up to him to decide the rules.

 

I think really the reason for the shift was probably the shift in how the Jedi were treated in the franchise. In the originals they are more mystics of who only a a couple remain, in the prequels though they shift to much more "everyday" kind of roles in the setting, still respected but more "normal" and I suspect Lucas probably felt that vanishing on death would not really fit into that.

I mean can you imagine something like the battle at the end of Clones with the Jedi vanishing each time their killed? that would risk looking a bit silly.

 

I imagine that Vader had nightmares about Obi-Wan before and after this final duel. Vader most likely had quite a bit of PTSD after not only losing to Obi-Wan on Mustafar but being so severely burned. I’d wager that Vader had more nightmares in the immediate aftermath of losing to Obi-Wan again at the end of the Kenobi miniseries. If you go by the EU, Vader rarely slept. This was due to the noises and pain caused by his cybernetics. This probably contributed to his machine-like mentality. At any rate, I’m sure that Vader experienced PTSD after the destruction of the Death Star, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kenobi haunted his nightmares. Not Obi-Wan himself, but Vader’s perception of him. Now, when one considers that Vader rarely slept, you could surmise that Padme and/or Obi-Wan haunted most, if not all, of his dreams.

 

Yes I agree, I think Vader was severely traumatized from these events listed above and became obsessed with what happened to Kenobi. Also how did he hide his son from him once he made the connection. How powerful is his son after blowing up the Death Star? Can he talk with Padme through the Force?
He then reverted his obsession over to Luke once he didn't find answers.

 

Qui-Gon was the one who discovered how to transcend after his death.

Anakin, from what I remember of the novelization, was about to pass on before he was intercepted by Obi-Wan’s spirit.

 

Not the novelisation itself, but tie-ins written by the author of the junior novelisation- The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader, and The Life and Legend of Ono-Wan Kenobi, both written by Ryder Windham who wrote all 3 OT junior novelisations, both show Anakin’s spirit being intercepted by Obi-Wan in the manner you describe.

 

Obi-Wan's spirit intercepted Anakin who was about to pass away on the thirty-yard line.

 

If I remember correctly, the ANH radio series adds one more item. As you hear the Falcon blasting out of the hangar, you hear Ben saying, "In striking me down, you made me more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Assuming he's talking to Vader from the other side, that would've made Vader feel even more uneasy. Is that his long-suppressed conscience trying to make him question his actions? Is he finally losing his marbles after two decades of being Palpatine's fearsome hatchet man? Or did Kenobi really transcend physical death, and is now capable of who knows what? Suddenly, the Dark Side ain't providing the answers he wants.