There’s much speculation floating around about the remaining three episodes of OBI-WAN KENOBI: will Darth Vader and Obi-Wan meet again, will Reva find out who Leia actually is, will the Grand Inquisitor return? But one possible confrontation sent me into speculation mode after Episode 3, and I haven’t heard many people discuss the possibility. I began to wonder whether or not Leia Organa will come face-to-face with Darth Vader before the end of the series.
I did hear someone speculate that they were keeping the two apart because Vader might sense a force presence in Leia – and perhaps even that she is his daughter. But I don’t think this is a necessarily a reason to rule it out. Vader and Leia have met before on-screen and presumably off without him sensing anything.
Now if I had to bet about whether or not Darth Vader and 10 year old Leia Organa will meet, I’d bet that it won’t happen. But I do think Vader and Leia meeting would actually improve – or at the very least support canon. In A NEW HOPE, Vader took Senator and Princess Leia Organa prisoner after trapping and capturing her on the Tantive IV. And their meeting and further interactions in the film definitely lean to a history between the two. Now I know some naysayers may say “well of course they are going to have a history, she was a Senator and a Princess and he was the Emperor’s #1 advisor/bodyguard/henchman. I’m sure they traveled in the same circles.” But would they?
I’m not sure. Based on respective positions alone, it would seemingly be like Princess Kate or even Meghan Markle meeting a top US General or even the President’s top advisor. It might happen – but probably wouldn’t just because of who she is. However, when you factor in that she was a part of the rebellion, I would definitely think the two would have met. So now would be a great time for the two to meet for the first time. Because if you look at their interaction in A NEW HOPE, the two seem to have a deep history with a very personal hatred for each other. And even beyond personal confrontations, Leia likely hates Vader because of the many friends and fellow rebels who have been tortured and murdered at his hands or at his instruction.
But the interaction between Leia and Vader in A NEW HOPE does seem beyond that. It seems to hint at a very personal and VERY emotional history. And this is a history that we could start to see in OBI-WAN KENOBI. The KENOBI writers could simultaneously show us some backstory on Leia and Darth Vader’s seemingly very personal hatred for each other – probably already growing after KENOBI’s Episode 3 (the most recent episode at the time of this blog’s publication).
A very personal confrontation – and possibly canonizing the “mercy mission”
So like I said, at the beginning of A NEW HOPE, when Vader takes over the Tantive IV and captures Leia, the two definitely seem like they have met before – and it was not on good terms.
Leia begins the confrontation with the famous, “Darth Vader, only you could be so bold.” To me, this line feels less like “I am pissed at you because you killed a bunch of my friends and allies” and more like “HERE WE GO AGAIN” i.e. this is not the first time we’ve faced off. To me, the interaction reads like Leia has had run-ins with Vader before and has had it up to here with his meddling. And his response reads much the same…
Vader very specifically says “you weren’t on any mercy mission this time”. I imagine this means that at some point in the past she used that as an excuse to evade Vader and the empire when they were in her grasp. Perhaps Reva ends up having pity on Leia and uses the “mercy mission” line as an excuse to get Leia out of hot water when she is in front of Vader ready to be hauled into an Empire interrogation cell. Either way, I think the “mercy mission” is a point of canon that the STAR WARS series will address in the future, hell they addressed Luke’s toy shuttle in A NEW HOPE.
By the end of the scene Vader seems totally fed up. He publicly labels her as a “traitor” and “part of the rebel alliance” and seems boldly confident in doing so. He is sick of talking with her (even though they’ve only said a few sentences to each other) which I think means that they’ve had this interaction MANY times before.
Even the interaction after this scene between Vader and Daine Jir seems to point to Vader REALLY wanting to be vindictive to Leia. Jir tells Vader that the Senate is going to be pissed and that she is not going to break. Vader only replies “leave that to me” – an ominous warning if ever there was one – that would seemingly be reserved for people that you’ve had a history with and not just a Senator Princess that you have just met and taken hostage for the first time.
The Interrogation
When Darth Vader comes to visit Leia in the interrogation cell on the Death Star, he has already surmised that there is a hidden rebel base. He is not even going to ask Leia about her allegiances, whether or not she is a rebel – he is going straight for information that would normally be well down the line of questioning. And my theory is that he is doing this because he already knew her, already mistrusted her – perhaps for the past 9 years.
One of the scariest sites in all of STAR WARS is then revealed: the MIND PROBE with a damn hypodermic needle sticking out of it! And heading straight to Leia’s eye! We cut to the door of the interrogation cell SLAMMING SHUT, leaving only Darth Vader, Leia, and the probe inside the cell. Again, this personal connection leads me to further believe Vader had it in for her and that they had a past.
The sad fate of Dantooine (ne: Alderaan)
I think one of the reasons that we never previously realized that Vader and Leia had a history was that Leia lays into Tarkin so badly with the infamous “foul stench” line that it almost overrides all of Vader and Leia’s interaction. I mean this could either support or hinder my theory. I doubt Tarkin shows up in OBI-WAN KENOBI so I don’t think 10 year old Leia is going to be having any interaction with him. BUT I will say that her “foul stench” line does feel like a way to insult someone but it feels, at least to me, less personal than her interaction with Vader. Moreover, Leia and Tarkin seem to hate each other from an ideological standpoint that does not necessarily hint at any personal interactions.
Further when Tarkin says he found it hard to sign the order to terminate Leia’s life she says “I’m surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.” And I take this to mean she knows he’s a jerk but he rarely gets his hands dirty – unlike Vader. Further meaning that she has probably had a lot more in person interaction with Vader.
Lastly Vader is silent through this entire scene. Which I find kind of interesting for other reasons. I argue that he almost seems like he knows Tarkin is going too far here and has a subconscious empathy with Leia. The way he stands over her and pulls her back, saying nothing just seems sad more than anything else. Truly a man who has no worth other than to cause pain for others.
So overall I think it could be VERY plausible that the two would meet on OBI-WAN KENOBI. AND I think it would fit PERFECTLY into canon. I think seeing Leia meet Reva at the end of episode 3 furthers this likelihood. If nothing else Reva will eventually relay the information to Vader about Princess Leia, and Vader likely already knows the plan – so is already plagued by the troublesome resilience of the princess. I don’t think a meeting is that crazy of an idea.
And let’s just remember that despite reports to the contrary these OBI-WAN KENOBI writers, directors and artists are definitely thinking of canon and the OT. Just take a look at this LOLA aka L0-LA59 type droid that was with the Stormtroopers on Tatooine back in A NEW HOPE:
No Scoops Club 