The Third Sister Gave Darth Vader His Cleverest Idea In A New Hope

Warning: Spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 4.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series reveals that the Third Sister gave Darth Vader his cleverest idea for locating the Rebellion’s secret base in A New Hope. The rescue of Princess Leia was one of A New Hope’s most exciting sequences, but it was not a complete victory for the Rebellion and its members. Darth Vader allowed the heroes to escape the Galactic Empire’s superweapon and tracked them to the Rebel base, a trick that he apparently learned from one of his subordinates.

Although Darth Vader is one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy during the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, he is also a talented tactician, outthinking his enemies more often than overpowering them. Han Solo (a talented improvisational tactician in his own right, as shown throughout the films) hadn’t joined the Rebellion quite yet and shirked precautions upon escaping the battlestation, taking Leia directly to the Rebel base and leading the Empire to Yavin IV. Vader’s gamble worked, but Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals that he got the idea from one of his Inquisitors.

In an homage to A New Hope, the Obi-Wan Kenobi episode “Part IV” features Leia being rescued from Fortress Inquisitorius by Ben Kenobi and Tala, who evade the Third Sister and fight through the base’s Imperial forces, escaping with the help of Jedi sympathizers. The Third Sister is nearly executed by Darth Vader for her failure, but she reveals in the end that she’s planted a tracker with Leia, likely inspiring Darth Vader to do the same nine years later in his quest to locate the Rebellion’s hidden fortress. This may also explain why Leia warns Han Solo of Vader’s strategy in A New Hope as well, as she’d seen its effectiveness before.

Reva is committed to tracking down Obi-Wan Kenobi for what appears to be a personal vendetta. Predicting that Kenobi would rescue Leia, Reva thought ahead and seemingly placed a tracker in Leia’s droid, Lola. Reva and Darth Vader can now track down Kenobi and a network of Jedi sympathizers, and will likely catch them off guard in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5. Leia herself will take note of this strategy and see the parallels in A New Hope, warning Han Solo about Vader’s potential tracking device, albeit to no avail.

Darth Vader’s reuse of Reva’s tactic is consistent with the Empire’s strategies in the post-2014 canon continuity. The Battle of Scarif showed the Empire the lengths that the Rebels are willing to go to learn about their superweapons and sabotage them, so they essentially recreated a Scarif-like scenario above Endor, drawing the Rebels into a trap and leaving them caught between the operational Second Death Star and a sizeable portion of the Imperial fleet. While the details of how the Third Sister’s plan plays out remain to be seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, it’s clear that it inspired Darth Vader’s actions in A New Hope.

New episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi release Wednesdays on Disney+.

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