it was pretty clear to me that anakin was still willing to kill obi-wan. there was a point where I thought he could save anakin, then the situation and anger toward obi wan was too great.

I'm not sure obi-wan could risk it.

Hard to see the dark side is...

From what I can tell Anakin died and darth Vader was revived by papatien using the dark side, as he was taught. This would confirm that Anakin was indeed killed. Who was darth Vader after he brought balance to the dark side? It was Anakin who was resurrected by the light side of the force. All of this IMHO.

A Jedi doesn't kill a helpless opponent. Obi-Wan certainly wouldn't want to kill his apprentice and co-adventurer.

Where does the Jedi code say anything about mercy killings? A Jedi isn't a dispenser of justice.

i think we are probably reading too much into it.

obi-wan didn't kill vader when he had the chance because it would have made the movie oh so much more dull.

Lucas needed Vader for the movies because he's the ultimate dark knight character to captivate an audience. Lucas came up with that "You should have killed me when you had the chance" idea back in 1978 (or whenever) because it made the story that much more interesting.

i don't believe Lucas really delved deep into obi-wan's soul to come up with a motive which is why he never told us in the script.

personally i think lucas tells a compelling story which became popular because it resonates with us on a mythic level. It's basically the Matrix, lord of the rings, The Bible,... epic heroes journey right?

Tell me this.. Why did Pad-Me just lose the will to live after giving birth to twins which may be the last hope for the Jedi? I thought she was a queen and a warrior... does that follow with her character ?

no.. I don't think you can delve too deeply into the motives of many of the characters. lots of them i think don't seem to make alot of sense but still make a fun story.

:-)

The reason Obi-wan didn't kill Vader is obvious.

Because it makes for a good story!

In A New Hope Vader says to Obi-wan "you should have killed me when you had the chance" .. this is a great intrigue builder and makes for a compelling plot element.

Obviously Lucas had to then shoot that scene in the prequel. The reason it's confusing however is because he didn't seem to put much energy into making the motivation for letting him live very believable. A jedi would just walk away to leave their old time friend (with the highest metaclorian counts on record) turned mortal enemy to die limbless on the molten lava bed? ya right! anyone with a brain (or a heart) would finish that job.. especially after so much work went into it. i was really disappointed with how underdeveloped this scene in the script was.

The same thing with Padme's death. In the Original Star Wars trilogy we learn that Luke and Leia are twins and that their mom was dead and their dad was Anakin. Now that makes for a good story. Unfortunately, IMHO, the writing of the prequels once again fell short of really selling these developments.. Why did the warrior princess mother of two baby twins who might hold the last hope for the salvation of the Jedi die in the end? "it was like she just lost the will to live" hmm.. i'm supposed to buy that? Padme's character was way to strong too let down her children (and the universe!) by a lack of will..

I think in the case of the Star Wars prequels it's probably best not to read too deep into the characters motivations and best to just enjoy the story in a more superficial and archetypal kind of way. that and the great visuals of course! :-)

In lightsaber combat, the goal of the Sith is to kill their opponent, while Jedi always seek to save life (even the life of an enemy). A Jedi will only kill his enemy if he fears that the enemy is too dangerous to be kept alive.

Perhaps he really did believe that he would be the one to bring balance to the force... with the force being even further from balance then it was at the beginning, killing little ani wouldn't make things right.
also we have time paradox's to think of here. how could obi wan defeat the emperor in the future by training Luke if... (lol spoiler alert) Luke and Vader never team up.
simply, I think that he didn't kill him for George Lucas's wallet, and because you cant kill main players at intermission.

ooo there also wouldn't have been the awesome "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" scene if he was dead