Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3.

Despite Darth Vader's redemption in Return of the Jedi, Star Wars just offered a stark reminder of just how evil the former Anakin Skywalker was in Obi-Wan Kenobi . During his pursuit of Ewan McGregor's self-exiled Jedi, Vader stalked through Mapuzo, randomly killing a man and his son, with the latter's brutal neck snap rivaling - and surpassing - the slaying of the younglings in Revenge of the Sith.

After the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy humanized Anakin Skywalker to offer narrative depth to his eventual redemption, Lucasfilm's flagship franchise needed to do some work to build up the mythology of Darth Vader. That was previously helped along beautifully - but all-t00-briefly - in Rogue One's exceptional corridor sequence, but Obi-Wan Kenobi's answer to making Vader satisfyingly terrifying was on another level. There was more to appreciate, not least because Vader's evil actions were removed from a battlefield. This was the slaying of innocents seemingly for sport.

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin's slaughter of the younglings was an implied scene - the build-up was shown and the outcome very clear, but the audience never saw him strike with his lightsaber. Perhaps even that was too much to show for a character whose later redemption is arguably the most famous in movie history. But Obi-Wan Kenobi's Vader evil is uncompromising and done for effect: there is no intent here other than to build-up exactly how monstrous Anakin is at this point. Snapping the neck of a child on-screen isn't just a shocking thing, it's a statement of intent for the whole story.

While it may seem like Vader is merely killing for fun in the Mapuzo slaughter, there's arguably more to it than that. One reading suggests he was attempting to draw Kenobi out, just as Moses Ingram's Reva did when threatening Owen Lars previously, but that would presumably have required Vader to pause before killing his victims. Another suggestion comes thanks to Star Wars Legends, and the Sith power of Consume Essence, which saw Sith able to draw power from fear, literally feeding on the Dark Side. Again, it's fitting, but has never been mentioned in Star Wars canon. No matter what the narrative intent, the impact is not up for debate.

This is a Darth Vader Star Wars fans have never really seen before on screen. Even in the Star Wars Original Trilogy, he was all about posturing and his mythology arrived before him, even when Force choking insubordinates. Obi-Wan Kenobi 's version of Darth Vader is far more like the comic book version, brutal and as far away from the wholesome heart of Anakin as he ever would be on his Star Wars story path. To see him snap the neck of a child with almost reckless abandon was perfect in that respect, so it's absolutely fitting that it should feel worse than the even more notorious slaying of the Jedi younglings.

Next: How Many Jedi Survived Order 66 (In Canon)

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