Star Words: Episode IV, Part 31

As the fateful duel ensues, Vader sneers at Obi-Wan. Your powers are weak, old man. Are they? Ben seemed pretty capable in the cantina, confronting a bunch of desert hoodlums. But Vader is a far greater foe. And certainly if we compare this with the duel on Mustafar, it's pretty tame. Yet that goes for Vader too. Is it simply that they've both gotten old, or are they holding back? Is there something deep beneath the surface of the embittered Sith Lord that resists the idea of killing his old master? Does Ben have similar reservations? Am I reading far too much into this? Probably.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan's calm response is one of the best lines of the entire saga.

"You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

The first part echoes something Ben said earlier, while counseling Han that there are alternatives to fighting. That cryptic idea is expanded here, with a glimpse at the mystic depths of the Force. How could someone become more powerful after being killed? Isn't death the end?

Later we will witness Obi-Wan's ghostly presence emerging post-death, first as a voice and then as a full corporeal vision, continuing to guide and direct Luke. More powerful, indeed. And yet is there even more to it than that? When you consider how the prequels explore the conflict of learning to accept loss versus fighting death at any cost, this iconic line becomes all the more fascinating. Anakin spent so much of his youth struggling with the inevitability of death, eventually selling his soul in this futile pursuit. Yet it appears that the only way to truly overcome death -- a secret attained by none other than Qui-Gon -- is to embrace it, without fear or defiance. It wouldn't have saved Anakin's mother or wife from dying, but it might have saved his soul.

Next, a scathing criticism from Leia...