Obi-Wan Kenobi: How does Reva know Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader?

• The Inquisitor Reva knows the secret of Darth Vader in “Obi-Wan Kenobi”, but from where?
• Few know that Anakin Skywalker is behind the Vader mask and it is a well-kept secret.
• There are two theories as to how Reva knows of Darth Vader’s true identity. We present them to you!

At the end of the second episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was released alongside the first on Disney+, Reva (Moses Ingram) reveals to Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) that Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is still alive . Obi-Wan is shocked, thinking he killed his former student. But we viewers are also surprised: How does Reva know Vader’s secret?

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In comics and books, and in stories that are no longer canon, Vader’s identity as former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker is a closely guarded secret. If anyone ever sees Vader without a mask, Vader is happy to make short work of it. In canon, only a few followers of the Empire know of Vader’s secret.

These include, of course, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who keeps the secret himself well, since a faceless terror machine like Vader seems almost more threatening without human components like names. Tarkin (Peter Cushing) also knows about Vader’s secret, but not officially.

The Grand Moff has seen some of Vader’s maneuvers and drawn conclusions as he also served with Anakin in the Clone Wars. Star Wars Rebels villain Thrawn was also able to use his razor-sharp wits to figure out that Vader is Anakin. So how does Reva know about this?

Reva can use the Force to read minds and sense emotions. This allows her to find out Obi-Wan’s whereabouts from Haja Estree (Kumail Nanjiani). She also feels Obi-Wan’s horror when she mentions Darth Vader and immediately suspects: Obi-Wan thought Anakin was dead. So did she read Darth Vader’s mind and thus find out his secret?

Hardly likely! A Sith Lord like Darth Vader would readily sense it should someone access his mind and would hardly condone it. So she must have seen or experienced it somehow. There are two theories for this.

1. 1. All Inquisitors have learned Vader’s identity!

2. 2. Reva overheard Vader’s secret and kept it to herself!

1. All Inquisitors have learned Vader’s identity!

One theory is that all Sith Inquisitors know Vader’s true identity. They are being trained to hunt down the remaining Jedi – by Vader. Since Obi-Wan is one of the last Jedi to the Empire’s knowledgemasterif not the last, it would be logical for the inquisitors to be provided with all the info.

There is a special focus on Obi-Wan, including for Vader personally. In order to find him, the inquisitors need all information about his last whereabouts and his last deeds. So it would be possible that Vader and Palpatine told the Inquisitors about the lightsaber duel on Mustafar.

2. Reva overheard Vader’s secret and kept it to herself!

Another theory is that Reva witnessed Anakin’s transition to the dark side. As a Padawan in the Jedi Temple, as seen at the beginning of the first episode, she is said to have witnessed Order 66 and seen Anakin Skywalker invade.

Of course, since Anakin is known as a sore thumb in the Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars era, she would recognize him instantly. Since Anakin is addressed as “Lord Vader” by the clones at the time, she would also be able to deduce that Anakin and Vader are one and the same person.

This theory assumes that Reva, as a Jedi Padawan, survives Order 66 and then flees from Vader – knowing his true identity. However, she is later caught, tortured and seduced to the dark side. She then doesn’t blame Vader for her torments, but rather his master Obi-Wan, through whom Anakin first became Vader.

The new episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” appear weekly on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. in the Disney+ New Releases program. The series of the “Star Wars” universe consists of a total of six episodes. After “Obi-Wan Kenobi” we can expect all sorts of other “Star Wars” new releases this year!