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GuyKopski t1_j6fyyob wrote

Reply to comment by Petrichor02 in What’s actually a good/tolerable example of retconning? by unitedfan6191

That's what makes a good retcon. Obi-Wan's dialogue about Anakin and Vader in ANH was meant to be true when it was written, but it still works with the post-Empire story because it makes complete sense that Obi-Wan would want to hide the truth of Luke's heritage from him. Even the way it's acted fits perfectly, with Alec Guiness visibly hesitating before telling the lie. It's so smooth that it's completely believable that it was always the original intention, even though it wasn't.

Where retcons become problematic is when you just have to straight up ignore details that don't fit the later version because they don't make sense anymore.

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RSquared t1_j6gecd9 wrote

"It was true, from a certain point of view." No, it fucking wasn't; Obi-wan just still had his blind spots regarding his apprentice. The Jedi are far more interesting when you see that they fail at their own Code repeatedly.

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PerfectZeong t1_j6ig04x wrote

But it was true, from a certain point of view. The man who was his friend and brother is gone and he doesn't believe he can ever return.

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