Does Vader know Leia is his daughter in Obi

Vader doesn't know he has children in ‘A New Hope.’

When Vader and Leia interact in A New Hope, Vader doesn’t yet know he is her father. In fact, at this point in the story, Vader doesn’t even know his children are alive at all. He assumes, based on what the Emperor told him in Revenge of the Sith, that the child he knew about before turning to the dark side had died along with his wife before she gave birth to Luke.

Sometime between A New Hope and the iconic meeting between Luke and Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader discovers his son is alive. He then embarks on a quest that would ultimately fail: Convincing his son to join him in ruling the galaxy.

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Vader discovers Leia is his daughter because of Luke.

The “I am your father” line in TESB was Luke’s first time hearing that Vader and his father were one and the same, and didn’t actually come to accept it until Master Yoda confirmed their link in Return of the Jedi.

Even still, Vader continued to believe Luke was his only offspring even after discovering his son was alive. It’s not until Return of the Jedi, when Luke confronts Vader and the Emperor in the third act of the film, that the Sith Lord realizes his son is there to protect his twin sister. Luke had only recently discovered the two were siblings and, even more recently, had revealed their connection to the princess.

Vader likely sensed their emotional bond through the Force when speaking with his son. Luke momentarily gives into his anger when Vader suggests Leia could be turned to the dark side, showing how much he cares for her despite only knowing they were related for a short time.

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Leia might be the reason Vader is redeemed.

Leia #WomenInStarWars 1

"It is she who leads the battle… Princess Leia Organa. Bold. Strong… her mother's blood flows through her"
(Yoda)
"Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night" (Leia, TLJ) pic.twitter.com/mtvX6WsdhY

— gwen ✨ (@gwenwynfar) April 3, 2022

At the end of his life, Vader’s final words to Luke are: “Tell your sister, you were right.” Before confronting their father, Leia told Luke she believed there was still good in Darth Vader and that he could be brought back to the light — the same thing their mother told Obi-Wan Kenobi in her final moments. Both women were right; Through the undying love of father, son, and daughter, Vader — Anakin Skywalker — was redeemed.

In the years following the fall of the Empire and the rise of the New Republic, Leia was forced to confront her dark family history. By then, it was widely known that Luke and Leia were brother and sister, but their relation to Vader was a pretty well-kept secret … until it wasn’t.

The moment the galaxy found out they were the children of a Sith Lord nearly ended Leia’s political career. However, she came to embrace where she came from and continued to fight for the good of the galaxy for the rest of her life.

One of the biggest questions Star Wars fans had regarding Darth Vader was how come he didn't sense Princess Leia had the Force in her. And more so, that she was his daughter. They were in proximity so many times, he should have picked up on the signature, especially after Boba Fett indicated to him that Luke Skywalker was his son in Marvel Comics' Star Wars: Darth Vader #6 in 2015.

Seeing as Vader was so in tune with detecting the Force in people, per how he kept tracking Ben in Obi-Wan Kenobi, it'd have been easy to envision him picking up Luke's spark in Leia. Many ascribed this, though, to Leia not awakening her abilities until after Vader died, but this Disney+ series confirmed she was exhibiting Force-traits since she was a kid. However, given Vader's mission to find the perfect weapon to use against the Emperor, it might be he knew Leia was his, but just didn't care.

This theory begins with Vader almost burning Obi-Wan alive on Mapuzo, where Leia was as well. Now, Vader's an insightful general, ergo how he snuffed out Reva's plan to betray him years back. Thus, it's hard to see him not picking up on Leia having Jedi intuition -- something Ben seemed to realize, too. But rather than actively seeking the kid out, Vader could have let Leia live as bait to see if the Organas were connected to insurrection against the Empire.

Ben, after all, would take precedent in this hunt. More so, the same way Vader manipulated Reva to see what she'd become, there's a chance he planned this for Leia as well. Destroying Alderaan could have been Leia's Order 66 experience, with the warlord prodding to see if her rage could be weaponized. But because Leia didn't exhibit any major Force powers after this tragedy, Vader could have neglected her, even after reconciling a signature with Luke.

Focusing on an advanced Luke would simply be the better bet, although games such as capturing Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back could have been contingency measures to keep testing if Leia would let darkness in. Luke did acknowledge when he got older that she held more power, so that would validate a possible experiment by Vader. Coincidentally, Leia showed signs of being a killer after Empire in her vendetta against Tarkin's Imperial apprentice, Commander Zahra, making Vader's game a worthwhile effort.

Such a scheme would tie into Vader as a puppet master, manipulating variables and seeking out the offspring with more anger. It'd have been a sadistic long con, but him picking Luke after deeming Leia's potential nil would have fit Vader's secret mission. Because ultimately, he needed the perfect apprentice if he was to overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy -- and without a lock on the Force just yet, Leia wouldn't have been it.

All six episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are available on Disney+.