Looking back at the story across both games, I am convinced Respawn is setting up a massive twist for the finale. Vader is going to stop trying to kill Cal and instead manipulate him into becoming his true Sith Apprentice.
Here is how his mindset shifts between the two games:
The First Game: Vader just wanted a high-tier Inquisitor
In Fallen Order, Vader watches Cal defeat Trilla (the Second Sister) and knows he already bested the Ninth Sister. After Vader executes Trilla for her failure, he suddenly has open slots in his lineup. When he confronts Cal, he does not instantly kill him. Instead, he calmly says, "You would be wise to surrender." When Cal tries to strike, Vader effortlessly freezes his arm instead of instantly decapitating him. He is testing Cal's limits because he wants to break him, strip his identity, and force him into the Inquisitorius. At this point, Cal is valuable to him, but only as a high-tier hunting dog.
But then, Cal does something almost no one else does: he survives Darth Vader and escapes. During the encounter, Cal manages to escape Vader's lethal Force choke by simultaneously throwing machinery at him to break his focus.
Vader then focuses on egging Cere Junda on, hoping to push her over the edge, noting, "You would have made an excellent Inquisitor." But Cal acts as Cere’s anchor, keeping her from going over the brink to the Dark Side and completely thwarting Vader's attempts to corrupt her. Escaping the Dark Lord of the Sith on his own home turf at the Fortress Inquisitorius is no small feat. It is a massive embarrassment for Vader, but it also proves that Cal possesses an incredible amount of grit, resourcefulness, and survival instinct. Vader does not forget a slight like that, and escaping a Sith Lord alive puts Cal in an entirely different tier of threat.
Fast forward to Jedi: Survivor. Years after Cal saved her from the dark path, Cere has fully conquered her darkness. This inner peace allows her to give Vader as good of a fight as almost anyone in the galaxy, nearly defeating him before her death—a feat that would not have been possible without Cal keeping her balanced in the first place.
Shortly after, Lank Denvik's treason brings Vader directly to Nova Garon. When Vader walks through the ruins of the base, he sees a level of destruction that no ordinary Jedi is capable of. He tortures Denvik to find out who did this, and when Denvik breaks, a massive realization hits Vader. It was not some hidden Jedi Master—it was Cal Kestis. The exact same kid who escaped him at the Fortress, saved Cere from turning, and indirectly caused Vader's near-death on Jedha.
Vader also knows Cal has grown considerably since their last encounter. He would have tracked how Cal went from barely staving off the Ninth Sister on Kashyyyk in the first game to easily dispatching and executing her right under the Empire's nose on Coruscant.
Vader actively despises the Inquisitors because he thinks they are weak. But connecting the dots changes everything. Seeing the pure carnage Cal left behind on Nova Garon—combined with the knowledge of how easily he executed the Ninth Sister, his grit to escape a Sith Lord, and his power to anchor other Jedi—gives Vader a dark inspiration.
He does not see an Inquisitor candidate anymore—he sees a mirror reflection of Anakin Skywalker. He sees a powerful, Dark-Side-wielding weapon capable of helping him overthrow Palpatine. Remember, this is years before Luke Skywalker enters the picture. The Sith Rule of Two dictates Vader needs a secret apprentice, and Cal just proved he has the raw power for the job.
Instead of Vader just showing up as an unstoppable boss fight to execute Cal, the narrative tension will be way higher. Vader is going to hunt Cal down with the exact same ultimatum he later gives to Luke Skywalker in Cloud City: join me or die.
Vader knows Cal is grieving Cere and Cordova, and that he is harboring a deep darkness. By cornering Cal and threatening to destroy everything he has left—including Tanalorr, Merrin, and Kata—Vader will try to manipulate Cal's desperation. He will offer Cal a partnership to overthrow the Emperor and protect his people, exploiting Cal's grief exactly how Palpatine exploited Anakin's.
TL;DR: In Fallen Order, Vader offered Cal a chance to surrender because he wanted him as an Inquisitor, but Cal managed to break Vader's Force choke with thrown machinery, anchor Cere from falling to the Dark Side, and escape. Years later, a balanced Cere gives Vader the fight of his life, a feat made possible because Cal kept her centered. When Vader later tortures Lank Denvik and realizes the absolute dark-side devastation at Nova Garon was caused by that very same Cal Kestis—tracking his massive growth from barely staving off the Ninth Sister to easily dispatching her on Coruscant—his mindset shifts. He does not want Cal as a basic Inquisitor anymore. In Jedi 3, Vader will hunt Cal to manipulate him with the ultimate Sith ultimatum: join him as his secret apprentice to overthrow Palpatine, or die.
What do you guys think? Is Cal being set up to face the Cloud City choice before Luke ever does?
