Did Anakin's slaughter of younglings make it hard for you to 'forgive' him in ROTJ?

If we believe that Anakin is worthy of redemption, then Luke's actions don't look absurd. The viewer must be able to see Anakin worthy of forgiviness or otherwise the ending looks completely ridiculous.

 

Ah, but as we've been told, Anakin's not really redeemed. Not in the sense most people think he is or should be. He cannot make up for his crimes. He cannot undo the past. What he does do is realize his mistakes. He stops being evil and starts being the good man that Luke once believed him to be. He does one final act of good and dies as a good man.

Luke doesn't look absurd for loving his father, despite all the bad things he's ever done. He is looking past all of his flaws and at the man underneath the mask. The man that he once was, before he became lost. Luke shows Anakin great compassion and unconditional love. A good parent is one who stops acting poorly and starts taking responsibility. A good parent is one who cares more about their child, than themselves. We don't have to forgive Anakin. We don't have to agree with his actions. We just have to understand why he did what he did. We have to remember that he is a good man who was undone by his own flaws. We all have flaws. We've all done things or known people who have done things that aren't kosher. But as a human being, we are capable of understanding. Luke understands his father, because he knows what it is like to become seduced by the allure of power to save another. Luke wanted to save Leia, Anakin wanted to save Padme.

 

Can't ever recall being asked about forgiving Anakin. Can't say I ever thought about whether or not that it was or is important to me. The guy telling us the history of the fall, ended up being a liar so I have to say I view Anakin's redemption as a bail-out. If Yoda and Kenobi DIDN'T fail Anakin as Padawan and Knight, then why step in and save him from oblivion?

Excellent point, I'm sure some fans feel exactly the way you do.
What now looks absurd to me is Vader falling down with breathing problems for no reason.

***

Not that I enjoy how the turn ended up being done, but its not like Anakin didn't get duped in the first place. So I'm totally cool with Vader dying as a good man. I think he was. I think he finally overcame his stupidity, arrogance, as well as his selfishness, and truly thought about someone else's safety and wellfare before his own.

If that gets you a free pass to the Star Wars afterlife... so be it.

 

Because it is the compassionate thing to do for both Skywalker men. They're giving Anakin the gift of retaining his identity, so that he can see his children together. Luke sees his father has made it back from the dark side and they let him know his father is fine now. He's at peace with himself. Obi-wan loves Anakin as a friend and a brother and right now, he's got him back. He's proud of the fact that Anakin fulfilled his destiny and saved his son. He once said that Anakin has never let him down and he doesn't believe that he will now. For time, Anakin did let him down. But he's made up for it. He proved them wrong, by coming back from the dark side. Even Yoda is impressed, because he had not thought it possible.

 

I don't like kids, so no, it didn't make it that tough for me personally.

haha, j/k. I was surprised that Lucas went there, though, pretty dark stuff. Still, I'm not sure I "forgive" Anakin as much as I just think he led a sadly pathetic life.