PT An analysis of Anakin's turn

I wrote a small segment of this as a response to the thread on Anakin’s thought process in Revenge of the Sith. This ended up a lot longer than I expected.



Anakin starts the saga in TPM as basically completely innocent. He is very gifted, and Qui-Gon senses his unusual force-potential soon after meeting him. His dreams, although he doesn’t know it yet, are prophetic, he dreams he will be a Jedi, dreams he will marry Padme, and has aspirations for something beyond his slave life.

While he can be competitive, headstrong, and ambitious, he is quite selfless, knowing “nothing of greed”. He is eager to help others. While the Jedi Council initially reject him due to his age and already developed attachment to his mother, Anakin’s luck (and arguably the will of the force) lead him to destroy the TF control ship and save the day for Naboo, which partially influences the Council’s decision to train him after all.
Anakin is also speculated to be the prophesised Jedi “chosen one”, and on Qui-Gon’s death Obi-Wan takes it upon himself to train him, to fulfill a promise he made to his dying Master.



By AOTC Anakin has grown up considerably in the 10 year gap between films. He has become arguably more selfish, and arrogant by the standards of the Jedi. There is a somewhat disconnect between ep1 and ep2, but it makes sense in light of Anakin’s overall arc if you read between the lines. Anakin, while being somewhat insensitively rejected by the Jedi at first, have made them his family. Despite his talents, his Master Obi-Wan has been holding him back a little, feeling he must still attain the wisdom to match his considerable abilities. He misses his mother (who he has been having dark dreams about of late), and feels a little out of step with the Jedi, who sometimes treat him with some apprehension due to the belief that he is different than an ordinary Jedi (as the chosen one).

Anakin and Padme’s romance in this film is obviously significant, and while it is perhaps not written as compellingly as it could have been, their connection is understandable – Anakin the sweet kid that helped out the main characters (including Padme) by winning the podrace and destroying the droid-control ship in TPM, and Padme the beautiful girl Anakin formed a close bond with (shown in moments such as Padme comforting him on leaving his mother and Tatooine), and that Anakin admired the strength of and compassion with which she led her people. Anakin has been infatuated with and dreamt about her for the ten years between movies. She is a connection to his past, a past he has trouble leaving behind.

Some deleted scenes that were cut from the film would have helped the romance significantly, but the final cut still paints a picture of a woman who doesn’t want to let herself get involved in a relationship, despite having feelings for him. The events they go through together in the first two films is significant I think, Anakin protecting Padme on several occasions, and Padme’s nurturing nature helping Anakin through tough times, particularly the loss of his mother. Anakin’s mindset makes more sense than Padme’s to be honest, he has never felt for another woman as much as Padme as far as we are shown, and his upbringing, both as a slave and as a Jedi in training, has left him a little stilted when trying to express these feelings.

Perhaps the most important part of Anakin’s character development in AOTC is his return to Tatooine. Anakin’s dreams about the pain his mother is in are prophetic force-visions (similar to the visions he will – ironically kind of masochistically - intentionally cause in Luke, as Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back).

Anakin’s visions and his fear bring him back to Tatooine to find that Shmi has been kidnapped by Tusken raiders, and that he has been sensing the pain they have been physically causing her. He tragically only finds her at the camp as she is about to die, something he partially blames the Jedi for – their restrictions stopped him from getting to her sooner, and their teachings and advice didn’t help him save her (eg, “Dreams pass in time” is decent advice if you aren’t Anakin). Anakin’s initial desire for power mostly begins here, where he at first wants the power to help others – something he did more selflessly in TPM.

Anakin’s revenge killings are the first time Anakin truly uses the darkside, exactly as Yoda and the Jedi had feared and warned him against in TPM. Qui-Gon’s voice imploring Anakin to stop is a nice easter-egg, and of course will hold significance when Qui-Gon returns from the netherworld of the force to teach Obi-Wan and Yoda at the end of the third film. Fairly obviously, this is where Anakin first starts down the dark path, and while he won’t become Vader for several years, it is a considerable change from how we have seen him up to this point. When Anakin reveals to Padme what he has done (a metaphor laden scene - “Life seems so much simpler when you’re fixing things”), the writing specifically emphasises that he killed the woman and the children as well, who aren’t fighters amongst the Tuskens, hence an indicator that he has gone too far.

Also, significantly, we get a glimpse of the tragic distance between Anakin and his Jedi Masters who could perhaps have helped him recognise his mistake – Yoda sensing Anakin’s pain, which he relays to Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan cluelessly remarking “That’s Anakin’s tracking signal alright, but it’s coming from Tatooine! What in blazes is he doing there? I told him to stay on Naboo... I do hope nothing has happened to him.” It is also revealed in ROTS that Anakin only told Palpatine about the Tusken massacre, Palpatine having been an implied mentor for Anakin since the end of TPM (invisibly playing tug-of-war with Anakin’s allegiance to Obi-Wan and the Jedi). Things are really circumstantially set up so that Anakin is unluckier than his son Luke, who is successfully trained by both Obi-Wan and Yoda, and has far less reason to fall in ROTJ, despite coming close. Luke’s experience in the Dagobah cave, for example, gives Luke a deeper wisdom than Anakin ever reaches. This culminates in Luke becoming a Jedi by defying Palpatine and refusing to kill Vader in ROTJ (finally truly realising the lesson of the cave), and provoking Anakin to have his own revelation and spiritual rebirth.

Anyway, interestingly, Anakin seems to want to better himself after what happens with the Tuskens. Because he went to Tatooine against the Council’s instructions, he tries to obey Mace’s orders to stay on Tatooine rather than going and attempting to rescue Obi-Wan... “You heard Master Windu, he gave me strict instructions to stay here”. Padme’s loophole however (that she is going to Geonosis and if he wants to obey his protection orders he has to come) changes his mind. Padme is (arguably) partially an enabler to Anakin, turning a blind eye to Anakin’s flaws almost unconditionally until it finally becomes too much during their confrontation on Mustafar towards the end of ROTS.

Another significant benchmark in this movie is Anakin’s first confrontation with Dooku. At this stage, for Anakin, the Sith are the embodiment of everything Anakin is against. He hates Dooku, and impetuously charges at him against Obi-Wan’s instruction, hoping to avenge fallen Jedi from the Geonosis arena, but just getting a dose of Sith lightning. After Obi-Wan’s defeat, Anakin fights Dooku solo, and while he tires out the much older duelist, he is bested by Dooku and loses an arm. Dooku escapes with a piece of Anakin’s innocence, and the stage is set for the next film.

(Just as an aside, I love the symbolism of Anakin’s robot arm holding Padme’s during their wedding. Very depressing.)



Which brings us to the main part of Anakin’s arc, Revenge of the Sith.

This film is often my favourite film of all-time, but I go up and down on how brilliant I find it is.

How well the first two prequels set up the fall are debatable, but however an individual feels, I find things are quite significantly and specifically arranged/setup by the start of the movie. Anakin is steadily married to Padme, but they are kept apart by the ongoing war; Anakin’s obligations to the Jedi and the Republic. Offscreen, Padme has fallen pregnant, and this puts stress on their situation as the Jedi (besides arguably Obi-Wan) don’t yet know Anakin is secretly married.

Anakin, once again, has changed considerably between films. The war, and Anakin’s Jedi knighting, have shaped him into a man resembling the hero Obi-Wan speaks of in ANH. Obi-Wan and Anakin share a (doomed) friendship, and start the film interacting much more as equals than in the previous two films. Anakin is also more patient and calm, and arguably wiser, for the first act anyway. He is also becoming quite powerful.

The pacing of the film can be quite intense, we are brought into a battle in the very first scene, in which the Jedi show their seasoned experience in dealing with it, making it to Grievous’s ship, and confronting Dooku. This is where things become significant. There is arguably a demonstration of the Jedi’s somewhat arrogance when they arrive... “I sense Count Dooku.” “I sense a trap.” “Next move?” “Spring the trap!” The implied irony being that Anakin will forebodingly make his first pre-meditated cold-blooded murder when he kills a defenceless Dooku. A cool bit of humour/characterisation however is a reference to their last encounter with Dooku... “This time we will do it together.” “I was about to say that.” I also like that Anakin’s attachment to Palpatine shows; “Are you alright?”. And Obi-Wan has one of the most ironic lines in the series... telling Palpatine that “Sith Lords are our speciality”.

There are a vast amount of ROTJ throne-room mirrors in this scene (I won’t go into). Most significantly both films involve a duel set up by Palpatine to give Anakin/Luke a test against the Sith that took their arm, and an opportunity to kill said Sith and replace them.

Obi-Wan is knocked out by Dooku, and (as part of a reoccurring theme) is again not around to see Palpatine’s suspicious behaviour, or to witness the nature of Dooku’s death. He even later congratulates Anakin on the death of Dooku, something that re-enforces Palpatine’s later line “The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way”.

Anakin, using his hatred and anger - from his past experience with Dooku, and Obi-Wan’s defeat by Dooku yet again (plus, Dooku is behind numerous threats on Padme’s life and in Anakin’s mind the war itself) – responds to Dooku’s taunts, and overwhelms Dooku with a burst of speed, taking both his hands. Encouraged to do what Palpatine believes is Anakin’s destiny, he symbolically uses Dooku’s Sith saber and his own, and beheads Dooku in cold-blood. The fact that this wasn’t a passionate heat-of-the-moment act is important here. Where Anakin was fuelled by uncontrolled rage with the Tusken village, this time around he has a moment to regain himself – “I shouldn’t...” – but on Palpatine’s order, he does something which sets up that he will soon be Dooku’s replacement. Anakin, still a good person at this point, states “I shouldn’t have done that, it’s not the Jedi way”, but Anakin has ominously “marked” himself by doing it. Dooku only realises at his end, his real role was just as Anakin’s first cold-blooded murder.

Palpatine’s rationalisation “He took your arm, you wanted revenge.” shouldn’t hold much comfort, particularly considering Anakin had already chopped of Dooku’s hands, so really revenge was already basically achieved.


Anakin’s first nightmare scares him. It is the same type of dream he had about his mother, and he knows from experience these dreams tend to come true.

Anakin goes to Yoda for advice on his visions, but Yoda only tells Anakin what he doesn’t want to hear, to let go, to “rejoice for those who transform into the force”. This is something Anakin is not selfless enough to do. Yoda warns him “Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is” which highlights Anakin has already partially slid from the boy who “knew nothing of greed”.

Anakin’s fear for Padme eats away at him over the course of the second act. To make matters worse, relationships between the Jedi and Palpatine are stressed, and Anakin’s two loyalties are pitting Anakin against each other.
Palpatine really outplays the Jedi at this “plotting”. He appoints Anakin his representative on the Council knowing it will drive a wedge between Anakin and the Council when they reject Anakin’s wish to become a Jedi Master, and ask him to spy on Palpatine. Palpatine comes out of it looking there for Anakin where the Jedi reject him.

He states that Anakin is the best choice to take on Grievous, knowing the Jedi will likely send Obi-Wan. The Jedi think they are getting one-up on Palpatine by making their own decision and sending a more experienced Jedi, but this is ironically exactly what Palpatine wants them to do, as he needs Anakin on Coruscant with him, and Obi-Wan is sent away when Anakin could use his guidance.

Thirdly, the Council’s decision to send Yoda to Kashyyyk. Offscreen the Jedi have decided that if they send Yoda off-world it will make them appear vulnerable, and the Sith they believe is in Palpatine’s circle will make a move and come out of hiding. This of course backfires, as Yoda and many of the Jedi Masters are away when Anakin later leads the assault on the Jedi Temple.


Later, in one of the most crucial scenes of Anakin’s seduction, the “opera“ scene, Palpatine offers Anakin the only actual solution suggested to Anakin in the film, when he tells Anakin of the Sith ability to cheat death. A detail I love about the film, Palpatine and Yoda actually tell Anakin literally the opposite – “Death is a natural part of life” and “The darkside of the force is a pathway to many abilities, some consider to be unnatural”. While Anakin would not actually join the Sith yet, he can’t help but keep this idea in the back of his mind, that if he had more power he could access this secret and assure his visions don’t come to fruition.

The opera scene also hints that Anakin is beginning to question the Jedi’s integrity, but he still believes he is ultimately on the right side – “The Jedi are selfless. They only care about others.”

We also see that Anakin has perhaps been conditioned against the Seperatists – “At last! We can capture that monster and end this war.” It is one of the similarities between the Jedi and the Sith, that they both want the Seperatists defeated to bring about different states of “peace”. Palpatine is of course hypocritical here though, as he started the war in the first place, but there is a relative moral grey-area regarding the war in general. This comes up in a discussion with Padme (one of the few remaining strands from Padme’s part in forming the Rebellion that was mostly deleted from the final film) when Padme asks Anakin “Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side?” Anakin, who is already stressed from the infighting between The Council and Palpatine (and his nightmares), lashes out at Padme and says she is “sounding like a Seperatist”, and refuses to use his position with Palpatine to help end the war diplomatically. She can tell there is something else to it – “Don’t shut me out, let me help you.” – and the scene importantly demonstrates a kind of intertwining of the breakdown in Anakin’s personal life and the fall of the Republic. Padme is a symbol of the Old Republic (there is actually a Rebel insignia in her hairpiece during the declaration of the Empire later in the film), Anakin becomes the face of the Empire as Vader (inversely, Vader being put in the suit, viewed from above contains the Imperial insignia).


Obi-Wan goes to Utapau on unanimous decision from the Council, leaving Anakin vulnerable and closer to Palpatine. (In the script, Obi-Wan visits Padme earlier, and there is a quite important line – “He has changed considerably since we returned”).

There is actually a significant progression in how Anakin views Obi-Wan over the course of the film, if you pay attention his name is dropped at important times.

First, you have Anakin affectionately referring to him as “Master” leading up to his turn, which becomes a Sithly “My Master” during their duel, after the turn.

He is quite protective of Obi-Wan at first;
- “I’m not leaving without you Master” with the buzz-droids...
- Becoming angered at Dooku knocking Obi-Wan out...
- When Palpatine tells Anakin to leave Obi-Wan behind on the Invisible Hand, Anakin states with conviction “His fate will be the same as ours.” (Anakin actually saves both mentors’ lives on the Invisible Hand, symbolically carrying both the Sith and the Jedi Orders single-handedly).

The first time Padme mentions him – “Do you think Obi-Wan might be able to help us?” Anakin perhaps stubbornly, and out of pride, states “We don’t need his help. Our baby is a blessing.” Anakin wants to find a way to fix things himself. (Anakin's reaction is a stark contrast to the later confrontation on Mustafar – “He knows. He wants to help you.” Anakin finds it amusing this time, re-enforcing that he is not the same person he was in the much earlier scene).

Obi-Wan’s request for Anakin to spy on Palpatine on the Council’s behalf angers Anakin, but when Obi-Wan leaves for Utapau, Anakin apologises for his recent behaviour. This warm exchange is the last time they will speak as friends.

During Anakin’s pledge scene after Windu’s death, Palpatine orders “Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic.” “I understand Master”. While Anakin agrees with Sidious here, when he later visits Padme after the Temple raid, he still doesn’t personally want to hurt Obi-Wan – “What about Obi-Wan?” “I don’t know. Many Jedi have been killed. We can only hope he has remained loyal to the Chancellor.” – but later when he thinks Obi-Wan and Padme have been conspiring against him, and Obi-Wan refuses to join his Empire, he now thinks it is his responsibility to kill the traitorous Obi-Wan – “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy!” This progression develops up to even the Original trilogy, where Obi-Wan returns after nineteen years and Vader finally gets his revenge (which actually just makes Obi-Wan a martyr to Luke, and more powerful, as he can watch and guide him from within the force).



Back to the ROTS arc, this brings me to Palpatine revealing his identity to Anakin. Another misstep by the Jedi Council occurs leading into it; Mace sends Anakin to Palpatine – “Deliver this report to the Chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his intentions.” But waits for Anakin to leave before stating “I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi”, something he should have let Anakin in on. It sets up Anakin’s comment when he delivers the report “More and more I get the feeling I am being excluded from the Council.” Furthermore, Palpatine’s reaction is simply ‘We can only help Master Kenobi is up to the challenge!” making the Jedi look like they are the manipulative ones.

Anyway, Palpatine basically gives away that he is the Sith Lord, but presents it in a way that Anakin feels like he is coming to the conclusion himself, a teaching technique Palpatine uses masterfully on more than one occasion in the film. Anakin reacts by igniting his saber at Palaptine’s throat, he feels completely betrayed. “Are you going to kill me?” “I would certainly like to!” Anakin while angry, has been friends with Palpatine for thirteen years, and more importantly Palpatine represents the only link he has to the power to save Padme, information he believes he can pump from Palpatine if he goes on trial. I think it is important to realise Anakin basically hates Palpatine now, but their history and Anakin’s desperation make Palpatine the exact man Anakin has been searching for. One of my favourite exchanges in the movie happens here... “I’m going to turn you over to the Jedi Council.” “Of course, you should, but you’re not entirely sure of their intentions, are you?” “I will quickly discover the truth of all this.” “You have great wisdom Anakin.” The tragedy is Anakin never truly achieves the wisdom to discover the whole truth, and I suspect Palpatine is just pretending Anakin is wise.


Anakin delivering the truth to Mace is an interesting scene.

“A Sith Lord?!?” “Yes. The one we have been looking for.” Good exposition making it clear the Jedi have been actively looking for Sidious off-screen, and an indication that Anakin is still a Jedi for now.

“Then our worst fears have been realised. We must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive!” Mace's attachment to the Order, and perhaps the flaw of fear for the Jedi’s loss of power.

Anakin indicates that Mace will need his help to arrest Palpatine, but we know he really is just interested in finding out what power Palpatine holds, and needs him alive.

“For your own good, stay out of this affair. I sense a great deal of confusion in you, young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgement.” “I must go, Master.”

While Mace is entirely correct that Anakin is clouded and confused, he makes a crucial mistake in not bringing Anakin with him. Anakin is the chosen one destined to destroy the Sith, and Mace is facing the Sith behind basically everything that is happening, why wouldn’t he bring Anakin just in case? He represents the PT Jedi blindness to what is really going on around them. Mace states “If what you have told me is true, you will have gained my trust.” This implies a self-fulfilling prophecy, that by keeping Anakin at a distance, the Jedi partially caused him to turn on them. There is also an irony in that Mace has only just started to trust Anakin when Anakin betrays him.

The Ruminations scene is a huge demonstration of Anakin and Padme’s connection, a symbiotic bond that has been there since AOTC. They sense each other from across Coruscant, and this is where Anakin makes a solid decision that Palpatine, and by extension Padme, must survive. I read Padme lowering her head at the end of the scene as a realisation of just how far Anakin would go for her. Anakin leaves for Palpatine’s office to make sure Palpatine is arrested peacefully.

It is debatable whether Palpatine throws the fight with Mace. It seems implied that he foresaw Anakin would come, but the argument on if he lost the duel on purpose can be quite circular IMO. Regardless of your interpretation, Anakin’s fear brings him to the office just as Mace has disarmed Palpatine, and has him cornered by the window.

“You are under arrest, my Lord!” Love Mace’s sarcastic attitude here. What Anakin sees here confirms, from a point of view, Palpatine’s earlier warnings; “Anakin, I was right! The Jedi are taking over!” (Anakin, who has been left out by the Council, could have benefited from hearing Yoda's line "To a dark place this line of thought could carry us. Great care we must take.")

“The oppression of the Sith will never return! You... have lost.” Mace’s arrogance and attachment to the Order and the Republic shows again. A tragic flaw of the PT Jedi is that they were perhaps too reliant on, and connected to, a Republic that was becoming more corrupt from within. They don’t see it until it is too late.

Palpatine retorts with a confident line that (as with much of this scene) mirrors the end of ROTJ “No, no, no, you will die!” (“Now young Skywalker... you will die.”) The burst of force lightning is so intense Mace struggles to deflect it, and it arcs back onto Palpatine. Palpatine destructively causing his own deformation here is quite metaphorical, and IMO the resultant change in appearance is a mix of lightning damage and Palpatine’s disguise disappearing, revealing his true form. He of course will later conveniently use his appearance ironically as proof of the Jedi’s treachery.

“He’s a traitor!” “He is the traitor!” Mace taking the law into his own hands by attempting to kill Palpatine next is arguably treasonous, but Anakin’s desperation has made him too biased to really focus on how much of a war criminal Palpatine actually is. When Mace says this Anakin looks at Mace kind of sympathetically and unsurely, but then Palpatine reminds Anakin of the stakes – “I have the power to save the one you love! You must Choose!” – and Anakin now glares at Mace hatefully. Anakin is essentially choosing between Padme (really himself) and Mace (who represents the Jedi).

“Don’t listen to him Anakin!” is actually exactly the right advice for Anakin, but it’s arguably too little, too late. The intensity builds up, and symbolically thunder can be heard to accompany the dazzling lighting. (I’ve speculated that the thunder can represent the massive shift in the force that is occurring with these three powerful people’s actions). Anakin, overwhelmed, shields his eyes from the lighting. Things are spiralling fast.

“Don’t let him kill me!” Palpatine sounds weak, as if he is speaking from a great distance away. The way his face seems to be melting and reshaping makes me think his appearance change is more than mere disfigurement.

Palpatine feigns weakness here, intentionally making the whole outcome based on Anakin’s action – “Anakin, help me!” (mirroring Luke in ROTJ “Father, please! Help me!”).

Mace seizes what seems like his chance;

“I am going to end this, once and for all!”

Anakin: “You can’t! He must stand trial.”

Mace: “He has control of the Senate and the Courts. He’s too dangerous to be left alive!”

Palpatine: “Don’t kill me, please!”

Anakin: “It’s not the Jedi way! He must live!”

The echoing of dialogue used during Dooku’s death scene makes it a little surreal. Mace repeating that Palpatine is “too dangerous to be kept alive” as Palpatine stated about Dooku, blurs the line between each Order for Anakin. If both Orders are equally flawed, why not join the only one that offers a solution Anakin to the dilemma that has been driving him close to madness. And Mace, someone Anakin looked up to, is hypocritically doing the same thing Anakin did to Dooku. As Anakin said after killing Dooku “It’s not the Jedi way.” But, really, that philosophical contradiction pales in comparison to Anakin’s genuine motivation, represented in his last line to Mace...

“I need him! No!”

Anakin gives into his fear and intervenes, chopping off Mace’s hand (surprising Mace completely – he had been blind to Anakin’s conflict), Mace’s saber symbolically flying out the window with the Jedi Order. Palpatine smiles gleefully; Anakin has finally acted on his desperation and solidified his loyalty to him. Dropping the act, Palpatine springs into action and blasts Mace with all his strength. Anakin, while consciously knowing he was betraying Mace, seems a little surprised, and turns of his lightsaber. Mace, a symbol of the old Jedi Order, is dead.

Anakin has now, in his mind, gone past the point of no return. He has not only used the darkside several times now (which as generally shown in the saga consumes you), but he can’t go back to the Jedi because of what he has taken part in. Sidious knows this, his patience with Anakin has paid off.

The pledge scene that follows is basically Anakin selling his soul to the devil. The person he was walking into Palpatine’s office is subdued into his subconscious, and Darth Vader takes over. There seems to be a kind of darkside mojo at work in the scene, particularly with Palpatine’s voice change and the tone of the music.

“I will do whatever you... ask.” Is the same line Anakin spoke to Padme in AOTC, perhaps as a sign of his dangerously shifting loyalty.

“Just help me save Padme’s life. I can’t live without her.”

While Anakin’s main motivation is to save Padme at any cost, he is not considering what Padme would actually want him to do, and this sacrifice of his principles is a main part of what later breaks Padme’s heart.

“To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret.” Joining Palpatine here really shows how desperate Anakin has become to avoid his visions once again coming true. While he was angry at Palpatine before, and indeed probably still hates him, he actually seems to find some solace in Palpatine’s words. Since Palpatine’s reveal earlier, Anakin has known deep down that Palpatine is a bad guy, and his desire for Palpatine to go on trial and be pumped for information now becomes “If I join him now, I can always overthrow him later.” He clearly thinks what he and Palpatine are setting up is a state of “peace”.

Notice Palpatine also talks of working “together” with Padme in TPM (on bringing peace) and again with Vader in ROTJ (on turning Luke).

I love the way Palpatine seems to get pleasure from stating “The force is strooong with you.”

For a moment, Anakin can’t bring himself to look at Palpatine. He is perhaps consciously taking the ugly way out in killing the Jedi, reinforcing that Anakin is truly selling his soul. When Palpatine speaks the word “Sith” (“A powerful Sith you will become”) however, Anakin seems to focus, and become empowered by Palpatine’s promise of... well, power.

“Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth... Vader!” In the novel it mentions that the pause is Palpatine calling on the force/darkside to find Anakin’s new name.

“Rise.”

From Kashyyyk, Yoda senses a shift in the force as Anakin turns.

Notice it is now night time, the movie features more daytime scenes earlier, progressing to evening, progressing to night. The end of the Republic.

“When the Jedi learn what has transpired here, they will kill us, along with all the Senators.”

“I agree. The Jedi’s next move will be against the Senate.”

Anakin is lying to himself that this is what the Jedi are planning to do. This is one of several times in the movies that something Anakin/Vader says stems from Palpatine’s influence.

Interestingly, Sidious puts up his hood giving himself the appearance of the classic “Emperor” before he makes his first order to Darth Vader – “Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic.”

“I understand, Master.”

‘We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless (kind of funny hearing this from a Sith’s pov). If they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end.”

Anakin hangs his head a bit shamefully here, but then focuses; he thinks it has to be done.

“First I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off-balance.” (Interesting choice of words. The Jedi are vulnerable, scattered and reduced in numbers by the war).

“Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough in the darkside to save Padme.” This is a criticised aspect of the turn, how killing Jedi makes you more powerful, but it is just how the darkside works, more dark acts give more power, and gradually makes it harder to stop.

“Once you have killed all the Jedi in Temple, I want you to go to the Mustafar system. Wipe out Viceroy Gunray, and the other Seperatist leaders.” (Dropping Gunray’s name references past conflict with Nute Gunray, and Sidious even uses the same wording he used ordering Gunray himself in TPM – “Wipe them out. All of them.”)

“Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy... and we shall have peace.” Palpatine’s vision of peace however, contrasting what seemed implied when he used the word in the previous two films.



So Anakin, now Darth Vader (not yet the Darth Vader of the OT however, as he is still progressively sliding) leads the assault on the Jedi Temple using his identity of Anakin Skywalker to take them by surprise. He has sold his soul, betrayed himself, and kills kids not unlike the boy he was himself in TPM. Moving parallel to this, the Clones across the galaxy have turned on their Jedi commanders on Sidious’ order. The fall of the Republic moves synonymously with the loss of the good in Anakin, plus the breakdown in Anakin’s personal life.



By the time he visits Padme at her apartment, he is further gone than he was when he pledged himself to Sidious. Padme sensed the slaughter of the younglings (the scene where she started crying), but she is not sure what she sensed. While something about Anakin seems off, she does not yet suspect what he has done. Anakin/Vader is dark in this scene. He speaks matter-of-factly about the Jedi that have been killed, and lies to Padme (and himself) that the Jedi have tried to overthrow the Republic.

“I will not betray the Republic. My loyalties lie with the Chancellor. And with the Senate. And with you.” (the rationalisation for everything he is doing).

“Anakin, I’m afraid.”

“Have faith my love. Everything will soon be set right.”

Anakin really sounds evil with that line, props to the writing and acting. He is evil now, despite some remnants of his old self remaining, such as being there to see if Padme is safe (which could be a good sign if it wasn’t for his actions), and commenting that “Hopefully (Obi-Wan) has remained loyal to the Chancellor”. Evil, but not yet the cold, calculating Vader of the OT. Padme, unsurprisingly, doesn’t seem very reassured by his talk of going to Mustafar and ending the war.

An element of tragic romance...

“Wait for me until I return. Things will be different, I promise! Please, wait for me.” Anakin can never make good on his promise because of the tragic way the events unfold, Padme later following him to Mustafar out of fear for him. Very depressing. Threepio sums up how the galaxy is feeling – “I feel so helpless!”



The birth of the Empire – Palpatine’s declaration in the Senate intercut with Vader killing the Seperatists is quite effective and stylish. Mustafar is a metaphor of hell, and both the Seperatists and later Anakin himself meet grizzly fates there for siding with Sidious. This goes back to TPM for the Trade Federation, echoing their words “We should not have made this bargain!” Vader is sent to them invited, the Seperatist leaders thinking Vader will be helping them, like Darth Maul did in TPM.

To me, Vader killing the Seperatists holds some similarities to Vader killing fellow Imperial officers in the OT.

Palpatine declares himself Emperor to applause from the Senate, Senators such as Padme and Bail can only look on in bewilderment, as their rights disappear.

As a nod to the first two prequels, Vader adds a personal touch by leaving Nute Gunray to last.

“The war is over... Lord Sidious promised us peace! We only want to...Aaah!”

Nute Gunray of course led the invasion on Padme’s home-planet and was responsible for numerous threats on Padme’s life. So it is a very Sithly revenge killing. Vader killing unarmed Seperatist leaders is obviously portrayed as morally wrong, but from a point of view he is doing what Padme and the Jedi have done on a smaller scale – Padme confronting Gunray in TPM; “Now Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty!”, and Obi-Wan killing Grievous, the ROTS droid-leader.



Anakin shedding a tear on Mustafar, as he looks at a symbolic eclipse is quite powerful and moving. The eclipse represents the good in him being smothered and blocked out by Vader. The rolling lava could represent rage. The tear shows he feels he is betraying himself, but he can’t go back now. The good part of him is crying out, but it has become weaker than his dark self.



Soon after...

“The Seperatists have been taken care of, My Master.”

“It is finished then. You have restored peace and justice to the galaxy. Send a message to the ships of the Trade Federation. All droid units must shut down immediately.”
"Very good My Lord."

Anakin really sounds like Vader here. It also demonstrates Palpatine delivering the “peace” he promised. Padme’s ship appearing on the scanner is a connection to Anakin’s old self. In the novel it describes Anakin as “reassembling his Anakin Skywalker face” for Padme.

Anakin and Padme’s final confrontation is tragic. Padme, who has been told by Obi-Wan about Anakin’s turn and Palpatine’s true identity, has come to Mustafar out of fear that it is true. Anakin, again, is more engrossed in the darkside than he was last time they spoke. Padme tries to convince him to run away with her, she still loves him enough to do this, but Anakin would rather overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy as king and queen. We see here that Anakin’s lust for the power to protect his loved ones has become lust for power, period. Because of the nature of the darkside, he has basically lost his original motivation for turning in the first place. Padme realises Obi-Wan was correct – “You’ve changed!” – and she makes one last attempt to bring Anakin back;

“Anakin, you’re breaking my heart. You’re going down a path I can’t follow!” (An interesting inversion of Shmi’s and Leia’s lines – “Anakin this path has been placed before you, the choice is yours alone.” And “He has to follow his own path, no one can choose it for him.” Perhaps handed down Skywalker women wisdom )

“Because of Obi-Wan?”

“Because of what you’ve done! What you plan to do! Stop, come back, I love you!”

Unfortunate circumstances/timing typical of a tragedy – Obi-Wan chooses this moment to appear from Padme’s ship, making Anakin believe Padme knew he was with her, and that they are conspiring together. Anakin does his first force choke in the films on his wife, and arguably passes the point of no-return.

The duel that follows basically results from both Obi-Wan’s and Vader’s stubbornness, and clash of philosophies – “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy!” and “Only a Sith deals in absolutes! I will do what I must.” Put simply, Anakin blames the Jedi, Obi-Wan blames the Sith.
The duel is chaotic and covers a lot of ground (they even end up destroying the large structure suspended above the lava because of the damaged lava repelling controls). Anakin spends the majority of the duel trying to kill Obi-Wan, and while Obi-Wan holds back a little IMO, Anakin eventually forces his hand on the lava-river sandbank.


“It’s over Anakin. I have the high-ground!”

“You underestimate my power!”

“Don’t try it!”

Anakin jumps, attempting to finish Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan defeats Vader, taking his arm and both of Anakin’s legs. The music goes fittingly off-key as Anakin leaps, making the moment unsettling (The music then transitions from “Battle of Heroes” to the “Immolation scene” music).

Obi-Wan meaningfully looks quite sad and at loss as Anakin rolls down the hill, then he collects himself, and realises he had no choice.

“You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!”

“I HATE YOU!”

“You were my brother Anakin. I loved you.”

Anakin bursts into flame.

A ROTJ novelisation quote is quite relevant to this scene, I don’t know the exact quote, but it’s along the lines of “When your father clawed his way out of that lava pit, everything left of Anakin Skywalker was gone”. IMO most of the good in Anakin is gone by now, but this is not yet where Anakin completely fades.

Obi-Wan, heartbroken, leaves Anakin to die.

An iconic scene (to me) is Vader clawing his way up the sandbank with his robotic hand, and The Emperor’s shuttle arriving to claim him. The shadow of the shuttle ominously passes over Anakin, to the Empeor’s theme. This scene really reinforces why Vader stays loyal to Palaptine; Sidious saves what is left of Anakin from Mustafar (symbolically coming to collect his prize from hell), and rebuilds him, where Obi-Wan (and the Jedi) abandoned him. Anakin has now lost much of his original potential, but he is still of use to Sidious. Sidious putting a healing hand on Vader and rescuing Vader here has been described as Palpatine’s one act of compassion. He actually has somewhat of a soft-spot for Vader... well, as much of a soft spot as The Emperor can have for someone anyway. Something never directly addressed in the films is what Palpatine thought of the prophecy, if he knew of it at all. Turning the chosen one can be seen as a big middle-finger to the Jedi, and it also makes Vader turning on Sidious in ROTJ karmic and poetic. It also raises the interesting question of the nature of Anakin's creation. Watching TPM you could get the impression that Anakin is a Christ like figure, but ROTS leaves it up in the air. The EU goes with Anakin being created by the force in response to Sith meddling with the midichlorians, which would additionally make things very ironic.



The juxtaposition of the birth of the twins and Vader’s construction (birth) is really quite clever. Vader’s screams (he is being operated on without anaesthetic) fade into Padme’s moans as she gives birth to Luke and Leia. It is not the only scene in the PT that portrays a symbiotic link between Anakin and Padme. In AOTC Anakin is indisposed by Dooku’s lightning at the same time Padme is regaining consciousness after falling out of the transport. Anakin and Padme sense each other across Coruscant in the ruminations scene. Padme cries when she senses Anakin killing the younglings during Order 66. And here, as the good in Anakin fades, Padme’s life-force wanes. Say what you will about the inconsistency in Padme’s character, but it is quite romantic. It is a mystical end that the droids can’t explain with science. Padme dies of a broken heart. Vader takes his first masked breath, and Padme says her last words, that Luke will echo many years later – “There is good in him. I know there... is... still...”



“Lord Vader, can you hear me?”

“Yes Master.”

“Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?” (Notice this is the same thing Padme asked of Anakin after the duel; “Obi-Wan. Is Anakin alright?”)

“It seems in your anger, you killed her.”

“I couldn’t have. She was alive! I felt it!”

Vader thinks of lashing out at Palpatine, but realises Sidious and the darkside are now all he has. Vader (because of his strong connection to the force) manifests his pain as a force implosion that destroys parts of the room. Like Padme faded without her link to Anakin, Anakin cannot survive without Padme. Metaphorically, Anakin’s last word;

“Nooo!”

Vader is now as we see him in ANH. His Anakin persona, who he perhaps blames for failing to save Padme, is dead to Vader. He now has nothing connecting him to his old life. Anakin’s efforts to find some kind of liberation by embracing the darkside just led to spiritual enslavement, and his allegiance to the Sith makes up the whole of him now. It is all he has.

At least, until the discovery of Luke Skywalker years later, which will move his arc in the opposite direction. Love became desire for power to save loved ones, which devolved into desire for power period. Inversely, Vader regains his passion to overthrow Sidious when he finds out about Luke. This desire to use Luke to acquire more power evolves into wanting Luke alive out of selfless love. Poetically, love both damns and redeems Anakin.

 

I began this by saying, when I skimmed the thread, "where is HD going with this?", and once I'd finished reading it, I ended it by saying, "where is HD going with this?"

But between starting and finishing, I somewhere also decided that this is a fine read on its own terms -- a wonderful exegesis, actually! I think you articulated Anakin's turn, and the power struggles that feed into it, in a very clear and compelling way (and if I may say so, I think you've turned into a pretty terrific writer; never seen such long, blooming prose from you before -- and it's excellent!).

You've almost written this thing like a play, or a lyrical ode to Anakin's fall. I could feel the pull of the story, the tension ratcheting up, the frustrations in Anakin, and the alternating currents of his thought in each moment. It unfurls quite brilliantly, getting longer and more detailed (it's clear you like ROTS the most, IMO) as it goes, and all the more clinical (but in a gripping, urgent way) as it reaches its ultimate conclusion.

I would honestly think of recommending this as a basic run-down to anyone that has even a passing interest in these films, whether thinking of visiting them for the first time (mind you, it probably gives far too much away for that), or perhaps a little unsure of where their opinions lie and wanting to give them a "second chance"; or anyone looking to consider them in a bit more detail, really. I got more out of it than I expected; and it was a breeze to read. Fantastic.

I'd like to return with more specific comments later.

 

Thankyou Cryo, that's really flattering. It took me a few days. This means a lot coming from a writer of your stature.

ROTS is indeed often my favourite film, up there with Empire Strikes Back as my two all-time faves.
I do find it more complex than the OT, the majority of the reworking of the narrative of the saga takes place within Revenge of the Sith (particularly watching the other films in reflection of what it portrays).

There are, however, a few weaker moments that slow it down a bit for me, something I don't find with ESB.
Luke's journey is executed better, but there is more to Anakin I think. The OT is perhaps warmer and more human, for me, anyway.

Empire Strikes Back has a great mix of humour, drama, and action, all with substance; a philosophy that really reaches the audience. It is a film I can watch and forget that I am just watching a movie.
ROTS is a quite intense riff on Star Wars themes, it says a lot, but I find it rushes aspects of the journey, and can be lost on a lot of people because of this IMO.

I find it really underrated tbh.

 

Bump

 

Would love some more feedback if anyone has any comments on some points they do and don't agree on?

 

Anakin's thought process in Episode 3 doesn't make any sense

At the midpoint of that movie, he is still a hero, a decent guy trying to do the right thing.

He finds out that Palpatine is the Sith Lord, which means Palpatine is corrupted by the dark side, and which also means that Palpatine has been lying to everyone -- the Senate, the public, everyone. It means Palpatine is a big, fat liar.

Anakin does the right thing -- he reports the information to Mace Windu.

Then, when he bursts in on Windu battling Palpatine, he doesn't dispute that Palpatine is a criminal who needs to be arrested -- the dispute is just whether Palpatine should be summarily executed, or should be given due process.

Anakin, quite reasonably, takes the position that Palpatine should be taken alive and tried. When Mace ignores him and prepares to kill Palpatine, Anakin stops him, cutting off his hand.

Palpatine then reveals he was not as badly wounded as he pretended and blasts Mace with lightning while screaming something like, "ultimate power!" Mace is now dead.

Anakin immediately says, "Oh my God, what have I done?"

Up to this point, everything Anakin has done is understandable and defensible. And you would expect his next step -- having just seen further confirmation that Palpatine is a duplicitous murderer who wants "ultimate power" to rule the galaxy -- would be to try to arrest Palpatine himself.

But this is where Anakin's behavior goes completely off the rails. Now that he has received all the possible confirmation he could ever want that Palpatine is an evil liar, he suddenly joins him and takes a vow of loyalty as his apprentice!

And we are supposed to believe that he does this because Palpatine has suggested he might be able to help him use the dark side to prevent Padme from dying. The only reason Anakin has for believing this is possible is the word of Palpatine himself -- who Anakin knows is an extreme liar! And even Palpatine admits that he himself doesn't even know how to do it -- that only "Darth Plagueis" did, and he is dead.

Moreover, based on this absurdly weak rationale, Anakin immediately accepts orders to destroy the Jedi Temple and kill all Jedi he finds, even young children. How could Anakin -- who just a matter of moments before was ready to see Palpatine arrested and tried for treason -- suddenly be willing to slaughter children on Palpatine's orders?

 

Are you a plagiarist or why do you keep keep posting the same things under different names?
march82015, formerly known as andresfelix
There was even another (third) new member a few weeks who wrote almost the same thing....can't remember the username, unfortunately.

HevyDevy
You've obviously put a lot of time into this!
I might be able to add one or two things, but it's too long since I read your post and I can't remember anymore (and it's too long to read again, right now)

 

It is clearly acdc-1989 -- also known as AYEPESLADINO -- from the IMDb message boards.

Known for trolling and for posting delightful comments like "I am democrat and I hate transgenders":

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/board/flat/237921661?d=237921702#237921702

Yes. I sort of have the same problem.

I will get back to you, HD!

 

I read this back when you first posted it when I was lurking. Good write.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.
(BTW DuckHunt , Mario and duck hunt was the first videogame I owned. Nostalgia lol)

 

Same.

It was on a cartridge that also had "Super Mario Bros." on it.

That, the gun, the NES, and either one or two controllers (I've forgotten now), all came together in the same package.

That was a good Christmas.

How did we get onto this?

 

Lol. Yeah I got that package when I was five or six.
Been getting back into nes, snes, and n64 games of late. I'm kind of addicted to eBay. I actually own all six Nintendo consoles from nes to Wii U. Brings me back

 

I never owned one, my parents were not allowing a console the same way they weren't allowing a VCR, so the two of you kind of inspired me now. I need to get the oldest one and play Ice Climbers.

...

(Just as an aside, I love the symbolism of Anakin’s robot arm holding Padme’s during their wedding. Very depressing.)

This is one of my favourite moments in the entire saga.

 

How come you weren't allowed a VCR? Although I kind of relate... My dad's family was exclusive bretheren and they weren't even allowed a television.

Yes, despite some problems I personally have with the writing of the romance in AOTC, the overarching theme is quite tragic. There are moments, such as this, in the movie when I really feel for them. The music and the visuals here say so much that dialogue can't. *Sigh*
Another heartfelt moment is Padme pledging her love before they are brought out into the Geonosis arena to be "executed". While in the finished film Padme's claim she has been "dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life" kind of comes out of nowhere, the cheering audience watching the doomed lovers be brought out to their death is a great metaphor for the Star Wars audience watching a tragic romance unfold. Arguably, part of you craves witnessing the doomed end that they tragically cannot avoid, yet when it happens you can imagine what it would be like to be in the characters shoes. That's how it feels for me, anyway.

 

There is one thing no one ever says, but the way I see it; when Anakin pledges himself its like he is establishing a Master/Slave relationship THROUGH the force with Palpatine. Once Anakin lets Palpatine do that, is when Palpatine can sense the Force through Anakin and somehow also control him to a degree. There is a real connection between the two. That is also why they follow so easily or why Anakin also follows so easily.

This all shows in their weirdly looking at each other. They are establishing the connection and the more dark deeds done, the farther down the path and the more power they attain through their hate.

That is also why Palpatine becomes more powerful and why YODA gets a little ill. He looses power, he looses come connection to the force... To Their Force...

Its like the Force is a Pool and each user contributes to that pool in an overall Force Strength.


As mentioned above. In the movie sense we know who is good and who is bad, but its very plausible Anakin's Point of View. In the end the Jedi are actually trying to overthrow the republic by using force (physical and metaphysical) removing the Chancellor and not going through the appropriate channels. Looks Perfectly like a coup.

In that regards the movie was great..... Awesome....

Problem with the movie is pacing/directing.

 

Anyone have anything they could add or dispute about my first post? Would love to discuss.

 

As I said in another thread:

 

yup never owned a nintendo even though i was prime age for one. i didn't get a new game system until the sega genesis. now every time i watch something about video games with my mom she asks "did you have a nintendo?"
"no".
and she's like "why not? why didn't we get you one for xmas?"
and i say "i don't know!"

 

For a change, we agree on something.

Seems that your mom sees things to be much better than they actually were and that stuff sucks, I'm sorry.

 

HevyDevy

Your written description of Anakin's fall is far more compelling than the way it played out on screen. Had the scenes in the script been interpreted differently, by Lucas and the main actors, I think it could have made for excellent drama. Instead, it simply fell flat for me.

 

I was about to add couple of things, but I then realized that there isn't much to add: you really nailed it down quite extensively and correctly, IMO. One thing that I considered key in his downfall (but you covered it as well, in fact) is the loss of the mother. For me that's what made all the rest possible. Had he not lost her there would have never been that "earlier/similar incident" that made him after so frantic to prevent Padme from dying. Because, like you pointed it out, that is what started him down the path: the need to save Padme.

 

On second thought there is one point I tend to disagree, which is the very reason why I googled this topic to begin with: the exact moment Anakin hits the "no-return point". One could argue there isn't such a point since he eventually "came back" at the end of Ep.6 and redeemed himself, but there is an undeniable no-return point of him becoming Darth Vader, at least up to his final redemption. You mentioned if there is such a point is when he tried to choke his own wife Padme, but IMO, he went past it already before - had already "snapped", sort to speak, before that, or he would have never attacked Padme, would he? It might be a little different but since you asked for any point of dispute here we go:
The point of no-return is for me the moment he sees Obi-Wan appearing from the ship. There he makes the final, inner choice, unseen to us, that seals for good his dark fate. My reasons for that: up to that point Anakin has still some conscience that he has been doing real evil stuff. Why else would he be crying in the scene just before? Someone who cries (genuinely of course - I'm not talking about fake tears) is a sign that he is aware that he'd done evil deeds and somewhat regrets them. That's the case with Anakin: yes, he caused Mace' death, slaughtered the younglings, murdered the Saparatists leaders but he regrets all that, at the same time "justifying" those atrocities "for the sake of Padme". Now that's a poor excuse for us, of course, but for Anakin is the only thing that somehow makes him still right. I explain: why people do evil? There are always many factors involved but eventually it always boils down to the fact that they believe, no doubt in a very twisted way at times, that they are doing the right thing. Maybe it's real bad, maybe it's even awful, but it's the "right" thing to do in those circumstances. Same for Anakin: those were atrocious things to do and he hates himself for doing them but he still does them because it's the right thing to do in order to save Padme. This is the one "justification" - let's call it this way - Anakin holds onto tightly just to be able to go on and not go insane. And it holds true until the final confrontation with Padme. There something happens: Padme tells him 'no': she will not hear of it; she will not follow him down that path. Anakin's reality is really shaken at this point: he did all that he did for her (or, more precisely, for himself, because he wanted to save Padme in an egoistic way - " I can't live without her" type of thing...but fine: let's leave him with that idea) and now she's saying that she's ready to forsake him. This changes the atrocities he just committed "for Padme's sake" into atrocities he committed, period. The weight of all his evil doing is now unescapable; he can't hold onto the above mention "justification" any longer. At this point, IMO, Anakin has his last chance to change his course down the dark side: he could admit to himself that he'd gone real bad and take responsibility for what he'd done, but this would take a great ability to confront and unfortunately he lacks that. Or he could try to find someone else to blame and in this case find a new "justification". There is a point you can see he's undecided, when Padme tries to get him back to his senses, and he's struggling between two decisions. I think the above are those decisions. But he's not strong enough to face what he's done and......there appears Obi-Wan. There he makes his choice that seals his fate (the no-turning point): he chose to blame somebody else and Obi-Wan, a Jedi, is the "scapegoat", the "easy way out": it's all Obi-Wan's fault. For everything, including Padme now turning against him. And now Anakin gets really hateful, towards his muster, the Jedi Order, even Padme. I might be wrong but I can't see real hate in him until this point. Even when he killed the Saparatists he seemed to be doing something that he simply has to do. Not really out of hate. But after the point you can see hate in him. He then chokes Padme and while doing that you can see the hate in him even towards her. The rest follows....
That's for me the "snap" point. Very closer to yours, but a little earlier, explaining to me why he eventually attacked even the very loved one he had started his dark journey "for". Very sad indeed.

 

Sorry for not replying before, didn't know what to say. Nice addition, I agree with basically everything you said.
I think it is quite open to interpretation; the nature of the dark side and just where Vader truely becomes Vader, and perhaps where he passes a point that he almost can't be redeemed. One of the best parts of Star Wars to me is that sense of mystery, not everything being spelt out for you.
You covered it pretty well, the stuff about Anakin's rationalisation up to this point, and it does indeed seem Padme not going along with him brings it crashing down. I do however feel there was maybe a slight chance Padme could have convinced Anakin to go with her, if Obi-Wan hadn't appeared, but I guess we'll never know.

 

Good, comprehensive article. As a fan of all 6 films equally (and they are my favorite movies), I very much appreciate your analysis. I liked how you laid out the parallels between scenes from the films.


(Although I am often baffled by the almost ubiquitous vitriol leveled at films 1-3, I believe that everyone will have a different experience with any fiction, and that there is validity to people's experiences/preferences/etc. The problem is when people try to sell their opinion off as objective truth. By all means, give support to why you like or dislike something, say what things you think the artist(s) did well or poorly, but lines like: "the script/acting/story is just bad, deal with it," go nowhere. Mini-rant over)


To me, the moment that holds a lot of weight and paves a very-wide road for Anakin to fall to the dark side is the slaughtering of the Tuskens AND the following scene with Padme. The music cue for when Anakin's mother, cradled in his arms, dies from the torture she's received from the Tuskens, is masterful--great storytelling there!


This is a terrible topic, but, about murder (scholarly article #1 below for reference):
The mass murder is precipitated by a major loss related to employment or relationship. A warrior mentality suffuses the planning and attack behavior of the subject, and greater deaths and higher casualty rates are significantly more likely if the perpetrator is psychotic at the time of the offense. Alcohol plays a very minor role. A large proportion of subjects will convey their central motivation in a psychological abstract


I see some similarities to Anakin and the Tuskens. Even more telling is (reference 2):
Chronically Aggressive Individuals

• Easily frustrated, limited or poor impulse control
• Frequently express anger or hostility
• Resents authority, defiant with supervisors.
• May express hostility through “passive-aggressive” behavior
• Believes violence and/or aggression are legitimate responses to various interpersonal problems in life (i.e., if someone provokes you, you fight back)
• Although they might never admit it, pleasure or reinforcement is derived from the expression of anger (i.e., it feels good to blow someone off; it makes you feel alive; it gives you a sense of power)
• Often display the characteristics of a “stimulus seeker” - they engage in bold, fearless, or reckless behavior and are prone towards substance abuse
• Most typically, violence occurs in a situational context: an offense, fight, or disagreement
• Sometimes just get carried away in a particular situation (domestic violence, child battering)

The "sense of power" people feel after committing murder is common, often described by perpetrators as feeling a surge of power, almost euphoric in nature. Anakin in AOTC's especially demonstrates the behaviors above--he openly argues with Obi-Wan (authority figure) in public, is used to solving problems with violence ("...negotiations with a lightsaber"), certainly a risk-taker (jumping out of the speeder on Courascant), and so on and so on.



Furthermore and importantly, after Anakin recounts what he did to Padme, instead of being horrified and turning away from him, she reassures and comforts him--which he could see as tacit acceptance of what he did (or that he could fool himself into believing this). Also, a brief time after he divulges this to her, she is confessing her love for him at the Geonosian Arena!



After he slaughters the village of men, women, and children, I can see that it would be easier for him to murder the younglings. See especially the last point above, that people who are chronically aggressive: "sometimes just get carried away in a particular situation." HIs blood and murderlust would certainly be up after fighting through the halls of the Jedi Temple.



I don't think Anakin had the mind of a serial killer, but I do think that he was emotionally troubled and damaged. Obi-Wan takes much responsibility for what happens (we hear of this in a few films in both the PT and OT), and could be thinking that part of his failure with Anakin was that he didn't get Anakin the help he needed. It can be illuminating to watch films 1-3 focusing on how the Jedi directly interact with Anakin--it begins (in TPM) with doubt, suspicion, confusion, and denial. Anakin tells the council he feels "cold," and there is certainly little warmth coming from any of the Jedi bar Qui-Gon. Mace, one of the most-prominent of the Jedi Counsel, often shows almost contempt towards Anakin, and a great deal of distrust (even, as in the OP, when Anakin tells him about Sidious/the Chancellor). Throughout AOTC's Obi-Wan is disagreeing or lecturing Anakin--they feel on different sides. Even when Anakin is hauled into the Geonosian arena, Obi-Wan treats Anakin with sarcasm.


The one major difference I have with what you wrote is this sentence (this always gets my back up):"Anakin has now lost much of his original potential, but he is still of use to Sidious." I don't see any loss of force-potential or power for Anakin/Vader after what happened on Mustafar. Indeed, it's only through sources outside of the films (commentaries from George, novelization, etc) that we get this. Taken on what the films present, Vader seems no weaker with the force. Yes, he's unsteady on his feet after he gets off of that surgery table (altar), but we see him soon after walking like normal. He even reacts to hearing about Padme's death with what could be called a "force earthquake," destroying and shaking the room. The suit draws him stronger to the dark side, of course, he has lost the ways he can "naturally" interact with the world, eyes, hands, legs, and so on. Sidious smiles after Vader's "force earthquake," and I read that as pleasure in Vader's strength and deepening in the dark side. I can't see that he would be glad to have a crippled, force-reduced Sith Lord. As mentioned, when viewed from above the medical room where he is put in the suit is the Imperial symbol--Palpatine builds his empire on the power of Anakin/Vader. Darth Vader IS the "master" when he tells Obi-Wan during their ANH duel: "when last we met I was but the learner, now I am the master."
(I do NOT want this to turn into another "who's the most powerful Jedi/Sith," it's just hard for me to not comment on this point).


I acknowledge that some people think the turn was unsatisfying, but I really enjoy exploring the richness of the narrative--and a rich narrative it is for six films!
Refs:
1) http://www.jaapl.org/content/27/2/213.short
2) http://everydaypsychology.com/2008/07/why-do-people-kill-typology-of-violent.html#.VWOthXqNVSU