CT Clues to Darth Vader's redemption in ROTJ

Upon rewatching Return of the Jedi last night, I realized a couple clues that point to Darth Vader's ultimate redemption and affirmation of Luke's belief that there is still good in him.

"Told you did he? Unexpected this is"

Yoda and Obi Wan did not expect Darth Vader to reveal to Luke that he is his father. To Yoda and Obi Wan, Anakin is long dead, consumed by Darth Vader. The fact that Darth Vader acknowledges to Luke in ESB that, "I am your father" was actually our first clue that Anakin was still somewhere there. I can't believe I never noticed it before. Earlier in Empire, Vader and the Emperor refer to Anakin Skywalker as if he was another person. After meeting his son, Anakin is reignited within Vader and his admission to Luke that he is his father affirms that he is still Anakin Skywalker and not fully Darth Vader. No longer is this iconic line just a shocker for Luke and the audience, it's also a revelation that Anakin is not dead.

Cue ROTJ. The Emperor suggest to Vader that he is eager to continue his search for Luke now that the Death Star completion is on schedule. Notice here that Vader looks at the Emperor and hesitates before reluctantly replying in a rather mechanical manner, "yes my master" To me, this is Vader not really wanting to admit to the Emperor that he wants to find Luke and also that since Luke rejected his offer for them to team up and kill the Emperor he's not that thrilled anymore about finding him. Lastly, since the good that was reawakened in him since his confrontation with Luke, Vader is not really on-board with capturing Luke and bringing him before the Emperor.

Next, when the rebel crack team is infiltrating Endor and Vader senses Luke, he lets them go. He then reports this to the Emperor, still the Emperor's servant but reluctantly so now. Only Vader sensed Luke, not the Emperor and this mystifies the Emperor. This is another clue that Anakin is coming back and he is able to sense his son in the force through his love of him while the Emperor cannot. Then the Emperor tells Vader that Luke will come to him and Vader's reply is very interesting here. "He will come to me?" I sense some genuine surprise but also a hint of elation and happiness. His son actually wants to go to him, Anakin desperately wants to reunite his son but thinks Luke rejected him and wants nothing to do with him but now he's actually seeking him out which makes him sound like a father who's estranged son is seeking him out. I also sense some trepidation here. Vader doesn't really want Luke to fall into his and the Emperor's trap.

Finally, when Vader is talking to Luke on Endor, he tells Luke, "The Emperor is expecting you" and I never noticed before but it sounds more like a warning. As if he's trying to warn Luke that this is part of his plan and is basically like, "wtf are you doing, walking into his trap?"

 

I just watched it two nights ago and love reading this take on it. Agree 100% looking back.


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these are very good takes on it...only thing I would say is that I've heard the reason in TESB that the Emperor and Vader refer to Anakin as a different person is bc at that point GL was intending to make Vader and Anakin a different person and it was only later he decided to make Vader be Anakin Skywalker

 

It's always seemed weird to me that they not only really regarded Vader as a separate person than Anakin but thought Vader did as well. Vader's statement that the Anakin name just "no longer has any meaning" for him comes close but is still pretty different. But it does suggest that Anakin feels some conflict and regret.

The former seems a bit of a stretch, especially as I think Vader at that point genuinely wants to corrupt Luke, but the latter is interesting, subtle but plausible, there's at least some desire for connection beyond just corrupting him.

 

I'm sure this is why Jones enjoyed recording ROTJ the most. It's his most conflicted portrayal of Vader's voice.

 

To carry it further, when he says, “So, you’ve accepted the truth...” It’s almost like he’s thinking ‘I reeeally hope you know what you’re doing...”

 

In-universe it also makes sense metaphorically. Obi-Wan's best line in ROTJ is "more machine than man", meaning there is precisely a sliver of humanity left in there.

 

When Luke escapes on the Falcon in ESB, the Imperial officers looked like they scared to death and expected Vader, bit instead Vader quietly walks away looking sad. It wasn't Vader's usual reaction to failure.

 

Agree. I think Vader was too stuck in his own mind to lash out. His soul was affected in some way.

 

Especially Piett. Look at the man’s eyes. That’s the haunting look of a man who knows he’s about to die within the next ten seconds, and there’s not a thing he can do about it.

..Then Vader just walks away, leaving him alive.

 

I think Luke made Vader feel like a deadbeat Dad, suffering in silence. These were new feelings, and probably completely unexpected. At first, Vader was excited about Luke because he gave him renewed purpose. But Vader's darkness slowly eroded and he became more depressed. Being rejected by his son, grappling with the dilemma of possibly having to kill him - or at least corrupt him, eventually wore him down. He wanted to protect his son in some way, but Palpatine was an ever present presence. He lacked the courage to act, and that's evident in his voice.

 

So true. When I was a kid, I expected Piett today. However, Vader was clearly saddened as he walked off. Revealing to Luke that he was his father had a profound affect upon his psyche.