Theoretically, say Obi-Wan convinced Anakin that he was being an idiot while they were dueling; and he agreed to lay down his weapon and surrender. How would this have been handled? Technically, Anakin's major crimes at that point were mostly against the Jedi, so would Yoda have gotten the final say? Or the government? What would Anakin's final Fate be? Would Palpatine have gotten very far without Darth Vader to assist him?
If Anakin had given up the Dark Side, it's likely that Palpatine would have tried reconverting him again. Anakin as the Chosen One was the ultimate prize. He was incredibly powerful, and could easily take down any clones that would be dispatched to destroy him. This sounds more like a case where Palpatine would have had to have gotten involved himself.
After Palpatine kills Mace he says if the jedi find out they would be killed. And this was before the attack on the temple and order 66.
While Padme definitely, for some reason, would have forgiven him, and maybe Obi-Wan, Yoda would not, and rightfully so. Anakin had already personally cut down many children, Padawans, and Jedi. Palpatine would still have defeated Yoda, who would have gone to Polis Massa with Bail Organa. Anakin, Padme and Obi-Wan would have met them there, and Yoda would have been angry with Obi Wan for not doing the job. He would sense too much darkness with Anakin and possibly try to take him on himself. Meanwhile, Palpatine would sense that Anakin had betrayed the dark side.
Thanks guys. I suppose I'm visualizing a total conversion of opinions from Anakin, but he disagreed with the methods of the Republic too thoroughly to ever really be able to turn around 180 degrees and say he was completely at fault. In some ways I think if Anakin did 100% recover and disavow the ways of the dark side, it would have made things messy. One question that always grabs my interest is: Was Anakin always Vader? He grew up to be arrogant and slightly snobby, despite having a Master who was pretty much the exact opposite. He's rather a self-fulfilling prophecy if one really thinks about it.
Well, if Anakin comes around, I see Obi-Wan asking Anakin to join him in helping defeat Palpatine, and I think Anakin accepts. Before Anakin's crimes can be addressed, Palpatine must be defeated. Until then, Anakin would probably receive temporary amnesty, and be given a chance to make up for his actions by opposing Palpatine. Let's say Palpatine is defeated, with Anakin playing a major role. Now Anakin's crimes can be addressed. I think Yoda and Obi-Wan would be pretty forgiving, but the government might insist on putting Anakin on trial. It's hard to say. If it's left up to the Jedi, I think they would have Anakin choose his own fate. If he wants to remain a Jedi, he must strive to be a Jedi in all ways and resume his training in earnest (sorta back to the basics), with a good faith effort on his part. He'd probably have to divorce Padme and dedicate himself to learning to love unconditionally, without attachment. He must also train to let go of everything he fears to lose, obviously. If he is found to be acting in bad faith, he would be expelled. I don't see him going along with that, so I think he'd choose to leave the Jedi Order. If the government puts him on trial...it's going to go badly for him. Obi-Wan would probably plead for him, but Anakin would be convicted (I don't think the dark side insanity defense will work), and given the harshest punishment, which would probably be death. I wonder if he'd have the courage to accept it.
Anakin went way too far, and really had no choice but to go all the way. But if he came back to the light, Palpatine still had the clone army, etc.
I know he forgave Anakin in ROTJ (actually we don't know if he did) but would Yoda be as lenient as Obi Wan? "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
when considering yoda's frame of mind, it probably does good to remember he's been around more than 700 years at this point, so any mechanisms for 'revenge' in regards to Anakin slaughtering the Jedi are well below his frame of mind, so I can't really see him acting out of hatred or a sense of justice...as that would be very un-Jedi-Grand-Master-Like. He would probably be able to tell if Anakin had truly 're-coverted' back to the Light Side of the Force, and if his intentions were true. Despite this, even if the Jedi Order (rather, what's left of it) technically forgave him, unless the government left it up to the order to decide his fate, I agree that Anakin would likely face trial and the consequences would not be good.
I was with you until the whole “Anakin rejoins the Jedi Order”. Best case scenario, he's expelled (for blindingly obvious reasons) and the Republic would definitely want to deal with him in the most harshest way possible. He DID try to topple them, remember? Padme, for the sake of politics, would be forced to divorce Anakin and remove him from her life. How this has an impact on Anakin's psyche, I don't know but suffice to say, this is the best case scenario for Anakin Skywalker: Rotting in a galactic equivalent of a maximum security prison cell, alone. No Jedi Order, no Padme Amidala. Just himself and his thoughts while the Republic tries to rebuild what he and Palpatine very nearly tore down. For the rest of his life if the Republic doesn't decide to execute him outright.
Obi-Wan'd ask him to join he and Yoda, to eliminate the Sith. They'd defeat Palpatine for sure, Yoda, Kenobi and Skywalker combined is too much for Sidious to handle. They'd sneak in the Senate offices, to cut the chance if being interfered by clone troopers and bang Sidious in 3 to 1 match. The Sith is going to be totally eliminated. With the death of the master, and no apprentice to continue the legacy and the teachings. Well, Darth Bane's Order of the Sith Lords at least. NOTE: I did not say that there will be no Dark Side force user after the Sith is eliminated. The Empire is very likely to be dissolved. Either Yoda, Organa or Amidala, will be the Supreme Chancellor. Now, Anakin's crime during Vader's reign over his body will be judged. It should be judged by the surviving Jedi because most of his crimes are against the Jedi Order, not the Republic. In fact, he had contributed a lot to the Republic. -The Death of Mace Windu - Death of Master of the Jedi Order -Partially the reason of the execution of Order 66 - Still affects the Jedi order. -Killing numerous Padawans and Younglings - Effects the Jedi. Heck, he even ended the war while he was Vader when he killed the Separatist Leaders. (Bye bye Gunray) The decision would be left to Yoda. Yoda would be pretty much forgiving if Anakin had truly abandoned the Dark Side and rejoins the Light Side. He would be allowed to rejoin the order. (Note: TRULY) (Look at Quinlan Vos, well admittedly his crimes are greater than Vos's, but his actions during the clone wars should make up for it. We never stop to count how much life Anakin had saved, during the clone wars) He might rejoin if he's still allowed to love Padme. One thing for sure if he rejoined the order, Yoda's gonna be training him of how to let go of the things he loved, to prevent him from falling again. Padme's going to forgive him. He would be fine with the publics because we know that very few people had known that Vader was Anakin. (Lol because of the suit), and he had spent very little time as Vader) Later on, he might be able to totally master his Dark Side in himself. Be like Mace Windu. Use it, but not controlled by it. Padme would survive labor. Luke and Leia's gonna be a great Jedi. Or if Anakin did not rejoin the order, at least, they'd have a happy life with their own family. No Rebels, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. No the Force Awakens. No Episode VIII to hype. Lucas's not gonna be as rich as he is right now. Disney's is going to be frustrated, no Star Wars sequel for them to make money. My life would be lonely, without Star Wars.
I don't think we see Yoda express that in the PT (not quite to this extent, anyway, not imo), it wasn't until the OT, after the bitter experience with Dooku and Vader. In any case, Anakin surrendering would directly refute that quote, and render it dubious. I think Yoda would be able to see that very easily. Basically, you're saying Yoda would think "you can never turn from the dark side!" Well, Anakin would have just done that. I knew this would be controversial, but I don't think it's really all that wild. Yes, the Republic probably would want to deal with Anakin, but I thought that was the most obvious answer, not really worth saying. There is a chance they show some mercy if Anakin takes out Palpatine. A coup may be forgiven if one helps to undo it, and set things right. His role in saving the Republic might grant him leniency, to some extent. An argument that the dark side made Anakin less responsible for his crimes may be a factor, and the Republic may defer to Jedi expertise on the subject (probably not, though). They might leave him to the Jedi to deal with, especially if the Jedi are seen as the true heroes of the Republic, saving it from a tyrannical dictator. They might do it as part of some sort of restitution to the destroyed Jedi Order. They could call it "Jedi justice", if they wanted. There is a history of this in our world. While what Anakin did to the Jedi is horrific...it is done, and cannot be undone. I think the Jedi are capable of great forgiveness. I think they'd be more likely to focus on atonement, redemption and salvation rather than punishment...especially in the wake of their near total destruction. They need to start over...and Anakin is still the Chosen One after all, and in this alternate scenario I've presented he did destroy the Sith. I can see Yoda putting Anakin through some hardcore one on one rehabilitation. This is Yoda's job. Of course, as I said above, if Anakin just isn't acting in good faith, then enough is enough, and Anakin can take a long walk off a short pier. The fact that we see Yoda and Obi-Wan standing and smiling with Anakin at the end of ROTJ suggests that this may not be all that crazy. Ask yourself: If Dooku had surrendered in AOTC and begged for mercy from his former master, what do you think would have happened? Dooku has set the stage for a war against the Republic and the Jedi, and has overseen the deaths of Jedi in the Geonosis arena. Not quite as far as Anakin went, but far enough. I can see Yoda doing everything he can to help Dooku, and perhaps taking Dooku back to the Jedi Order, if the Republic lets him. I can see Dooku spending the rest of his days as a sort of retired Jedi, not allowed a lightsaber, not allowed to go on missions, but allowed to live and repent. It's possible. Maybe not, though. Maybe they just dispense punishment to Dooku/Anakin, and that's that. If Anakin turns back, if he shows that there is indeed still good in him, I think there is practically zero chance of this happening. On Mustafar, she was ready to abandon her political career to run away with Anakin. I think it's more likely Padme quits politics. Yes, I considered this very strongly, and I was going to add that to my previous comment. It's a good possibility. I also thought that maybe, as part of the "Jedi justice" idea I mentioned earlier, Anakin is confined to the Jedi Temple, perhaps for life. Perhaps they'd have a special cell just for him, one particularly designed to contain him, deep within the confines of the Temple. Perhaps Yoda could work on rehabilitating him there. Maybe, maybe, after ten or twenty years of good behavior, he could be allowed to leave the cell and walk the halls of the Temple, but not be allowed to leave. Maybe after fifty years of good behavior, Anakin would be granted parole and allowed to leave the Temple. No lightsaber, no missions, though. I think Yoda and Obi-Wan would have a difficult time just locking him up and throwing away the key forever. After some time, enough is enough, and it's time to forgive. I don't see them as the types to delight in eternal punishment. I'll finish with a quote from Yoda, that I think is relevant. "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is."
I agree with DARTHLINK. Even if Anakin wasn't punished, he'd be expelled because of his marriage to Padme and actions on Coruscant. As for Padme leaving politics or staying with Anakin, I think the real, TPM and AOTC Padme would divorce Anakin (politics came first) while the decharacterized ROTS Padme would choose her man over her duty.
You make a very valid point. It would be entirely in their character for Yoda and Obi-Wan, in this scenario, to want to show mercy to Anakin. Executing him/locking him up in a cell and forgetting about him forever doesn't seem like something they'd do. Padme, on the other hand, would likely be barred from Anakin for the rest of her natural life due to the Jedi Code and their suspicion that it was his attachment to her that led to his downfall. The Padme from TPM and AOTC, as Emperor Ferus said, would choose politics first and would more than likely agree with the Jedi's decision.
Regardless of what happened to Anakin, Padme would most assuredly be forced to step down, and it is quite likely our favorite wonder twins would have been raised in the Jedi Temple as younglings. As a result they would be totally different people this would also affect all the people they had interactions with in the non AU universe such as Han & Chewie, as well as the Lars and Organas who would never have known them.
