Revenge of the Sith jumps forward a few years after Attack of the Clones. Anakin has better
clothes and glorious hair, he's a secretly married man, and he's less prone to
incredibly awkward conversations. I personally think Anakin's personality is
excellently portrayed just within the first ten minutes of this movie. Look at
the first three things he does:
• He sees a Clone Trooper in
trouble and leaps to help him before Obi-Wan tells him not to because there's
no point. They have a greater mission. This doesn't sit well with Anakin, but
he sees the sense in Obi-Wan's words and continues onward.
• When Obi-Wan's ship is attacked
by vulture droids, Obi-Wan tells him to continue the mission. "I'm not
leaving without you, Master," says Anakin firmly, and proceeds to pull a
variety of piloting stunts in order to help free Obi-Wan's ship of the droids and
save his Master's life.
• He defends R2D2 to Obi-Wan.
When Obi-Wan begins to make a funny - if demeaning - joke about the droid,
Anakin interrupts with, "No loose wire jokes," and assures Obi-Wan
that R2D2 is doing his best.
These are all selfless acts that
put others first. Anakin is often called 'selfish,' but this is simply not the
case. Very rarely does Anakin ever do anything
for himself alone. In fact, the only thing we actually see him do purely
for selfish reasons is marry Padme. (If that can be called a selfish reason.)
In a plot set up by Chancellor
Palpatine, Anakin and Obi-Wan rush to free the 'captured' Chancellor from the
clutches of Dooku. Anakin easily defeats the older Sith and is fully prepared
to show him mercy when the Chancellor encourages him to kill Dooku. He preys on
Anakin's passions and rage, and Anakin finally does behead Dooku. He's
horrified with what he's done, and herein we see Anakin's largest flaw - not
pride, not selfishness, but vulnerability. He is open to persuasion from those
he trusts. Pride is not his downfall. Vulnerability is.
When Anakin and Obi-Wan return
victorious to Coruscant, Anakin rushes to greet Padme. His wife gives him the
news - she's pregnant, and we see several reactions at once from the father-to-be.
He's shocked, and he stammers, taken aback, but his emotions finally solidify
into joy. He calls the children a blessing and a gift, a reason to celebrate.
He's concerned for what this might mean - Padme could lose her seat in the
Senate, Anakin could be kicked out of the order - but he makes the decision to
view the children as something good.
It's interesting to note that
throughout Revenge of the Sith,
Anakin repeatedly uses the word save. He
wants to save Obi-Wan. He wants to save Padme. He wants to save everyone, but
he never gives thought for himself - except when it comes to losing those he
loves. He grew up a slave with nothing, and now that he has something to
protect, he's terrified of losing it. He wasn't able to save his mother, and
that instance has obviously magnified the way he views things now. He made a
promise he wasn't able to keep, and that haunts him more than anything else.
Power play is a large theme in
the Star Wars universe, and Revenge of the Sith is no exception as
Chancellor Palpatine becomes Emperor Palpatine and offers Anakin the power of
the Dark Side. Anakin accepts, as everyone knew he would, but this was not a
snap decision on Anakin's part. Palpatine has watched, guided, mentored, and
manipulated Anakin since he was nine years old, and it's hardly surprising that
Anakin would be susceptible to his machinations. When Anakin reveals a further
weakness - Padme and the unborn child(ren) - Palpatine seizes the chance to
strike while the iron is hot. He uses Anakin's love for his family to complete
his manipulation to the Dark Side.
Anakin discovers that Palpatine
is actually the Sith the Jedi have been searching for, and his first reaction
is that of a Jedi - he tells the council, and the council decides to look into
the matter. Anakin has no plans to stand in their way, no matter how much the
situation hurts him - but he remembers Palpatine's offer, his promise that he
could save Padme's life and with her, their unborn child. He remembers
Palpatine's offer of life, and he runs to the citadel where he stops Mace Windu
from killing Palpatine (now revealed to be Darth Sidious).
Anakin catches Mace Windu
off-guard, and Palpatine uses the opening to kill Windu while Anakin watches,
horrified. Clearly, Anakin never meant for this to happen, and he cries,
"What have I done?" as he realizes his life can no longer continue
the way it was. He has aided in an unforgivable act against the Jedi. His life
is over, but Padme's doesn't have to be, and so he swears fealty to Darth Sidious
and becomes Darth Vader.
"Anakin wanted power for
himself," people say, but there is no basis for that argument. He wants
love, recognition, and trust - but power? He only wanted the ability to save
his loved ones. While he goes about it in a foolish way and ultimately commits
heinous acts to gain what power he can, his motives were pure.
Even after he has been named
Darth Vader and is sent to Mustafar to kill some of the Emperor's loose ends,
Anakin is full of conflict, struggling with what he has done and what he is
currently doing. As he looks out across the soon-to-be battleground, a tear
tracks down his face as he comes to terms with who he has become.
In his battle with Obi-Wan, this
exchange takes place:
Obi-Wan: Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!
Anakin: From my point of view, the Jedi are evil.
This argument actually makes
complete sense, if you take the Jedi Code that Anakin was brought up to
believe. There are no absolutes in the Jedi Code. Much later Obi-Wan tells Luke, "What I told
you was true…from a certain point of view," as well as, "You will
find many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view."
The Jedi have no solid foundation of belief, and Anakin's response to Obi-Wan
would make complete sense from his worldview.
The Emperor finds a destroyed and
dying Vader and has a medical team transform him into the Darth Vader audiences
knew - 'more machine now than man' - and yet upon awakening, the 'machine's'
first inquiry is, "Where is Padme? Is she all right?"
The Emperor, seeing another
chance to solidify his hold on Vader, lies and tells him Padme has died. Vader
screams in anguish - Padme was his world, and now he has nothing to fight for
except the Emperor.
Some eighteen-nineteen years
later, we see Vader as a mysterious villain serving a higher cause. He's
regarded skeptically by most of the Empire, even those who are familiar with
his presence. He's a kind of villainous Merlin, viewed by most as an outdated
and superstitious magician with old-fashioned beliefs. I love how Anakin's
personality is still very obvious in Vader. He has a bit more chill, he's a bit
calmer, but he's still impetuous and sarcastic. He still can't resist getting
into his V-Wing and helping out the Imperial fighters, even when he doesn't
have to. He's still a hotshot pilot with attitude, and while it's far more
subtle, it's obvious if you're paying attention.
One thing I find really
interesting is Vader's reaction to the Emperor when the Emperor tells Vader to
seek out and destroy Luke Skywalker. His response is unexpected.
"He's
just a boy."
He's incredulous, but there's
also a hint of something else, and it's not far-fetched to assume that Vader
has sensed his connection to Luke through the Force. While this kind of
reluctance to harm Luke fluctuates through the movies, his initial reaction is
not the one you would expect from a villain.
Vader's confrontation with Luke
is known even by non-Star Wars fans, but my favorite parts about it are not
necessarily what's spoken, but the subtext behind the dialogue. Luke informs
Vader that he knows enough about his parentage - he knows that Vader killed
Anakin. Vader then utters the famous line, "No, Luke. I am your
father."
I've always found this scene
particularly interesting - not just because it's iconic but because Vader is
telling Luke the complete and utter truth. It's something that even Obi-Wan
never did - in fact, nobody has ever told Luke the complete truth before. Not
his uncle, not his aunt, not his mentor. Nobody except Vader, and it's in keeping
with Anakin's hatred of secrets and lies. In fact, Vader never once lies to his
son.
I've heard many people compare
Luke to Anakin and Leia to Padme, but I think far more similarities are found
when you compare Luke to Padme and Leia to Anakin. Padme's last words to
Obi-Wan were, "There is still good in him." Luke tells Vader,
"There is still good in you."
Vader does not get angry or take
offense at this suggestion. He only says, "It is too late for me."
It's interesting to note that
Vader is never described as prideful. He never brags about his own power but
rather the power of the dark side. He never claims to be invincible. As
villains go, he actually presents himself in a fairly understated way.
Darth Vader takes his son to see
the Emperor, who intends to persuade Luke to join the Sith. And here we have
the famous redemption scene - the scene where Vader becomes Anakin again for
the last time. The Emperor sets Luke and Vader against each other, hoping to
judge Luke's strength, and Vader preys on Luke's emotions. He preys on his
concern for his sister, and here we have a line that wounds me to my core -
Vader monologues against Luke, against his concern for, "….Sister. You
have a twin sister."
And for the first time, Darth
Vader realizes he has a daughter. He, the man who never had a father, is a father
not once, but twice. It's after this realization that he starts to waver, and
he ends up losing the battle with Luke.
Vader's death scene is one of the
most important scenes both in movie history and in my personal history as a
film-viewer and storyteller. Even before we had the prequels to give us
backstory, it was emotional. With full backstory and knowledge of everything Anakin
Skywalker went through before he reached this scene - I'm getting goose bumps
just writing it.
Luke Skywalker has lost. The
Emperor, convinced that Luke will never turn to the dark side, has decided to
kill him. Using his dark force powers, the Emperor stands over Luke and begins
to kill him. He doesn't run him through with a lightsaber; he chooses to
torture the boy to death while his father looks on. The Emperor is completely
confident in Vader's loyalty - family ties don't matter. Not even this can sway
Vader.
Except…Anakin Skywalker still
resides within the creature that is Darth Vader. He was always there, beneath
the surface, and watching his son die in agony before his eyes is the turning
point. Darth Vader, one of the most powerful Sith lords in history, does not
have the ability to watch his son die.
He has watched people die in
front of him before. He held his mother in his arms as she died from wounds
inflicted by torture. He suffered sleepless nights full of nightmares where his
wife died. He has lived all this time believing
that he murdered his wife - that all his efforts, that every single reason he turned to the dark side were for nothing.
For the first time in the entire
prequel trilogy, Darth Vader's breathing
speeds up. You can hear his respirator working harder than it has before as
he experiences emotions he's been suppressing for almost twenty years. You can
physically hear his struggle.
Listen. You need to understand
why this scene is so important.
Anakin Skywalker was raised a
slave with no freedom. A slave with no chance of escape until the Jedi appeared
and offered him a way out…but even as a Jedi, he still called someone 'Master.'
He had to abide by rules, many of which were foolish or outdated. He broke
those rules with misguided intentions and became even more of a slave. Never in his life has Anakin Skywalker
been free. Never in his life has he not called someone 'Master.' Never in his life has he had the freedom
to make a decision completely free of anyone's judgment.
Which means that the only decision Anakin Skywalker ever made freely
in his entire life was to die for his son.
He is victorious in killing the
Emperor, but it's a victory with a price. A price he knew he would have to pay,
and a sacrifice he knew he was
willing to make. He proves his family - his wife, his son, his daughter -
right. He proves there was still good in him.
As Luke attempts to drag his
father to safety, Vader tells him to stop trying. They both know it's too late.
Vader makes a final request - to have both of his helmets removed. The lower
half of the helmet simultaneously works as Vader's painkiller, but he doesn't
care anymore. It's disconnected, and the pain means nothing as he's able to
look at his son's face with his own eyes.
And here he says possibly the
most important words in his life - "You were right about me. Tell your
sister…you were right."
Not 'I love you.' It isn't
enough, and he already committed the ultimate sacrifice. Luke knows his father
loves him. Instead, Vader chooses to tell Luke he was right. He chooses to give Luke hope, to encourage his faith
in goodness. Essentially, in his last moment, Darth Vader chooses the light
side. And not only that, but he sends a message to his daughter - it's too late
to fix things with her, but he remembers her. He is thinking only of his
children.
Because in that moment, he was
not Anakin Skywalker. He was not Darth Vader.
He was Luke Skywalker's father.
And he was a good man.
