In Defense of Anakin Skywalker: Part Two

 

READ PART ONE HERE

 

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.

 

 

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In Defense of Anakin Skywalker: Part One

 

This is not an attempt to excuse Anakin's bad decisions and wrongdoings, but rather an explanation of the psyche behind one of the best-known (and least-known) characters in cinematic history.

Weak. Selfish. Whiny. Arrogant. Badly acted. Immature.

These are the most frequent adjectives I hear used to describe him, and these are the words that gall me. They show a distinct lack of understanding, an inability to grasp the complexity of the character that is Anakin Skywalker. Along with hatred for the prequels, hatred of Anakin runs almost as rampant, as people disparage his characterization and reduce him to a shallow, two-dimensional shadow of himself. I gave myself homework before I sat down to write this article - I re-watched the prequels and took notes to refresh my memory. I take this project very seriously. Why? Because Anakin was the first character I was truly, greatly attached to. I was fourteen when I first saw Revenge of the Sith, and I cried harder over that movie than any movie before. The next time I watched The Return of the Jedi, I sobbed when young Anakin smiled proudly at Luke from the netherworld of the Force. Anakin was the first character to awaken every feeling in me - from I need to write characters this deep to my BABY.

I've always been defensive of Anakin, but I had to face reality: I couldn’t explain my love for him in one conversation without someone's eyes glazing over. As a result, my full defense of Anakin has never been spoken or written - until now. [DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]

The first complaint most people have is about Hayden Christensen's acting. When Hayden explained why he quit acting after the prequels, the majority of responses were, "I thought he quit acting before the prequels." The only thing is that Hayden did nothing wrong where Anakin was concerned. Before the prequels, Hayden's resume included B-list indie films and made-for-TV movies. He had never starred - let alone acted in - anything major, and then suddenly he's cast in something as major as Star Wars. Hayden was a teenager thrust into one of the biggest movie franchises in history, and he was given one of the worst movie scripts ever to grace the silver screen.

The first part of Attack of the Clones shows him as a difficult but well-meaning padawan who exchanges fun one-liners with Obi-Wan. The second part of the movie makes a cringe-worthy stab at romance, and the third part of the movie shows his return to a difficult but well-meaning padawan - this time with a side of darkness and marriage. There's little to no cohesion to his script or his character development, and yet with a script that sounds like an overdramatic high school student wrote it, Hayden did the best he could. You try saying these lines realistically:

"From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again... I'm in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you- I can't breath. I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me. My heart is beating... hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me... what can I do?- I will do anything you ask."

If that isn't hard enough, try saying them realistically from the perspective of a teenaged boy. One of the most impressive things about the Star Wars movies is that, in spite of perpetually wooden and unrealistic scripts, the actors manage to bring life to the frequently awkward, stiff, and sometimes-plain-ridiculous lines they're given. Hayden was no exception, delivering his lines the only way they could sound even slightly realistic.

Everyone knows Attack of the Clones was a hot mess in many ways, but Revenge of the Sith is another ballgame and my favorite film in the franchise, with The Force Awakens and A New Hope taking second and third place.

The script for Revenge of the Sith is noticeably better, in large part due to the lack of attempted seduction. Anakin and Padme are actually married, and the strain of 'falling in love' (is that what happened in Attack of the Clones? Because it's kind of hard to tell) is gone. Hayden does an excellent job of portraying Anakin's emotional conversion to the Dark Side, even though the script is still flawed.

And even if you still think his acting was poor (and I highly disagree), at least have the courtesy to treat a hardworking, humble young man with a basic little thing called 'decency.' He's human, too.

ON TO ANAKIN

When we first meet nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, he's a fatherless slave on a desert planet with no hope of having any kind of freedom. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Jar-Jar walk into Watto's shop, and when Jar-Jar accidentally turns a destructive robot on, Anakin pipes up and instructs, "Hit it on the nose!"

This eager, helpful attitude is characteristic of Anakin. His big heart is clearly demonstrated - he brings the Jedi home and he offers to fly in a pod race. He should be withdrawn and critical considering the life he's led, but he's wide-eyed and hopeful, zealous to please and keenly observant.

We get to know Anakin, whose point of view is both innocent and profound for one so young. "Mom," he says, when Shmi tells him a pod race is too dangerous, "you said the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other."

He has listened closely to tales of Jedi and Angels, longing for something beyond what Tatooine has to offer, and yet he never complains about his position as a slave. He has plans to leave someday, after he locates the explosive tracker implanted inside him and his mother.

He tells Padme, "I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm going to fly away from this place," but still he never whines or complains about his lot in life. His mother is the one he wishes had it better, caring for her well-being over his own.

When Qui-Gon secures Anakin's freedom, Anakin's first reaction is, "But what about my Mom?" And, upon discovering she can't come with him, he says he isn't going.  Shmi encourages her son to leave, wanting a brighter future for him, but she is still where his heart is. In fact, when Qui-Gon brings Anakin before the Jedi counsel, his mind is still with his mother and not his own new and frightening situation.  

Ki-Adi-Mundi: Your thoughts dwell on your mother.

Anakin: I miss her.

Yoda: Afraid to lose her I think, hmm?

Anakin: What has that got to do with anything?

Yoda: Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.

Here we see plenty of foreshadowing - fear of loss will eventually lead to Anakin's downfall and the rise of Darth Vader. However, we also see the reason behind that downfall - Anakin is taught that missing someone - that feeling attachment - is wrong, and yet he can't help himself. Anakin cares deeply about people, as is demonstrated time and time again throughout the prequels.

Obi-Wan is less than thrilled about his Master's decision to mentor Anakin. "The boy is dangerous," he tells him. "They [the Council] all sense it, why can't you?"

Therein lies an interesting aspect of Anakin's character arc. It's a known psychological fact that how you view and treat someone will influence how they turn out. If you tell a child they're worthless, they will believe they are worthless. If you tell a child they're pretty, they will believe they are pretty.

If you treat a child as dangerous, the child will believe they are dangerous. Something to note as Anakin grows up.

When Attack of the Clones starts, we see Anakin has grown into a powerful young man caught in a very awkward place. It's hard, at first glance, to tell where the bad script begins and Anakin ends, but once you've seen it as many times as I have, it becomes easier to untangle the two. Anakin is headstrong, emotional, and reckless; but he still possesses a kind heart and an eagerness to please.

His presence is treated with conflicting reactions: the Jedi Council has never stopped viewing him as a threat and holds him at arm's length, regarding him with a mixture of suspicion and displeasure, while Obi-Wan and Padme treat him with love but also condescension. He is hailed as 'The Chosen One' and simultaneously treated as an outcast.

Obi-Wan constantly refers to Anakin as 'My very young Padawan,' 'My young Padawan,' 'My young Padawan learner,' etc. While at the end of Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan says, "You were a brother to me, Anakin," Anakin tells Padme, "He (Obi-Wan) is like my father." Clearly, there's some miscommunication happening - Obi-Wan might view Anakin as an equal, but he fails to treat him as such.

In fact, the only person who treats Anakin as an adult is Chancellor Palpatine. Little wonder that Anakin trusts and is drawn to the one man who claims he views him as an equal.

We also see conflict in Obi-Wan's behavior versus the instructions he gives Anakin. While he's quick to call Anakin reckless or impetuous, we see Obi-Wan take a flying leap out a window, where he proceeds to latch onto a droid and take an extremely risky, dangerous, high-speed flight through a busy city at night toward an unknown enemy. He exhibits a 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude, which, while it comes across as very unintentional, is still very obvious.

Anakin is constantly trying to please everyone. He tries to please Obi-Wan, he tries to please the Council, he tries to please the Chancellor, and he tries to please Padme - and yet he rants to Padme that nobody trusts him. The thing is, he isn't lying - he isn't treated with trust, and he is held back. He might be complaining, but he isn't wrong.

There are many things the Jedi do not encourage. They do not encourage strong emotion, they do not encourage attachments. They do things by the book (something even Obi-Wan frequently has trouble doing) and they claim passivity is the way to true power. It's natural these teachings would not sit well with any emotional person.

In fact, we find a huge contradiction within Jedi teachings, and they're two of the most-quoted Jedi phrases.

"Use your feelings."

"There is no emotion."

The Jedi code encourages the Jedi to be in tune with their feelings but does not teach how to handle emotions. It's an interesting idea, in theory, but it was a flawed idea that frequently failed when put into practice.

When Anakin returns to Tatooine fearing for his mother's safety, he tracks her down and finds her in a camp of Tusken Raiders. She has been their prisoner for a month, and he finds her as she's dying from whatever torture they have inflicted on her. She breaks out of her haze, enough to recognize him, and her dying words are, "I…love…"

It's a stark contrast to what happens next. Overwhelmed with emotions he doesn't know how to control, Anakin commits a heinous act and slaughters the entire camp, sparing no one. He takes his mother's body back to her new family's home (and the future home of his son Luke), filled with hatred - but also regret. In fact, he immediately throws himself into doing what he does best - into fixing something. "I'm good at fixing things," he tells Padme, and it's true. Anakin has always been someone who wants to help, to fix, to save. To repair broken things. And yet he's just 'broken' an entire village, and he's overwhelmed by it.

Now, I will state this: while slaughtering the village was obviously a turning point for Anakin - a step toward the Dark Side - I do think it was mishandled. He killed an entire village, George. You really shouldn't just have Padme hug him and then gloss over what happened. It was inexcusable. I'm not saying he doesn't end up paying for it - he does, and dearly, but it was not properly dealt with.

Still, I think the most interesting this is that his first instinct is try and put something back together. When things fall apart around him, all he wants to do is fix them and make them better. That's always been one of his strongest characteristics.

Another thing I find interesting is his attention to those usually classified as 'the little people.' He says 'thank you' to servants, he's polite to droids, and he cares about the individual Clone Troopers. He hasn't forgotten where he came from, and because of his slave origins, he's very aware of the importance of those people who are usually overlooked.

During a conversation with Padme, she asks him if Jedi are allowed to love. He says no but that they are encouraged toward compassion - which, he says, is unconditional love. "So I guess you could say we are encouraged to love," he tells her. Anakin is a person of extremes - he loves deeply, he hates passionately, and he struggles with the 'middle ground' the Jedi advocate so highly.

Anakin is not a two-dimensional character. He's conflicted, and we watch as that conflict clearly - and painfully - takes him down the path to the Dark Side.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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