my thoughts on Anakin/Vader

I'm glad people are actually joining this community; I had pretty much expected it to peter out and die rather quickly. That not being the case, I will work on a layout and the user info, and try to post more.

Anyway, I read a lot of SW novels/comics and watch the movies reguarly. The themes and characters in the Star Wars universe really get to me, none more than Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.


I can really empathize with the man and his personal struggles. He led a difficult life and everything/one he ever loved died or wasn't true. Born into slavery, forced upon a jedi and his order who didn't want to train him, lied to, ignored and held back. Even Padme didn't tell Anakin who she really was at first, then refused his love until she thought they were going to die. It was Anakin who wanted to find Padme's would be assassin and was bitched out about it, only for the council to come to his conclusion soon after. Anakin's (and others') laments about the corruption of the Republic were acknowledged but not taken seriously, then in the end it was the jedi who became leaders of the seperatist movement. Skywalker had premonitions of his mother suffering, but they were brushed off by Kenobi as mere nightmares. Maybe if he had been able to get to Shmi in time she could have lived. Who knows. I'm just saying that I understand his frustration.

Anakin Skywalker, I believe, was a good man before he turned; and even after the fact we see that there was light buried deep under his tortured psyche even after all his dark deeds. I get kind of irritated when in fanfiction and certian novels he is portrayed as nothing but a child with a violent disposition whose every single action leads him on his path to the dark side. He desprately fought his inner turmoil, alone, and did feel guilt and remorse when his emotions got the better of him. Nearly every single time. He did love Obi Wan Kenobi like family. It just really gets to me how, the way I see it, he was crying out for help the entire time yet nobody answered. Maybe they just didn't know how to help him, how to deal with his power. To me it seems like they just sat back and let it all happen, offering nothing but criticism and not doing much to help at all.

Even when Anakin reported Sidious to the council, they didn't believe him right away. It was Obi-Wan who raised his lightsaber to Vader on Mustafar(I'm pretty sure Obi Wan ignited his lightsaber, then Vader attacked, correct me if I;m wrong) and Obi-Wan who left his "brother" screaming and burning on the bank of the lava river to die. The final 30minutes of ROTS, especially that scene, gets to me. Anakin was so desperate to save who he loved, do distraught, that he let himself be so easily manipulated. At that point he didn't know what was right or what was wrong, he was blindly doing what he thought would help but deep down knew was so very wrong. It was so powerful, this compulsion, that it took over him and went beyond saving Padme to the need for power and control. The look on his face when he falls on the sand after getting his limbs chopped off--so scared, confused, sad, frightened, remorseful--I can't explain it. He just wanted to do the right thing, and it all got fucked up, there's no turning back, the fear is palpable. I can relate, I mean I think we've all fucked up bad at one point or another and ended up in a bad place not knowing how we got there. I guess empathy is a good word to describe it. I myself have been left burning on those proverbial sands, screaming as the one(s) who I hurt and have hurt me shake their head and leave me.

I guess what I'm saying is that I can definately see why and how Anakin Skywalker ended up as Darth Vader. Throughout his training, the only person who was always kind and understanding towards him was Palpatine; even though it became apparent all too late that he was the most decietful of all.

People have argued this with me, but I really think that Obi-Wan could and should have helped Anakin Vader; that turning his back on the boy he loved as a brother was cold and callous, especially for a jedi. I believe that he could have been saved and that the balance might have been maintained another way. It wasn't the will of the force apparently.

Speaking of the will of the force, I have a few last words on that then I'll save the rest of my thoughts for another day:
The more I look into it, the more it makes sense that Anakin/Vader's purpose was to bring balance to the force. Even before he turned, his actions vacillated between dark and light; kept a balance (pissing off/worrying all sorts of jedi in the process, heh). Upon becoming Vader, he killed a lot of jedi and wrought havoc upon the universe but in the end it did balance out and the jedi made a comeback. I think had he not turned that it could have happened in a different way, but I do see that his character did carry out the prophecy.

Sorry if that got rambly.

*I do like Obi-Wan Kenobi but I see very much hypocricy in him and the jedi in general...this is too long as it is however, so I'll save it for later :)