Anakin's Fall - schools of thought

Yeah, I think one of the most interesting eras of Anakin's life is the off-screen ten year time period between TPM and Aotc. He goes through some significant psychological changes during that time that adds an immense depth to the character, and it's fun to imagine what was going through his head as he was growing up as a Jedi.

Gosh I love that, Cryo. Thanks for sharing. This is precisely what I was saying over and over again in a less elegant manner than Nikos. Another way to describe it is with the days of the week. Sunday, the first day of the week, follows Saturday, the last day. If the week was a line that was bent into a circle, the two days would touch or overlap. This is interesting when you think about the astrological and alchemical significance of the names of the week. Sunday (Sol's Day), Saturday (Saturn's Day). In alchemy, Saturn is lead and Sol is gold, two opposites as one. The prima and ultima materia together as one.

For years I would come across people stating how they thought Anakin's turn was too fast. And by that I always figured they were referring to Anakin dismembering Mace and pledging himself to Sidious. And I'd think, that's how it works; it was a slow burn with a quick yank. Sidious put Anakin in a position where he'd have to make a split-second decision based on emotion, with no time to mull things over. Then, once Anakin had gotten himself into a horrible situation, he'd essentially be trapped with little choice but to continue digging himself deeper.

Recently however, I think I see a deeper concern in Anakin's turn, one I took for granted. The fact that he completely looses his senses as his moral compass deteriorates quite rapidly, like a switch inside him was flipped. He goes right ahead and mercilessly kills Jedi, even Younglings, and becomes completely hellbent on trying to kill his own best friend without so much as blinking. I think what some of those people were trying to get across was, Anakin does a 180 too fast--morally, emotionally, spiritually, as if he's under a hypnotic spell.

It can be perplexing and disturbing to watch this once noble character, with such great potential, quickly go full evil. And when you get really invested in the characters and the story it can make you very despondent to watch as everyone dies, and the hero who was supposed to stop the bad guy joins him and helps him destroy everything.

To paraphrase Rick McCallum, from a video I can't find now, 'It's like watching a loved one destroy themselves with an addiction, or something, and there's nothing you can do but stand back and watch.'

Why does Anakin, or, Lucas, do this?

You keep wanting to shout, "Come to your senses man! What are you doing? How did you completely lose your mind all the sudden? You're a good person, don't do this!"
How'd he go from someone who'd do anything to help and protect his friends and family to someone who'd try to remorselessly kill his friends and family so spontaneously?



And yes, while becoming consumed by the dark side is a major factor, I'd say there are also a few other major factors working simultaneously in concert here within Anakin, each compounding the other in a vicious cycle. Until he's painted himself so far back into a corner that he thinks he's stuck with no other options but to defend himself and this new path he's forged.

Basically, as he commits more and more war crimes, he has to justify them to himself all the more. And the more he justifies them and buries his empathy, the more he's consumed by the dark side. And the more he's consumed by the dark side the less he can control it and himself. And the less he can control himself the more he's driven by a lust for power and the fear of losing it, and the deeper he goes in committing more dark deeds, even down so far as choking the very one he loves, and ultimately forcing an impasse between him and Obi-Wan.

In desperation, he's made a rash decision and gotten himself into a tragic situation, and then he felt the only direction he could go was deeper in - to darkness, delusion and more desperation. You feel pity for him. But also disbelief and disgust.




Let's take a look at the play-by-play.

Palpatine uses Mace to hold his knowledge hostage, forcing Anakin's hand. And when Anakin attacks Mace, for selfish reasons but justified as the Jedi way, he becomes an accomplice in Palpatine's war crimes. Now that he's crossed that line and entangled himself into a heap of trouble, he feels he might as well make it all worth it by learning the secret to cheating death. So, feeling trapped in a dire predicament and out of viable options, he doubles down and sides with Sidious, pledging himself, reluctantly, to the Sith Lord's teachings.


And yes, Anakin understands who and what Sidious is, but his plan is to do whatever he needs to save Padmé, then become powerful enough to get rid of Sidious.

And so now, since he doesn't want to rock the boat, he must go along with whatever Palpatine says. The Jedi's next move will be against the Senate? Ok. All the Jedi must be killed? Alright. Doing so without mercy will give me the power to save Padmè? So be it. And as Anakin has tasted from previous experience, tapping into the dark side does make you powerful.

Palpatine's talk of the Jedi being traitors; I wouldn't say Anakin "believed" it, rather, they both knew it was the justification for his dark deeds, the convenient lie for his spiraling downwards, the rationalization for siding with Sidious to protect Padmé and seeing the warped Sith way as the better way. The Jedi will be after him & Sidious once they figure out what's going on, so Anakin has to rationalize killing the Jedi in the temple as doing his duty to stop a civil war before it starts (get them before they get you) and defending the Republic, himself, Padmè and Sidious. In other words, for the things he wants, forgoing the greater good. And in doing so he also had to shift his sense of right & wrong, his moral compass, which is turning him into a monster.

Sidious has twisted Anakin's mind into acting on his dark side and now he's in danger of it taking him over.

And so he does go to the temple and kills all the Jedi there. And he does it mercilessly--but not completely. He's still hesitant, he still has altruistic instincts, he knows it's wrong. And this is what is so scary and tragic; this jarring disconnect that is developing. He's still Anakin, but Anakin trying to convince himself he's Vader. And... it's working. He has to make it work, he has to undergo this drastic, sudden change, to save Padmé. The "hard right" is the point, the horror, the tragedy.






Then he's off to kill all the Separatists leaders without any form of real justice being served for their war crimes. But again, he's justifying it as "bringing peace". At the same time, however, he's less hesitant, he is rather revelling in the gruesome horror, particularly with Wat and Nute. And now he's so immersed in the dark side that he becomes gripped by an all-consuming greedy lust for power and control. Along with the arrogant delusion that he can overthrow Palpatine, so then he and Padmé can rule the galaxy as Emperor and Empress--at least that's his rationale.



Yet we still see a single tear roll from his eye, as fragments of Anakin still remain while Vader is growing inside him.



And this is such a big part of what makes Anakin's fall so tragic. That he did switch so fast from being a good person to calculatingly committing atrocities; out of his desperation, and by justifying it as the right thing to do.

Then, when he perceives he's being betrayed and threatened, he's unable to control his fear and anger and lashes out at Padmé. He's so afraid of losing what he's got he becomes like an animal backed into a corner, and feels he has to destroy Kenobi in order to preserve what he's carving out for himself here; his "new Empire". I think it's not so much that he wants to kill Kenobi, but in the interest of protecting what he's got, he feels he has to. And this is how he rationalizes that the Jedi are "evil".

He's giving in to the passions of the dark side and it is taking over, and in tandem with that he's also justifying it in that he is protecting his world, and rationalizing it that he has to because Obi-Wan is there to destroy him, all while allowing the dark side to further erupt inside him and warp his mind, magnifying his confusion and paranoia. So his fears got him into this mess and propelled him deeper into the quicksand, and his anger and hate are now pushing him into a showdown with Obi-Wan.




So in a lot of ways, what Yoda said is true, the noble young man that was Anakin Skywalker is gone. But what Padmé said in AotC is also true, he'll always be that little boy from Tatooine.

And this is all why TPM is so important, to see the 180, to have something tangible to hold up next to Vader, to see the potential lost. We're shown the two extremes one person can be capable of, and how they can be persuaded to bend and compromise their morals in order to have the thing they want most.

And as Lucas said to Bill Moyers,

So, was Anakin's turn too fast? Like I said, I'd say it was a slow burn with a quick yank. And I'm not sure it could work any other way. Palpatine had to spur him into acting on an impulse and trapping himself in an inescapable situation in one singular event. Then, by manipulating him according to his particular frailties and vulnerabilities into immersing himself deeper into the dark side and rationalizing it all as evil in the name of good, until he's in too deep and has destroyed any other alternatives to go back to.

It may be hard to watch, but boy is it good story telling. And Hayden's acting, though!

Good point. And I think this is a very important concept woven into Anakin's fall. Perhaps with such subtlety that it can be missed by some. Even when Lucas mentions it, it might whiz by without being processed.




Lucas has said the Sith think they're bringing good to the galaxy, and I think it's fair to say their sense of good is obviously warped. By good I'd say the Sith mean strength, and by strength they mean all the power for them/the dark side. I think they understand the conventional sense of morality, but yes, they just believe their way, might makes right, is better.

Basically, the Sith believe selflessness and compassion are foolish, weak and easily exploitable. As well as democracies, because they waste time and energy trying to... be democratic. When to the Sith, true power is about dominance over everyone and taking everything for themselves. Which is also what I think they see as "balance": tyranny. No compromising, no negotiating, just the will of the Emperor being done.

Thier aim is to obtain all the power, for power's sake. They're manifesting the ultimate form of evil, but they view it as the best option, and what they see as the "good" that comes from their rule is that they gain all the power. But as we know, that's not ultimately good for them. I suppose the question being asked is; which is better, democracy with it's weak spots and balance with it's precariousness, or tyranny?

And so, how can Sidious get Anakin to join him and commit dark deeds? Make Anakin think he's doing it because he's caring for Padmé, and the Republic. Even though we all know he's really not.

So, Anakin goes through with it all because, one, he thinks he will get what he wants, of course. And two, he's justifying it as the "good" thing to do to make the galaxy "better"-- to see the Sith way as the best way. Anakin knows he is doing wrong, but he's lying to himself about it in just this way.
Because he's stuck so far down now, and is convinced the only way out is deeper in. Deeper in to the dark side, so as to become powerful enough to overthrow Sidious.

As we know, Palpatine twisted Anakin's concepts of good and evil. He got him to see them merely as points of view, and this was the convenient blurring of the lines which emboldened Anakin as he spiraled down the dark path in his quest to save people he cared about. Which, for someone as powerful as he, that's just living a life of conscience, right?

Here are a couple of thought-provoking questions I see pop up from time to time that are worth exploring.

Why did Anakin stay with Sidious after he told him he doesn't actually have the power to stop death?

And

Why did Anakin stay with Sidious and continue on the dark side after he realized Padmé had died?

My take on why Anakin chose to pledge himself to Sidious after learning he doesn't actually posses the power to stop death.

Largely, I think this is simple and obvious for at least a couple reasons. One, he doesn't really have any other viable options at that point. He's not sure if he can defeat Sidious alone yet, and if he tries to leave this time, Sidious would probably trap or kill him. And two, well, he wants to save Padmé, with a power he's been seeking for three years. And here's where Sidious cleverly uses his lack of said power as a hook and an incentive to get Anakin to commit dark deeds.

Anakin needs to feel Palpatine needs him too, so Anakin will know they have each other's back, so he'll know Palpatine won't just kill him once he does his dirty work. Sidious also wants to learn this power for himself. They have the same goal here. This bolsters Anakin's incentive for siding with him and against the Jedi, instead of trying to go it alone. On their own, they can't remain safe, or learn said power, but together they can.

If Sidious had said power and asked Anakin to kill the Jedi in the temple, Anakin has little incentive, or at least little reason to trust in Sidious keeping his word. But if he has to do it in order for the both of them to learn the power as a team, now he's hooked.

Some people ask why Anakin chose to side with Sidious and trust him to save Padmé, knowing he's evil. They say, "Sidious is a monster, he doesn't care if Padmé lives or dies, and Anakin should know this!" But Sidious does want her alive. It's in his best interest that she be alive while luring Anakin to his side and trying to learn the power to cheat death together. Sure, Sidious doesn't care about Padmé on a personal level, that's obvious, but the power to save her is the carrot, so he does need her alive. And Anakin surely knows all this. He knows Palaptine has a vested interest in Padmé's life at this point, this is why he feels comfortable in (temporarily) siding with him and doing his bidding.

You could even argue that even if Sidious did have the power, he still would've used this tactic of claiming he didn't. It simply motivates Anakin much more and binds him to Sidious in an almost slave-like loyalty.

So, turning away from Sidious doesn't do anything towards Anakin's ultimate goal of saving Padmé, and it would turn Anakin into one of Sidious' biggest enemies, only putting him and Padmé into to even more danger. At this point Anakin has to protect his world, his family. This is his motivation for pledging himself to Sidious, and feeling that he and Sidious need each other to accomplish his goal solidifies it.

And yes, it's also vital to see that Anakin does so reluctantly, and as Tony said, thinking it will be temporary. In his head he's planning to learn more powers then overthrow Sidious. I once described it awhile ago as he pledged himself with his fingers crossed behind his back. He of course knows who and what Sidious is, but in order to save his wife he must side with him--for now, at least.

Because (allegedly) he's still the only path to that power, which he still seeks.



What else is he going to do? By that point, he can't take Sidious and he's locked in the "dark side prison" that he chose to walk into. The dark side remains a source of power and that's all he has left to crave.

George actually answers that question in the prequel archives book:

Engrossing read, Subtext Mining ! These themes and how they're expressed through these films are always worth exploring. I love keeping up with this thread and your substantial contributions!