The best part of the prequels is the
humanization of Darth Vader. At first stating out as a great B movie
villain in "A New Hope", dressed in black and even sporting a cape. He soon became an
iconic go-to bad guy for the rest of the 20th Century and beyond. To
this day, its hard to find anyone who doesn't have some affinity for
the man in black. One of the few movie villains who had an arc-
started in A and ended over here in C.
Some
complained, but they were wrong as villains are not born, but
created. It would have been a big snooze to find out Vader was bad
from the giddy-up. No nuances, no wiggle room to know why he went bad
or was it Nature vs. nurture? Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were not
devils the moment they came into the world, but molded by their
worlds. Even Lucifer himself had his awesome moments. They all had
one thing in common- whether fiction or real- all were ruled by fear!
Of the prequel characters, Anakin is
my favorite. So full of promise and potential; he’s duped, his
emotions exploited, his ego played like a cheap fiddle. His fears were our fears-
exaggerated and used against him. A young man told of his prowess as
a Jedi- greatness dangled in front of him and then denied over and over.
Anakin Skywalker was a good kid, good intentions but ruled by fear
and doubt his entire life as a Jedi. The fear was something
uncontrollable, but the doubt was due to the Jedi and their
contradictions and dogmatic, arrogant views.
Fear is the worst thing
to have- it controls your every move and prevents you from ever
achieving your true potential; if you are afraid, you fear yourself,
especially others and just the thought of self advancement. Of course
played through the prism of fantasy and allegory, Anakin’s plight
is far more profound. Age old themes and dilemmas shown through a B
movie pulp universe, but relevant and relateable still.
On the flip side, Luke had zero fear. From his daring-do on Hoth, hanging from the bottom of an Imperial Walker, to his training on Dagohbah, Luke knew he was- or at least thought he did. Yet his fearlessness led to his recklessness and rushing off to confront Vader before he was truly ready, but once he was... he was unstoppable. A quest to free his father, Anakin Skywalker of his enslavement to the Dark side, Luke's unconventional methods led Vader to rebuking his dark demons and saving his only son from the evil Palpatine. Luke's focus, even when he was reckless, lacked fear. He wasn't ready for the Cloud City melee, but he was never afraid and held his own despite the odds and the power of Vader. Notice how Vader gave him several outs- to stop this fighting and join him. He was never tempted.
Even at his
most powerful moments as Darth Vader, he was ruled by fear.For example in Mace Windu's final moments, Anakin's MO to kill the Jedi is out of fear of losing Padme. One misunderstood dream, some twisted words by Palpatine, forced him into turmoil. Constant mind screw led to him decimating the Jedi order and unleashing Order 66- ALL out of fear... not ego, hubris, power, desire, (although those were in the mix) FEAR- the one explosive ingredient.
Palpatine had it in the bag as he knew and Vader knew, a flick of the
force lightning or a squeeze in the right place, Vader’s survival
suit was damaged and Anakin dead from suffocation and intense pain as
the suit acted as his life support system. Spiritually and
physically, Vader was in debt to Palpatine. Vader’s screaming of
“NOOOOO!” in “Revenge of the Sith,” is an act of defeat, the
one person he cared about more than himself was gone, Padme. The one
who alleviated his fears.
After Anakin’s “death” and
Vader’s “birth,” Vader still wasn’t all in. His weakness was
he constantly fought off Anakin- he feared there was still good in
him- and there was- So when Padme says, “there’s still good in
him…. I know.…” and Luke as well, “I’ve felt the good in
you,” they weren’t wrong.
Anakin finally sprang to life through
the deeds of his son Luke. Vader could have killed Luke many times,
but he held back knowing Luke was his exit. THE only time Vader
mentions any kind of rebelliousness and descent is after the battle
on Cloud City, “Join me, together as father and son we can rule the
galaxy.” No mentioning of Palpatine…. but by their next meeting,
Vader is defeated, again. Luke mentions, “there’s still good in
you. I have felt it. The Emperor hasn’t driven it from you fully.”
Vader says in a very sad, defeated tone, (a great performance by
James Earl Jones) “It is too late, my son.” A great scene, given
even more depth thanks to the prequels; as he was asking Luke to join
HIM (figuring Luke could kill Palpatine just fine), but when Luke
calls him out and asks him to leave, he falls back, cowers and is
again, ruled by fear. It’s also ironic how Anakin/Vader, breaks the
rules, he is punished for it. Anakin’s unorthodox, unconventional
ways irked the council to the point of him being denied Jedi Master
status which lead him to Palpatine’s clutches. As Vader, living in
the iron lung, and not obeying the rules of Sith by bowing to and
obeying Palpatine’s every word. Contrary to the Sith way, he wasn’t
made to serve forever.
Only when he ironically, breaks the rules, he’s free- His scream of “NOOOO” in JEDI is of defiance! Vader finally loses all fear as he knows Palpatine will shoot him with the lightning. For the first time since Padme’s death, Anakin steps forward and puts someone else ahead of him and his ideals. Through Luke, for the love of his son and sacrificing himself for another Anakin was reborn, his soul saved. The TRUE Jedi way. “tell your sister, you were right about me...”
NO FEAR!
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