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 | Anakin in ROTS... |
 I did something Sunday night that I haven't done in a long, long time. It wasn't that I watched Revenge of the Sith; it's that I had tears in my eyes from about the time Anakin's tears rolled down his cheek in the Jedi Temple, straight through to the end. It took me quite a while to turn off the waterworks completely, too.
What a beautiful film ROTS is...visually stunning and emotionally heart-wrenching. Lost love. Brothers torn apart by sinister forces beyond their control. The pain wrought by mistrust. Betrayal. When I allow myself to get lost in its story, as I did on Sunday, I hurt at the loss of love and feel isolated by the hate that rips the Light apart. It hurts so good; I love this film.
From the opening crawl, Anakin Skywalker is presented with tests. "There are heroes on both sides," it says. Light and Dark, in such close proximity that they blend together into gray...is it any wonder that Anakin can't discern right from wrong when nothing about his Jedi training was strictly black and white, Light and Dark? While we're still holding our breath from the pulsating opening, Obi-wan issues Anakin a test. "There's nothing more you can do," says Anakin's Master, challenging him to choose between his humanity and his Jedi resolve. Anakin never had a chance.
The road to Anakin's redemption is a long one, and on both sides, beings die. Heroes die. While it's true that Anakin's Dark alter ego wields the blade that delivers so many of the killing blows, it is the forces behind his fall that put the blade in Darth Vader's mechanical hand. It is in the gray areas of our collective conscience that the popularity of this saga exists. I used to think it was in the Light and the Dark. I was wrong, at least at how I see it...feel it. Are any of the SW characters 100% good or bad, right or wrong? Of course not! That opening crawl might as well read, "War! The Force has dissolved into shades of gray..." Then again, that would make it a tale of simple humanity, simple reality, wouldn't it?
Darth_Hiram is quite the blogger, and his A Journey into The Force blog (just about every entry!) is one I have had bookmarked for quite a while. This entry came instantly to mind as I watched ROTS the other night. I pictured Anakin fumbling in the Dark to find the Light switch...reaching, stretching... only to be blocked by haunting dreams and the face of evil itself, Darth Sidious. Anakin wanted so desperately to find the Light. So desperately. I listened to his plaintive confession to Obi-wan as the older Jedi prepared to leave for Utapau, that he hadn't been appreciative of his Master's training. "May the Force Be With You," tumbled awkwardly from Anakin's lips. Why? Why wasn't Anakin able to silence the hyperdrive in his psyche and just accept what the Force asked of him?
He wasn't made that way. The Force didn't steer him toward that proverbial Light switch because it wasn't meant to be that way. Anakin was raised in gray world, and his path to redemption had to remain equally gray. Life was never black and white for him. I like to think that even as he stood as a blue apparition with Yoda and Obi-wan at the end of ROTJ, the whole of him still wasn't perfect. His imperfection gives us hope that we can all be redeemed, no matter how bleak our lives may be...no matter how gray. There's hope.
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http://blogs.starwars.com/amidalooine/80 |
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hansgirl3
Invoking the Squee
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:49 AM
What a beautiful film ROTS is...visually stunning and emotionally heart-wrenching.
Ami, you are so very right. It's fot those reasons that ROTS is one of my top favorites of the saga. No other PT film was able to do that, but ROTS was so brilliant!
Great points about Anakin! He truly was a product of what his circumstances made of him. Granted he made the choices that led to both his fall and then eventually his rise, but, as you said, "Anakin never had a chance." 
Love it! 
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jediprincess77
I Don't Know Where You Get Your Delusions...
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 9:07 AM
It hurts so good; I love this film.
Oh yeah, I know that feeling. I have to be in a certain mood to watch ROTS, but when I am...whew, you better stay away. It's intense.
Light and Dark, in such close proximity that they blend together into gray...is it any wonder that Anakin can't discern right from wrong when nothing about his Jedi training was strictly black and white, Light and Dark?
Ya know, it always bothered me how the Jedi seemed so clear on the dark side. (What about Anakin's conflict was CLEAR?) The "arrogance" of the Jedi so many talk about applies here, I think. They were so sure they'd no the dark side...they weren't even considering shades of gray.
Thought-provoking, ami. Great stuff.
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nob01
Oil Bath Bubbles
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 9:52 AM
Nicely put, ami.
From the 'duel of the fates' onwards, I think fate was the guiding hand in Anakin's demise.
That, and evil Artoo.
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 11:17 AM
He wasn't made that way. The Force didn't steer him toward that proverbial Light switch because it wasn't meant to be that way.
If Anakin was indeed conceived by the Force itself, then evil had a hand in his entire life.... he made most of his choices on the wrong side... and...
I think fate was the guiding hand in Anakin's demise ... and perhaps his fate was to be evil all along...
It's hard to watch the downfall... I don't have any sympathy for him as I watch it, he's so arrogant and I just want to scream "STOP! Palpatine's a LIAR! You don't know everyhting that you think you do!"
cont....
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ewanandhaydenfan5
I Have You Now!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 11:44 AM
Ami, stop making me cry!
This entry summed up exactly why ROTS is my fav of the saga, and why seeing it made me go from just someone who grew up with the OT and liked SW, to someone who's become obssessed with it.
It's hard to watch the downfall
It is. I have some sympathy for Ani...I understand his struggle with his fear of loss, after all, he was raised with a mom for 9 or 10 years, and he trusted Palps as a friend. But in the end, he didn't need to make the destructive choices he did; he could've turned to Obi-Wan for help or trusted more in the Force and in those few that were close to him.
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 12:15 PM
....continued, finally, after being rudely interrupted by a person of the opposite species.....
It's hard to watch the downfall because Anakin is such a whiny baby, instead of the HERO he was supposed to be.... the movie does not delve as deeply into his character as the book.... it shows how torn he was over the political strife, and his disagreements with the council, etc etc....
He trusted Palpy because Palpy stroked his ego, telling him everything he wanted to hear while the Jedi were more likely to tell him the truth, as in "You're not that good, you're not that experienced, you're way too young" to be a master and sit on the council....
....con't
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jedilily1026
Years Matter Not (Gone Crazy...Be Back Soon)
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 12:18 PM
Life was never black and white for him.
Life is never black and white...in the GFFA or in our real world. Funny but for the Old Jedi it was.
ROTS is a beautiful movie and I identify with Anakin too much...sometimes I wish my life was black & white. It sure would be easier!!!!
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 12:22 PM
Even Obi-Wan could have been more honest with him, unless he truly believed that Anakin "had become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be..." but at least he told him to be patient....
I aometimes wonder how he could have trusted Palpy more than Obi-Wan, but again, it's the ego thing....
I'm sorry if these replies don't make much sense, there are people in this room yakking my ear off.... like I'm not doing anything! Grrr.... families.... can't live with 'em.... and what was I saying?
Anakin needed to mature and have more patience, much like I do right now.... 
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 12:32 PM
Somewhere along here I lost a reply I thought I made referring to the deleted scenes... if GL had taken ALL of Ep II & III he could have made the three prequels out of that material and skipped TPM.....
I would have hated missing out on Qui-Gon, but I think we would have had a deeper character of Anakin Skywalker, one who was either more heroic or more tragic, as I mentioned not too long ago in a blog nearby.... we could have had a better look at his turmoil and the depths of his feelings than we got from the films alone....
Now I'm really signing off before I turn to the Dark Side...
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MakHavok
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 12:50 PM
It's true that the force is neather light or dark. Good or evil it's just the force which they never told him in the ROTS. But it was not till much later did they really find out about that though. But I did cry too when I watch ROTS the fack he turn to the dark side did hurt. But the only reson he did was to save his wife an unborn kids. So in a way he was doing it with love and light in his heart.
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MomOf2YoungPadawan
Mamadala's Lair
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 2:07 PM
It is in the gray areas of our collective conscience that the popularity of this saga exists You totally nailed it right there! We all struggle with the "light" and "dark" areas of our personalities, and it is those "gray areas" that consume and trouble us most.
Are any of the SW characters 100% good or bad, right or wrong? Of course not! Just as all of us! This is one reason I am so taken in by the NJO series of books (which I just finished). It's the idea of "The Unifying Force", which Luke describes here:
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gold5
I lost Tiree, lost Dutch!..or How I learned to stop worrying and love the Death Star.
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 2:08 PM
The road to Anakin's redemption is a long one,
I feel like belting out "Long and Winding Road" now.
I agree with Granny-Wan about leaving out TPM. The story should have started with his journey as a jedi starting as the age in ATOC. From there the parts of the story that really mattered could have been fleshed out much more.
My opinion of Anakin varies from viewing to viewing. Sometimes I feel empathy for him and sometimes I want to smack him.
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MomOf2YoungPadawan
Mamadala's Lair
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 2:10 PM
"The Force is more all-embracing than I ever realized. Light and dark do not always stand opposed, but mingle with each other in curious ways. More important, the Force seems to have a will, and it's when we're acting against the will of the Force that we can get into trouble. Anger by itself is not of the dark side unless it is accompanied by a desire to dominate. When we act in harmony with the will of the Force, we disappear into it. When we struggle against it, we not only sever our ties with the Force, but also feed the needs of chaos." ( The Unifying Force, James Luceno)
Leave it to Anakin's son to figure that out, eh?! 
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MomOf2YoungPadawan
Mamadala's Lair
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 2:10 PM
I just get lost in that passage - it also reminds me of my struggle to not be so controlling of everything, not so overprotective of my kids. It seems that when I grip too tightly, things happen (like the ATV accident) that let me know that ultimately, it's not my will - it's God's - that will decide what happens. I need to be an instrument of that will, not a fighter of it.
I pictured Anakin fumbling in the Dark to find the Light switch...reaching, stretching... only to be blocked by haunting dreams and the face of evil You know what just struck me -Anakin remains in the dark after his nightmare until Padme turns on the lights in the apartment! Oh, if only he would have let her bring him back to the light in other ways!!
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MomOf2YoungPadawan
Mamadala's Lair
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 2:11 PM
Another thought - it has always been so interesting to me that the Jedi say "only Sith deal in absolutes," yet we hear Yoda saying "Do or do not, there is no try;" and we constantly hear about the "light" and "dark" sides of the Force from the old JO. Hmmmm....!
Ok...I need some chocolate now...this blog has worn me out (but in a good way!)
Sorry I took up so much - delete if you need more room! 
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darthgrievious93
Hey, Ho, Let's Go!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 2:20 PM
Nice entry.
Very...... emotional? 
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The Stooge
Star Wars Joke-A-Day
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 5:01 PM
It's a nice thought... but I'm still in the "Anakin got off easy" camp. He facilitated the demise of the Jedi, followed by the death of thousands, and stood by while a planet went kablooey -- then he just gets "redeemed" by killing an old geezer who was attacking his son. Then he has the gall to ask Luke to tell his sister "you were right"... i.e. "You were right, I am a good guy underneath this black mask! Tell everyone, I'm really a swell fella!" Quick, nominate him for sainthood! Oh yeah, he apparently already made it.
Huh. I must be in a mood today.
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MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 6:41 PM
Nice entry, very thought-provoking. There's a lot of gray in Anakin's life but I owe that to his confusion and unresolved issues dating back to his childhood.
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gold5
I lost Tiree, lost Dutch!..or How I learned to stop worrying and love the Death Star.
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:21 PM
I had to cut my response short earlier.
The nebulousness of the shades of grey is probably accurate since the force is an emotionless energy that has no designs on good and evil. I have always seemed to see eye to eye with jkthunder on the nature of the force. I suppose because our belief systems have come from similar sources as far as philosophy & theology are concerned. I like her explanation of good and bad coming out of the human (or non human) drama of those using it.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:22 PM
He truly was a product of what his circumstances made of him.
Exactly, hg. I do realize that there is free will. I guess my question with Anakin, as in real life, is...can free will always overcome circumstance??
He was put into an impossable situation from the day he met Qui-Gon.
...yet without meeting QG, Anakin remains a slave! So much to think about!
They were so sure they'd know the dark side...they weren't even considering shades of gray
Hmmmm...isn't it Obi-wan himself who says that only the Sith deal in absolutes?!
That, and evil Artoo.
...wretched little droid...
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gold5
I lost Tiree, lost Dutch!..or How I learned to stop worrying and love the Death Star.
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:30 PM
I had this discussion with fan4yrs a few weeks ago.(and hoped I didn't offend since I consider him one of my friends on here).
Though I always enjoy reading your blogs about Anakin because you have always had such an empathetic connection to his story. The blogs always come out very passionate, and I like that. This one is great as always.
Man, stoogie you are in a mood.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:36 PM
I have to note...there are a few bloggers here whom I fully expected to read this, puke, then move along! I thank you, dear friends, for commenting. Onto the first one's comments
granny...I see the points people make about Anakin's arrogance, and Palps was only telling Anakin what he wanted to hear, but here's the thing (and it's something I've thought a lot about). If you're good at something, might need work, might need some inprovement but you're gifted at it, and no one takes the time to encourage you, can you be blamed for gravitating toward someone who finally does tell you what you so desperately need to hear? (more)
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:42 PM
That's what makes me sympathize with Anakin. Sure, he had a sense of bravado about him that came off as arrogance and probably turned a lot of people off (Mace), but it floors me that with such an important person to the fate of the galaxy, the freaking Chosen One, the Jedi couldn't have taken the time to look beyond the Jedi rule book to see that Anakin needed something more.
it made me go from just someone who grew up with the OT and liked SW, to someone who's become obssessed with it.
Though I loved it thoroughly before, e&hf5, I didn't embrace my inner Anakin until ROTS.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:50 PM
he could've turned to Obi-Wan for help
That's the ONE thing about Anakin's turn that bothers me the most. He could have turned to his "brother," yet he didn't. So sad.
I identify with Anakin too much...sometimes I wish my life was black & white.
Me, too, Lily! Well...except the black and white part. I used to hide behind the rigidity of black and white, but I have also found strength in the shades of gray. Some things are clear cut, of course, and it's best that way, but other things aren't so...easy.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:01 PM
mo2yp...The Unifying Force sounds intriguing! Of course I've still got your Death Star here!
the Jedi say "only Sith deal in absolutes," yet we hear Yoda saying "Do or do not, there is no try;"
We're on the same wavelength...not surprisingly!
But the only reson he did was to save his wife an unborn kids
I do think it was a little more complictade than that, MakHavok, but too many people downplay the point you make, too!!
My opinion of Anakin varies from viewing to viewing. Sometimes I feel empathy for him and sometimes I want to smack him.
I always feel empathy for Anakin. I want to smack Mace!!
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:16 PM
Very...... emotional?
That's what I'm all about dg93!!
gold5...jkthunder has helped me understand a lot about Anakin (ok...about myself) by sharing her thoughts on human drama giving rise to our own Dark or Light sides...er...Anakin's. And thanks for liking my Anakin soapbox blog entries, even though you don't necessarily agree with them!! The best of friends need to disagree somrtimes!
I love that each of us can relate to it on a profound level in our own unique ways.
Absolutely, jk!
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:22 PM
Stooge...You were one of the people I expected to read this (because you're incredibly considerate that way), puke, then move along...but outright contempt for my opinion of Anakin was definitely another way to go. Doesn't matter. I'll still show up on your doorstep expecting to hang out sometime, hopefully sooner rather than later.
There's a lot of gray in Anakin's life but I owe that to his confusion and unresolved issues
Makes a lot of sense, Miss Padme. I just wish that the Jedi had allowed for shades of gray.
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Darth_Hiram
A Journey into The Force
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:22 PM
Excellent blog, Ami ... and thanks for the mention of my blog! 
I, too am fascinated by Anakin's character and his road to redemption. Your point of his living in a gray world is spot on in that he was never given the chance to be either dark or light. From the get-go he was marked as the Chosen One ... the one who would bring balance to the Force and I think that put such pressure on him that he snapped like a dead tree in a powerful wind storm. Every piece of him went flying in different directions in ROTS, and he ultimately was left in limbo in a gray, stormy world.
cont ...
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Darth_Hiram
A Journey into The Force
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:28 PM
Even at the end of things, he was left standing in the middle of pure Light and pure Dark, as a catalyst of redemption ... but never really leaving behind the actions he took (even ones mere moments before his return) to get him to that spot. Between the Light and Dark his was indeed a gray colour.
Again ... excellent entry, my friend!
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Sarlacc-Pitt
Slowly Digested Over A Thousand Blogs
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:44 PM
There's hope.
Yep, I love that...
Anakin was totally used... from the time he was a child, he was a freakin' slave for cryin' out loud. He was put into an unavoidable situation and manipulated, and that "grey" was clouded even further by his own fears which no one else really understood, or even completely cared. And as far as the choices that were made, well, I think they were all made for him. I just can't imagine anyone getting out from Palpatine's spell. It really could have been anyone, because everyone has fears and loses hope and Palpatine preyed on that. What happened was unavoidable, and it was meant to happen.
Basically, it's all Yoda's fault.
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Oboe-Wan
Oboe-Wan's Hive of Scum & Villainy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:47 PM
Wow, it's been too long since I've visited your blog... BAD oboe-wan, BAD BAD!!
This was a great entry - I haven't allowed myself to get lost in a SW movie in a long time. I think I spent too much time analyzing & overthinking. Sometimes the grey is what makes life so interesting, but when someone is expected to discern black from white, light from dark, how can you tell which is which in order to assign it a label? What I think is black may be white to someone else...
You are right: Anakin didn't stand a chance.
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:49 PM
and no one takes the time to encourage you, can you be blamed for gravitating toward someone who finally does tell you what you so desperately need to hear?
I don't think it's ever definite that NO one gives him encouragement,...like I mentioned, Obi-Wan calls him a "far greater Jedi" than he is, which I don't agree he was at that point.... but I think he had the potential to be....
the Jedi couldn't have taken the time to look beyond the Jedi rule book to see that Anakin needed something more.
I wonder if in death any of those Jedi Masters had a "DUH" moment... they should have....
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The Stooge
Star Wars Joke-A-Day
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:53 PM
Doesn't matter. I'll still show up on your doorstep expecting to hang out sometime
So we're still friends? (BTW, I was fresh out of puke.)
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 8:54 PM
But the bottom line is that Anakin betrayed his brothers and sisters, sacrificed thousands of lives, slaughtered innocent younglings... all for his own selfish reasons.... "I can't live without her"
And the atrocities he committed as Vader.... chilling.... I suppose that's what's make him a compelling bad guy..... without evil there are no heroes, without the dark side there can be no light... WE all live our lives in shades of gray, but WE are not Jedi...
"Do, or do not, there is no try." Yoda was a hypocrite... one cannot do without trying...
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jkthunder
Seven Pieces
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 9:04 PM
I think I'm coming to the realization that I say the same exact thing in all your blog comments. I'm such an automaton
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padmeskywalker77
Padme's Legacy
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 10:15 PM
Wow Ami...you never cease to amaze
I love ROTS...and not just because of how good Anakin looks ...but because of all that happens--the action, the emotion, the love, the loss. Although I love all of the movies, this would have to be my favorite...the one I always want to watch. It is the one that brought me back to the saga and that led me to here.
We all do live in the gray-zone, looking for that Light that will lead us down the right path. Anakin always seemed to be in that gray...always looking but never finding his path.
His imperfection gives us hope that we can all be redeemed, no matter how bleak our lives may be...no matter how gray. There's hope.
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Granny-Wan
I Am NOT an Old Fossil!
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date Posted: Feb 19, 2008 11:10 PM
I see every point and want zig zag back and forth giving all creedance.
That's one of Ami's gray areas!
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 20, 2008 7:31 AM
and thanks for the mention of my blog
Get used to it, DH! I have another you-inspired entry I hope to get out soon! As you said I can't imagine the pressure of being the Chosen One. Though Anakin aspired to be a great Jedi, we never hear him say, "Hey look at me. I'M the Chosen One!" There's nothing to indicate he relished that position.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 20, 2008 7:32 AM
or even completely cared
And there you have the root of my sympathy for Anakin in a nutshell, Pitt. Anakin Skywalker was a complicated wreck, but that doesn't mean he didn't need just one person who cared enough to take the time to really know him. That's where it bothers me that he didn't reach out to Obi-wan because I think Obi-wan was the one who might have done it if given the chance. Or Padme, but that's kind of different. Married relationships are their own entities...a subject for a different blog, perhaps.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 20, 2008 7:37 AM
it's all Yoda's fault.
I usually blame Mace!
BAD oboe-wan, BAD BAD
I thought you just didn't like me anymore 
when someone is expected to discern black from white, light from dark, how can you tell which is which in order to assign it a label? What I think is black may be white to someone else...
I totally agree with that, Oboe, and I think that's a big part of what jk has taught me, too! I could use examples from the currently still raging, real life war...but I won't! Not here anyway.
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amidalooine
The Emotional Galaxy
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date Posted: Feb 20, 2008 7:44 AM
I wonder if in death any of those Jedi Masters had a "DUH" moment... they should have
Hehehe, granny. It would have had to be a short one (with the exceptions of Yoda and Obi-wan, of course!).
Hey Stooge...You always feed me well and I kinda like your wife and kid, so I guess we're still friends! | | |
