...and why it was so unhelpful.


Reading over a thread at my forums about Yoda and Anakin's relationship in ROTS, I started thinking about the advice Yoda gives to Anakin, and why it was doomed to fail.

It doesn't address the visions themselves.
Are visions always 100% accurate? Should Anakin be convinced that these dreams will come true just because his dreams about his mother were accurate? What lesson about the Force and about visions should Anakin have taken from Shmi's tragedy?

Since this vision isn't complete, shouldn't Anakin be careful in attempting to act on it? Shouldn't he be wary of holding his own assumptions about the causes and circumstances of the vision as truth? Shouldn't he know that by acting without full knowledge he's possibly taking a grave risk?

Isn't it possible that the Force sent these visions to Anakin for some particular purpose, aside from giving Yoda a chance to lecture Anakin on his attachments? Shouldn't the fact that he's having these visions at all be a cause for reflection on Anakin's part, instead of him throwing himself head first into trying to stop them?

I'm not saying that Anakin's attachments shouldn't be a matter of concern for Yoda. Just that all of his advice was a lecture about the attachment, without offering Anakin any particular insight on or way to tackle the visions themselves. And this strikes me as a Force power where a great deal of guidance would be a good idea, even for Jedi more stable than Anakin.

It was exactly the kind of advice Anakin would never take.
I'm not saying that Yoda has to chuck 800 or so years of Jedi teachings out the window just for Anakin, but I felt that whole conversation might as well have been with someone who had never met Anakin at all, and had no idea what kind of reaction he might have to simply being told that he should neither mourn nor miss anyone in his life should they suffer and die. Yoda has known Anakin since he was nine, and has known since first meeting him that his attachments are a difficult and sensitive issue at best. In that very conversation, Anakin could not have made it plainer that he was absolutely determined to not let his visions come to pass. Could Yoda -- or anyone else who knows Anakin -- reasonably expect him to simply heed those particular instructions (especially when said in that way) and just "let go"? Isn't there some better way to handle this subject with Anakin, to have even a little chance that he might listen (even though Anakin was never going to let go of Padme in the way Yoda describes, even letting go and stepping back just a little bit might have helped).

It's hypocritical.
Yoda definitely mourns for the Jedi lost in ROTS, as he should. He says he'll miss Chewie and Tarfful, which is his right. In AOTC, he allows Dooku to escape (and perpetuate the war, when it could have been ended on Geonosis) in order to save Anakin and Obi-Wan from certain death, which any decent person would do for colleagues/friends.

But, he's not following his own advice to Anakin. Clearly, Yoda has experienced difficult or personal situations where "miss them not" doesn't quite cut it. Why can't he share some of those times and the lessons he's learned from them with Anakin, instead of holding Anakin to a standard that even he can't meet?

Even with "good" advice, would Anakin listen?
So as not to dump this all on Yoda (I actually do like the little green guy), I'll just say that I know Anakin is impatient and impulsive, among other things, and that even if Yoda had turned into Oprah and given him great advice and a sympathetic ear, there's still a chance that Anakin's fear for Padme would have led him down the wrong path. Anakin went to Yoda for a way to stop the visions, and there's no way to know if he'd accept anything less than that. Also, as I said before, the way Anakin approaches and handles his attachments is a big problem (though I'd argue that telling him simply to get rid of said attachments isn't the best way to resolve that issue). And, because he fears expulsion from the Order, Anakin's cagey with the details of the vision, (though I'm honestly not sure that more honesty would have made much of a difference in Yoda's advice).


I guess the bottom line here is that I think Yoda mishandled the situation, and could have dealt with it better in a number of different ways.



Edit: Looks like the comments are now closed here. Thanks for the great and thoughtful discussion, everyone! If you'd like to continue it, feel free to stop by the aforementioned thread at my forums.




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