The release of the Original Trilogy on DVD was long-awaited. I was incredibly excited; the color was going to be restored, as was the sound, and I'd finally be able to see my favorite movies in widescreen. We bought the DVD set on the day of its release, and sat down to watch A New Hope the next weekend. I was amazed at the colors and sounds, and the widescreen version was better than I'd hoped. Sure, the screen still jumped when Luke activated his lightsaber, and there were those annoying green flashes during the duel between Kenobi and Vader, but overall, I was pleased.

Then, The Empire Strikes Back. Once again, the color and sound quality was incredible. I hated Boba's voice being dubbed over by Jango's, and the Slave 1's engine sounds being changed. I hated the Emperor's new dialogue, but after seeing Revenge of the Sith, I can sort of reconcile it as Vader's being deceitful. But still, overall I wasn't unhappy. I loved the new colors the restoration brought to Dagobah, which had been gray before but was now sort of green.

Then, my favorite, Return of the Jedi. I was thrilled with everything. Endor had much better color, and they cleaned up the grainy film in the duel between Luke and Vader (which I really didn't mind before, though; to me it seemed to symbolize the intense emotion of the scene, like when you see red sometimes when you're furious). The space battle looked much better, there was no Han reflection when he ran away from the bunker, and, my favorite, NABOO! Then, the scene I always called 'my scene'; the Ewok celebration. That wonderful music, Ewoks dancing, one plays Imperial helmets, pilots greet each other, and Threepio dances with an Ewok. Luke walks up, Han and Leia greet him, and an Ewok turns a cartwheel. Luke goes off by himself and sees Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin smiling at him... WHAT IN THE WORLD? Anakin looks like a hippie! What's with that dorky smile? WHERE'S MY ANAKIN?

In my opinion, Anakin didn't die there with Mace in Palpatine's office. I think, rather, that he was suppressed, crammed into an almost invisible corner of Darth Vader's psyche. It's rather obvious that this is the case; watching Return of the Jedi again for the first time after seeing Revenge of the Sith, I noticed some very odd behavior in Vader during the duel with Luke. I could actually see the conflict within him; Vader fighting to keep Anakin suppressed, Anakin struggling desperately to get free. And sometimes, he did. I could see Anakin there, in that black suit, instead of Vader. And I could actually see, when the moment of truth arrived and Vader had to choose once more between the dark side and the one he loved. I could see the cosmic struggle and Anakin breaking free of his 'cage' with a mighty shove, reclaiming the mind that was originally his own.

But, you see, in order for Anakin to free himself, he had to still be alive. And to be still alive, he would have aged considerably. Some argue that he really was dead, and his Force presence went back to when he was last a Jedi. Others argue that he was still alive inside Vader, but that when he finally died, his Force presence reverted to when he was a true Jedi. But I argue that he was alive inside Vader, and that his Force presence aged as did his body while he was trapped. That's why George Lucas should have kept Sebastian Shaw's image as Anakin Skywalker's Force 'ghost'. And that's why I keep my old fullscreen VHS tapes around; so I can see 'my scene' the way it's supposed to be. The way the Return of the Jedi storybook (by J.J. Gardner, published in the late 90's) puts it: "There, he could see the smiling, shimmering figures of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. There was a third person with them as well. It was Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, now reunited with them on the light side of the Force. And he was smiling, too."

May the Force be with you,
--i12bajedi


P.S. This theory is also addressed in a portion of my story Sometimes I Have Nightmares, if you're interested.