Okay. I halfway promised Amidalooine that I would write this. So here goes.

This stems from comments I made here in response to someone else's comments from Ami's first blog. Got that? Good, there will be a quiz later.

Darth Vader- Before the Suit

At the time Anakin pledged himself to Palpatine, he was not irrevocably Sith. The mark of the Sith (yellow eyes) is not constant until after he is in the suit. During this period of time, two personalities are fighting for dominance of the body- Anakin and Darth Vader. Anakin does not become a Sith because he believes that the Sith are correct and the Jedi are wrong. He joins because he thinks that Palps can help save Padme and because he just helped to kill Mace. This means that his conscience is still fighting itself. Even through all the horrible things that A/DV does next, he is never so far gone that he couldn't come back (see the actions of Kyp in the Jedi Academy Trilogy and Raynar in the Dark Nest Trilogy for examples of worse behavior). A/DV can still make the choice to be Anakin only. In order for this to happen, Anakin needs to be stronger than Darth Vader.

Sidebar- I have always thought that most of Anakin's conscience comes from Padme and Obi-Wan.

And back to the main blog....On Coruscant Obi-Wan is not there to help temper Anakin's actions (obviously because of Palpy's manipulations). Anakin does not let Padme know what is really going on, so she is unable to act as his conscience. This gives Darth Vader more power. On Mustafar, Anakin literally cuts off half his conscience when he force chokes Padme and then does his best to kill the other half. Throughout all of Mustafar, Darth Vader is gaining more power over the mind and body.

The Suit

Back on Coruscant, the fight over the body is still going on. When the helmet comes down, Anakin's eyes are not yellow. And then Palpy strikes. He tells one more lie...that Anakin killed Padme.

Sidebar- While Anakin helped to contribute to the conditions causing Padme's death, he did not kill her outright, which is what I believe Palps meant.

And we are back....Why did Palpy do this?

(The following theory is a paraphrase from Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston. The theory is credited to Luke.)

First, you are told your actions are noble. But then you are surrounded by reminders about the wrongness of your actions. This makes you more aware of your descent to the dark side. Palps "found this knowing acceptance of corruption, this half-accepting, half-struggling process, particularly delicious."

When Anakin pledged himself to Palps, he is told that he is doing the wrong thing. But then Palps reminds Anakin of something that he has done that is wrong. He could have mentioned the death of the Jedi (including the younglings) or the deaths of the Separatist leaders, but didn't because these were "noble" things that had to be done. So instead, he tells Anakin that he killed Padme. And with Padme dead and Anakin responsible, Anakin has no reason to go on living. Darth Vader is free to take over control and Palps gets to revel in the knowledge of Anakin's despair. Both Palps and DV think that Anakin believes he has fallen so far, he can never be redeemed, so he (Anakin) will never try to reemerge. But the three of them don't know about Luke. And when DV finds out about Luke, Anakin starts to stir a little bit. Anakin continues to grow in power until when he sees his son in agony, about to die and then he finally has the power to overthrow DV and take back control. And thus earning his right to come back as a blue glowy guy.

Anakin always had a choice, even if he didn't see it that way.

Are you confused? I know I am, and I wrote it! Please direct all complaints to Amidalooine, as this was her idea. (Kidding, Ami, kidding. You know I love you!)

Click here for the quiz.

And yes, I realize the picture is of Obi-Wan and Anakin, but I liked the symbolism of the struggle.