THE THREE FALLS OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER
“…and I’m doing it for you. To protect you. “
Each of the Prequel movies shows Anakin kneeling and not only that, it’s him literally FALLING DOWN on his knees. The reason why he kneels each time is fascinating and downright heartwrenching considering the fact that Anakin, who was born a slave and lived like one for 9 years of his life, would rather not kneel in front of anyone his entire life, detesting this position of subjugation - HE DOES IT OUT OF LOVE, EACH TIME HE KNEELS IT’S FOR SOMEONE HE LOVES. His willingness to lower himself and give up his dignity and pride for nothing else but people THE WOMEN he loves is something that pervades the entire Prequel Trilogy and makes his fall to the dark side so much understandable and inevitable. Most people would sacrifice few to save many, Anakin Skywalker would sacrifice the entire Galaxy and his own soul to save the only one that mattered. And as much as I like Ben Solo and the similarities between him and Anakin, he couldn’t be more different than his grandfather unless proven otherwise, because so far his reasons for going to the dark side are selfish and weak at best. Ben had so much and so many people who loved him, while Anakin had so little and lost so many people who he cared about and because of it, he gave up his soul not to lose the one he loved the most.
1) It’s such a tiny but so significant and soul-stirring detail that in TPM Anakin is the first person to follow Padmé and kneel in front of Boss Nass, joining her in her plea for help to her people. Unlike the Jedi Knights and her subjects who serve the newly elected Queen more out of duty and respect, he follows her because he loves her and it’s love in it’s purest form - a child’s love.
2) 10 years later, the sheer grief and helplessnes at the death of Shmi makes him collapse on her grave. While his grandson is afraid of not being as strong enough as Darth Vader, Anakin’s greatest fear has always been not being strong enough to protect the people he loved. The sheer extent of that fear is revealed by his vow which he makes kneeling at the very grave of his mother, clutching in his hand the sand he hates so much and under which she’s now buried - NOT TO BE HELPLESS AGAIN. That fear and helplessness, all those vulnerabilities and insecurities, have been deeply rooted in him since his childhood which he spent living in slavery and when he couldn’t control even his own fate, when he couldn’t protect even himself because his life belonged to another and that’s why TPM is so vital for Anakin’s fall, why it was necessary for Lucas to show Anakin as a child - because their childhood experience it’s what forms people the most. It explains why he makes the decisions he does in ROTS and why he ultimately chooses to go to the dark side.
3) Anakin’s final fall turns out to be the most heartbreaking, because in order not to lose Padmé and his child he loses himself. This is not a man hungry for power and control - the only emotions in his tormented eyes are numbness, desperation, helplessness and agony. This is a man defeated, a fallen hero, losing everything in order not to lose the one thing that he loves the most. And his lightsaber, the weapon which protected and saved so many lives and which Obi-Wan called HIS life, has fallen with him, now fittingly lying at Palpatine’s feet. His greatest strengths - his ability to love and his loyalty - are twisted into his greatest weakness and his downfall is complete. CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINION, I THINK THAT ANAKIN DIDN’T FALL TO THE DARK SIDE BECAUSE HE WAS MANIPULATED. OH NO, HE WAS TOO SMART FOR THAT, HE KNEW THE TREACHERY OF THE SITH. HE WAS EXPLOITATED AND EXTORTED BY SIDIOUS INTO JOINING HIM BECAUSE THE SITH LORD THREATENED HIM THAT IF HE WON’T JOIN HIM HE WILL LET PADMÉ DIE. IT WAS THE SAME AS IF HE WOULD HOLD HIS LIGHTSABER TO HER THROAT. That’s why Anakin is promising Palpatine he will do anything he wants him to and is BEGGING him to save her. He truly is the victim of the story. It’s ironic, really, because it was his ability to love which was the ultimate reason why he became the Chosen One and fulfilled his destiny - because only the love in him could defeat the darkness.