*puts on my anakin apologist hat again* anakin as double-agent of the Force
The force created Anakin specifically to be the Chosen One (demi-god) bc it needed an INHERENTLY GOOD PERSON who was both powerful enough to learn and withstand the DARK SIDE and powerful enough in his inherent goodness to RETURN FROM IT.
It couldn't have been anyone else BUT Anakin. It had to be the most powerful force user in the galaxy who was so good his soul would withstand (& survive under) the Dark Side he was destined to shoulder for decades.
In order to full the Prophecy, Anakin had to essentially survive both years of torture (borne of the Dark side) and survive the GRIEF AND REGRET from falling (borne of the Light) without completely losing or giving up on himself and submitting to the Darkness eternally.
Someone weaker in the Force could never accomplish this because if they fell they wouldn't be strong enough in the Light of the Force to withstand a fall & return. they'd just fall. Essentially the Force, by creating Anakin, is saying no one else could have done it - not Yoda, not Obi-wan, no other Jedi, or person, or Sith. Only Anakin.
Anakin was essentially a "double-agent" of the Force. Unknowingly.
Padme was always right. There was good in Vader. She saw the truth. Obi-wan also eventually saw the truth, seeing good in Vader (perhaps eventually realizing it was Anakin mercifully freeing him from guilt in OWK), causing him to sacrifice himself in peace for Vader's destruction & Anakin's assured return.
The Force created Anakin specifically to fulfill the Prophecy of falling in both the eyes of the Jedi and Sith because it knew that his inherent goodness would remain in tact enough for him to destroy the Sith (Sidious), not claim the Dark throne for himself afterwards, and also hand control over to the Light (Luke).
BECAUSE he felt GUILT STRONGLY ENOUGH (his goodness) after ALL THAT TIME (20yrs) BURIED IN THE DARK (necessary as per the force to get palpatine in a vulnerable spot) to STILL RETURN TO THE LIGHT afterwards (by killing him Palps/saving Luke).
The Force put him in the hardest possible position because it KNEW that no matter what the dark could throw at him:
ANAKIN WOULD SURVIVE AND PULL THROUGH BECAUSE HIS true ALIGNMENT WITH THE LIGHT (as a demi-god) WAS THAT STRONG.
Anakin was a demi-god created to fulfill a Prophecy and was tortured and misunderstood for this by everyone, including himself, which is what absolved his human half and allowed him in the end to become a Force Ghost. He didn't see himself as a demi-god with free reign to create chaos. And thus he felt genuine guilt for his crimes.
He accepted culpability for them (despite being predestined) which is what makes him a tragic hero. It doesn't matter if it was a prophecy or destiny, if he could help it or not, Anakin still feels regret.
His genuine guilt for his misdeeds & evil and his acknowledgement of them in the end yet again proved what the Force knew to be true. Anakin is inherently good.
Through his young life Anakin didn't say "hey I'm a demi-god I can do whatever I want" he fought the Prophecy for a very long time. He longed to be a Jedi and dreamed of helping others.
Yet, when he confronts Padme on Mustafar he says exactly that! Exactly what an all-powerful god turned to the dark would say. "We can rule the Galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be," going mad for a moment with power. But then he mourns and regrets his fall for the rest of his life (even as Vader he mourns Padme, spares Reva, absolves Obi-wan, he is struck silent & numb by slavery in the Empire in the comics). With his guilt, he returns from the dark as predicted.
This, as per the Force, proves Anakin was good at heart and had to fall to destroy the Sith. He committed predetermined deeds but he recognized his deeds as morally wrong regardless and mourned, suffered, and burned for them as Vader in the context of the Tragedy. This was the Force "punishing" his human half despite making committing these deeds essentially his destiny.
He was absolved because he genuinely regretted it. He couldn't get off scott free despite being a demi-god because he is also half humanoid. He needed to suffer for his choices despite his situation being predetermined. That's another thing he endured. As Vader he was to suffer and "pay" for the evil as a human would by human standards. He fully believed he was deserving of this and damned himself continually.
Yet after all that he was still strong enough in the Light to withstand that suffocating darkness and emerge again - saving humanity alongside understanding the totality of the Dark Side (!!!), achieving universal balance (!!! inner and outer), and sacrificing his own soul to give the Galaxy future hope in Luke and Leia.
Vader was both his test and destiny - forging a true tragic hero who accepts the outcomes of his actions. A god of balance who lived a life realizing the truth of our souls is often in the middle, whether we our actions are good or bad.
Vader may have been the Force's destiny for Anakin, but he chose to make Vader/his actions his responsibility, and that is how he displays his inherent goodness and worthiness of the title Chosen One.
romaincrisis
dailybridgerton
amandla
stormborns
origamiaround
pixelskylines
theartofmadeline
