Anakin Skywalker famously turned to the darkish aspect all through the Star Wars prequel trilogy, along with his transition to turning into Darth Vader coming on the finish of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, however many characters contributed to it. Anakin was acknowledged in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to be the Chosen One, which inadvertently put extra strain on him to succeed as a Jedi. Whereas many components contributed to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the darkish aspect, his final selection was constructed on the shoulders of others as properly.
One of many main points that Jedi should face is making an attempt to maintain their feelings out of their selections; nevertheless, as a Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker struggled with this regularly. He had emotional attachments to a number of different folks, most notably his secret spouse, Senator Padmé Amidala. Anakin’s want to guard these he cherished, like Padmé and his mom Shmi, usually led him to make questionable, if not outright horrible, selections that led him additional down a darkish path.
8 Palpatine Fastidiously Orchestrated Anakin’s Fall
He Was the Mastermind Behind it All
Palpatine was grooming Anakin for over a decade to grow to be his latest Sith apprentice. Not solely might Palpatine establish the uncertainty and darkness that resided inside Anakin, however he actively used it to show him towards the darkish aspect. As Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine developed a camaraderie with the younger Jedi that led Anakin to belief the Supreme Chancellor and even think about him a buddy and mentor. With Palpatine secretly being the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious, it was clear his finish purpose was wielding Anakin’s energy for his personal acquire.
The ultimate twist within the sport Palpatine performed in grooming Anakin as his subsequent apprentice was convincing the struggling Jedi that he might train him find out how to save Padme from dying in Revenge of the Sith. Palpatine ultimately acknowledged that he was the Sith Lord the Jedi had been looking, however deflected off of that by promising to show Anakin find out how to cheat dying. Palpatine, by way of his mentorship with Anakin, was capable of plant the seeds of mistrust within the Jedi early, which made it simpler for him to show Anakin when he revealed himself to be a Sith Lord.
7 Obi-Wan Kenobi Let Himself Change into Too Connected
Their Brotherly Love Set Anakin Up for Failure
Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi had simply completed his apprenticeship below Qui-Gon Jinn when he turned Anakin Skywalker’s grasp. On the floor, Obi-Wan was very onerous on Anakin, scolding him in public and telling the Jedi Council he wasn’t prepared for a solo mission in Star Wars: Episode II – Assault of the Clones. Nonetheless, he really cared for Anakin, and noticed him as a brother, particularly as soon as they started preventing alongside one another within the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan often playfully made enjoyable of Anakin, however the pair labored rather well collectively.
Within the latter half of Revenge of the Sith, Anakin felt that Obi-Wan had betrayed him and was making an attempt to show Padmé in opposition to him. Obi-Wan had given Anakin a motive to not belief him earlier than. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 4, Obi-Wan faked his dying to achieve data on considered one of Rely Dooku’s plans. Anakin was not let in on the key, leaving him very on edge and prepared to resort to violence to avenge his grasp’s perceived dying. Obi-Wan ultimately displaying up alive and revealing the choice for secrecy was his planted seeds of mistrust in Anakin.
6 Qui-Gon Jinn’s Demise Set Anakin’s Fall Into Movement
Had Qui-Gon Survived, Issues Would possibly Have Been Totally different
Jedi Grasp Qui-Gon Jinn was the rationale why Anakin Skywalker was free of slavery and began down the trail of the Jedi. Upon assembly Anakin and having Obi-Wan affirm his midi-chlorian rely, Qui-Gon was satisfied that Anakin was the Chosen One. Whereas Qui-Gon had no concept what would grow to be of Anakin, he introduced the boy to the Jedi Temple and finally pushed for him to be Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Padawan. Liberating Anakin from a lifetime of slavery was the appropriate factor to do, however his turning into a Jedi ultimately spelled the top for all the Order.
Moreover, Anakin almost certainly wouldn’t have grow to be Obi-Wan’s pupil if it wasn’t for Jinn’s dying. In his dying breaths, Qui-Gon requested Obi-Wan to coach Anakin, one thing that Obi-Wan couldn’t deny his grasp. If Qui-Gon beat Maul and educated Anakin himself, it’s attainable that Anakin wouldn’t have turned to the darkish aspect. Despite the fact that Obi-Wan was a superb instructor, Qui-Gon would’ve been a greater match as Anakin’s grasp, as he was the daddy determine the boy wanted. This isn’t to say that Obi-Wan wasn’t a superb instructor, however his and Anakin’s personalities and opinions vastly differed, and brotherhood wasn’t the appropriate bond for Skywalker.
5 Padmé Amidala Is The Key To It All
It is Anakin’s Concern of Shedding Her that Cements His Fall
Padmé Amidala’s secret marriage with Anakin Skywalker was one of many largest causes he ultimately turned to the darkish aspect. His feelings and love for her usually clouded his judgment, and typically led him to be violent. This was seen in The Clone Wars with Rush Clovis and the way Anakin turned erratic and controlling over Padmé. Anakin letting his feelings management him meant he flirted with the darkish aspect, making it simpler to be manipulated by Palpatine.
Moreover, throughout Revenge of the Sith, Padmé’s being pregnant was of nice concern, as Anakin had a imaginative and prescient of his spouse dying throughout childbirth. This imaginative and prescient led Anakin to simply accept assist from Palpatine, who promised that he might train Anakin to avoid wasting Padme and their unborn baby. Whereas Anakin had already given himself over to Palpatine and the darkish aspect on the finish of Revenge of the Sith, it was Palpatine telling Anakin that he had killed Padme that finally destroyed him and was a last level of no return.
4 Ahsoka Tano Left When Anakin Wanted Her Most
She Had No Concept Who He Would Change into
Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, didn’t contribute fairly as a lot to her grasp’s fall to the darkish aspect as others, however she did little to assist him in his time of want, both. On the finish of The Clone Wars season 5, Ahsoka was framed for bombing the Jedi Temple and several other murders. Whereas Anakin ultimately discovered the actual offender, Barriss Offee, and introduced her to justice, he was one of many few who heard Barriss’ aspect of the story. She was disillusioned and didn’t imagine within the Jedi Order anymore, one thing that Anakin would relate to increasingly.
When Ahsoka determined to depart the Jedi Order after she was acquitted, it harm Anakin and made him really feel like he failed her as a grasp, and she or he as his pupil. Afterward, Ahsoka was seemingly all the time brief with Anakin after they briefly reconnected in The Clone Wars season 7 earlier than the Siege of Mandalore. Whereas Anakin wished to know the way Ahsoka was doing, she simply wished to speak technique. Ahsoka knew her grasp properly and may’ve sensed the darkness rising in him, however she did not settle for Maul’s phrases that he was being groomed by Darth Sidious.
3 Yoda Failed To Present The Correct Steering
He Ought to Have Sensed What Anakin Was Going By means of
Because the Grand Grasp of the Jedi Order, Yoda particularly ought to have been attuned to the disaster that was blooming inside Anakin. Whereas he was conscious of Anakin’s concern, hate, anger, and extra at the same time as a small boy, Yoda failed to hunt the foundation of those feelings and assist Anakin by way of them. As an alternative, he merely warned Anakin to not give in to them, with out giving Anakin any tangible recommendation on how to take action. Anakin was instructed to let go of what he felt, and that was one thing he merely couldn’t do. Yoda, with all his knowledge, ought to have acknowledged that.
The one factor Yoda tried to do for Anakin backfired when he assigned Ahsoka as Anakin’s Padawan. Reasonably than serving to Anakin to develop as a Jedi and as an individual, Yoda gave him yet one more individual to grow to be unhealthily connected to, a ache that elevated tenfold when Ahsoka finally left the Jedi Order. It was after this loss Anakin endured, and that of his mom, that Yoda would then give Anakin the recommendation of “celebrating” the thought of yet one more cherished one turning into one with the Drive – which left Anakin feeling as if Palpatine was his solely possibility.
2 The Jedi Council Positioned Doubt Inside Anakin
They Embarrassed & Doubted Him Time and Time Once more
A significant factor that contributed to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the darkish aspect was the Jedi Council. The Council, led by Yoda, refused to provide Anakin the rank of Grasp, regardless of giving him a seat amongst their ranks. This transfer upset Anakin vastly, and he expressed this frustration to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The truth is, Mace Windu made it recognized to Anakin that he didn’t belief him, regardless of Anakin proving his skills and loyalty time and time once more.
The Jedi had misplaced their means lengthy earlier than Anakin joined the Order, however they nonetheless failed him, and their hubris was their final downfall. As a result of they didn’t belief Anakin, it shaped seeds of discontent, and the duty of spying on the Chancellor was later exploited by Palpatine. If the Jedi Council as a collective had been extra attentive to the rising darkness in Anakin, they could have been capable of combat off the temptation of the darkish aspect and Palpatine. As an alternative, they remoted him and made his fall to the darkish aspect inevitable.
1 Watto Planted Anakin’s Earliest Seeds Of Hatred
He Tormented Anakin & His Mom For Years
The Toydarian junk vendor was the previous proprietor of Anakin Skywalker and his mom, Shmi. Skywalker’s hatred for slavery began with how he and his mom had been handled by Watto and the truth that when Qui-Gon Jinn tried to free each Anakin and Shmi, he was solely capable of rescue the boy. If Watto hadn’t saved Shmi as his slave, she wouldn’t have been taken by the Tusken Raiders, tortured, and killed by them. Shmi Skywalker’s brutal dying was one of many first instances the darkish aspect was really seen in Anakin, and it was utterly avoidable.
Anakin’s hatred for slavery was additionally proven in an arc in The Clone Wars season 4, when he, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka had been all captured by Zygerrian slavers. Anakin was as soon as once more (although briefly) a slave, and it triggered an anger that wasn’t seen usually throughout the present. It was a vicious focus the Jedi struggled to stave off, displaying how deep the threads of the darkish aspect ran in Anakin. This anger and hatred all started with Watto and the truth that he owned Anakin and his mom throughout Skywalker’s upbringing.
Many components led to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the darkish aspect and his transformation into Darth Vader. Nonetheless, regardless of how a lot darkness resided inside Anakin, the individuals who surrounded him formed and contributed to his inevitable fall. Whereas most of those entities by no means meant for him to fall to the darkish aspect, their actions (or inaction) contributed to his descent into evil and the final word demise of Star Wars‘ Republic and the Jedi Order.