My thoughts on RotS (spoilers behind cuts)

[dangermousie]

Long long reaction. Behind the cut so as to save spoilerphobes.

I have also had two double espressos but hopefully this still makes sense…

This is such a story of contrasts.

We start with Anakin risking his life to save Obi-Wan, fighting side by side. We end with them fighting to the death.

We start with Anakin Skywalker, poster book Jedi, hero of the Republic. We end with Lord Vader, a Sith Lord, minion of the Empire.

We start with a man who sees all the beauty of the Universe in Padme’s face. We end with the man who Force-chokes her and (rightly) blames himself for her death. It is his fault she has no will to live.

We start with a man who cannot bring himself to execute Dooku when he is on his knees, even though he is a Sith Lord who threatens all Anakin holds most dear and who has cut off his arm. We end with a man who has slaughtered Jedi children.

We start with a Jedi who is sickened by giving in and killing Dooku. We end with a Sith who kills Separatist leaders as they beg for mercy with joy in his heart and what (if it wasn’t so horrifying) would pass for banter.

We start with a man who is desperately afraid of losing those he loves. And we end with a man without fear. Because he has nothing left to lose. Because he has lost everyone already.

We start with a young man who has everything. And we end with a wreck of a being who has nothing. No one.

And yet, it makes such horribly perfect sense. And that is why the story is good.

This book should have been subtitled “The Road to hell is paved with good intentions” Or Achebe’s “Things fall apart” Anakin’s desire is to save others. He is selfless in that regard. He is never worried about his own life. When Palpatine tells him that the Dark Arts cannot prolong the user’s life (i.e. Anakin's), but only the lives of others, you don’t see Anakin going “Oops. Must start from scratch now.” It does not check him for a moment. He doesn’t care. But of course, his desire is selfish as well. Neither Obi-Wan nor Padme are in the least suicidal, but they would both gladly die to prevent Anakin from becoming Vader, or even to stop the war. So it is his desires he is following, not theirs.

And that brings me to Anakin’s fear. The fear that consumes him. In a way, it is both a bad thing (it is what makes him susceptible to Palpatine after all), and a good thing as it is his connection to humanity. Darth Vader feels no fear (for a while at least). Which I find fascinating…

Throughout RotS, the image I have of Anakin is someone clinging to sanity and control by bloody fingernails, as they are being pried open one by one. And he knows that. And he can’t stop it. And that makes him lose it all the more. And, IMO, that is in part why he gives in. He wants the pain to stop. And that is why he cuts so loose. It’s (IMO) a reaction to not having to fight for sanity any more, but just revel in free fall.

Much more later, but for now I need to think some more.

Comments

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

I think we should, too! :)

I do think that he in some ways feels abandoned by both his mother and Qui-Gon, you're right. She lets him go and Qui-Gon is the first real death he experiences. He was torn from his mother and then lost his first true father-figure, it's not a wonder that he's so afraid of separation. And then, of course, her horribly violent death (it's much worse in the novelization, I sobbed when I read what had happened to her), is the first fracture in his already fragile soul.

This is sort of off-topic, but I was thinking how Obi-Wan makes that decision to leave Anakin on the molten banks of Mustafar and try to save Padme and their child(ren)...When he comes to the realization that there is nothing he can do for Anakin, he turns and runs and never stops to look back. But Anakin is always looking back. He runs back to his mother's arms when Qui-Gon is taking him from Tatooine, he looks back on Padme even ater years apart from her...He is always clinging to an ever receding past and that's part of his tragic downfall.

It seems like a contradiction, but I think his love for Padme is very pure and innocent and yet, at the same time, borders on obsession. He loves her so deeply, would do anything in the world for her, but in return, he wants her to be solely his. This doesn't become dangerous until he reaches that delusional breaking point of she and Obi-Wan being traitors, and then it's fatal. Abstraction means nothing to him. He sees the here and now, even though what he's seeing is wrong, and he doesn't consider the consequences. It's once the consequences happen that he glues himself to the past. And because of both flaws in his personality, Anakin can never move very far forward. Talk about your future being clouded.

I think Padme, on the other hand, very clearly considers the future. She deliberates and weighs things, at the same time loving him unconditionally and with the pureness of her entire heart. So, you're right about she and Luke. He's very much a reflection of the unpolluted goodness of his mother. Leia has that same feisty, rebellious streak that Anakin has, and she probably could have been turned with a strong dose of coercion, but Luke is a shining beacon of goodness. Arguably, he could have been turned, but the effort would have been tenfold compared to what it took to turn Anakin. (And Anakin doesn't exactly turn overnight.) Because Luke is such a force of light (yes, that's intended! hee!), he can sense that goodness in his father, and he can forgive him. Perhaps that's what Anakin needed even more than companionship or love at that point. He could never forgive himself for his wrongdoings and his actions, but Luke does, and Luke saves him.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the AotC novelization. What happened?

He could never forgive himself for his wrongdoings and his actions, but Luke does, and Luke saves him.

Yes. And I think he sees that if Luke can forgive him, then he is not beyond forgiveness and redemption. That is such a crucial thing. Anakin craves forgiveness. He even settles for the Shadow's "forgiveness." I think more than anything he wants forgiveness from Padme but of course he can never have it as she is dead. And even when he finds out about Luke & Leia (i.e. his wife did not die still pregnant), he of course still never finds out about her last words, about the fact that she still loved him, and thought there was good in him. I wonder if that would make it better for him or worse? I think both. And Luke's forgiveness is almost as if Padme herself forgave him.

I wonder what would have happened if Padme did not die (now, there is an interesting premise for an AU. I foresee a LOT of grovelling from Anakin).

Abstraction means nothing to him. He sees the here and now, even though what he's seeing is wrong, and he doesn't consider the consequences. It's once the consequences happen that he glues himself to the past. And because of both flaws in his personality, Anakin can never move very far forward. Talk about your future being clouded.

So brilliantly put. He rushes headlong and only analyzes when it's too late (Tuskens in AotC, Padme and Obi-Wan in RotS).

I think A/P is a favorite ship of mine precisely because it's so messy and tragic and true.

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

The novelization just goes into further detail about how she was beaten and tortured, and her thoughts are often hazy and focusing on the hope that she will see her Ani again. His nightmares in the book are absolutely terrifying, as well. And when he finds her, she's in much worse physical condition than we see in the movie, and it's absolutely heartbreaking.

I think if he knew that Padme still loved him and still said there was good in him, it would have made him consider his choices regarding the Dark Side differently, but probably have increased his feelings of guilt. So, you're right. Both better and worse. The Shadow's "forgiveness" is of course as much of an illusion as everything else the Shadow gives him, but it is all he has to cling onto. And cling he does, to the point where I don't think he even knows what to DO when Luke comes into the scene. Not until those final moments, when everything comes rushing back to him, and he accepts the light and redemption that emanate from his son.

If she hadn't died? That's an interesting concept. Honestly, I think Palpatine wouldn't have allowed her to live, or the children, but I don't know.

A/P is definitely a favorite of mine because it's tragic and heartwrenching, but has this element of sweetness and (like you said) truth to it. I know their dialogue is often cheesy...but, if it had been really good dialogue, I'm not sure it would be any less chessy, because I couldn't buy Anakin eloquently expressing his love for her. It's raw and clumsy and real, and that's how it comes out.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes. people make fun of his confession of love, which just makes me shake my head and go "come on" He is not even 20, unused to love and blurting out the first confession of a truly passionate nature. Do you think it's going tp be Shakespeare? I know some of the things my husband and I said to each other (and we were both more used to relationships and older) would sound absoultely horrible if put on the page and on screen. The stilted dialogue felt real.

I don't think he ever considered turning before the final meeting with Luke. I don't think he believes he can, that he is worthy of redemption and love. And I do wonder when he realized about how little use Palps had for him. I wonder if it was when Palps so calmly offered Luke to kill his father (and Anakin must have flashed to Dooku).

I must read AotC novelization now.

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

I think the stilted dialogue felt completely real, because yes, it was silly and awkward, but he's in love and he doesn't know what to do. It shouldn't be elegant and lovely, it's raw and it's true. Besides, if I was sitting with a guy that I knew I was falling in love with and he said something to me like that, I know in the moment, I wouldn't be critical of it. I don't know, maybe I'm just a sap, but the romance of AOTC has really grown on me every time I've watched it. And you should definitely get a copy of the novel!

I don't think he believes he can, that he is worthy of redemption and love I would agree. He completely loses faith in himself. Well, he completely loses himself . I think he hates Palpatine from the moment he truly "becomes" Darth Vader and Palpy calmly informs him that he (Anakin) killed Padme. He wants to crush him then and there, but he can't. As far as realizing what little use Palpatine really has for him, I'm not sure. But if he doesn't realize it before that moment in ROTJ with Luke, it's certainly sealed then. And that also seals his hatred for the Shadow that has haunted him all those years.