Star Wars Episode Three Revenge of the Sith (2005) — II: Fall of Light
*SPOILERS*
Institutional Hypocrisy
A common trope in Noir is a protagonist that is a detective because this puts them in the position to uncover some kind of deeper truth beneath the fugazi structure of society. (“Trope” here as a neutral term free from any negative connotation, tropes are inevitable and sometimes archetypal). In Episode II Kenobi sort of becomes a detective, placing him in a position to catch glimpses of power structures behind the scenes. Here, in order to give Anakin a lens into both of the power structures with which he needs to become disillusioned, he is granted a position in the Jedi Council as the Supreme Chancellor’s representative. In this way he loses his faith in both democracy and the Jedi Order.
Anakin’s arc here has him starting as a Jedi in the midst of a crisis of faith in both power structures. He opens the film by beheading Dooku and feels terribly about it. However Kenobi is unconscious so no Jedi know or confront him about it. Meanwhile his faith in the Republic is also eroding, praising Palpatine as a strongman to Padme in almost the next scene.
Then he has key conversations with Yoda and Palpatine separately. Speaking with Yoda, he is essentially told that he must respond to the existence of death with acceptance because fear leads to the Dark side. And when he responds by saying he won’t let Padme die, Yoda finds no reason for concern or further dialogue. When speaking with Palpatine at that ballet that looks like a screen saver, Palpatine brings up pretty good points that the Jedi care about maintaining their power and erodes Anakin’s sense of binary morality by noting “good is a point of view.” Totally valid but also functions as an argument against the Sith (just another point of view); of course Anakin is too clouded by emotion to note that though. Finally Palpatine ends with a bit of manipulation when he points out that the Sith can be good too since Darth Plagueis wanted to find a cure for death, trusting that Anakin will be too clouded by his fear of loss to dig any further.
So his conversations with Light and Dark side mentors respectively push and pull him toward the Dark side.
From there Yoda leaves to Kashyyk, the Mace Windu thing happens, and Anakin pledges to the Dark side. However, he’s not fully committed yet. Only after clearing the Jedi Temple and slaughtering the younglings do his eyes turn yellow, the hallmark of a Sith who has embraced the Dark side. This is when I really see Anakin as being functionally dead and Darth Vader as being born. Interesting to point out when you go Sith, the old you becomes a compartment deep in your psyche; you literally become a new person.
So when Vader and Kenobi are dueling, Vader’s responses tell you very clearly he’s no longer Anakin. No part of him even pretends to care about democracy or goodness. He has fully embraced his personal passion for Padme and his preference for power.
Anakin’s noir arc is one of glimpsing the fallibility of the Jedi Order as an institution and glimpsing the extent of The Force itself that remains hidden from him before triggering his own downfall with respect to each.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Star Wars Episode One Essay —
Star Wars Episode Two Essay —
Star Wars Episode Three Essay —
II: Fall of Light
Star Wars Prequels Overview Essay —
