Conflict, Morality, Humanity, and the Dark Side: An Analysis of Darth Vader
An Amateur Film Study by Teely Green
After the recent death of actor and bodybuilder Dave Prowse, I found myself thrown back into the Star Wars franchise. I’ve always liked this series, just time had passed since I had last seen it, so I decided to hit YouTube and remind myself of all I knew of this legendary series that changed the film industry forever. I revisited the most iconic character in the series, the sith lord Darth Vader. After watching many parts of the original trilogy and some spoofs and informational videos on Star Wars: Expanded Universe (one of these days I’ll check out the books and comics) I learned a ton of new things about Darth Vader. My new knowledge and interest in the villain tugged at my curiosity and as I’ve analyzed him further, I think he is the greatest film character ever created.
Vader is referred to as one of the greatest film villains of all time, and rightfully so. As a powerful Dark Lord of the Sith, he uses the magic force in the galaxy for telekinesis, mental telepathy, and murder. He can wave his hand and make things move, or he can strangle a person without even touching them. In one scene in Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back, he even strangles one of his fleet managers, Admiral Ozzel, through a video call without moving a limb. He is the Emperor Palpatine’s apprentice, which makes him the highest in the chain of command on the Death Star, and the highest in the social caste of the Empire, and he uses this status to his advantage. While most of the population of the Death Star and his own ship, the Super Star Destroyer, respect him greatly, it often only takes a few mistakes for Vader to do away with them. Combine the chilling vocal talent of James Earl Jones and the imposing stature and strength of David Prowse, and you are left with one mighty lord of the dark side.
The Rise and Fall of Humanity: Anakin Skywalker
As much as everyone hates the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the sith lord’s storyline leading in to the original films is fantastic. Before his villainy, Vader was a Jedi in training named Anakin Skywalker. The force was strongly attached to him, which immediately made Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn interested in him, and also attracted the Emperor Palpatine, who doubled as a Senate Leader and the last remaining sith lord, Darth Sidious. The main character in the prequel trilogy is Anakin and his battle between becoming a Jedi with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi and learning to destroy the sith, or joining the Emperor and turning to the dark side, becoming the thing he’s destined to annihilate.
Anakin was a loyal guy, in love with his secret wife, Queen Padme Amidala, and a good student and friend of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Things turn more exciting for him when he learns that Padme is pregnant with their first child. This is interesting because as a Jedi, he isn’t allowed to be in love, let alone have a family. He and Padme are excited to have a child, but also terrified of the consequences they could face for defying the laws of the Jedi. He is aware of his incredible connection with the force and uses it to string himself along. When he starts to spend time with the Emperor, he learns that there is more power in the force from the dark side, and he can become stronger faster. He feeds into the lies the Emperor tells him, that the dark side will bring peace to the galaxy, and that it will grant him a happy life with Padme. Really, the Emperor is driving a wedge between Anakin and his life as a Jedi to entice him further to be evil.
Anakin loses his Jedi identity completely when he hurts Padme with a force choke and fights Obi-Wan, thinking he is an enemy. In order to save himself and attempt to save his friend, Obi-Wan injures Anakin horribly, slicing three of his limbs off with his light saber, and leaving him to burn alive on the bank of the lava river in Mustafar. In his final words as a Jedi, Anakin screams “I hate you!” to Obi-Wan before the Emperor arrives and collects his nearly dead new apprentice. Anakin is revived when he is sealed in a biotechnological suit that serves as a wearable life support machine, controlling his breathing, heartbeat, sustenance, and administering a steady flow of painkillers. He also gets cybernetic limbs. When his helmet is put on and his first breath comes through his respiratory mask, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, the Emperor’s most powerful servant and lord of the Sith.
Vader has done unquestionably villainous things during his turn to the dark side and his life as a sith lord. However, he is not entirely a villain. I believe he would have stayed with the Jedi if the Emperor had not corrupted his beliefs and manipulated him to think the dark side would serve him better. As soon as Vader is sealed in his bio suit, the first thing he asks is what happened to Padme. The audience knows she delivered twins, a son Luke and a daughter Leia. It’s unclear how Padme dies, as the only explanation we get is that she lost the will to live, but there are many theories from fans and film critics, which we will look at next.
Fueling the Dark Side: The Mystery of Padme’s Death
Many fans have discussed the connection between Anakin’s rebirth as Vader and Padme’s death. A guy under the name “Dash Star” on YouTube provides a video analysis of Padme’s death that raises some interesting points. He indicates that the heartbeat of Anakin stops at the same time that Padme’s stops as she gives birth to Luke and Leia. Then, when Anakin is sealed into the suit, his heartbeat starts up again. Dash, like many other fans, believes that the Emperor killed Padme by draining her life force, a skill he learned from his master, and feeding it to Anakin to fuel his dark side connection during his fight with Obi-Wan. The Emperor is able to sense that Anakin is in trouble just as Obi-Wan inflicts the gruesome injuries that lead to Vader’s need for the bio suit. Additionally, Dash makes the valid observation that Palpatine couldn’t have known that Padme was dying without the force, because she was in a secret location and he didn’t know her children were born. He speculates that Padme’s death to feed the newborn Darth Vader was part of Palpatine’s plan from the beginning and needed to happen for Vader to truly become one with the dark side. Vader asks about Padme after he is put in his suit because he can’t feel her in the force anymore, and Dash says that because her life force was keeping Vader alive during the painful procedure of being sealed into his suit. Once the procedure is complete, he no longer feels her presence in the force. Dash points out that Vader is conscious and awake during the procedure and needed sustenance from another life energy, otherwise he would have died from the pain. I agree with Dash’s theory, considering fueling strength at another’s expense is a strong point in the dark side of the force. Still, through the force, Vader is able to feel Padme’s life end, and he breaks down, expelling the last of his emotional capability to mourn her death.
When the original Star Wars was released in 1977, moviegoers were amazed at the opening scene, which goes right into the action of a battle between the Rebels and the Empire. Among this battle, we see Darth Vader for the first time, and I’m sure children had nightmares from his mechanical breathing, commanding stance, and his face, hidden by his black mask that sports a vague unchanging scowl.
Conflict: Jedi Family vs. The Dark Side
Most Star Wars fans seem to consider Episode VI: Return of the Jedi to be the weakest film of the original trilogy. As a whole, it’s not the best of the franchise, but it has the most memorable Darth Vader scenes aside from the infamous “I am your father,” from Empire Strikes Back. This makes every scene with Vader and Luke much more loaded. After learning that Vader is his father, Luke is able to sense him through the force, and he can also use the force to sense Vader’s inner turmoil. He knows that Vader is not a merciless killer who will turn his son no matter what, though that’s the façade he presents. Luke can see that Vader thinks the way he thinks because of his strong connection and belief in the dark side of the force, and his fear of his master, the Emperor Palpatine. As Yoda tells Luke, the dark side of the force is fueled by anger, fear, and hate. Vader’s fear of the Emperor and his anger at what he perceives the Jedi to be is his main channel to the dark side, and it only strengthens him.
After the first fight between Luke and Vader, where Luke learns the truth about his family and loses his right hand, Luke is afraid to face Vader again. Not because he fears him, but because he can’t morally fight his own father. In Return of the Jedi, Yoda even says how unfortunate it is that Luke’s doorway to Jedi-hood is confronting and possibly killing his father. Luke holds the light side close to him, while Vader holds the dark side close, and the two counterbalance each other incredibly well. It’s one of the greatest instances in film where the hero and the villain share such a fatal and beautiful connection.
The connection stems from Vader, since he was conceived from the force, which explains his incredible connection to it. Luke and Leia are Vader’s biological children, so they share the strong connection to the force, though Leia doesn’t realize it until Return of the Jedi. This is something that Obi-Wan knew would be a threat to the young Skywalker children. Their strong force meant they needed to be separated from each other, and hidden from Vader and the Emperor for their own protection from the dark side.
In the scene where Luke confronts Vader after surrendering to the Empire, he tells him that he can feel that Vader still has human feelings. He tells him that he knows the reason Vader hasn’t killed him already is that he’s still a good person, and the dark side hasn’t completely consumed him. He even boldly asks Vader to come back to the Jedi. Vader acknowledges Luke’s thoughts, saying “Obi-Wan once thought as you do. You don’t know the power of the dark side. I must obey my master.” Luke responds with: “Search your feelings, Father. You can’t do this. I feel the conflict within you, let go of your hate!” Vader responds, almost sadly, “It is too late for me, son.” This is a loaded scene, and is proof that Luke would be willing to do anything to help his father come back to the light.
As Vader summons the storm troopers to escort Luke away, he tells Luke that his fate rests with the Emperor now and he is wrong for turning against the dark side. Luke makes one final attempt to bring his father’s morality into fruition with the line: “Then my father is truly dead.” As Luke is lead away by the troopers, Vader walks to the side of the pathway and sighs. Though he has no expression on his mask, we know that he was hurt by Luke’s words, and he is now conflicted on where his heart is.
Battle in the Emperor’s Throne Room: Morality and Humanity
This brings me to my favorite scene in all of Star Wars, the final battle between Luke and Vader in the Emperor’s throne room. Vader has brought Luke to the Emperor, knowing only one of two outcomes is possible: Luke will replace him as a servant to the Emperor, or he will be killed, if not by Vader himself, by the Emperor. Luke doesn’t flinch as the Emperor threatens him, saying he will either join the dark side or die. The extreme fixation on Luke from the Emperor is the very fact that he is the son of Anakin, which means he is so strongly connected with the force that he would be an enemy otherwise.
It should be noted that the Emperor has brainwashed Vader to see Anakin as a different person, and not his former self. He also believes Vader is rooted in the dark side so there is no chance that he will turn back to the light side. Due to this, he doesn’t consider the parental connection between Luke and his father to have any emotional ties. The Emperor needs Luke to turn to the dark side in order to live, because his fear of being overthrown fuels his connection to the force, and Luke’s strength as a Jedi would destroy the Empire. Luke tells him that nothing will turn him, and Vader can still be turned back. He projects amazing confidence in the face of his greatest enemy, but the Emperor knows that Luke wants his father to turn, and uses this against him as he orders Vader to fight him. Luke only defends himself, turning off his light saber to show he won’t fight his father. Vader still uses Luke’s light emotions against him as he continues to fight. Finally, Luke ends up in the basement of the throne room, hiding as Vader meanders, light saber ready.
The whole scene takes an emotional turn when Vader demonstrates his ability to use the dark side for mental torment. While Luke hides, Vader delivers somewhat of a soliloquy on what he can see in his son’s mind:
“You cannot hide forever, Luke. Give yourself to the dark side. It is the only way to save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you; your feelings for them are strong. Especially for…sister. So, you have a twin sister! Your thoughts now betray her, too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will.” –Vader, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
This line is probably one of Vader’s best. At the threat of attacking Leia, Luke lunges out of his hiding spot in anger, viciously attacking his father. As father and son slash with their light sabers, the audience gets an intense emotional fight with a strong Luke taking fatal shots at his father, coupled with a beautiful reintroduction of John Williams’ musical score. The scene is fast and angry while the music is soothing and sad, reminding the viewers that a father and his son are fighting to death, each fueled by the inner turmoil of humanity vs. morality.
Luke soon gets the best of Vader and forces him to the floor, where Vader is only able to block his powerful swings for a little. Luke slices his father’s hand off, disarming him of his weapon the same way Vader did when he told Luke he was his father. When a proud Emperor reappears, cackling and approving of Luke’s hatred, Luke realizes what he’s done. He looks at his cybernetic hand, and then at his father’s stump, which has wires and electric sparks, not flesh and blood. Realizing that his father truly is more machine than man, he turns off his light saber and throws it aside. He then proudly says, “You’ve failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” The Emperor wrinkles his deformed brow in disgust, and then attacks Luke with force lightning, an electric energy that pierces Luke’s body in fatal doses. Luke collapses, screeching in pain as Vader rises and stands by his master, watching. In a last desperate call to Vader’s good morality, Luke screams for his father to help him. The Emperor is certain that he has won, and continues striking Luke, his anger fueling his power.
As the Emperor slowly tortures his son, Vader watches, and though he has no expression, we know that he is torn. He’s thinking of Obi-Wan, Padme, how much the dark side has changed him. He could also be remembering his own electrocution at the hands of Count Dooku in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, which happened before he turned to the dark side. A burst of humanity in the half-robotic villain shows that he has not lost all to the dark side. Vader grabs the Emperor and picks him up, taking a horrible blow of force lightning. As he carries the Emperor to the ship’s exhaust port and throws him to his death, the lightning severely damages the life support functions on his bio suit. Vader collapses, his formerly threatening respirator now wheezing as it weakly attempts to deliver oxygen to his damaged body. Luke gets up and joins his father, cradling his helmeted head on his shoulder and holding his hand.
Later, Luke has his father propped on a gangway as the inhabitants of the Death Star rush to attempt escape before the Rebel fleet explodes the battle station. Vader knows that his last act of heroism has cost him his life, and he asks Luke one dying wish, depicted in the following scene:
Vader: “Luke, help me take this mask off.”
Luke: “But you’ll die!”
Vader: “Nothing can stop that now. Just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes.” Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Luke obeys, and when Vader’s mask comes off, we see an old, injured, and weak Anakin Skywalker. He looks at his son with his own sunken eyes and the folds of pale skin that have become infected during their time in the suit. As his lungs fail, we hear his own voice:
Vader: “Now, go, my son. Leave me.”
Luke: “No, you’re coming with me! I’ll not leave you here, I’ve got to save you!”
Vader: “You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me! Tell your sister, you were right.” Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
The final words of Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader live on strong in every Star Wars fans’ mind as the close to a wonderful story. A father corrupted by his lust for power and his competitive nature is able to redeem himself in the end. He can show his son that people, no matter how far they’ve drifted, are capable of change and humanity.
We know that Anakin Skywalker will rest in peace, having destroyed the Empire as he was destined to do. This is evident in the final scene of Return of the Jedi when during the celebration of the Rebel victory, Obi-Wan and Yoda appear as Jedi ghosts to Luke, and then Anakin Skywalker appears. This is a beautiful moment not only because Luke can see his father for who he truly is and would have be had he not fallen to the dark side, but because it proves that even the force is capable of forgiveness, and that Vader’s heroic sacrifice to overthrow the Empire was honored as the act of a knight.
After nearly thirty years as a Sith Lord, Vader is able to come back to the light side and show that anyone can be changed. He spent most of his life barely human, but when the heart trumps all, Darth Vader is not a villain. He is a good person who fell victim to lies, manipulation, and influences around him. He is like any flawed human, and his ability to come back to do the right thing makes him an amazing motivator. For these reasons, he is everyone’s favorite Star Wars character, and quite possibly greatest film character ever created.
References
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