Anakin Skywalker Famously turned to the dark side over the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, with his transition to becoming Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the SithBut many characters have joined. Anakin was stated in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace To be the chosen one, which inadvertently put more pressure on him to succeed as a Jedi. While many factors contributed to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, his ultimate choice was also built on the shoulders of others.
One of the main issues that Jedi have to face is trying to keep their emotions out of their decisions; However, as a Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker struggled with this often. He has emotional attachments to several other people, most notably his secret wife, Senator Padmé Amidala. Anakin’s desire to protect those he loves, like Padme and his mother Shami, often led him to make questionable, if not downright terrible, decisions that led him down a dark path.
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Palpatine carefully orchestrated Anakin’s fall
He was the mastermind behind it all
Palpatine had been grooming Anakin for over a decade to become his newest Sith apprentice. Not only could Palpatine identify the uncertainty and darkness that resided in Anakin, but he actively used it to turn him to the dark side. As Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine developed a camaraderie with the young Jedi, which led to Anakin trusting the Supreme Chancellor and even considering him a friend and mentor. With Palpatine secretly being the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious, It was clear that his end goal was wielding Anakin’s power for his own gain.
The final twist in the game Palpatine played in grooming Anakin as his next apprentice was convincing the struggling Jedi that he could teach him how to save Padme from dying in Revenge of the Sith. Palpatine eventually acknowledged that he was the Sith Lord the Jedi were hunting, but deflected it by promising to teach Anakin how to cheat death. Palpatine, through his mentorship with Anakin, was able to plant the seeds of distrust in the Jedi early on, which made it easier for him to turn on Anakin when he revealed himself to be a Sith Lord.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi should be attacked as well
Their brotherly love sets Anakin up for failure
Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi had just finished his apprenticeship under Qui-Gon Jinn when he became Anakin Skywalker’s master. On the surface, Obi-Wan was very hard on Anakin, scolding him in public and telling the Jedi Council that he was not ready for a solo mission in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. However, he really cared for Anakin, and saw him as a brother, especially once they started fighting alongside each other in the clone wars. Obi-Wan usually playfully made fun of Anakin, but the pair worked really well together.
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In the latter half of Revenge of the SithAnakin felt that Obi-Wan had betrayed him and was trying to turn Padme against him. Obi-Wan gave Anakin a reason not to trust him earlier. in Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 4, Obi-Wan faces his death to get information about one of Count Dooku’s plans. Anakin is not let in on the secret, leaving him very on edge and ready to use violence to avenge his master’s perceived death. Obi-Wan eventually shows up alive, revealing the decision for secrecy was his planting seeds of distrust in Anakin.
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Qui-Gon Jinn’s death sets Anakin’s case in motion
Had Qui-Gon survived, things might have been different
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was the reason Anakin Skywalker was freed from slavery and started down the path of the Jedi. Upon meeting with Anakin and Obi-Wan verifying his midi-chlorian count, Qui-Gon is convinced that Anakin was the chosen one. While Qui-Gon had no idea what would become of Anakin, he brought the boy to the Jedi Temple and ultimately pushed for him to be Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Padawan. Freeing Anakin from a life of slavery was the right thing to do, however His becoming a Jedi eventually spelled the end for the entire order.
Additionally, Anakin probably wouldn’t have become Obi-Wan’s student if it wasn’t for Jin’s death. In his dying breaths, Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan to train Anakin, something that Obi-Wan could not deny his master. If Qui-Gon beat Maul and trained Anakin himself, it is possible that Anakin would not turn to the dark side. Although Obi-Wan was a good teacher, Qui-Gon would have been better suited as Anakin’s master, as he was the father figure the boy needed. This is not to say that Obi-Wan wasn’t a good teacher, but his and Anakin’s personalities and opinions were very different, and brotherhood was not the right bond for Skywalker.
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Padmé Amidala is the key to everything
It is Anakin’s fear of losing her that cements his fall
Padmé Amidala’s secret marriage to Anakin Skywalker was one of the biggest reasons why he eventually turned to the dark side. His emotions and love for her often clouded his judgment, and sometimes led him to be violent. This was seen in The Clone Wars With Rush Clovis and how Anakin became erratic and controlling over Padmé. Anakin letting his emotions control him meant he flirted with the dark side, making it easier to be manipulated by Palpatine.
In addition, during Revenge of the SithPadmé’s pregnancy was of great concern, as Anakin had a vision of his wife dying in childbirth. The vision led Anakin to accept help from Palpatine, who promised that he could teach Anakin to save Padmé and their unborn child. While Anakin had already surrendered to Palpatine and the dark side at the end of Revenge of the Sith, It was Palpatine telling Anakin that he killed Padme that finally destroyed him and was a final point of no return.
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Ahsoka Tano left when Anakin needed her most
She had no idea who he would become
Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, did not contribute quite as much to her master’s fall to the dark side as others, but she did little to help him, even in his time of need. at the end of The Clone Wars Season 5 Ahsoka was framed for bombing the Jedi Temple and several murders. While Anakin eventually found the real offender, Barriss Offee, and brought her to justice, he was one of the few who heard Barriss’ side of the story. She was disillusioned and no longer believed in the Jedi order, something Anakin would relate to more and more.
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When Ahsoka decided to leave the Jedi Order after she was acquitted, It hurt Anakin and made him feel like he failed her as a master, and she as his student. Afterwards, Ahsoka was seemingly forever short with Anakin when they briefly reconnected in The Clone Wars Season 7 Before the Siege of Mandalore. While Anakin wanted to know how Ahsoka was doing, she just wanted to talk strategy. Ahsoka knew her master well and should have felt that the darkness was beginning in him, but she did not accept Maul’s words that he was being tortured by Darth Sidious.
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Yoda failed to provide the proper guidance
He should have sensed what Anakin was going through
As the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Yoda especially should have been attuned to the crisis that was blooming in Anakin. While he was aware of Anakin’s fear, hatred, anger, and more even as a little boy, Yoda failed to seek the root of these emotions and help Anakin through them. Instead, he simply warned him not to give them to them, without Anakin giving any real advice on how to do it. Anakin was told to let go of what he felt, and that was something he simply couldn’t do. Yoda, with all his wisdom, should have recognized that.
The one thing Yoda tried to do for Anakin was back when he assigned Ahsoka as Anakin’s Padawan. Rather than helping Anakin develop as a Jedi and as a person, Yoda gave him yet another person to become unhealthy attached to, a pain that increased tenfold when Ahsoka finally left the Jedi Order. It was after the loss Anakin endured, and that of his mother, that Yoda would then give Anakin the advice of “celebrating” the idea of yet another loved one becoming one with the Force – which left Anakin feeling as if Palpatine was His only option.
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The Jedi Council cast doubt on Anakin
They embarrass and doubt him time and time again
A major factor that contributed to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side was the Jedi Council. The council, led by Yoda, refused to give Ankin the rank, despite giving him a seat among their ranks. This move greatly upset Anakin, and he expressed this frustration to Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact, Mace Windu made it known to Anakin that he did not trust him, despite Anakin proving his abilities and loyalty time and time again.
The Jedi lost their way long before Anakin joined the Order, but they nevertheless failed him, and their hubris was their final downfall. Because they didn’t trust Anakin, it produced seeds of discontentAnd the task of spying on the Chancellor was later exploited by Palpatine. If the Jedi Council as a team had been more attentive to the growing darkness in Anakin, they might have been able to fight the temptation of the dark side and Palpatine. Instead, they isolated him and made his fall to the dark side inevitable.
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Vato planted Anakin’s earliest seeds of hatred
He tormented Anakin and his mother for years
Tudor Jack Hendler was the former owner of Anakin Skywalker and his mother, Shmi. Skywalker’s hatred of slavery began with how he and his mother were treated by Vato and the fact that when Qui-Gon Jinn tried to free both Anakin and Shimi, he was only able to save the boy. If Watta had not kept Shmi as his slave, she would not have been captured by the Tusk raiders, tortured and killed by them. The brutal death of Skywalker was one of the first times that the dark side was truly visible in Anakin.And it was completely avoided.
Anakin’s hatred of slavery is also shown in an arc in The Clone Wars Season 4, when he, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were all captured by Zigerian slavers. Anakin was once again (albeit briefly) a slave, and it triggered an anger not often seen during the show. It was a vicious focus the Jedi struggled to stay away from, showing how deep the threads of the dark side ran in Anakin. This anger and hatred all started with Vato and the fact that he owned Anakin and his mother during Skywalker’s upbringing.
Many factors led to Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side and his transformation into Darth Vader. However, no matter how much darkness resided in Anakin, the people who surrounded him shaped and contributed to his inevitable downfall. Although most of these entities never meant for him to fall to the dark side, their actions (or inaction) contributed to his descent into evil and the ultimate death of Star Wars‘ Republic and the Jedi Order.