One objectively correct choice made by the STAR WARS prequel trilogy was to make Anakin Skywalker a whiny little bitch. Nerds just didn't like it because Vader was more of a power fantasy for them than he should have been
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And of course he becomes a militant law and order nationalist style empiricist pro-market fascist who freaks out the moment he can't have a traditional family.
It's so on the money.
I think that was the thing that made me like the prequels as part of the set. Luke was a whiny bitch to start with, and had it knocked out of him. Anakin never had anyone to rein him in, so of course Vader was the outcome. Kenobi kinda screwed the pooch taking in Anakin.
One thing I never understood about the Force is do you become more evil as a result of the Dark Side's influence, or is it meant more as a rephrasing of "power corrupts"?
Power corrupts I always figured. I think the ‘dark side’ is just ‘doing bad things’. Which, like non-Force evil, lines up with Yoda’s description: ‘quicker, easier, more seductive’
Power corrupts, especially in the minds of those who never felt that had any. And the perfect vessel to exemplify this was absolutely a child slave that lived in the galactic equivalent of the sticks and literally had to make a friend.
A little of column a, a little of column b. Once you go dark side there's always that easier, cheaper option... Plus it seems to burrow in itself. I always interpreted RotJ as saying that the Emperor had some direct influence over Vader, too (ie, had to follow orders until Vader was ready to usurp)
And I feel like the Jedi Order's reaction to it is also instructive because they're like "you know what, *feeling* the emotion is the bad thing. Don't talk to us about feeling things, we'll kick you out. Healthy coping mechanisms? What are those"
And that's absolutely also part of the problem, and with Anakin being a symptom of that broken way of thinking, it certainly aged like a fine wine regarding men masking their emotions because they're expected not to show vulnerability, too.
One of the things I struggle with is Clone Wars Anakin vs AoTC/RoTS Anakin.
I can see how both get there (CW Anakin grew up during war, has PTSD and did a lot things because the ends justified the means), where Movie Anakin was broken, immature, high on hormones and low on childhood trauma
Also, Movie Anakin seems some 10+ years younger than CW Anakin.
That said, Vader (especially the Vader in Obi Wan) seems more likely the result of Movie Anakin, who in turn seems more likely to have a space-magic-assisted psychotic break.
If you really look at it, Vader wasn’t much different. He was still petulant when he didn’t get his way, threw his little temper tantrums by choking people out, thought he couldn’t ever be wrong. Luke’s journey was “you’re special, but just like everyone else.” Anakins was just “you’re special”
I think the main problem is it doesnt really feel like he "fell" to the dark side. He was just kinda tricked into the suit, and then spends like 20 years doing nothing about it.
A troubled young man with no father figure immediately loses the one offered him but gains a brother. Then, this part is creepy not going to lie, falls into an illicit relationship that strains his vows. Accorded as the chosen one but not granted a rank despite having just saved the chancellor
For all its flaws, one of the things I loved about the sequels was kylo Ren being the same way. He's just an insecure little hate goblin with no impulse control, much like a lot of shitty Star wars fans.
The sequels did what the prequels never managed: gave us new characters who were actually compelling, "human", and distinct. I still can't watch the soulless writing of those prequel films, and I don't blame the actors. They did what they could.
I felt like while the dialogue was kind of garbage in the prequels, it had much better world building and it told us the story of how a good government can go bad, a tragic story about a republic falling to fascism. The sequels world building doesn't make any sense.
The prequels should've had Obi-Wan a mercenary who used his untrained Force powers. Watto refuses to release Anakin, Obi-Wan kills him. Qui-Gon convinces Obi-Wan to become a Jedi. Then we'd have counterpoint arcs, Obi-Wan tempted by goodness as Anakin descends from innocence to evil.
The people who go on massive power trips when given even a modicum of power and the free reign to use it also typically happen to be whiny little bitches.
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Every Padawan rebelled against the Jedi master
Luke rebelled against Yoda trying to save Han Solo and Princess Leia
Go back and watch the Empire strikes back, and carefully review Luke’s actions
It's so on the money.
Fear may be the path to the dark side, but it's what you do in the face of it that determines if you'll go down it completely.
I can see how both get there (CW Anakin grew up during war, has PTSD and did a lot things because the ends justified the means), where Movie Anakin was broken, immature, high on hormones and low on childhood trauma
That said, Vader (especially the Vader in Obi Wan) seems more likely the result of Movie Anakin, who in turn seems more likely to have a space-magic-assisted psychotic break.
Vader from VW Anakin would be a lot colder.
all that power yet he's an impotent little pee-pants,
And the chuds couldn't wrap their heads around it.
Bitch have you ever seen Luke Sky walker? He's even more of a whiney little bitch.
SKYWALKER
If his whininess wasn’t so “drama kid” ish, maybe it would’ve worked, but yeah I still don’t like it.
See: Elon Musk and Donald Trump