New face. - Anakin Skywalker Discussion Forum

I am new to this community and just wanted to take the time to introduce myself.
I'm Annika or Allura, take your pick.

Anakin Skywalker is one of two fictional characters that have captured my heart and imagination. The other being Leto Atreides II.

Anakin and Leto honestly believed that they were doing the right thing, though both were seriously misguided. Both lost their very humanity in the process. Anakin became Vader and Leto turned into a sandworm to get humanity upon his Golden Path.

However this focuses upon Anakin and I have a few comments to make! ^_^;;;;;

This is going to be under an LJ cut for those who have not read The Unifying Force or played the Knights of the Old Republic I and II.



There are a lot of factors that go into the fall of Anakin Skywalker. I see the Jedi Order's teachings and narrow-mindedness as well as Palpatine's influence upon him as factors in his fall.

But let's start with the fact that Anakin was brought into the Order at an age considerably older that was the norm. The same goes for Bastila Shan. They both knew their families and had attachments that were known to be forbidden to the Jedi. Sure, that's not enough to say that they fell to the dark side but it did given them a taste of just how destructive and/or fulfilling those bonds could be. In Anakin's case it was his primary motivation for his fall to the dark side.

As for my stance on the Jedi, I honestly they contributed majorly to his fall. They have a pretty narrow view of the Force and sought to impose that same view on children from a very early age. Everything in Yoda's mind was the light side and more of the light side, as well as the constant the dark side clouding everything. But where is the in between? The grey side or shadow side of the Force? There more than just shades of black and white in the universe and that holds true for the Star Wars universe as well. I could call Qui-Gon Jinn a 'Grey Jedi' for the simple fact that he did what he thought was right and was considered somewhat of a maverick by the Council. But he did not succumb to the dark side. Another example is Jolee Bindo from KOTOR - Good guy that did not accept the strict Jedi Code.

Back to KOTOR and KOTOR II. The Jedi have proven that they are no better than the Sith and go against their own teachings. First they 'reprogram' Darth Revan into another to track down the Star Forge and find Malak. Then they banish the Exile for simply surviving by cutting 'her/him' self off from the Force and becoming a 'wound' in the Force. During both games, there are flashbacks and spoken dialogue that revolves around who should carry the blame of Revan's fall. Correct me if I am, wrong but did the Council from KOTOR II say the blame was theirs because of their rigid teachings??

I can see Revan being treated much like Anakin was; this special someone who has this huge Force talent. But like Anakin, Revan and the Exile did what they thought was best -went off to war to save the Republic. The Jedi Council was content to just sit there awaiting the Sith to show themselves. What about the Republic which had requested Jedi aid against the Mandalorians? Aren't the Jedi supposed to be the protectors of peace and justice in the Republic? Isn't compassion supposed to be central to a Jedi's life? I can only conclude as the fates of the Republic and the Jedi Order become more intertwined that they lost touch with their own teachings.

In a nutshell....

The unitary view of the Force, considered heresy Old Republic Jedi, holds that the Force, and the galaxy in general, were given a master plan which was inherently good, and that there was no evil side to the Force. This view gained greater acceptance under the New Republic, mostly due to the influence of Vergere, a surviving Jedi from the days of Old Republic.

Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious) says that there is only one Force: the only difference worthy of note is that the Sith see the Force as a means to an end; the Jedi see it as an end in itself.

This is echoed by what Vergere teaches Jacen Solo in the New Jedi Order, (part of the Expanded Universe of Star Wars). She tells him that there is no light side nor dark side of the Force - only the Unifying Force.

But back to Anakin as I have a tendency to get carried away with Star Wars debate.

Now we have the Master Kenobi factor. I adore Obi-Wan but frankly, he sucked as a
Jedi Master. Now if YOU were Yoda, would you allow a newly elevated Jedi Knight to apprentice someone like Anakin?

No.

Our good Master Kenobi has his nose stuck up under the hem of Master Yoda's robe. He was a Jedi and had no idea how to raise a kid, especially if that kid was Anakin Skywalker. I am sure he did the best he could, but as he stated "Anakin, I have failed you...."

At the end of Jedi Trial, when Yoda and Mace Windu were discussing elevating Anakin to Knighthood, Yoda makes a comment about Anakin being a tool in the service of the Jedi. Sweet Jesus! He is NOT a TOOL, but a human being. Despite what Anakin says (after the Tusken slaughter), he has emotions. All Jedi do.

In the end, Anakin is still just a child in many ways as seen through his naivety and somewhat idealistic nature. He has been told from the time he was eight or nine that he has this special destiny and is more powerful than the 'head' of the Jedi Order, Yoda. Combine that with his serious emotional baggage, you got a ticking time bomb.



Now I think I am going to oogle my Ultimate Villian Anakin some more!