SilverWook said:

For Vader to be protecting his son for the wrong reasons, Luke and Palpatine have to be totally wrong about the internal conflict they both sense in him.

Have we really become that cynical and jaded?

Or, going off my pet theory which is almost certainly wrong but still delightful, the internal conflict is simply over something else. Yes, he's conflicted about Luke, but the conflict is over exactly how to achieve all his machinations without either Luke or the Emperor finding out.

And hey, speaking of cynical and jaded, since the (gah!) "saga" is supposedly all about Vader now, don't you think it's appropriate that it's all about this guy who spent so much time destroying things, but who manages to whitewash his own history and convince people into thinking he's a good guy, and that this was his plan all along? I'd say it's inspired!