Spartacus01 said:
Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think that your argument is not logical. In my opinion, it is influenced more by your strong attachment to Vader as a character, and by the fact that you want him to always be portrayed as cool and badass, rather than by a rational analysis of the broader narrative and character development that the story is trying to achieve.
I feel like my viewpoint has been overly simplified, though I don’t think you did it on purpose. I earnestly love Darth Vader as a villain, not someone to be idolized, and part of that is the character’s distinct, contrasting layers.
I will submit, I wasn’t being rational when I wrote that initial message.
I never wanted Anakin or Vader to always be badass, or his internal conflict to not be explored. I am attached to Darth Vader being an awesome villain. But it’s not just that. Otherwise that high would’ve wore off a bit ago (I have ADHD and therefore am prone to addiction-like hyper fixations; however, I’ve loved Vader for years).
I adore ROTJ and the scenes of Vader showing vulnerability. I could not imagine Vader not being a father. “I am your father” is the greatest twist of all-time, and elevated the OT ten-fold. Both Luke and Vader as characters.
I would not love Vader as much if not for that duality between the monster and the man beneath. Both badass and pathetic. Menacing and sympathetic.
I like Vader still being powerful despite the suit because yeah, I love his menacing presence. But I also like how Vader being powerful but miserable deep down emphasizes that contrast. Star Wars is about love vs. greed. What does it say that the most powerful being in the galaxy is also miserable? That Luke gains happiness because he chooses compassion over power-hunger? That’s an impactful message for a young man like myself.
He’s still punished. He still loses everything and got burned.
In discussing the character’s emotional portrayal, we have to distinguish Anakin and Vader.
Anakin in fact should be expressive, but also have a tendency to repress his emotions in distress, forming a cold persona. This doesn’t mean he can never fly off the handle either. He goes cold because he cares too much.
As I’ve noted, this is shown in the OT. Vader regresses into his cold persona immediately after he admits something vulnerable or Luke says something that gets to him. In Anakin’s death scene, now having abandoned the dark side, we see he is very caring and sentimental.
Vader, mostly, is cold, fueled by a tranquil rage. He’s an imposing villain that I enjoy on a primal level.
There’s vulnerable moments before his redemption, but they’re sparing, yet more impactful because of that.
That’s important to his character. Vader is a tyrannical egomaniac who shuts out his emotions because he never wants to feel pain again.
Just as much as his vulnerabilities enhance the character, they enhance his villainy. It’s petrifying to realize that a person who was even once a noble hero could become that robotic monster, and adds depth to both Luke and Vader.
Evil is not beyond us. Part of Luke’s emotional journey is realizing that he could become just like his father.
It’s also impactful to see such a monster of a man redeem himself. It’s never too late.
My issues with the Prequels is that they too often handle his vulnerabilities in an almost infantile way. Way less often then OT Luke. It works for him because it’s less consuming.
When Anakin flies off the handle, it’s less of an adult anger and more amateur and teenage. A 23 year old man should not be yelling “It’s not fair!” in the childish manner he does.
Compare Vader angrily commanding his troops in ANH to that scene. It’s just not the same.
While you can argue it’s because he’s young for 2/3 of the trilogy, that’s one of it’s fundamental flaws of the trilogy IMO.
Anakin’s journey should parallel Luke’s better. Similar, but they should also fundamentally contrast one-another.
He should’ve been 19 in TPM, his mother dying in that film. Unlike Luke, where his uncle and aunts deaths inspire him to be a hero to prevent others from feeling that pain, Anakin wants to gain power to prevent himself from feeling that pain again.
Then in AOTC, we can parallel Luke in that now he’s an established general, but also goes on this journey of spiritual discovery, this time leaning on the dark. At the end of the film, when given a choice between selfish and selfless (like Luke’s sacrifice), he chooses selfish.
In ROTS, he’s colder. Not exactly like OT Vader, but more like ROTJ Luke, where he’s calm, but still prone to anger. The crucial difference is that Luke achieves that by actually letting go of his emotions. He in fact allows himself to feel them, but not consume him. Anakin achieves it by repressing them, so he goes cold. Darth Vader is the ultimate culmination of that.