The redemption of Darth Vader is one of Star Wars’ most iconic plot points, and the saga has only improved it in the decades since. For over 40 years, the franchise has added to its vast story through new Star Wars movies and TV shows, and many of those continue to shed new light on Darth Vader’s story. What began as a simple hero-versus-villain story became a vibrant look at the deconstruction of the concepts of revenge, family, and morality – and the story only gets better with age.
Thanks to a constant reevaluation of the character by creators who have a vested interest in his story, Darth Vader’s final redemption has become even more impactful over the years. From his humble beginnings as a slave on Tatooine to his tragic fall to the dark side, so much of Anakin Skywalker’s story points to that redemption as one of Star Wars’ greatest achievements. With each new addition to Anakin’s and Vader’s story in Star Wars canon, that redemption is improved even more, and here are 7 of the most notable changes it’s seen so far.
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7 Star Wars Has Revealed Why Only A Redeemed Vader Could Defeat Palpatine
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Emperor Palpatine had destroyed so much of Anakin Skywalker by the time Luke meets him that Vader’s hate alone fueled him until the love for his son took its place. Now, Star Wars has revealed how important that part of his story really is. Palpatine’s ever-scheming-mind had been relying on Vader remaining shrouded in the dark side as a contingency plan in the case of his death.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals that Palpatine’s survival always depended on taking over the body of another dark side agent – one he intended to be the powerful Darth Vader. Once Vader turned back to the light, Palpatine’s essence had nowhere to go but the exile of the planet Exegol. Thanks to Luke, Vader was able to kill Palpatine without inadvertently fulfilling his master plan.
6 The Chosen One Prophecy Established Darth Vader’s Destiny
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Vader’s redemption might have had audiences on the edges of their seats in 1983, but when the prequel trilogy was released just a decade and a half later, George Lucas revealed that it was always an inevitable part of Anakin’s fate. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace chronicled Anakin’s discovery by Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who believed the young boy to be the subject of an ancient Jedi prophecy. This prophecy mentioned a “Chosen One” destined to bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith.
The rest of the Jedi Council was skeptical about Anakin’s significance, fearing that his power was too dangerous to train as a Jedi, leading Anakin’s training to be turbulent and seeded with mistrust. He took the entire Jedi Order with him when he fell to the dark side, but that wasn’t the end of the prophecy. Decades after his fall, Vader’s redemption fulfilled the Jedi’s prophecy… though maybe not in the way the Jedi would have hoped. By eliminating the Emperor and embodying so completely both the dark and light sides of the Force, Anakin truly brought balance.
5 Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost Remained An Agent Of Balance
Ahsoka
After his death, Anakin became one with the Force alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Not only does this solidify his status as having been truly redeemed, but the Ahsoka series brings things to a whole new level. After being transported to the World Between Worlds, Ahsoka is brought face-to-face with her old Master, who embodies both the light and dark sides of the Force as he completes the final parts of her training. By the end of his appearances, the series reveals symbols of the Mortis gods, implying that Anakin has taken over the role of the Father.
As explained in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Mortis gods were true keepers of the Force. Anakin had a remarkable interaction with them during which his fate was revealed to him, though he was forced to forget the experience when the team left the planet. The Father told Anakin that he would one day take his place as the keeper of the balance between the light and dark sides of the Force. Anakin’s Force ghost appearance in the World Between Worlds confirms that he became exactly that.
4 Anakin Gets To Continue Engaging In The Skywalker Saga
Shadow Of The Sith; Ahsoka
Anakin’s Force ghost drove home the legitimacy of his redemption. This is only briefly shown during the celebrations following the Battle of Endor, with Return of the Jedi only revealing the most basic idea about the concept of Force ghosts. The novel Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher allows for Anakin’s redeemed self to have a more active role in Luke’s story, with Anakin stepping in when Luke is unable to overtake the Sith spirits blocking his journey into Exegol.
Anakin’s Force ghost keeps him an engaged player of the Skywalker saga. It allows him to have a small role in the lives of his loved ones as well as in protecting the galaxy – both things he would have forfeited as Vader. Along that line, Anakin’s appearance in Ahsoka furthers his importance as a hero beyond the veil, giving him the chance to further prove himself as a force for the light after so many years serving the Sith. Anakin even mirrors Obi-Wan’s connection with Luke in his efforts to train Ahsoka after his death.
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3 Anakin’s Humanity Makes Vader’s Redemption More Real
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
When Star Wars completed Darth Vader’s story arc, all audiences knew about his past was that he had once been a Jedi Knight. The closer look at Vader’s history as Anakin Skywalker provided by the prequel trilogy and shows such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars fill in many blanks when it comes to his true character. His Jedi training highlighted his skill, but also his heroism, loyalty, and commitment to protecting innocents. These heroic traits make his fall all the more tragic, but they also retroactively foreshadow his redemption.
Without these additions, it’s not hard to look at Vader’s deathbed redemption and consider it “too little, too late.” The parts of his story that revolve around his struggles, his nobility, and his conflicts with the Jedi move things away from the lens of good-versus-evil and into a much more realistic and rounded-out light. Showing just how noble Vader was back when he was Anakin Skywalker makes his redemption a victory, as opposed to a miracle.
2 Ahsoka’s Duel With Vader Proved Only Luke Could Reach Him
Star Wars Rebels
Vader had fought with many of his former self’s loved ones by the time of his death, but only his son ever reached the Anakin that still lived inside Vader’s shell. Obi-Wan tried and failed twice to appeal to Anakin’s humanity, and coming face-to-face with Reva, a youngling who survived his massacre at the Temple, only made him double down on his atrocities. Only Ahsoka came close, but even she was met with a stark contrast between the Anakin she knew and Vader.
Ahsoka, like Obi-Wan before, came face-to-face with Anakin when she broke his mask during their duel on Malachor – but even the sight of his old Padawan couldn’t get through to him. For as much as Anakin cared about Ahsoka, Vader’s evil and hatred couldn’t be quelled by the sight of her, nor by her pleas for him to come back to the light. Thus, only Luke was able to truly break through, proving just how important Luke has been and always will be to Anakin’s redemption story.
1 The Clone Wars Established Groundwork For Darth Vader’s Redemption
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Though Obi-Wan spoke highly of him, there was no evidence in the original Star Wars trilogy of what Anakin’s transition to the dark side had been like, nor how long it had taken. Thanks to works like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, factors like Palpatine’s manipulations and Anakin’s conflicts with the Jedi Order are much clearer. Anakin’s fall became gradual, giving credibility to the idea that a great hero could become such an effective threat to everything the Jedi stood for.
What began as the sentiment that it’s never too late to change for the better has blossomed into a beautiful, albeit tragic, story of a complex hero who listened to all the wrong voices, ultimately having to face his choices and reclaim the destiny that he no longer deserved – all fueled by a son who was courageous enough to believe he wasn’t a lost cause. Without the additions of the prequels, Star Wars: The Clone: Wars, and countless other Star Wars installments, Darth Vader’s story would be much less layered and impactful.
