The ONLY Reason Luke Said Anakin Turned to the Dark Side - Star Wars Explained

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Twitter: @StupendousWave

Composer: Whitesand (Martynas Lau)
Year: 2017
Title: Eternity Additional Music Terminus by: Scott Buckley
Released under CC-BY 4.0.

[kaidorade]

Very interesting! I’ve never actually thought that attachment was both Anakin’s fall AND Vader’s redemption!

[melissakrauss]

I agree with Luke Skywalker's suggestion about marriage, acknowledging love and other attachments. Sometimes being with somebody that you love can give you strength. Hiding love and other attachments makes people feel ashamed, doubting themselves, and more vulnerable to the dark side. Jedi's should also study the dark side, under other teachers as well. Shouldn't people know what they are fighting against? Make them more protected and less vulnerable?

[Retz]

Anakin being separated from his mother/her dying was a major contributor in his search for attachment

[GrouchyRaccoon]

Arguably the two greatest Jedi of all time came to the same conclusion. Both Luke and Revan realised that love was a form of compassion and actually benefitted the light.

[SCmaro]

In the novel, Yoda reflected on the fact that he, himself, had not allowed the Jedi order to change, to evolve (as the Sith had) and this included denying attachment, love, and marriage. That he had kept and trained the Jedi in the same manner than he had been trained hundreds of years ago. Although it wasn't explicit, this is what lead to Anakin's fall - the Jedi's ridged refusal to accept change.
As is true in nature, inability to adapt leads to death.

[AngelicusEXperiment]

Regarding how Luke's revelation here seems to be at odds with how he treats Grogu in BOBF, I'm going to posit a notion that the ideas are not incompatible. I don't think he was against the idea of attachment in general, I think he was just concerned about Grogu specifically. "A short time for you is a lifetime for everyone else." I think he saw the potential accumulation of grief that could form for Grogu, and what it might do to him over the course of centuries. He saw the potential danger, as well. I've said before, and I'll say it again: grief and power are a dangerous combination.

[Imylover]

A perfect summery of how I have always regarded Luke's approach in his own Jedi Order. Even long before we got the whole forbidden attachment rule from the Prequels I always saw Luke's encouragement of attachments, love & friendship as the best mean for any Jedi & Force user to stay in the Light. That Luke had learned from his father's mistakes, but also final triumph. Luke also never hid the fact that he was "Vader's son", he implemented it into his teaching, using his father's tragedy as a perfect example of why you should not turn to the Dark Side. I also always respected the fact no Jedi should ignore the Dark Side altogether. Know your enemy, as they say. How can any Jedi resist the Dark Side & fight the Sith if you have no idea what it is & what it's/they are capable of? Once the Prequels came along it made even more sense, especially that Luke had learned what went so wrong via his father & uses that to inspire a better future, using that knowledge. Knowledge is power, even of dangerous stuff. And with the old attachment rule included, the bottom line is that the Dark Side can be a threat to you regardless if you have attachments or not. Because the Jedi all had attachments anyway, to each other! The loyalty to the Order alone is an attachment. And the bond that is between Padawan & Master makes the attachment rule so hypocritical. Even Obi, who follows the old code by the book, regarded Anakin as his brother, that is a hell of an attachment.
The old Jedi Order basically stuck their heads into the sand as far as anything Dark Side goes. "If I look the other way & close my eyes it will go away." Sorry, but not even in space fantasy does reality work that way. The Dark Side & all its willing users will always be there & be a problem, a temptation, regardless if you have a girlfriend or 2 kids on a farm somewhere or you love to hang out with your best pal etc. What I learned from Luke in the EU is that avoiding what is dark & evil is not the answer, it does not make it go away. Including the darkness you might have within. The trick is to face it, with wisdom, knowledge & courage. And also preferably not alone but as a team. Why be just one light in the dark when you can bring many more with you? In Luke's Academy they were a team. People had a private life yet everyone knew each other & was always there if someone had a problem, regardless how big or small. It's far easier to fight the Dark Side if you have friends that help you, not judge you, to deal with it. And in the end, I see it as that a Jedi is truly tested if he/she absolutely have a family, friends, relatives etc & the Dark Side tests said Jedi & he/she remains in the Light! That the love & friendship this Jedi has in his/her life is what gives the strength & motivation to refuse the Dark. Not all succeeded, that will never happen. The Dark Side do claim individuals. But Luke always knew this, being tempted himself + remembering what happened to his father. So he taught everyone to read the signs, to be familiar with the Dark Side, hence they could help students & fellow Jedi that was at risk a lot sooner.
Luke had also learned from what he went through during the OT that as a team you are far stronger against any foe. And, very true, there was no way Luke was gonna give up all relation with his sister Leia now that they had been reunited, or with Han or Chewie or Lando etc. There's no way Luke would have continued with the attachment rule. And since he learned from what happened to his father that this rule was a main reason so much went wrong & combined it with his own life's experiences he knew it was far more for a Jedi to gain with attachments than what the Jedi would risk. Yes, his own attachments lead him to Cloud City to face Vader long before he was ready. But it was the attachment that his friends had for him that saved him that same day. And it's a matter of opinion but Luke became the man & Jedi that he is by learning of his father the hard way, which ironically made him grow an attachment to his father just because of it. The trick is to not loose the control. Which is a lot easier said than done, but not even in Luke's Order is the Jedi way easy by any means. But what happened to Anakin Skywalker would simply not happen in Luke's Order. There had been no shame in loving someone or hide it, on the contrary it would be encouraged. Just be honest about it. Also, Anakin was always pushed to the side, never fully included, only accepted by few & not all, always regarded as a problem. Anakin never felt he was one of the Jedi fully, he was never fully accepted or trusted. Naturally he developed negative feelings for them in return. At Luke's Academy there is no exclusion. Once a student is ready for a next step nothing is denied. Yoda felt Anakin's pain, sorrow & anger when he lost his mother & killed the Tuskens but no one ever confronted Anakin about it. Luke would not let such a thing slide. Even if talking about terrible things is hard & difficult it is still necessary. Because Luke never wants any Jedi under his watch to feel left behind or excluded. You get help & support regardless if you want it or not. Not all wanted help & they usually ended up badly. But then that choice was far more on the individual. Luke believes in honesty & the truth, no matter what it is. Hiding facts & truth can at times serve a cause but also cause problems, such as he learned himself with Obi-Wan's certain point of view thing. In Luke's Order, no matter how you choose, you will always know what all your options are. Compassion, understanding, knowledge, courage & wisdom is the way. Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side because he had a problem he felt he couldn't get help with from those that should have helped him, & the Dark Side offered him incorrectly what he believed to be the only alternative. In Luke's Order some still fall but never because they feel they can't ask for help.

[GafftheHorse]

That's not the conclusion I saw in the movies. Anakin was impatient and hasty, he was gifted and everything came easy to him except advancement in the order, and this frustrated him. This is clear from the opening scenes of Attack of the Clones right up to his appointment to the Jedi Council by Sidious. Palpatine played into this by suggesting to him that the Jedi were holding him back and that they didn't trust him.

[mohammadidris]

The Jedi Order was ignoring their own advise. They feared attachment. And as Yoda himself said, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering.

[chadflanaganCFC]

One of the biggest things lost in legends was Kyle katern as his own view mirrored what Palpatine said to Anakin in revenge of the sith, while simultaneously showing that one can learn both sides of the force and remain cemented in the light(the one time notwithstanding)

[skipgiblets]

A favorite quote of mine is "living things grow, growing things change". I think Luke realized this spot on and made good changes to the Jedi order.

[akihikosakurai]

If Jedi have attachments it would likely prevent them from turning to the dark side because if they did they'd lose everything including their family. If they have no attachments then they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by turning to the dark side

[RextheRebel]

Remember what Obi Wan said about Anakin, he's not loyal to ideas or things, he's loyal to people.

[hectorchachyjimenez]

I agree with much of luck’s change’s. Family can pull you out of negative behavior. And Anakin would’ve never gone down that pass had they given him some time. And actually listened to what he was saying.

[jasonglessner]

Anakin had absolutely no support system for his marriage with Padme. Although, Obi-Wan would of helped him ...if he just asked.

[kingshadow]

Anakin turned to the Darkside in order to save Padme.

[WonderfulHayden]

There is a crucial difference that underlies why the relationship with Padme led to Anakin's downfall, but the relationship with Luke redeemed Vader. Anakin's relationship with Padme included love, but was also heavily laced with fear of loss and attachment issues stemming from leaving his mother as a child and then having her die while he was away. Palpatine preyed on this fear and used it to incite a great deal of anger within Anakin over the Jedi's complacency to save Padme from her supposed imminent death.

By the time Vader found out about Luke, he didn't have that fear of loss anymore because he had already lost everything that ever mattered to him--his wife, his unborn children, Obi-Wan, the Jedi Order. He was a shell of a man--a powerful shell when it comes to combat, but at the end of the day still a brute enforcer who had to answer to Palpatine's' every beck and call. This was never what Anakin as a child and a slave ever imagined or ever wanted for himself, to be free and a hero only to return to slavery as an adult. Vader's relationship with Luke by the time of ROTJ consisted almost entirely of love. That kind of love between parent and child coupled with Luke's nonjudgmental nature, Luke about to die before his eyes, and the years of abuse at the hands of Palpatine was what finally got through to Vader.

[ejrodriguez]

I believe Luke's approach was the correct one. Having attachments like a spouse and children will do more good as well as replenish the Jedi in number.

[jordanelza]

The Jedi Code was meant to keep them on the path of the light at all costs. This was the right idea, but it was flawed, and so was the code of the Sith. There cannot be one without the other. No light without dark. The Grey Jedi had the best understanding of how to wield the Force properly: they use both light and dark side abilities when necessary and mostly still stay on the path. Like the Bendu in Rebels hints, There is only the Force. So in a way, both the Codes of the Jedi and the Sith are somewhat correct. 5:03 I love Kyle Katarn, because of his belief about Force Abilities.

[ironman]

I agree, and i would also add that Luke's study of rebuilding the Jedi order concluded that it seemed only natural and more fruitful for Jedi to have children to potentially rebuild the order, and ensure there would be future generations by having offspring, as he and Leia had done, rather than searching the vast galaxy searching for force sensitives