Darth Vader's ONLY True Friend in the Empire - Star Wars Explained

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Composer: Whitesand (Martynas Lau)
Year: 2017
Title: Eternity

Additional Music Terminus by: Scott Buckley
Released under CC-BY 4.0.

[lilarrin]

His would-be friends inevitably make the critical mistake of inviting him to a beach party

[AValentine-uu]

Sabé was like family to Anakin, she’s a complex character and I’m glad she’s finally getting expanded on

[Just_Pele]

You know if Vader ever had a true-blue real friend, and Sidious found out, they would be dead within a few hours, at most. He would never allow that, because Vader was to always feel isolated and alone, to maximize his pain and suffering.

[willy_lime]

This episode brought back a memory I didn't know I had; about 20 maybe 30? years ago I read a Star Wars book that involved Leia. I don't even remember the plot or title... but I recall a cat like breed of a small stature ewok-ish species called the Nog'rhi (Im sure my spelling is off). Apparently the world of this species was spared by Vader through some means of whatever, BUT, for generations these "Nog'rhi" revered Vader as a god. When Leia arrived on their planet they recognized her through her scent; that of Vader's, and would refer to her as "Daughter of Vader" and were extremely and fiercely loyal to her (Leia), as being a get of Vader. As Leia was of the light side, and these nog'rhi were assassins by trade (it fit their demeanor and stature), they would still follow Leia's orders simply of her being the daughter of Vader.

So, wall of text aside, it's super interesting to see how Vader's actions, while "evil", still amount to a following, a cult, etc that simply creates a deep sense of loyalty that spans generations.

Very fascinating.

[Gor]

This is great story! It's great Vader had a friend. True friend. And he survived and meet Luke. And told him about their missions and adventures. Friendship for generations. May the Force be with you too😊

[purplebrickroads]

This was a great idea for a video. Keep up the creativity!

[Kanonamos]

The thing with friendship with Vader is that it would be a catalyst for positive thoughts and emotions within him. This would weaken his dark side powers, therefore preventing him from healing his wounds. This is a guy who's body is mostly composed of scar tissue, who can't even smile or breathe without enduring pain. Every time he does he is reminded of who did this to him, and thinks about how unfair it is, fueling his rage.
He also wants to heal these scars through the dark side of the force but this is only possible through the deepest immersion in the dark side, by denying himself any positive emotions or pretty much anything positive at all. Even the relief he would feel at his wounds healing through dark side force healing would be enough to ruin his immersion in the dark side of the force and reverse the healing process. I can't imagine that friendship would do him much help.

Not only does he want his scars to heal, he also feels he is irredeemable. This is a man who truly hates himself. Yes he does blame Obi-Wan and the jedi for his fate and for Padme's death, but also himself. He views any attempt to redeem him to be an act of forgiveness, and he refuses to forgive himself and let go of his self-hatred. Any attempts at friendship with Vader would also be similarly stymied by his complex psychological web of trauma. When he discovers his old childhood friends, the one's he had as a boy on Tatooine, he is shocked into silence, unable to come to grips with what he has discovered and what it means. One of them (I forget their names) gets uncomfortable with him staring silently at them and asks "Umm... is there anything we can do for you Lord Vader?", snapping Vader out of it. He turns his back on them. "No, there is nothing you can do for me."
This line summarizes Vader completely. He believes he is beyond help, beyond redemption, and certainly beyond loving in any form.
It contrasts with his final words "You were right about me." meaning that even though he thoroughly believed he was beyond redeeming, that Padme and Luke were right, and that there was always some good in him.
To some extent Vader (who was really just Anakin pretending to be Vader to cope with what he had done) knew he had some good in him, he just refused to accept it at every turn, and accepting friendship would be tantamount to accepting that there is goodness in him. In the end it took the threat of another significant personal loss to make him act.

Yeah. Anakin's complex, but that's just part of why I love his character.

[hisdrizlnes]

The sacrificial loyalty is something Darth Vader is diametrically opposed to. The concept of him being on the receiving end of something that he himself would never offer to anyone, pacifies the Dark Lord. This opens up a moment where Anakin Skywalker is able to pierce through the visage of the Dark Lord. When Vader is complimenting ‘Lakoff’ (not sure how you spell it) it’s actually Anakin coming out, saying what he would say if Lakoff were a gravely wounded clone he’d grown close to during the Clone Wars.

With Padme’s handmaiden, I believe Vader is disarmed by her resolve to turn him back to Anakin Skywalker. I think this opened up Anakin to seep through the Helm of Vader from time to time in their interactions fostering a genuine personal connection.

Its a reminder that Vader never ultimately conquers Anakin though he dominates him for nearly half his life. It’s nuances like these stories that depict the irony that Anakin Skywalker never reaches his potential because of Darth Vader and Darth Vader could never reach his potential because of Anakin Skywalker.

[ryanedgerton]

It's worth noting that in the presence of Sidious, Ochi first looked to the Master for permission before following the Apprentice onwards. Ochi may follow the strongest, but he knows Vader isn't it -- not yet, at least. Thus, it's very much worth calling into question where Ochi's real loyalty lies. Personally, I think Vader uses Ochi as a barometer. If the assassin, after all he's seen and done fighting both with and against Vader, ever makes another attempt on Vader's life then Vader knows he's in an exceptionally vulnerable position and needs to correct that right away. Ochi is the canary in the coalmine of backstabbing.

[tatemcilwain]

I’ve always said, all Darth Vader ever wanted was a hug

[Alexquints]

By your classification thrawn was a friend. In legends they worked together on several occasions and had mutual respect and shared similar opinions on various projects. Both hated the deathstar liked the defender project hated Tarkin

[stealthynaxo]

At 02:35 is the Thumbnail of the Lore Master and at 05:35 is from the Fan comic "Abundance of Faith" by Laivaaja and that dialogue at 05.26 was not between Vader and Lekauff but with Piett in an alternate timeline where Vader and his Death Squadron defect from the Empire after Sidious tries to kill vader. FUNNY ENOUGH when the Lore Master uploaded a video like this they got in trouble for not crediting the artist/writer and for confusing fanon material as canon. Now I don't see Laivaaja credited and their comic used again a canon source...







































































































A mistake I am sure.

[xrdx]

Bummed that Grand Moff Tarkin didn’t make the list.

[EmperorCaligula_EC]

"There is still good in him."
- PADME AMIDALA

[majawajgelt]

Another video to make me fall asleep lovely😊

[marshalllatta]

I remember this story on the lore master channel so cool

[DX]

Shows Vader is still Anakin, but lost everything and everyone meaningfull for him. The respect for his soldiers, leadership and sheer passion are still there however and someone with the right skills and mindset can please Lord Vader enough so he can go out of his way to keep them alive. Make no mistake however, they'd still be dealt with if they tried anything funny or made mistakes, but when you already acquired Vader's respect, this won't happen often.

[Ally.Cat.]

5:18 you left out the part where Vader used the force to ease his pain while waiting for help.

[aliastheabnormal]

Erf is more than an officer. But a true bro.

[gorkandmorkcunninglybrutal]

5:53 any idea what the name of the comic is at this point? I remember reading it at some point and know it is a fanmade comic about the Emperor betraying Vader and Death Squadron joins Vader