#anakin the tragic hero

[geneticdriftwood]

rots obi-wan kenobi is horatio-coded, send tweet.

[clayberesford-anakinskywalkerfan]

It is Star Wars Day so I decided to experiment and make more Anakin gif sets. Every day I'm experimenting, having fun and learning something new.

Anakin Skywalker looking super hot as always!! This scene omg ❤️🥵🥰

Thanks again @lacebird for your help and patience for those little details and techniques! May the 4th be with you!!☺️

[starwarskid]

A Tragic Hero=Anakin Skywalker

What is A Tragic Hero?

A tragic hero is a character in a literary work, typically a play, who possesses admirable qualities but also has a fatal flaw that leads to their downfall. They are often faced with a conflict or dilemma that they cannot overcome due to their own flaws or errors in judgment. Despite their good intentions, their actions ultimately result in their own destruction or downfall. Tragic heroes evoke both pity and fear in the audience, as they are relatable and their tragic fate serves as a cautionary tale.

Anakin Skywalker

Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars saga is often considered a tragic hero. He possesses several qualities that align with the archetype of a tragic hero. Firstly, Anakin is a character with great potential and admirable qualities. He is incredibly talented and skilled, displaying exceptional prowess as a Jedi Knight. He is brave, loyal, and has a strong desire to protect those he cares about. However, Anakin's fatal flaw is his deep-seated fear of loss and his attachment to his loved ones. This fear and attachment drive him to make impulsive and reckless decisions, leading him down a path of darkness. He is seduced by the promises of power and control offered by the dark side of the Force, ultimately becoming Darth Vader. Anakin's downfall is tragic because it results from his inner struggle and conflicting emotions. He is torn between his love for his family and his duty as a Jedi. The choices he makes, motivated by his fear and desire to prevent loss, ultimately lead to the destruction of his relationships, his identity, and his own physical and emotional well-being. Anakin's story evokes pity and fear in the audience as we witness his descent into darkness and the tragic consequences that follow. His journey serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked emotions and the consequences of succumbing to one's own flaws.

Anakin Skywalker=The Tragic Hero

[starplusfourletters]

help I’m thinking about Ahsoka meeting the definition of a tragic hero

[loosely defined as a sympathetic but imperfect protagonist who suffers some kind of downfall because of a tragic flaw]

I think the brainworms haven’t latched onto this before just cuz it’s not my go-to lens for anyone happening to be standing next to Anakin Freaking Skywalker, but while her "downfall" is less intense than Anakin's I think she meets the bar as much as he does.

Out-of-universe she's literally destined to fail because any character added to Anakin's arc in the Year of Our Lord 2008 1) can't prevent him from falling and 2) can't redeem him and that's a pretty heckin tragic arc to give your 14-year-old character right off the bat.

The only ways to make that less tragic are to have them like each other less, or to have her realize he's on a tragic arc and choose to get away from him for that reason... and they quadruple down on exactly the opposite of that

Every single thing that happens to Ahsoka for three years teaches her that everyone will disappoint her and let her down EXCEPT ANAKIN, to the point where she makes him her one constant in the universe. That leads directly to the Maul confrontation scene (which strongly mirrors the scene with Anakin and Palpatine in Palpatine's office), where she's given a choice and chooses wrong because of her tragic flaw, which is loyalty to Anakin.

Except it's so much more batshit than that because it's also the same "join me and together we will defeat a greater evil" pitch that star wars fantasy does over and over and over but in this case and this case only SHE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IT. But my the audience’s yelling-at-the-screen response to that is driven by the fact the TCW s7 came out a solid FORTY YEARS after we learned how all these choices turned out. So honestly her tragic hero-ness is 80% dramatic irony. Which is also very Star Wars.

But thinking about this has gotten me feral about Ahsoka and Luke again because the fact that Luke puts all his money on Vader is absolutely insane. Luke is betting EVERYTHING with no evidence that it's going to work out for him, and it pays off. He freaking WINS because of that. Meanwhile Ahsoka has so, so many reasons to bet everything on Anakin, and she does, and she loses everything.

your faith in your friends is yours

[nerdyerror]

There are two types of tragic heros:

The ones that have to much faith in their own judgment.

And the ones that do not have enough.

[ablog]

I love pov!! I love povs so much!!! I love to see stories of why and how the "bad guy" got to where they are! Bonus points if from their pov they are the good guy!

I would LOVE to see a show/movie that starts with us following the regular hero backstory and see the character grows and becomes a better person and all of that, and later have corruption arc, but not from some evil dude doing something to them, but from the inside and all that occurred to them, the bigging of a hero and a villain are often similar with little differences from their lifes and the environment around them it's so fucking interesting and i would LOVE to have it as the show's "twist"

[dhampiravidi]

achilles vs. anakin

so I've been thinking--these 2 are similar AF:

has 1 divine parent

is the Chosen One...?

very cute uwu

close to their mom

BFF is a little more than that

ultimately chooses love over honor/others' praise every time

soldier who started too young

killed at least 1 kid that we know of

they're younger & less disciplined than their love interest

badass w/a weapon

berzerker rage followed by intense ugly cry

people judge them on their actions & label them as crazy

I guess their main differences are that Achilles wasn't ever taught to let go of passion or rage, while Anakin was told those are feelings that lead to the Dark Side of the Force. Anakin had lived as a slave while Achilles had grown up as a prince(ss) who took classes.

[clayberesford-anakinskywalkerfan]

Literally me struggling right now. 😢😭 Every day I'm trying but I haven't been ok. I can definitely relate to Anakin and what he has gone through. He felt like he was never good enough and everyone kept doubting him as a Jedi. That's what it just feels like with myself right now, and it feels like I'm not good enough for anything. I don't normally share about my mental health online especially , but sometimes I feel like I just want to know that someone is there to listen and a place where I don't feel alone💔

[intermundia]

my favorite thing about anakin as a character is the inherent nuance lucas wrote into his story, like he's neither an innocent victim nor an inherently evil monster, he's just some guy put in a series of Situations and ultimately failing the test of his humility and self-control. he was certainly flattered and shaped by the devil, spiraling into something unrecognizable, but he chose to take every step down the pathway to hell. lucas knew he would lose a certain demographic by making him basically a greedy pawn in the larger story, not a righteous betrayed macho badass, but he did it anyway. he made him an awkward romantic and a loyal friend, a generous boy and a brilliant teen. he made sure he had all the positive qualities that meant that he had potential to be so much more than vader, but it was clearly his choice to lie, murder, and fully squander that potential. there are no excuses for what he became, no acceptable reasons to commit mass slaughter. he became an unbelievably selfish and impatient man, reckless and wantonly violent. hayden captured that nuance so well, nobody can match the sweetness of his smile and the absolute horror of his scowl on mustafar. to view him through a single lens as either pure victim of manipulation and (canonically unsupported) emotional neglect, or a creepy evil villain, denies the heart of his story and the weight of his tragedy. he's neither an angel nor a demon, he's both and neither, he's deeply human, a classical tragic hero with a flaw of greed. lucas made a choice with the prequels to tell a story that not everyone wanted to hear, and the result was a character that i think is one of the best of modern pop culture, mostly because he feels to me so very, very ancient and eternal.

[the-far-bright-center]

#'all i want is your love' his wife pleads with him#'love won't save you! only my new powers can do that!' he answers while drowning in the dark side#'love can ignite the stars' the story stubbornly insists and it doesn't give up until it saves him and the entire galaxy (via @caracynthia)

#FEAR DESTROYED HIM. LOVE SAVED HIM.#HIS FEAR OF LOSING THOSE HE LOVED OVERRODE HIS LOVE AND CAUSED HIS FALL#HIS LOVE FOR HIS SON OVERRODE HIS FEAR OF PALPATINE AND CAUSED HIS RISE!!!#ITS ABOUT LOVE!!! (starts crying) ITS ABOUT LOVE!!!!!! (via @inked-explores)

^YES! All of the above!

i actually have one more thing to say. love saved anakin. love literally saved anakin. the love anakin skywalker had for his wife and subsequently their children, the love luke had for his father, is what saved anakin. it’s what destroyed the dark side. star wars is very much a love story. thanks. 

[heartofmortis]

✧ exile (what a ghostly scene)

. *. ⋆ Anakin / Vader x Reader

summary: you were bail organa’s ward, raised on alderaan with your younger sister. in the twilight of the clone war, you and anakin fell in love. when the war died, it dragged you and anakin to early graves with it — leaving only darth vader behind. even after years without you, he still wants you back. and there is nothing he would not do to bring you back to him. . .

tags: angst, tragic romance, suitless vader, no y/n, gn reader, inspired by the 2020 vader comics & vader immortal, past major character death, mourning, vader needs a hug, resurrection

note: my first reader/second person fic — i’m sorry if the tense is bad ajsjwjwjqjq. i’ve had this in my drafts for soooo long and i finally decided to finish it 🫶

word count: 1k

part 1 of 4

The stars have died, fizzling out into oblivion. All that remains is a charcoal heart that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker.

The boy from Tatooine is unreachable now, trapped inside the twisted soul of Darth Vader. The galaxy’s beloved Hero With No Fear is gone. With the rise of the Empire, the Jedi and their sympathisers will be erased from memory. A clean slate to start a new era.

Three years after the creation of the Empire, Darth Vader stands alone. His tower on Mustafar is isolating; its strategic position is a constant reminder of that day. His injuries still hurt sometimes: phantom itches on his now metal legs; scars from his burns that did not fully heal. The medical droids say he is lucky — the fire could have done more serious damage, and he could have been forced to rely on a suit keeping him alive for the rest of his days. Instead, the ebony coloured mask and suit he wears are to conceal his identity. A precaution so that Anakin Skywalker can fade from people’s tongues and memory, leaving the tyranny of Darth Vader in its place.

The weight of his failures is not the heaviest burden. Darth Vader drowns in his anger and grief. He was not strong enough to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was not strong enough to save you.

(All things die. Even stars burn out.)

You were the stars in his sky, his light in the dark, the silvery moon to his blazing sun. So tender and kind. Perhaps your heart was too good for this world. Perhaps, it was your weakness all along. (How could peace ever love a dragon?)

Since you met, you had been Anakin’s sun. You anchored him; guided him home. You were his destiny. And, without you, the galaxy had turned cold. The fiery world outside, all hot air and lava fields, only stood as a reminder of his failure. He’d lost you. After everything Anakin had tried — surrendering himself to the dark side, betraying the light — he could not save you. Time had not quelled the pain.

Vader wonders if you would still recognise him. His copper hair has grown longer (he remembers how you used to cut it for him after he returned from another mission, and you’d giggle as you braided thin locks together), but his face hides behind an obsidian mask. You always loved the blue of Anakin’s eyes, but now they are blazing amber.

Mornings are the only time Vader allows himself to dwell on the past. It is when he finds himself alone and does not have to hide.

Vader recalls how you arrived on Mustafar like it was yesterday. (You haunt him every waking moment.) He could sense your conflicted emotions as soon as you disembarked your ship. Vader wasted no time approaching you, drawing you into his arms (where you belonged; where you were safe). His lips reconnected with yours, fitting together like puzzle pieces as he kissed you hungrily, his hands settled on your hips to keep you close.

You and Anakin had met after turning nineteen. He and Obi-Wan were called to Alderaan to protect the Queen and Viceroy from an assassination attempt. Being their ward, you had been there the whole time and quickly formed a connection with the young padawan — your relationship had blossomed during the Clone Wars.

He rested his forehead against yours as you spoke. “I heard terrible things. Tell me none of it is true.”

Vader hadn’t replied immediately and instead drew his head back to look at you. He would tell you any sweet lie if he needed to as he fought to quell the anger flaring in his eyes. “What have you been told?”

“Obi-Wan told me—”

Vader’s grasp around you tightened protectively. “Obi-Wan is alive?”

“He said you’d killed Jedi. Killed younglings.”

“You must not believe him, my love. He’s a traitor.”

It wasn’t the answer you sought, and you took a step backwards out of your husband’s grasp. “What have you done?”

“I did this for you. To save you.” He cupped your chin in his flesh hand and whispered your name. “I love you.”

Your eyes trained into his. There was no denial, no remorse in his stature; his only regret was letting Obi-Wan tell you anything.

He repeated his words. “I did this for you.”

From the shadows of your cloak, you drew a blaster. Only a small, weak thing. Vader watched your hands tremble. He did admire your courage. “Fix this,” you demanded. “Please,” you begged.

Anger flickered in Vader’s eyes. He had never seen you unimpressed with him. With an easy glide of his hand, Vader used the Force to knock the blaster out of your grip and pin your arms by your sides

“I am stronger than the Chancellor now,” he explained desperately, drawing you to his side. “I can overthrow him. Then you and I can be together; we can run away — just like you always wanted to.”

(But you didn’t. He lost you. Some might call you a traitor — Vader maintains that you were misguided.)

Three years later, regret still festers inside Vader’s hollow soul. There must have been a way to save you.

He misses you endlessly: craving your touch and the sound of your voice. (There is nothing Vader desires more than to have you back in his arms.)

Part of him wants to forget. To cast his memories of you into an abyss; to put the past behind him. But it is an impossible task. You are too well tangled into his soul. You haunt him. (And you’ll haunt him until his death.)

Today, there is no time to focus on you. A new morning brings meetings and training. You were Anakin’s Achilles Heel — but Darth Vader shows no such weakness. As Vader sits on his throne, reading over mission logs and other updates from the spread of the Empire across the galaxy, he receives a message: he must make his return to Coruscant immediately. (Your memory pulls him under the ocean again until he can no longer breathe.)

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

I’m gonna be honest. The more I think about it, the more I’m believing that the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy could’ve been better than the Original Trilogy if the script was tighter (a lot tighter). But George needed to let other people handle the script and he needed way more help with bringing his vision to life.

I mean, just think about it. The OG trilogy was a fairly straightforward, good vs evil storyline. Jedi and Rebels good, Emperor and Sith bad. Amazing storyline, but fairly simple. In comparison, the Prequel trilogy is far more complex in terms of what it was trying to achieve. If you look past the shitty dialogue and questionable storyline choices, the story that George came up with deals with:

1) Duty vs. Desire (Anakin trying to remain a Jedi but wanting to pursue Padme)

2) Questioning the Jedi Code instead of just blindly accepting it as gospel. Because despite how much Anakin was struggling with his complicated emotions, the Order doesn’t notice. In fact, the Order encouraged him to bury his emotions, which we see led to disaster since that led him right to the Dark Side.

3) An actual attempt at more complex politics rather than just evil empire versus good resistance. For example, it’s a meme that Anakin made an argument in favor of fascism, but in the hands of a better writer, that could’ve been a really good moment. We get an idea of why the Empire would have its supporters, despite being the obvious bad guys. It humanizes the Empire in a way that it doesn’t make you sympathize with them, but makes you understand how someone could end up on that path. That’s more true to life than just evil people being evil. (Andor is probably the one Star Wars media that understood this, which is partly why it’s one of the best Star Wars content out there)

4) The hero is genuinely a tragic character. He’s a child prodigy who was freed from slavery with the promise of a better life. But as he grows up, he becomes frustrated with how his life is turning out. He’s powerful, but not powerful enough to save his mom. He falls in love, but can’t be with Padme since it’s against the Jedi Code. Obi-Wan looks over him, but Anakin doesn’t feel he’s respected. The Order assigns him dangerous mission after dangerous mission, but he doesn’t get the rank of master. Anakin’s arc is about a man who feels like he’s not in control of his life (which is doubly sad when you remember he grew up in slavery) and, in his lowest moment, turns to a man who claims to be able to give Anakin everything he’s ever wanted. And that becomes his downfall since he ends up losing way more than he gained.

I’m sorry, but, that storyline is way more interesting than Luke and Leia’s story. No offense to Luke and Leia, but their dad’s story sounds like a Shakespearean tragedy. What messed it up was that George Lucas needed someone else to write the script.

[comicaurora]

top three changes to the star wars franchise?

Like, top three things I would change if I was in charge of the franchise top to bottom?

This is Big Cheating calling it "one change", but scrap the prequels. The original trilogy already implied an incredibly simple by-the-numbers dark fantasy origin story for Obi-Wan and Anakin and if we strip away the space veneer we can easily see that Anakin's original backstory was implied to be "prodigy warrior-wizard is tempted by dark magic (and an established evil sorcerer-emperor who has clearly been in power for more than a scant 18 years by the time of the original trilogy) which slowly corrupts and twists him into a monster who eventually has a fight with obi-wan that he loses, also he has a relationship with a woman who survives to raise Leia for at least a few years". Those are the only points you need to hit, and you could tell a very compelling simple-meal-well-made sword and sorcery adventure with a guaranteed tragic ending. The original prequels fail at holding to the ONLY points of canon they needed to hit - the innately corruptive power of the dark side SLOWLY leading to Anakin's downfall, the empire being an existing threat for a long time and the jedi correspondingly being an ANCIENT religion rather than being less ancient than 9/11, and Padme being alive enough for Leia to remember her a little bit. Close your eyes, clear your mind, let the tropes flow through you - a By-The-Numbers Story will come to you and you will see the completely inoffensive prequel tragedy we could've had. Also, never show Yoda, preserve the fun twist in the original movies.

Easy change for this one. Finn's a force-user with a plot about inspiring a stormtrooper rebellion, another plot that literally writes itself, also let the sequel trio actually all hang out for more than five fuckin minutes because the only thing that ever made Star Wars work was the raw charisma of the actors having a good time and the chemistry was really solid for the only time in the final movie they were allowed to share screentime.

And while we're gutting the sequels, how about letting the hero's victories actually fucking matter. Luke gets to actually reinvigorate the jedi way and doesn't have all his victories ripped away in the name of sequel bait, and can serve as an extremely powerful but very busy Jedi Ex Machina who turns up in the darkest hour to save the day, Mandalorian-s1-finale style. The Empire doesn't just get magically replaced with Empire 2, Now With Less Charisma, let the threat be something actually new or a natural consequence of a newly liberated galaxy in sudden turmoil - feudal tyrants ruling over planetary fiefdoms squabbling to fill the Emperor's power-vacuum, more sith lords coming out of the woodwork now that their greatest rival is gone. Leia and the other rebel leaders struggling to reinstate some semblance of democracy in a scarred and shattered galaxy too accustomed to the crushing totalitarianism of the empire. How goddamn unoriginal to start a sequel by undoing every happy ending from the original series for retreaded drama, as if the universe could only ever hold three problems in it.

[the-far-bright-center]

#thats something i dont think people who hate on anakin and specifically hayden's portrayal of anakin seem to get#he's 'whiney' and whatever... no#he's deeply... DEEPLY traumatised and he is terrified of losing the people he loves#he loves incredibly deeply and strongly and he gives so much of his heart to people#but he grew up a slave and was ripped from his mother#and then he sees her death in his dreams until he cant take it anymore but then its too late#and that informs every single choice he makes after that#he sees padme's death and he /knows/ its going to happen. he /knows/ that he has the power of foresight#and he knows that he is seeing her true death#and he refuses to allow her to die the way his mother did#shmi's death informs every moment of anakin's life from that moment forward#and hayden portrayed that desperation and horror and longing for love and safety so so well#of course he fell victim to the sith!!! of course he did!!!#he was vulnerable because he couldn't let another person he loved die the way his mother did#anyway... hayden and anakin supremacy (via @dylanobrienisbatman)

Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth by Karen Miller

[blackkatmagic]

When Legacy comics were coming out, there was some controversy when Krayt's identity was revealed. A lot of people said that A'Sharad made a bad sith lord (he was too good jedi etc.) and that Claws of the Dragon arc didin't explain well enough how he fell.

I think that if Amongst dust had been out then, people might have had a different opinion. At least for me, when reading Amongst dust, it is easy to see that this A'Sharad is the same man, as the man who is in top of the sith food chain in Legacy. Like, it has been amazing to read how A'Sharad slowly slips down the hole. And I'm not saying he is falling to the dark side now, but the fic is highlighting all his qualities that make him fall in canon, like pain and guilt and obsession with his failure (staying silent about Anakin). And the contrast between the first chapters and the latest chapters is huge. But when the chapters are read in order, the change in A'Sharad happens very subtly. It's rather delicious (and well written!).

To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of A'Sharad falling to the Dark Side, either. I think it's not great to have a man from a culture that's based partly on the Arab Bedouin tribes, and who's noticably darker-skinned than some of the heroes, be the leader of an organization that's largely rooted in sabotage and terrorism, so I'm kind of iffy about the whole premise.

That said, given the way A'Sharad is written, I definitely see the roots of where Darth Krayt comes from. amongst dust is basically me trying to figure out how he gets from A to B, just on an accelerated timeline. I'm really glad it makes sense! He's very much falling over the course of the story, and all the cracks that his decisions/circumstances created in his soul are getting bigger.

I just...I think that with the way the Dark Side is presented, it's always possible for any Jedi, no matter how good, to fall. That's kind of the point, imo. For A'Sharad, all his very normal human flaws were massively exacerbated by the fall of the Order leaving him without any sort of support system, and it's the most tragic thing about him. One of the big points of amongst dust is that A'Sharad doesn't manage to save himself. It's all the people around him who pull him out of his spiral, who give him a reason to go on. He makes the decision to save himself, but all of his friends and family give him a reason and the strength to do it.

Sorry, that was a lot. I just have a lot of feelings about the Jedi in general and A'Sharad in particular, as you can probably tell. xD

[sherlockholmeshound]

'If i were anakin i would've let sidius kill me than to have to murder my family including babies' I can't believe I need to explain this but first of all: The choice wasn't 'Join me or die', the choice was 'Become my servant, sell me your soul or let your wife die'.

It's right there in the movie, it's crystal clear in the text, he was doing it all for Padme, no The republic, not because he didn't get the rank of Master, it was because he thought he would save Padme that way. This isn't recontextualized in other media, this isn't something stated in a novelization, this wasn't some retcon in a random comic, this wasn't something you needed more context or material to know: it's right there in the movie. Were there many many factors that amounted to that moment? Yes, sure. That you can make a further read on if after all the stuff that was going on? Obviosly. But don't go around thinking Anakin was doing it just because he wasn't granted the rank of Master or because his own life was at stake; Idc if you think Padme's life is a lame reason for Anakin's fall or that you think Obi-Wan should have had more weight in Anakin's decision, it's right there in the movie.

Second: You aren't Anakin and you can use that as an argument of anything because Anakin is a fictional character in a fantasy-sci-fi setting, he has super powers including psychic powers and and can kill people if he thinks about it hard enough, was groomed for 10 years by the devil who's also the president and was a slave for his formative first decade and then he was put into a goverment-adjacent dogmatic strict and emotionally stunted order of super powered monks and then had 3 years of being a general in the front lines of a war. And I'm grateful you can't relate to that hell of a life because the extremes Anakin was put under were meant to specifically explain his brokeness and how he went from hero to Imperial Dragon Guarddog. People need to learn to accept a character as a damn character, and not all the time you will be able to put yourself into the character's feet, you can't expect every character to be Relatable and cather specifically to you, because mind you there are people that do find him relatable and they haven't commited mass murder. The only thing the movie is asking of you as an audience is that you pay attention to the story, Anakin's arc shouldn't be that hard to grasp, it's fairly simple actually. He had an awful life, decades of trauma, reached his breaking point, exploded and killed people trying to save the last good thing in his hell of a life, sold his soul to the devil, lost everything and then returned back to the light for the sake of his son, isn't hard to get at all.

And third: Not defending the baby murder at all, but the Jedi weren't Anakin's family. Anakin's feelings towards the whole order was sour at best; he clearly wanted to leave them, several times. Anakin's family was Shmi (dead), Padme (in risk of death), Obi-Wan (emotionally distant and a trashy parental figure and currently far away and out of reach), and tragically Palpatine (groomer and also parental figure). If you accept TCW as canon, then you can extent that family onto Ahsoka (gone after the Jedi allowed her to be senteced to death penalty at 16), and perhaps Rex.