Hayden Christensen’s take on the legendary hero Anakin Skywalker was met with mixed reactions, as longtime fans at the time did not expect to see Darth Vader turn out to be the way he was portrayed in Attack of the Clones. But that could have been a work of genius by George Lucas, if one is to look at it from a certain point of view. What if there was far more to his character than that? What if his ‘sudden turn’ to the dark side was not just about saving Padmé? Could there have been something more that contributed to his fall to the dark side? Psychiatrists analysed Anakin and noticed that he showed signs that he suffered from borderline personality disorder.
1. Difficulty Controlling Anger
Anakin’s life was one beset with tragedy. Starting off with his introduction as a slave along with his mother, then having him leave her behind and become a Jedi, it was a huge mess of a life, and that fact is often overlooked when people criticize his anger management problems. He had numerous moments where his anger outweighed his reasoning, which included when he stood up to Obi-Wan in Padmé’s apartment, trying to show off to the latter with his newly acquired skills, his anger towards his master for not letting him advance in his training, as he felt that he was ready, his anger at Dooku for having so many Jedi killed in one day…all of that in just one movie. In Revenge of the Sith, he had a bit more control, but his demeanor was noticeably darker and moodier. He had angry outbursts with the council when he was refused the rank of master, when he sliced off Windu’s hand, when he slew the Separatists on Mustafar (you can hear him growl angrily as he kills them), with his final outburst being when he attacks Obi-Wan after yelling at him. Anakin was a very troubled man, and did not have anyone who understood him as he should have been.
2. Stress-Related Breaks with Reality
This was a tough one to see. Mostly because it was the most obvious one. We could see that a lot of the things that he appeared to have noticed or picked up on were unrealistic or simply not true. Anakin’s psychological problems started when left his mother behind in Tatooine to become a Jedi. That was one very big change in his life…one that he was not ready for at the time. It was not his fault or even the Jedi’s. It was simply the work of destiny. Needless to say, it caused a lot of problems for him and brought in a lot of friction between him and the council. He exhibited several breaks from reality throughout his time in the Order…and this was mostly exemplified by his impression that Obi-Wan was purposely holding him back because he was jealous of how skilled he was. One could not blame Anakin for feeling that way, as he was a very skilled warrior and had accomplished many things that Jedi his age had not done yet. Things got worse along the way when Palpatine started to take the final steps in order to turn Anakin to the dark side, and Anakin started to believe that the Council was conspiring against him, which is a belief that became more and more apparent as he grew increasingly frustrated with the other Jedi. In the end, he even came to believe that Padmé and Obi-Wan were hooking up against him and that Obi-Wan had turned her against him. In his mind, he really was going up against a world that wanted nothing but for him to suffer and remain restricted.
3. Impulsivity
Let’s get one thing straight: Anakin had very poor impulse control. Once he felt like doing something, he would, and he would always follow through the action to conclusion. Sometimes it worked out, and other times it didn’t. Well, most of the time, it didn’t. Remember when he argued with Obi-Wan when trying to impress Padmé? Remember when he jumped out of a speeder in Coruscant so that he could catch up with Zam? Or how he spent most of the movie just saying whatever came to his mind, even when it was out of place, especially around and to Padmé? Remember when Obi-Wan tried to tell him to strategize before engaging with Count Dooku, only for Anakin to get electrocuted and kept out of the fight for a good amount of time. All of that was in just one movie. At least in Revenge of the Sith, he was a little more controlled…or so we thought. His issues still carried on into the movie, and they were shown to be the very same ones which isolated him from the Jedi Order, leaving him with no choice but to ally himself with Sidious. Remember when he, on impulse, sliced Mace Windu’s hand off? Yeah, I know you do.
4. Obsession with Abandonment
As much as he had all those other issues, let’s talk about the main one which led to him falling to the dark side: abandonment issues. As mentioned above, Anakin had a very had life even as a child, as he was a slave, along with his mother. He eventually won his freedom but then had to abandon his mother, and overtime, this choice began to haunt him, and he started to have premonitions about her suffering. Obi-Wan was dismissive about it and told him to simply get over it because, as he said, “dreams pass in time.” It wasn’t the best thing to say to someone who had clearly grown attached to their mother when they endured slavery together, Obi-Wan! Anyway, Anakin’s issues with abandonment were established as early as the beginning of Attack of the Clones when he mentioned that he had dreams about his mother suffering, which led to a side quest which took him to Tatooine, only to reach his mother in time to watch her die in his arms. Broken by this shocking turn of events, he slaughtered the entire clan that had captured her. Not just the men, but the women and the children too. This problem he had only got worse when he started to have dreams about Padmé’s death. Fearing this ultimately led him to trusting Chancellor Palpatine and drawing him away from the Jedi Order because he knew that they would not help him find a solution to his problems.
5. Unstable Relationships Alternating Between Extremes of Ideation and Devaluation
This one is most apparent in Attack of the Clones, although he still does carry some of the traits to Revenge of the Sith. He had a very turbulent relationship with Obi-Wan at times, and the Council itself. The Council didn’t trust him…or even like him. The only reason they accepted him as a Jedi is that he’s the prophesized Chosen One. If it weren’t for that, they would have rejected him. Anakin had dreams of becoming a Jedi and apparently looked up to them as a kid, according to The Phantom Menace. To see the people that he adored and wanted so much to be a part of, turn out to be hypocritical, rigid, inflexible, judgmental exclusionists greatly frustrated Anakin, and he often complained about how his own master was holding him back due to jealousy. In that same conversation, though, he praised Obi-Wan. This kind of thing often repeated itself throughout Attack of the Clones, where he would complain about Obi-Wan and then talk about him in a positive light almost immediately after. His great respect for the Council was also in the same light. He showed that he respected them but was always angry with them and disappointed in what they had to do or say, and this was mostly shown in Revenge of the Sith.
What did you think of the article? Did we miss anything out? Let us know in the comments below:
Comentarios