Hot Take: The Jedi Failed Anakin

In fairness, I'm not sure how hot a take this is, as I've heard some other voices agree with me on this. I have also heard a fair amount of people who blame Anakin solely for his actions. I'd like to meet somewhere in the middle.

In case you weren't sure what I'm referring to, I am referring to Anakin Skywalker's trajectory to the dark side in Star Wars. The world was introduced to the character as Darth Vader in the original Star Wars, now called Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We found out Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, and then the character was expanding upon in Episodes I, II, and III (the prequels), as well as the television series The Clone Wars. He has since been further expanded on in the recent Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Let me first be clear that as an adult, Anakin/Darth Vader is about 80% responsible for his actions, and I'll explain the other 20% in a moment. Adult Anakin had the power to make a different choice than he did, AND at the same time he didn't. Does this make sense yet? I'll go into more detail.

It has always been my opinion that Palpatine completely manipulated Anakin into slipping to the dark side, preying on his impulsiveness and his fears of losing his loved ones. As I got older, I began to realize two things. The first was just HOW insidious and manipulative he was (I don't think his name being Darth Sidious is much of a coincidence). The second was the role the Jedi played in all of this happening, and the things they could have and should have done while Anakin was a child in their care. I'll explain by going through the timeline.

Anakin leaves his mother on Tatooine

The first time Anakin experiences fear is when he has to leave his mother on Tatooine, so he can have a better life and become a Jedi. Unfortunately, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was unsuccessful in freeing his mother, so he had to leave her behind. The first misstep by the Jedi here was telling Anakin not to be afraid. You can tell someone to not let fear consume them, but don't invalidate that they have fear in the first place. And Anakin was nine years old. He literally didn't have the brain capacity to control his emotions to that extent. The Jedi could have decided then to help him, and gently train him how to feel his emotions without letting them take over.

Anakin Sleeps In Obi-Wan's Room

I am not familiar with any of the Star Wars comics or animated TV shows (sorry), but I remember reading on Anakin's Wookiepedia article that one comic features a ten year old Anakin sneaking into Obi-Wan's room and sleeping on the floor because he's afraid something bad will happen to Obi-Wan in the night. Guys, that is a traumatized child, who is being told that he shouldn't ever be afraid or angry because it leads to hate and suffering. No. Being afraid and angry doesn't lead to hate and suffering. Suppressing your fear and anger leads to that. Not learning to express that fear and anger in healthy ways leads to hate and suffering. Not being taught how to feel ALL of your feelings as they pass through you and then let them go leads to hate and suffering. Let's recap- Anakin was born a slave. His only source of love and comfort was his mother, and in order for him to be free, he had to leave her and go off with people he barely knows. Then Qui-Gon is killed. Of course he formed a strong attachment to Obi-Wan because what other choice does he have? He's still a kid, and a highly sensitive one at that.

The Jedi Aren't Allowed To Love???

I always took issue with this, because what is life without love? Even when Anakin says "attachment is forbidden." I kind of get it from the Buddhist perspective, and yet, humans are social animals. We are meant to form attachments because that is how we survive. Psychology talks about a few different attachment styles, a few of which are avoidant, anxious, and secure. Anakin had secure attachment with his mother, no question. Since he had to leave her, he formed anxious attachments with Obi-Wan and Padmé. This leads to the intense fear that they will turn against him (really, leave him), which then also leads to him being avoidant with them as well (there is a combination anxious-avoidant). Because Anakin wasn't offered the support and skills to form secure attachments with anyone- because attachment is forbidden- as an adult he is unable to have healthy attachment to people. Of course he's consumed with fear of losing Padmé. I'd argue he's even afraid of losing Obi-Wan, and that's why he pushes him away. If he had been given the freedom and skills to form secure attachments with them, even if he had fears about Padmé, it would have been easier to work through that because he would have also had skills with how to deal with fear without letting it run away with you.

Palpatine Groomed Him

Now here's the biggest way the Jedi failed him. All of those things I mentioned before were setups for Anakin to not really be a healthy adult, but on their own probably wouldn't have led to a fall to the dark side. The fact is, and I've heard some people talk about this but not a lot, Chancellor Palpatine groomed Anakin to be Darth Vader since he was nine-years-old. "We will watch your career with great interest" he says in The Phantom Menace. He befriended Anakin in a totally inappropriate way, and was in his ear from the beginning. Not only that, he gaslit him against the Jedi, future faked him- like, "you do this and I promise you Padmé will be safe." Again, no. Palpatine was going to find a way to kill her either way. She was a huge threat to him. He just needed a reason for Anakin to listen to him. He preyed on Anakin's fear and anxious attachment to gain an "apprentice"- or to put it better, a slave. The worst part is, the Jedi knew of Anakin's friendship with Palpatine. They even express concern about it- in Revenge of the Sith, and only to each other. It was too late by then. As the adults in Anakin's life, any one of them should've stepped in to protect him from this creepy old dude trying to befriend you and prey on your vulnerabilities. To make matters worse, they blamed Anakin's struggles solely on Anakin. This isn't to say that Anakin didn't make choices- he definitely did, and I'm not excusing them. But the simple fact remains that long before he got there, and he was only 22 in Revenge of the Sith, he was a child who needed help. He needed a parent more than he needed a master. He needed a secure adult to guide him on how to be a human as well as a Jedi. They didn't, so how Anakin turned out is not entirely his fault.

Conclusion

I've always related to Anakin, and then sometimes questioned why. He did terrible things. Was he even redeemable? I don't know. I honestly think as a mere human I am not qualified to make that judgement. But I do feel like I saw a lot in Anakin that some people, at least around me, seem to miss. He was anxious, sensitive, and that sensitivity needed to be nurtured and guided and it just wasn't. I think often how different things could've been, and it's not just about whether or not Qui-Gon died. Obi-Wan, Yoda, Windu, or any of the other Jedi could've stepped in and been that for him. To Obi-Wan's credit, he did try, and often seemed conflicted by the rules of the Jedi vs. what Anakin actually needed as a person.

This is honestly entirely why I created an entire head canon where Anakin never became Darth Vader and lived a happy life with Padmé and Luke and Leia. I just think he deserved so much better.

As always, I do not own any of the images. I merely use them to punctuate my point. Credit to the owners.