By Chris Snellgrove
| Revealed
For essentially the most half, Star Wars followers assume that Darth Vader was fairly sensible. In spite of everything, he went from being a technical prodigy to a educated Jedi and was a Chosen One with a particular future all his personal. Nonetheless, the blunt fact is that Darth Vader is astoundingly dumb, one thing confirmed by Revenge of the Sith. That movie confirmed Palpatine providing to avoid wasting Padme’s life earlier than revealing that he couldn’t do it minutes later, and but the fallen Anakin Skywalker nonetheless threw in with the Darkish Facet and murdered virtually everybody he knew.
Darth Vader Is Dumb
When you don’t imagine Darth Vader is dumb, you merely have to revisit the well-known Revenge of the Sith scene wherein Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu go to confront Palpatine about being a Sith Lord. To sway Anakin in opposition to his Jedi colleague, Palpatine tells the younger man, “I’ve the ability to avoid wasting the one you like,” and that he “should select.” Anakin complies and cuts off Windu’s hand, however after Palpatine kills the Jedi Grasp, he admits that he isn’t really able to saving Padme.
Particularly, the longer term Emperor circles again to their earlier dialogue of Darth Plagueis, the mysterious Sith who discovered the secrets and techniques of immortality. “To cheat loss of life is an influence just one has achieved,” Palpatine stated, “but when we work collectively, I do know we are able to uncover the key.” Merely put, the longer term Darth Vader is revealed to be fully dumb when he continues to go together with Palpatine’s plans after the older man reveals that he can’t save Padme, which is the complete cause Anakin was prepared to turn out to be a mass assassin within the first place.
Now, there are some Darth Vader defenders who say he isn’t actually dumb on this movie. As an alternative, he’s falling sufferer to old-school manipulation strategies. And it’s true that real-life cult leaders and different comparable figures usually find yourself stringing their followers alongside in an effort to get the issues they need. The issue with this logic, although, is that it threatens to undercut the dramatic pressure that makes the prequels value watching within the first place.
Whether or not you like them or hate them, the prequels play an vital position in Star Wars mythology as a result of they clarify how Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One and one of the crucial gifted Jedi in galactic historical past, was seduced by the Darkish Facet. We are supposed to see how the prodigal Jedi’s deep attachment to Padme is in the end sufficient to get him to betray the whole lot and everybody he is aware of. Briefly, the temptation needs to be this emotionally highly effective in an effort to lure him away, and we get to witness the tragedy of this gifted Jedi hero turning into a villain.
When you settle for that Anakin might be persuaded by a cult chief approach even a Stormtrooper might see by, then you must settle for that this future Darth Vader is dumb as a field of rocks–er, kyber crystals, eradicating all pressure from the prequels. Like, the Emperor makes a suggestion that his darkish protege can’t refuse, and after the arch villain reveals he can’t make good on that provide 5 minutes later, Anakin nonetheless throws in with him. This may be the real-world equal of turning into Ted Bundy’s sidekick in alternate for a verify that you just’ll be getting any day now.
Newsflash: you’re by no means going to get that verify and Anakin was by no means going to get what Palpatine promised. All the pieces from his prodigious abilities within the Power to his primary intelligence ought to have informed him that, however he nonetheless goes on to turn out to be House Hitler primarily based on the galaxy’s most blatant lie. Certain, Darth Vader would be the scariest man in Star Wars, however make no mistake: he’s additionally dumb sufficient to make Jar-Jar Binks appear like a rocket scientist.
