"Have I Crossed The Line?" This Incredible Star Wars Edit Perfectly Captures Anakin's Fall To The Dark Side

This viral Star Wars video is the perfect representation of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’s fall to the dark side in Star Wars, especially because it shows just how complex that story really is. Anakin’s fall to the dark side is one of the most important events in the Star Wars timeline, and it continues to shape Star Wars movies and TV shows. It also remains a topic of conversation because audiences are largely divided, particularly regarding how much sympathy Anakin really deserves or has earned, both before his redemption and after it.

In this stunning Star Wars video, posted by kayn.shieda87 on TikTok, Anakin’s fall to the dark side is perfectly captured. In fact, this video confirms just how much Anakin’s story embodies the ‘fallen angel’ trope.

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The clips in the video that show Anakin’s eyes are specifically drawing comparisons between Anakin’s fall to the dark side and the painting “The Fallen Angel,” painted by Alexandre Cabanel in 1847.

Anakin’s Fall To The Dark Side Is Much More Complicated Than It Seems

Anakin Isn’t Innocent, But He Isn’t Entirely To Blame Either

I would never go so far as to say that Anakin was innocent in his fall to the dark side, as that simply isn’t true, but it would be reductive to see Anakin’s fall as solely the product of his own shortcomings, as can at times be the perception. The truth is, Anakin Skywalker’s Star Wars timeline reveals just how complex his downfall really was. This began in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with Anakin being taken off Tatooine, away from his mother, and then being (initially) rejected from the Jedi Order.

Anakin’s time in the Order was then anything but easy, with him constantly feeling ostracized and held at arm’s length by the Jedi, especially the Jedi Council. The death of his mother, which he felt responsible for and which was particularly gruesome, was just gasoline on the fire that was Anakin’s issues with anger, ego, impulsivity, and attachment. As the video shows, in fact, the death of Shmi Skywalker was in some ways the catalyst of all that transpired with Anakin’s fall.

Our Take On Anakin As The Fallen Angel

This Is The Perfect Parallel For Anakin

Anakin Skywalker staring at the camera with a hood on and an angry look on his face right after he agreed to become Palpatine's apprentice in Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

In addition to the brilliant combination of scenes from the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the song choice, the real genius behind this TikTok video is the connection between Anakin’s story and the notion of the fallen angel. Anakin, more so than anyone else in Star Wars, perfectly fits the bill as the fallen angel, especially because he began as the Chosen One. That is, Anakin was positioned as the savior of the Jedi (he even had a Messianic birth), yet he turned to evil, betraying all he was meant to be.

It’s notable that even as Anakin was carrying out these heinous acts in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, he was visibly crying. This wasn’t the Darth Vader audiences were expecting—ruthless and cruel, as he was in the original trilogy until his redemption—but rather a much more humanized, sympathetic Vader. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is certainly still at fault for the evil things he did, but this video perfectly captures how complicated and emotional his Star Wars story really is.

Source: kayn.shieda87