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Home » Star Wars » Star Wars: Episode I, II & III » Anakin Skywalker is an unintentionally unlikable protagonist?


Anakin Skywalker is an unintentionally unlikable protagonist?
Started by: Lawrence375

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Ace Hambone
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My take on Anakin is that he was meant to be a precocious, generous, insightful, audacious, imaginative and great-hearted boy whose great capacity for love - combined with his insecurities - caused his eventual fall. Later, this same capacity to love also redeemed him.

In TPM, Anakin is a beyond-his-years child engineer and superhuman pilot. (He's the only human who can pod race.). He helps Qui-Gonn devise a plan to repair the Naboo space craft by piloting a pod he has built himself. He sees it is the only plan available, has the confidence he can succeed, and thinks nothing of the personal danger. Qui-Gonn remarks that he "gives without any thought of reward." He understands Qui-Gonn and the rest are not there by accident, and he goes on to win the Battle on Naboo with his piloting skills.

Episode 2 should have shown us the flowering of these traits: a generous, fearless, insightful and imaginative leader, moved by love and generosity and guided by the force. He should have blossomed into a beloved and gifted leader, albeit sometimes at odds with (and a bit of a threat to the authority of) the emotionless Jedi Council. His eventual fall would be precipitous, shocking and sad.

A young leader like that would inspire love and devotion from those he met, and Padme's falling in love with him would be more believable. We could also see why Anakin would become so fatally attracted to her. Having met Padme just before being separated by his mother, Anakin transferred his maternal attachment to her. While not letting himself hope to reunite with his mother, his hope was redirected towards Padme.

Unfortunately, episodes 2 and 3 were so preoccupied with Anakin's fall that they never effectively showed his rise, nor gave much reason to even like him or mourn his fall. I think the Clone Wars cartoons at least make him likeable, but even they don't make us believe that he is quite the special person we are told he is.

Old Post May 6th, 2014 08:21 AM
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Shakyamunison
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Registered: Jun 2005
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by Ace Hambone
My take on Anakin is that he was meant to be a precocious, generous, insightful, audacious, imaginative and great-hearted boy whose great capacity for love - combined with his insecurities - caused his eventual fall. Later, this same capacity to love also redeemed him.

In TPM, Anakin is a beyond-his-years child engineer and superhuman pilot. (He's the only human who can pod race.). He helps Qui-Gonn devise a plan to repair the Naboo space craft by piloting a pod he has built himself. He sees it is the only plan available, has the confidence he can succeed, and thinks nothing of the personal danger. Qui-Gonn remarks that he "gives without any thought of reward." He understands Qui-Gonn and the rest are not there by accident, and he goes on to win the Battle on Naboo with his piloting skills.

Episode 2 should have shown us the flowering of these traits: a generous, fearless, insightful and imaginative leader, moved by love and generosity and guided by the force. He should have blossomed into a beloved and gifted leader, albeit sometimes at odds with (and a bit of a threat to the authority of) the emotionless Jedi Council. His eventual fall would be precipitous, shocking and sad.

A young leader like that would inspire love and devotion from those he met, and Padme's falling in love with him would be more believable. We could also see why Anakin would become so fatally attracted to her. Having met Padme just before being separated by his mother, Anakin transferred his maternal attachment to her. While not letting himself hope to reunite with his mother, his hope was redirected towards Padme.

Unfortunately, episodes 2 and 3 were so preoccupied with Anakin's fall that they never effectively showed his rise, nor gave much reason to even like him or mourn his fall. I think the Clone Wars cartoons at least make him likeable, but even they don't make us believe that he is quite the special person we are told he is.


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Old Post May 6th, 2014 03:06 PM
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queeq
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Agreed.


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Old Post May 6th, 2014 07:25 PM
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focus4chumps
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by Ace Hambone
Unfortunately, episodes 2 and 3 were so preoccupied with Anakin's fall that they never effectively showed his rise


this.


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Old Post May 14th, 2014 06:25 PM
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queeq
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And that.


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Old Post May 14th, 2014 07:14 PM
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Sith Master X
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I think the way Lucas saw it was that Anakin fell before he ever met his full potential. Anakin's rise was his redemption...saving his son's life.

I agree that a better formula would have been to show Anakin as a very likable and gifted leader. This is what Episode 2 definitely missed out on for sure.


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Old Post May 20th, 2014 06:22 PM
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queeq
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Yup. Lucas clearly wanted Luke's life to mirror Anakin's, with one difference: Anakin made a wrong turn where Luke did not, thus redeeming his father.

However, Luke was also a hero we could root for. Anakin never was. Somewhere the mirror cracked and Lucas didn't notice.


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Old Post May 20th, 2014 07:52 PM
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PTforthewin
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Anakin : a whiny ***** since day 1 Luke: a whiny ***** once but turns more mature and wise.


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Old Post May 25th, 2014 02:28 PM
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queeq
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There you have it. Plus Luke was whiny but not an arrogant brat. Anakin was. Evil hit Anakin at the same time as puberty.


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Old Post May 25th, 2014 07:04 PM
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FreshestSlice
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by queeq
There you have it. Plus Luke was whiny but not an arrogant brat. Anakin was. Evil hit Anakin at the same time as puberty.

Nah, Luke met his waifu well into his development. Anakin couldn't control his boy hormones and then grew an obsession.

Old Post May 25th, 2014 11:26 PM
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PTforthewin
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by queeq
There you have it. Plus Luke was whiny but not an arrogant brat. Anakin was. Evil hit Anakin at the same time as puberty.
Yeah he cried like 3 times during the movies, the point is anakin had no character development he kind of did develop in the CW but in ROTS he was just the same as AOTC, a whiny, arrogant, crybabish brat.

Old Post May 26th, 2014 03:07 AM
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Lord Lucien
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That's a really strange thing for you to say, given your username.


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Old Post May 26th, 2014 03:39 AM
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PTforthewin
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
That's a really strange thing for you to say, given your username.
yes I like the prequal era. I'm just stating anakins and Luke's character development

Old Post May 26th, 2014 05:04 AM
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queeq
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Luke - a lot
Anakin - none.

Says it all about the PT.


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Old Post May 26th, 2014 06:31 AM
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PTforthewin
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by queeq
Luke - a lot
Anakin - none.

Says it all about the PT.
your a pest

Old Post May 26th, 2014 04:41 PM
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queeq
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THank you. wink


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Old Post May 26th, 2014 06:13 PM
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Lord Lucien
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Now now, let's not be hasty Master Hobbit. Anakin did have some character development. He went from a creepy, insubordinate, leering douchebag... all the way to a psychotic, genocidal, megalomaniac. In just two films!


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Old Post May 27th, 2014 01:38 AM
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PTforthewin
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Now now, let's not be hasty Master Hobbit. Anakin did have some character development. He went from a creepy, insubordinate, leering douchebag... all the way to a psychotic, genocidal, megalomaniac. In just two films!
anakin wasn't like that in the CW but he obviously had problems, he beat up Greedo as a child just because Greedo thought he was cheating, he later grew up to be a pervert, a geonocidal whiny douchebag and then a crybabish emo psychopath who slaughtered thousands just to save Padme but failed because he choked her

Old Post May 27th, 2014 01:59 AM
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queeq
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What a hero.


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Old Post May 29th, 2014 06:51 AM
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Lawrence375
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quote: (post)
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Now now, let's not be hasty Master Hobbit. Anakin did have some character development. He went from a creepy, insubordinate, leering douchebag... all the way to a psychotic, genocidal, megalomaniac. In just two films!

Negative character development, you mean?

Old Post Jun 10th, 2014 04:55 PM
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