At the time he wasn't. He was a pure instrument of the Dark Side.
But I'm sure the option to attempt to turn him was there.
His change in character in the finale was the overwhelming realisation that the whole reason he joined the Dark Side was to save his child, that and the moment the Emperor was electrocuting Luke was the same as the situation when he made the choice between killing Mace Windu and the Emperor......
and decided that this was his last chance to tip the scales in the Force once again. The Dark side had reached its limits, it was time for change at the cost of one death and his own sacrifice.
Why not? He just aided in killing one of the most respectable Jedi next to Yoda, really wasn't in much of a position to resist Sidious, and, most of all, believed the only person he truly loved would die if he couldn't find some way to prevent it.
On screen I see a guy angry with Palpy because he is a Sith Lord (the one they have been looking for for years), wants to kill him but because that is against Jedi Code he goes in to report him. He wants to come along so he can help kill/capture Palpy but he is not allowed. He follows the Jedi party anyway, cuts off Mace's hands (where did the Jedi Code go all of a sudden?), screams "What have I done?" and then submits to Palpy's teachings.... And then.... THEN.... here's the clincher, Palpy says he doesn't know how to keep people from dying.... Anakin goes: uh okay, I'll kill some younglings then... WTF?!!
You can twist and turn this scene whichever way you want but nowhere do I see what you just described. Nowhere.... the transition is rushed, inconsistent and far faaaaaar from credible.
What other choice does Anakin have? He could go against Palpy then and probably get his ass handed to him, and die, but that's simply not an option to him. If Anakin gets killed in a move against Palpy, then, in his mind, who's to save Padme? There's no telling what is going through Anakin's mind when Palpy admits the truth of not having the ability to save people from death. At that point, Anakin was probably willing to take anything, and then shows he's willing to do anything, to prevent Padme from dieing.
Registered: Nov 2011
Location: In a galaxy far far away!
I always thought it wasn't the Jedi Code that stopped him from killing Palps. I thought it was that Palps was his only way to save Padme, but I understand that, that doesn't explain why he reported him to the council . But about when it came to telling the council, I thought he just wanted to go with them , bujt really wasn't sure weather he'd help him arrest Palps or save Palps. I understand where your coming from completely, but I had never thought of that before.
Palps was unarmed... Anakin was armed, ergo Jedi Code forbids him from killing palps. Padme may have played part in it.
It's also not clear why he didn't take Palps in himself.
Again.... that's the paper version. On screen it doesn't work at all. He went in to report Palpy, didn't he? That wouldn't have helped in saving Padme...
It's all pretty contradictory. Now, if Anakin was an interestingly complex character it'd might have worked. But all we know about Anakin is that he is a grumpy, arrogant brat that want to get everything he wants and kill sentient beings if he' angry with them. Or even when he's not angry (see: Younglings). It all doesn't make any sense at all.
Your right, I suppose. Personally, I feel that it was played out the way it was on paper. I guess I'm one of the few that isn't particularly bothered by it. I can't say I'm really impressed with Anakin's character, but it is refreshingly realistic. His relationship with Obi-wan as a Padawan is something we see all the time between parents and their teenagers. Idk. I don't really have much of a problem with the PT that most others do, probably because I was spared of the hype, and I was fairly young when they were released. That's not to say I don't like the OT. I love them both.
It's not so much the hype. My problem with Anakin is that I cannot muster ANY sympathy for this guy. I don't understand how Lucas is trying to convey how 'the good man that was your father' changed into the 'more machine than man' Darth Vader with this Anakin and this trilogy...
From the moment Anakin is an adult he is a grumpy, whiny, arrogant brat that didn't overcome typical puberescent behaviour (one might expect to overcome after years of Jedi training) and is totally self centered. Of course that is Darth Vader, that is not someone he BECOMES... it's someone he already beacme between TPM and AOTC. Just without the suit...
So Anakin to me is no hero, he is a shallow character, there seems to be no motive for him to hate everyone (except being an adolescent for ever, never growing to adulthood), he just does. He dislikes everyone who disagrees with him, even the woman he says he loves and wants to create an Empire for. That makes the PT weird. The OT shows Luke's development from boyhood to growing up (ESB) to adulthood (ROTJ), we see him change his way of life, a change in choices.
In Anakin we see nothing like that: we see a cutish kid (Iguess) and then a grumpy sh!t who after a while goes out to kill younglings... well... hmmm...
It would be interesting to see a complete reboot in ten years or so. But frankly I doubt that it will have a lot of chance of making an impact. I does kinda rank up there with the greats of movie history that have never been succesfully remade: Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur... Star Wars,