Star Wars: The Clone Wars Rewrote Anakin Skywalker's Slave Story In The Darkest Possible Way

Summary

Star Wars: The Clone Warshas sometimes introduced the darkest and most tragic storylines in all ofStar Wars. Over the course ofThe Clone Wars’ seven seasons, there were multiple brutal, multiple-episode arcs that sometimes made viewers question whether the show was really designed for children or not.Star Warshas always been political, andThe Clone Warsat times really leaned into politics, morality, and ethics surrounding different scenarios.

WhileThe Clone Warsdid showcase some amazing character development, and helped expand on the content seen in theStar Warsprequel trilogy, it also allowed for George Lucas to dig deeper than he had previously. Characters like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi became even better followingThe Clone Wars, with the animated show improving and recontextualizing everything audiences had seen in the prequels. That being said, one of the darkest arcs inThe Clone Warsis even more horrible when thought about on a macro level.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars Voice Cast - What The Actors Look Like In Real Life

Star Wars: The Clone Wars features an all-star live-action cast, bringing iconic characters like Anakin Skywalker and Palpatine to life.

The Clone Wars Dug Into Anakin’s Past

When Anakin Skywalker was introduced inStar Wars Episode I —The Phantom Menace,Anakin and his mother Shmi were slaveson Tatooine. The movie didn’t spend much time exploring Anakin and Shmi’s lives as slaves, but it was clear that it had left its scars on Anakin’s soul. DuringThe Clone Wars,Anakin’s past as a slave is rarely brought up, and at one point his Padawan Ahsoka Tano revealed he’d kept it from her.The Clone Warsseason 4 had a three-episode arc that brought back all those repressed memories for the Jedi.

Running throughThe Clone Warsseason 4, episodes 11-13, this arc showed Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Captain Rex attempting to infiltrate theZygerrian slave tradeand free a colony of Togrutas who had been kidnapped. The arc was dark, with all four characters temporarily enslaved by the Zygrrians and unable to help the people around them. Even more concerning, though,even if an individual had the strength fo stand up and fight, they would be risking the lives of others as they fought for freedom.

Anakin understood that if he fought back in any way, the Queen would harm his friends and the other enslaved people.

Obi-Wan and Rex were sent to a work camp, whereevery time they tried to stand up to the slavers, the Togurta people were punished instead of them. This led to Rex and Obi-Wan becoming submissive in just a short while. At the same time, Anakin was assigned to be the personal slave and bodyguard of the Zygerrian queen. Anakin understood that if he fought back in any way, the Queen would harm his friends and the other enslaved people. Seeing some of the most powerful Jedi become slaves was incredibly dark and, at times, hard to watch.

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.

The Zygerrian Queen Was Right About Anakin

The Zygerrian Queen easily pinpointed that Anakin Skywalker used to be a slave - and she used this against him. According to the Queen,Anakin was still a slave to the Republic as long as he acted like a Jedi.Anakin vehemently denied this and continued to see the Queen as a monster. When Count Dooku made a move to take over the Zygerrian slave trade and kill the Queen, Anakin actually saved her, if only to interrogate her.

The Zygerrian Queen died in Anakin’s arms as they made their escape. After telling Anakin how to find Obi-Wan, she told him that there is“No escape for any of us…You were right Skywalker, I am a slave, just as you are.”Her final words cement her earlier point that everyone — including Anakin — is trapped and enslaved by the systems around them. Unfortunately, the Queen was right.Not only was Anakin a slave; this was also true of the rest of the Jedi Order, as well as the entire Clone Army, even if they were the “good guys.”

Darth Sidious wanted to bring back the Zygerrian slave trade to further add choas to the galaxy, so that he may eventually gain control over it.

Anakin Skywalker Was Always a Slave to Someone Else

He Was Never Truly Free

Throughout all stages of Anakin Skywalker’s life, he was at the mercy of someone else’s will and was never truly free. He began as a slave living on Tatooine and was told what to do by Watto.When Anakin was freed by Qui-Gon Jinn, he instantly became entrenched in the Jedi Order.While a less tragic way of life, Anakin was constantly at the beck and call of the Jedi Council, and was rarely allowed to make decisions for himself without getting admonished for his actions.

When Anakin fell to the dark side inStar Wars Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,he switched from having the Jedi Council as a master, to becoming a slave for Palpatine. As Darth Vader, he did everything Palpatine asked, no matter how dark and horrible. Additionally, because Vader lost Padmé Amidala, he was in constant anguish, becoming a slave to his anger. Palpatine was able to use this anger to further entrench Vader as his personal slave.

When viewing Anakin Skywalker’s life through the lens presented by the Zygerrian Queen, it rewrites so much of how audiences understand his character as a whole. Anakin was never free, despite being freed from bondage inThe Phantom Menace. This retelling of Anakin Skywalker’s story might just made the Zygerrian slave arc the darkest in all ofStar Wars:The Clone Wars.