After the original Star Wars movie introduced Darth Vader as a faceless symbol of evil, The Empire Strikes Back established the surprising notion that there was a damaged human being under that ominous mask with the iconic “I am your father” twist. The grand finale of the trilogy, Return of the Jedi, did the unexpected and managed to bring audiences to tears with Vader’s heartfelt redemption.

Vader might not be fully redeemed from years of murders and war crimes, but he is redeemed in his estranged son’s eyes. Luke refuses to believe that there is no shred of good left in his father, and Vader proves him right. This redemption arc is charted in a few key scenes from the Star Wars movies.

When Luke Told Him To Let Go Of His Hate

The main reason that Vader was able to come back from the dark side is that Luke never stopped believing that there was still good in him. When they reunited on Endor after their fateful duel in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke could sense conflict in his father’s soul. As Vader once again tried to convince Luke to switch to the dark side, Luke made the opposite argument: “Search your feelings, father. You can’t do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate.”

When He Told Luke, “It Is Too Late For Me, Son”

During the same conversation on Endor, Vader suggested that he wanted to go back to the light side and renounce his allegiance to the Emperor: “It is too late for me, son.” His heart wasn’t really in the whole dark side thing anymore.

But he feared he was too far gone, so he doubled down on trying to turn Luke over to the dark side: “The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.”

When Luke Initially Refused To Fight Him

When the Imperial guards brought Luke and Vader up to the Emperor’s throne room on the Death Star, the Emperor was hoping for Luke to fight Vader, kill him, and take his place as Palpatine’s Sith apprentice in accordance with the fabled “Rule of Two.” But Luke initially refused to fight his father.

He still believed there was good in his father, so he didn’t want to defeat him with hatred and violence; he wanted to defeat him by using love and compassion to bring him back to the light side.

When The Emperor Goaded Luke Into Taking Up His Lightsaber

Despite Luke’s initial refusal to fight his father, the Emperor managed to talk him into taking up his lightsaber and clashing blades with Vader. The Emperor has an immense arsenal of Sith superpowers, but his greatest ability is his power of manipulation.

When the Emperor was playing on Luke’s emotions to goad him into fighting, Vader noticed that his master was using the same manipulation tactics that he used to turn him to the dark side all those years earlier.

When Luke Angrily Overpowered Vader

Vader took a big leap back toward the light side when he caught a glimpse of his own anger in Luke’s eyes. Amid their heated duel, for a brief moment, Luke’s rage got the better of him. He overpowered Vader, cut off his hand, and mercilessly thrashed him with his lightsaber.

At this moment, Vader saw Luke going down the same dark path that led him to the Sith and wanted to stop him from making the same mistake.

When He Saw The Emperor Torturing Luke

After determining that Luke couldn’t be turned to the dark side, no matter how insistent he was, the Emperor decided simply to kill young Skywalker and get it over with. Based on his hauntingly casual delivery of the line, “You will die,” killing Luke would be a truly effortless endeavor for Palpatine.

The Emperor used Force lightning to torture Luke before his premeditated murder. But seeing Luke in anguish, crying out for help – “Father, please!” – was too much for Vader to bear.

When He Killed The Emperor

The biggest step in Vader’s path to redemption was when he picked up the Emperor and tossed him into the Death Star’s reactor core. He couldn’t stand to watch his son writhing around, shocked and frazzled by his master’s lightning fingers, so he stepped in and took action.

Palpatine’s resurrection in the sequel trilogy took some of the impact out of this iconic scene, but the emotions of Vader’s sacrifice still resonate.

When He Removed His Mask To Look Into Luke’s Eyes

Vader managed to put an end to the Emperor’s reign, but it cost him his life. After being exposed to Force lightning, Vader accepted his fate and settled down for his final robotic breath. He told Luke, “Just for once... let me look on you with my own eyes.”

So, Luke took off Vader’s helmet and looked into Anakin’s eyes for the first and last time. Sebastian Shaw nailed the heartbreaking emotions of this scene.

When Luke Cremated His Body

After Vader died on the Death Star, Luke took his body back down to Endor before the space station was destroyed so he could give him a proper funeral service. Before joining his fellow Rebels in celebrating their victory over the Empire, Luke held a solemn memorial for his father in which he cremated his cadaver.

This cremation is beautifully symbolic as Luke burns the mechanical body of Vader and leaves behind the noble spirit of wayward Jedi Anakin.

When He Reappeared As A Force Ghost

Vader’s regression back into Anakin wasn’t truly complete until his Force ghost appeared in Jedi robes next to Yoda and Obi-Wan during the Rebels’ victory celebration on Endor. Only Jedi Knights with a connection to the light side of the Force are granted the luxury of an afterlife.

In the original version of the movie, Shaw played Anakin. But in the Special Edition, released after Lucas had expanded on Vader’s backstory in the prequels, Hayden Christensen reprised his role as the elder Skywalker.