Anakin Skywalker had a tragic backstory that ultimately resulted in his fall to the dark side and transformation into the iconic Sith Lord known as Darth Vader. Star Wars Episodes 1 through 6 told the story of the fallen hero. The story impacted the entire saga that was built up through several of the movies and even The Clone Wars.
His suffering and pain caused by his past and the Jedi Order led to him becoming consumed by his anger and sadness. With the Skywalker saga now complete with the ending of the sequel trilogy, we'll be looking back at 10 scenes that foreshadowed Anakin Skywalker's downfall to the dark side.
Anakin Sees His Future
In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Ghosts of Mortis," Anakin gets a glimpse of his dark future and the monster he'll eventually come. He sees events such as his falling out with Obi-Wan, Padme's death, and the monster that consumes him, Darth Vader. Anakin's memory of these events is wiped out considering that they break the rules of time. It's a well-done animation that teases Anakin's fall. It'll be interesting to see if we may even get more foreshadowing in the new season of The Clone Wars that is currently streaming on Disney Plus.
Yoda Feels Darkness Within Anakin
This scene in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is extremely crucial in Anakin's character development. It shows that he's willing to reach out but is terrified of what the Jedi Order would do if they knew the truth. He's caught in between his loyalty as a husband to Padme and his loyalty to the Jedi Order. His visions are eating him up and if he was able to tell Master Yoda the truth about his visions, perhaps things could have gone differently. Yoda's advice to Anakin about letting go isn't good advice, Anakin's far past that. The lighting in the scene does a good job of casting a shadow on Anakin's face that represents the darkness building inside him.
Anakin Gets Revenge On Sand People
In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Anakin is a Jedi Padawan but his anger is starting to get the better of him. This is one of the first of many scenes that show Anakin having an uncontrollable desire to seek revenge rather than let go.
When he learns that his mother, Shmi Skywalker has been taken by Sand People, he doesn't hesitate to immediately go after her. He arrives at the scene to find her just as he had left her as a boy, a mistreated slave. She dies in his arms and Anakin channels his anger to take revenge on the Sand People, slaughtering all of them.
Anakin Kills Dooku
Dooku's death is one of the first steps towards Palpatine's master plan of turning Anakin. Count Dooku cut off Anakin's arm and to get revenge, Anakin cuts off his head to put an end to the Sith Lord for good. Dooku was, however, unarmed and should have stood trial amongst the Jedi Order for his crimes. It wasn't the Jedi way to murder Dooku but things could have played out differently as they still had to get him off the ship and Obi-Wan would still have to be carried. It was a hard choice but Palpatine was able to manipulate Anakin into using his anger.
The Slavers
Anakin was once a slave and knows exactly what it's like to be mistreated and feel stuck. In this scene, Obi-Wan is about to negotiate with the enemy slaver when Anakin takes it upon himself to destroy the holo-recording and shows his inner anger and hatred against slavers.
To top it off the Darth Vader theme plays in the background to give this scene a nice touch of foreshadowing. Anakin's inability to put his past behind him and let his emotions build-up is the beginning of what'll set him on the path to the dark side.
Shadow of Vader
A very subtle foreshadowing moment in Attack of the Clones is this scene that shows the shadow of Anakin resembling the mask of Darth Vader. It's a small bit of foreshadowing that was a cool easter egg that only some may have noticed. Anakin is bound to become Darth Vader, it's inevitable and all you can do is watch his tragic downfall. Everyone knew that he was gonna become the evil Sith Lord but it's amazing to see just how innocent and different he was when he was more man than machine.
Anakin Kills Tal Merrik
This is another scene in The Clone Wars that has a subtle foreshadowing of Anakin's darker side. Obi-Wan tries to negotiate with the evil Tal Merrik who threatens to blow the ship and take them all down. Seeing this happening without being noticed, Anakin doesn't hesitate to take down Tal Merrik by impaling him with his lightsaber from behind before he can blow up the ship.
There's a tiny bit of the Imperial March theme that plays as Anakin thrusts his lightsaber into Tal's chest. It was pretty dark considering that technically it wasn't certain that Tal would have blown up the ship.
Anakin Is Denied The Rank of Master
Anakin being denied the rank of Master in Episode III after getting a position on the council is one of the biggest mistakes the Jedi made. It may not have seemed like a big deal but it showed just how mistreated Anakin was. He's powerful and has proven time and time again to be a great leader. This pushed him over the edge and may have been one of the main decisions for him to not trust the Jedi anymore. The Jedi Order didn't trust Anakin. Even while he remained completely loyal to them.
Anakin's Interrogation Methods
Anakin's rage continues to get the better of him as the war rage on. His methods to do what's necessary to be victorious are forcing him to channel the dark side. This scene in The Clone Wars episode "Brain Invaders" shows Anakin force choking a prisoner to gain information after Jedi mind tricks don't seem to work. The way he walks into the room practically echoes Darth Vader's persona. It almost gives us a glimpse of how Vader interrogation scenes could have been had he never needed the suit when he turned to the dark side.
Man or Machine
Anakin losing his hand in Attack of the Clones set foreshadowing for him slowly being converted from man to machine with his robotic arm. Anakin wasn't ready to fight Dooku, even though he put up a good fight. This gives him the motivation to seek out more power and become an even better Jedi and pays off when he's able to get revenge on Dooku. Seeing Anakin lose his arm was a good setup for his path to becoming Vader and goes well in almost mirroring Luke Skywalker losing his hand almost in the same way.