57. The Redemption of Darth Vader?

In this May the 4th Star Wars Day Special Edition Podcast, we talk about the Michael Corleone of the Star Wars Universe…Darth Vader. But we have a very specific Star Wars discussion about him focused on whether or not Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker was in fact redeemed at the end of Return of the Jedi. We delve deep into ideas of redemption, the philosophy of what George Lucas was thinking about The Force, what the Will of The Force means and much, much more. We are joined in this episode by special guest Josh Bernhard, whose podcast Trash Compactor: A Star Wars Podcast makes its official season 1 launch today.

Please take time to check out Trash Compactor: A Star Wars Podcast

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trash-compactor/id1607371676

Website: https://www.trashcompod.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trashcompod/

Twitter: Trashcompod

00:00 James opens the show and introduces special guest Josh Bernhard. He then explains the origin of the show's topic: Is Darth Vader redeemed at the end of Return of the Jedi? After these opening thoughts, he throws it to Joe to start weighing in.

7:00 Josh shares his initial thoughts on the topic, including the intent of the movie versus our own thoughts as well as the role that different religious philosophies play when thinking about this topic.

17:00 Joe comments on what Josh said and Chris weighs in with his thoughts about the topic. We also get into the character of Anakin in the prequels and whether or not that makes us sympathize with him. Josh talks about how the character of Darth Vader being played by many different actors could also influence how we feel about him.

35:50 We talk about how Vader/ Anakin is very similar to the story of Michael Corleone in the Godfather. We also talk about how Anakin really fell to the Dark side in Episode II when he kills the Tuskens rather than it happening in Episode III.

41:00 We talk about George Lucas’s interpretation of the Force and what it means to go down the path of the Dark Side and how it may not have translated to the screen.

53:40 We move into a larger discussion about the true nature of the Force, what George Lucas’s plans were for the sequels in relation to explaining the Force, and whether or not the Force could be considered neutral given that it seems to have a plan/agenda.

1:13:40 James makes the point that what Vader/Anakin did at the end of The Return of the Jedi is the first step on a path for redemption, but not the end. This leads us back to talking about the will of the Force and how it is perhaps more like a force of nature.

1:21:00 We weigh in with our final verdicts on whether or not Vader is redeemed at the end of RotJ.

1:33:00 We wrap up the show with Josh talking about his podcast - Trash Compactor: A Star Wars Podcast.