This Anakin Skywalker Theory Solves One Of ‘Star Wars' Biggest Problems
One of the criticisms that Revenge of the Sith had to face was that Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side was too abrupt. True, there were troubling signs in the young Padawan and later Jedi that pointed in this direction, like his overconfidence and arrogance, or the cold-blooded slaughtering of a whole Tusken village without remorse. Still, during most of the prequel trilogy he was portrayed much more like a hero than a villain.
To bridge the gap between the end of Attack of the Clones and the beginning of Revenge of the Sith George Lucas and Dave Filoni created Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, which not only revealed what it meant to have “fought in the Clone Wars”, but also helped to greatly expand the character of Anakin Skywalker and how the friendship between him and Obi-Wan evolved from a master/apprentice relationship to that of brothers.
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Still, the show did not do much to present Anakin’s slide to the dark side. Quite the contrary, as the series was targeted towards a younger audience, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka were clearly portrayed as heroes. There were admittedly scenes that showed Anakin’s ruthlessness, sometimes even cruelty. His experiences in the war and the way the Jedi acted clearly did take some toll on the young man, most notably losing Ahsoka as his Padawan. However, the Anakin at the end of the last episode of The Clone Wars is still closer to the one from Attack of the Clones, though wiser and more mature, than the Anakin at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith when he loses his cool after not being granted the rank of a Jedi Master.
In order to find an in-universe explanation for this seeming discrepancy, fans have created the so-called “Two Anakins” theory. In essence it says that Darth Sidious had secretly created an “evil” clone of Anakin. While the “good” original fought in the Clone Wars, his twin was conditioned to the Dark Side, trained like a true Sith apprentice, but always hidden from the public eye. Not unlike the clones with their inhibitor chip, Sidious had placed a “mental switch” inside the “dark” Anakin, that he could activate and fully turn him to the Dark Side, when he saw fit.
When Obi-Wan and Anakin left to return for Coruscant, which was under siege by General Grievous, Sidious unleashed the Anakin clone. He had no trouble finding the “original”, as he only needed to sense “himself” in the Force. The clone managed to somehow kill the “good” Anakin and take his place. In doing so he lost all memory of his dark past, believing to be the only Anakin Skywalker. Later when Mace Windu was shooting the Force lightning back at Sidious, the Sith Lord activated the mental switch inside Anakin’s head to make him fully turn to the Dark Side.
This theory is intriguing to some extent. Not only would it explain Anakin’s “sudden” fall to the Dark Side, but it is also supported by Sidious’s obsession with cloning and extending one’s life. Furthermore, it would make Obi-Wan’s words that Darth Vader “betrayed and killed” Luke’s father actually true and not just “from a certain point of view.” It would also fit into the long-standing theory that Sidious had created Anakin. Finally, the existence of a cloned Anakin, who had most probably never fought a real Force-user, would explain his foolish jump over Obi-Wan on Mustafar, although the Jedi Master had “the high ground.”
On the other hand, this theory of course has some holes, if one intended to find them. For example, how did neither the “real” Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, nor maybe even R2-D2 sense the danger of the dark clone. How did he not only forget about his own past, but also remember the life and deeds of the “good” Anakin? Why did Sidious, after he found the burnt and crippled “dark” Anakin on the shore of the lava river, not just grow a new clone, who would not have the limitations of the man in the dark suit?
After all, the “Two Anakins” is just a fan theory, and there have definitely been weirder ones. It can be fun to think about it and to speculate on the what if until we actually meet Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader again sometimes in 2022 on Disney+.
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Source(S): CBR