There have been countless commentaries and video essays made about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, yet there’s one thing that no one has seemed to bring up that really bugs me.
Kylo Ren idolizes Darth Vader and desperately wants to achieve the notoriety of the black masked, iron-lung wearing villain. Snoke even goes so far as to antagonize Kylo Ren by claiming that he will never be as great as Darth Vader.
But was Darth Vader really all that great?
Now, I get that fans of the series view Darth Vader as an iconic villain and rightfully so. He’s intimidating, powerful, and watching him mind-choke people using The Force is pretty awesome.
The Empire, however, shouldn’t feel the same considering how Vader has done nothing but fail them time and time again. Think about it, what did Vader actually achieve in his tenure as Supreme Commander?
Let’s take a look back at some of Darth Vader’s career accomplishments:
THE GOOD
- Killed Obi-Wan Kenobi (but really Obi-Wan let himself get killed).
- Froze Han Solo in Carbonite (but didn’t kill him).
- Cut off Luke’s hand (but let him escape).
THE NOT SO GOOD
- Not one, but two Death Stars blown up on his watch.
- Fathered son and daughter who are both key leaders of the Rebel Alliance.
- Had to outsource finding of Rebels to bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
- Failed to recruit his son to the Dark Side.
- Killed the Emperor to save his Rebel son.
That last one seems like it would be an instant legacy killer. I mean, Vader is essentially the Benedict Arnold of the Empire.
And talk about privilege, how do you let two Death Stars get blown up and still keep your job? I once knew a Production Assistant who was fired because someone broke into their van and stole some camera batteries. You’re telling me that a low-budget production of a Rom-Com runs a tighter ship than the Empire?
When you look at Vader’s track record, it’s hard to see how he could have maintained such a highly revered status within the Empire after all these years.
The only explanation I can come up with is that the Empire seems to be giving Darth Vader the I,Tonya treatment: Where we look back and admire a person’s struggle and greatest highlights while overlooking their massive flaws and failures (which in both Tonya Harding and Darth Vader’s case involve betrayal and sheer incompetence).
Now, I’ll concede that in a one-on-one battle there’s no other Jedi I’d bet on to beat Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker was never a match for Vader when they went head-to-head. Unfortunately for Vader, the battle between the Empire and the Rebels was never going to be won in a duel but rather on the battlefield… and this is where Vader struggled the most.
Let’s face it, Vader is not a master tactician. A more competent leader would have easily been able to snuff out a fledgling rebellion given the resources at his disposal. How can you call yourself the Supreme Commander when your Troopers are handedly defeated by a group of Ewoks. EWOKS!
At the end of The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren was right to want to burn down the past and forge his own legacy. Unfortunately for him, I think his fate may end up much the same as Vader’s except his legacy won’t carry the same weight as Vader’s simply for the fact that Vader came first.
But who knows, Kylo Ren vs. Vader may end up being the Jordan vs. Lebron debate of our generation. (Yep, that’s a sports reference in a Star Wars essay).
Regardless, there will be fans who idolize Kylo Ren as a morally conflicted, man-child uber-villain that he is, and that’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean the powers that be should automatically overlook his missteps and put him up on a pedestal.
That’s no way to run an Empire.
BONUS GRIPE: I haven’t seen this brought up much either, but towards the end of The Last Jedi when the Rebels reach the red salt planet with the Rebel base, how did they exit the base where they were hiding in order to try and take out the Battering Ram Cannon? I thought once they closed the giant hangar door they were trapped inside with no other exit, but apparently, they were able to sneak out into the trenches and pilot those old vehicles to do battle. Couldn’t they have used those exits to try and escape?
@ me Internet.
