A letter to Anakin Skywalker

Dear Anakin Skywalker,

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, on a deserted planet named Tatooine, there lived a 7 year old human slave boy.

The perfect start of a fairy tale.

This was how I used to know you at first. If I'm being honest, I never really paid attention to you during Episode I. Your adorable little child mechanical genius persona, 'rescued by the knights with shining swords and being given a chance at a better life' story, made me think of damsel in distress kinda situation. You got admission in Jedi Temple, and that was the end of your story for me. I paid more attention to the young padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was so cool!

Then I started episode II. You were still there and now the main focus of the story was on you. I didn't understand why, at the time. If I had been smart enough to at least check, in which order you should watch Star Wars, then maybe the relation and emotions between you and I would've been totally different.

You were no longer that slightly-naïve-with-cheeky-smile Tatooine slave boy. You were now the padawan who was the strongest with force and the probable chosen one Galaxy had been waiting for. And after 10 years of rigorous training at the Jedi Temple, now you had the responsibility and pressure of being the Greatest Jedi Ever. Ending the Federation along with the unknown Sith Master and leading the Galaxy out of the dark times. I thought you were way too arrogant and way too hot-headed for a Jedi. Killing every single one of the sand people for kidnapping your mother Shmi, following Obi-Wan Kenobi because of the concern you had for him regardless of him forbidding you to do so and landing in trouble as he expected, getting involved with Padmé, your actions were explainable, but somehow I never really connected with you. I was so angry when you married Padmé! The whole galaxy was depending on you, the Jedi council trusted you, and you had to go and just break every single foundation the Jedi temple was built on!

I was so disappointed with you that I decided to leave the series.

For a few months, I kept wondering how your story would end and how Jedi would deal with everything you did. And then out of sheer curiosity, I finally decided to just skim through Episode III. I was literally skipping through the whole episode. I saw you making a heroic land, Padmé informing you about her being pregnant, Obi-Wan not liking your closeness with the chancellor, some unimportant scenes, you finally killing Federation leaders, I thought, Okkkkaaayyyy... Here it ends. And then bam!!!! The next scene I see, You were fighting Obi-Wan on lava! I was like, WHAT JUST HAPPENED! I restarted the movie, sat through it and it somewhat changed my feelings towards you. It still didn't totally justify the sudden change in you, but at least I was getting to it.

After that I watched The Originals and Episode VI and VII. Okay. Done with the series. Episode XI aayega tab dekhenge. I closed the chapter.

But no! Tumblr is a next level thing, let me tell you. The Star Wars Fandom on Tumblr pushed me to gather courage and start The Clone Wars. That is where our relationship drastically changed.

The Clone Wars showed me the good in you. The good that Obi-Wan saw and kept seeing behind that horrible Darth Vader armor. Clone Wars introduced me to the Anakin we all needed. The Anakin I needed. Despite the animation and some downright terrible episodes, I watched Clone Wars just because of you. And also for your relationship with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and the clones. I witnessed your strong will, never giving up nature, tendency of putting others before yourself, your incapability to endure injustice, your fighting skills, your willingness to follow the orders, your true Jedi ideals. For the first time, I actually saw that you were the best pilot in the galaxy rather than just hearing it.

And Ahsoka. That 13 year old girl you were mentoring, was the same spitfire as you. A spark of passion in the calm Jedi garden. You taught her to control her emotions and not let them get in her way like yours did. The Skyguy and Snips banter and your battle strategies were something I watched the series for. Rather than being a master, you were more like a big brother and sometimes a fatherly figure for her. I never got to see you as a father, but Ahsoka almost fulfilled it. She learned from you to trust her instincts and to never, never give up. Fight, even when the situation is hopeless. To never go down without giving a fierce fight. And in exchange, she taught you to trust. To see the Gray side rather than just dividing everything in Blacks and Whites as Jedi teaches. And still, you and Snips together, were the recipe for trouble.