5. How To Lure A Jedi
In Episode II, Anakin Skywalker is plagued with bad dreams about his mother. He knows something is wrong but his sense of duty - as well as Obi-Wan wrongly telling him to ignore his instincts - means that he gets there too late and he watches as the torture of his mother ultimately ends with her death. Of course, we all know where this goes next, Anakin get the rage and slices every Tusken he sees until they are all dead (more on that later and also in the next article on Episode III). The question is how does this feed into the original trilogy? Well, to me this chain of events is exactly what Anakin/Darth Vader is using as a tool to get Luke to come to Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back. Vader tortures Han Solo and imprisons Lukes friends knowing full well that if this "son of Skywalker" is the real deal then the pain he inflicts on his loved ones will bring Luke right to him. Cut to Luke on Dagobah and his training is interrupted by visions of his friends in a city in the clouds and Vaders plan works wonders. Remember, Han even comments that they didnt even ask him any questions during his torture, so this is clearly Anakin knowing how pain and anguish could lure the Skywalker he is trying to track down to him and in turn its also test of Lukes force sensitivity as well. Episode II deepens our understanding of how all of this works and in many ways throws up the first red flag that Luke could very well be on an emotional path that leads him to make the same mistakes as Anakin did that led to the darkside. Now, of course, anyone watching in the order IV-VI then I-III can get a kick out of the similarities in these events but anyone watching the saga from Episode I-VI should really be concerned about Lukes future with this sort of choice.