One of the most attractive traits of the evil side is the power that comes with joining. Evil grants a person immediate power whereas on the good side, power is gradually gained. The person must climb the ranks and earn their power step by step. This appealing opportunity is one of the many things that can make a hero fall and become evil. However, heroes always make a decision, despite knowing the consequences, that make them fall from their heroic pedestal. In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Anakin is drawn in by this appealing offer of immediate power and continually makes his own decisions that lead him to the dark side. Anakin allows himself to grow close to Chancellor Palpatine, ultimately leading him to be drawn to the dark side. Allowing Chancellor Palpatine to get in his head and choosing to go to the Chancellor as he was being arrested instead of waiting for Mace Windu to return ultimately turn Anakin into Darth Vader. Anakin also had several chances to remain a Jedi and yet he still made the decisions that turned him to the other side.
Chancellor Palpatine's persuasive words are one of the main reasons Anakin turned to the dark side. Anakin allowed Palpatine to get inside of his head and cloud his better judgement. Anakin also allowed his emotions to get the best of him. After having his vision of Padme dying after giving birth, saving his wife became his main priority. He began to stop caring how he did so even if it went against everything he was originally taught or what he originally believed. Once Chancellor Palpatine told Anakin that he could only save Padme by joining the dark side and using the dark side of the force, Anakin stopped caring about the Jedi ways and principles. He decided that it didn't matter how Padme was saved, as long as she was safe. Anakin decided to believe the Chancellor more than the Jedi despite both sides telling him to not trust the other. He was only concerned with saving his wife's life. Since gaining more power on the Jedi's side of the force would take more time than gaining power on the dark side, the dark side became more appealing. Deciding to believe and trust Chancellor Palpatine over the Jedi was one of the biggest decisions that Anakin made that led him to the dark side.
The biggest decision that Anakin made was when he grew impatient and decided to leave the council room and go to Chancellor Palpatine when Mace Windu was arresting him. Windu had specifically told Anakin to wait in the council room and allow others to make the arrest because he believed Anakin's anger would cloud his judgement. Despite Windu's correct analysis, Anakin knowingly disobeys these orders. Once again he was only concerned about Padme's life and wanted to do anything he could do to prevent her death, including saving the Chancellor so he could be taught the necessary skill to save her. However, once he actually arrives to the Chancellor, he makes a decision that completely turns him to the dark side. When Anakin arrives, Windu is close to killing Palpatine. Here Anakin had to make the decision to either allow Palpatine to be killed or stop it. He argues with Windu saying that Palpatine must stand trial, but Windu believes he's too dangerous to be kept alive so his life must end now. Anakin then stood at a crossroad. He either stayed true to the Jedi or saved Padme's life. He decides on the latter and this is when he is completely lost to the dark side. His intervention during the fight led to Windu being killed and from then on there was no turning back. Minutes later, Anakin decides to become Palpatine's apprentice in order to gain all the power he wants and becomes Darth Vader. Darth Vader now belongs to Palpatine and simply does everything he is ordered to, no matter how evil. Anakin Skywalker is completely turned to the dark side and is now Darth Vader.
Despite his ultimate turn to the dark side, Anakin had several opportunities to remain a Jedi. First off, he could have chose to trust Obi-Wan, his almost life-long friend, over Chancellor Palpatine who he recently befriended. If he had stayed true to Obi-Wan he would have really stayed true to the Republic and the Jedi Order. Secondly, Anakin could have easily remained a Jedi if he allowed Mace Windu to kill Chancellor Palpatine or if he simply waited for Windu's return like he was originally ordered to. If he had stayed, the Sith Lord would have been killed then and there and one of the Republic's biggest threats would have been eliminated. The Jedi could have then focused on ending the war completely and Anakin's strength could have demonstrated his strength during those battles. Soon after he would have been made a Jedi Master. Lastly, Anakin could have remained a Jedi if he listened to Padme when she traveled all the way to Mustafar to learn the truth about him and convince him to run away with her. Despite learning that her husband had really turned evil, she still offered him an escape. She tried to get him to run away with her so they could just raise their kids together and not have to worry about all of the fighting and politics. Anakin could have decided to go with her. Going with her would have ended his time on the dark side. He could have realized the error of his ways and saved the Republic. However, by then Anakin was completely lost. He had lost his best judgement to all of his new power that made him turn down her offer. He truly believed that his own power would solve everything. He believed he would be able to save her life with his new power when in reality it was his turn to the dark side that killed her. Losing the love of her life to the dark side made Padme lose the will to live. Anakin made multiple decisions that led him to the dark side, but he still had several chances to remain a Jedi along the way.
The classic battle between good and evil is always a difficult one. The good side is almost always expected to win, but evil does gain its victories now and then. Heroes are a prime example. Heroes always start off on the good side and can continue on that path. However, a hero can fall and turn to the evil side at any point in their journey. Fallen heroes are those that make decisions on their own that lead them to the dark side. Anakin Skywalker does exactly that. Anakin allows the evil Chancellor Palpatine to get inside his head and decides to intervene in his arrest which leads to him turning into Darth Vader despite him having several other opportunities to remain a Jedi.
