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The revelation that shocked changed the galaxy
Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back
Writers: Lawrence Kasdan & Leigh Brackett
Director: Irvin Kershner
Where were you when you found out Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father? Sitting in disbelief at a suburban multiplex in May 1980? At a friend’s house while a VHS tape played? While watching the special editions in 1997? Or when Homer Simpson spoiled it while walking out of the theater and you were still in line? Regardless of where or when, at some point, you found out. Everyone did. People know this fact even if they haven’t yet seen it (they even know the quote—kinda). Darth Vader revealing the truth about being Luke Skywalker’s father is perhaps the signature moment in Star Wars. There are lightsabers, Wookiees, and the intergalactic battle of good and evil, but above it all stands Vader, fist clinched, cape flowing in the Bespin breeze, revealing the soul-shattering truth to Luke. It shocked the fandom first, but then changed the story forever.
The full impact of the scene is on display when you go back to 1980 and sift through the memories of fans’ first reactions to this reveal. It’s often described as a gut punch, heart-wrenching, and, most frequently, shocking. Fans could NOT believe this was true. Vader was lying. There was no possible way this was happening. It was all a ruse! (A ruse, I say!) Star Wars fans would have to wait three years to get their answer and this may have been the first-time traditions of modern fandom like debating, theorizing, and just plain guessing rose to prominence. The Empire Strikes Back bravely raised a lot of questions like will Han survive, who was the “other one” that Yoda was speaking about, and how did Cliff from Cheers make it to Hoth? But the biggest question had to do with the shock of the moment. Was Vader actually Luke’s father?
Once the shock wears off and the truth sets in, the ramification of the moment is understood. This is a revelation that shifts the Star Wars saga. Luke Skywalker once dreamed about being in the center of the fight, but now he has just learned that he is attached to the very evil that he has been fighting. Becoming the hero was no longer about medals and saving the day. Now, he’s on a collision course to confront and destroy his father. This is high-stakes poker now, my young Padawans.
For his part, Darth Vader had long been struggling with his identity and place in the Emperor’s Galactic Empire, but now he just laid his cards on the table. He wants to destroy his master and by acknowledging he has a son, he’s acknowledging that that he is—or was—Anakin Skywalker. This comes after years and years of fighting to overcome that truth. Vader’s plans are still very much nefarious, yes, yes, but he’s one step closer to the redemption he’ll eventually find. Anakin Skywalker had to defeat Darth Vader and that only happens if Vader accepts that he is still that man on some level.
Everything changes and it had to.
Irvin Kershner wasn’t given a big climatic battle to take this movie home. No one was blowing up superweapons this time. Imagine being asked to direct the sequel to the biggest movie in history to that point and you’re told that your movie ends with the hero going off to face down the villain to save his friends and he fails at it. Sure, it’s easy now to toss around a cinephile talking point like the “second chapter of trilogies are darker” but try actually pulling it off. Kershner and company couldn’t base this scene on the shock value, there had to be substance. A reason for the reveal. Just simply saying your main character is secretly related to someone we already know does not make for an interesting story alone. There has to be some meat on that bone.
That’s where it succeeds the most. It is an intimate, personal scene clothed in the grand specter of Star Wars. This is happening deep within a floating city in the clouds, following a vicious fight with laser swords, but it is played as real world as it can be. David Prowse and James Earl Jones combined to give Vader an earnest thirst for power. He wants to take over the world, but it definitely reads as Vader really wanting to conquer the galaxy with his son. In response, Mark Hamill plays this scene perfectly. You’re right there with Luke’s pain. Hamill, acting off of placeholder dialogue, makes this more than a plot twist. It’s his own personal horror.
It’s all perfect. Just like they planned it from the beginning. Or prior to this movie. Or…well…when did they plan it? The stories behind the making of Star Wars have become just as important and legendary as the final products themselves. It’s like Beatles fans knowing what John Lennon had for lunch while recording “Yer Blues.” (I think it was a cold turkey and glass onion sandwich.) Yet, like a lot of behind-the-scenes tales, the actual facts are often buried in a Dagobah-like fog. Did George Lucas always intend for Darth Vader to be Luke Skywalker’s father? The answer often depends on which documentary you’re watching or what book you’re reading. At best, George had it all written in pencil, but there is no need to get lost in those tall tales of how this came to be. What remains is that Darth Vader was revealed to be Luke Skywalker’s father in The Empire Strikes Back and it shockingly changed absolutely everything.