r/StarWars • u/MrLowkey13 • 9h ago
General Discussion Assuming Vader survived EP VI and Luke somehow convinced the New Republic not to execute him, would Leia have ever been able to reconcile with him?
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u/eepos96 8h ago edited 3h ago
In one of the legends stories, Ghost of Anakin did visit Leia.
"You stood there and let them destroy my whole world and my parents."
Leia could not forgive him.
Edit: As others said and I should have, she did forgive him eventually and named her youngest son Anakin in his honor.
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u/OmnipotentHype 8h ago
She eventually did though. Even named her second son after him. Finding out about his past in Tatooine Ghost helped a bit I believe.
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u/BuddelTheWolp 8h ago
"mother, why did you name me after the genocidal lackey of space Hitler?"
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u/BootyliciousURD 6h ago
She discussed this with her friend Elegos A'kla early in the Yuuzhan Vong War
My father, Anakin Skywalker—not Darth Vader—turned against the Emperor and was the agent of his death. He atoned for the evil he had done—perhaps not all of it in the eyes of some, but he prevented future evil being wrought by the Emperor. Part of me wanted to name my son for him to redeem the name. At least, that is what I told myself.… You Caamasi are fortunate in that you can share memories between you. I have no clear memories of Anakin Skywalker—and my memories of Darth Vader are still the stuff of nightmares. I know that I contain part of Anakin in me, and I think it is the good parts of him that came through in Luke and me. But, I also know the darker parts of him are there, or could be there. In naming my youngest son for him, I was putting an innocence behind that name. All the things I saw in Anakin, I could imagine having come from his grandfather, through me.
Chapter 25 of New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I: Onslaught
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u/Gh05t_0n3_5150 8h ago
First off not many people knew Vader was Anakin so she can do an Old Ben move and say I named you after the man that killed Vader
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u/BuddelTheWolp 7h ago
"you named me after grandma's creepy bodyguard?"
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u/Gh05t_0n3_5150 6h ago
Great you name me after some little boy pod racer
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u/Gekokapowco Grievous 4h ago
hey that kid won boonta eve at 9 years old, as a human you show some respect
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u/InvictusDaemon 8h ago
"I didn't. I named you after the greatest general of the clone wars, savior of many people in the republic and beyond, and who laid some foundation for the rebellion. Unfortunately he was nearly slain by Vader and was lost to us."
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u/BuddelTheWolp 8h ago
"Hermann Göring was a great fighter pilot in ww1 and he even befriended a guard in prison. So he was a nice guy. So shut up little Hermann"
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u/rs6677 8h ago
To be fair, if Göring threw Hitler down an elevator shaft, he'd probably be looked at a bit more favorably.
It's kind of like how the July 20 plotters are looked at fondly, despite a lot of them not being exactly great people themselves either.
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u/Prof_J 8h ago
In this example he’d be looked at differently if he did that after personally assisting with the holocaust lmao think about things
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u/NorthernSpankMonkey 7h ago
The maréchal Pétain was called The Lion of Verdun because of his distictions during first world war. If it wasn't for his part in the Vichy government he would have outshun De Gaulle as the greatest french hero of the 20th century.
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u/Horror_Response_1991 8h ago
“Um wasn’t he Vader? So I can just disassociate when I do something horrible and you’ll blame my made up alter ego?”
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u/Forsaken-Emu4760 8h ago
"I didn't name you after Hitler. I named you after an adorable little sweet boy named Adolf who had dreams of being a great artist but he was slain by Hitler and ceased to be"
That's how all you Anakin apologists sound everytime you try to separate his deeds as a Sith lord and Jedi. And you're not even consistent about it (you still called him Anakin when he killed the youngling and fought Obi-Wan despite receiving his Sith title).
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u/cursedjunk 6h ago
Dark side Force corruption is different than PTSD driven political radicalization. It is Canon that Vader and Anakin are essentially different people. Vader admins clearly to having killed Anakin. The only thing is enough of Anakin survived to be redeemed.
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u/Thor_pool 6h ago
Vader admins clearly to having killed Anakin
Tbh this always reads to me the same as "Bruce Wayne is the mask and Batman is the real person." Like oh gee, how convenient for the traumatized, mentally ill orphan that they're able to disassociate themselves from the vulnerable person they used to be. All that bad stuff didn't happen to Vader or Batman, it happened to Anakin and Bruce.
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u/cursedjunk 3h ago
No that’s not the same thing. You’re trying to compare real world mental illness (which let’s remember that people with serious mental illness actually aren’t held liable for their actions in some instances), to space/fantasy magic. There are countless canonical examples of Dark Side Personas being distinctly different from their light side counterparts. Anakin was responsible for turning his back on the Jedi and killing Mace (or helping to) but Vader took over in that moment and Anakin was on life support.
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u/Thor_pool 2h ago
I suppose my problem with that interpretation is that it implies someone like The Emperor has a "good" persona buried deep down by the dark side and was as redeemable as any other force user
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u/mlaislais 7h ago
If Hitler had a surprise heal turn before his death, and saved (checks notes)… the entire galaxy, people might start naming their kids after his “good” name.
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u/CW1DR5H5I64A 6h ago
“I didn’t name you Hitler after the leader of the third reich. I named you Adolph after the hero who put a gun to his head and ended the Nazi regime, but tragically lost his life in the process.”
See how silly that sounds?
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u/mlaislais 6h ago
That’s why I didn’t say it.
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u/Gekokapowco Grievous 4h ago
"if you dress your argument up in a clown costume and it drove around in a tiny car, it would be ridiculous wouldn't it?"
uh yeah lol
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u/Hadrian1233 6h ago
There wasn’t really a real world equivalent of Palpatine.
The Empire isn’t some regime strongarmed together by the charisma of a politician because evil isn’t the byproduct, it’s the ideology.
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u/darkbreak Sith 5h ago
Funny you say that. Anakin Solo was actually afraid of his name. He was well aware of the man his grandfather was and was afraid he might go down that same path because of his name. Of course his family assured him that the name he had didn't predetermin his fate and the he was his own person. Anakin Solo was indeed very different from Anakin Skywalker. Though the both did have a fascination for tinkering with gadgets.
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u/Horror_Response_1991 8h ago
“Oopsies! Let me make it up to you, there’s a planet that makes the best space ice cream.”
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u/aelysium 6h ago
In canon (TROS novel), she DOES forgive him. As she’s dying, Anakin’s spirit reaches out and she finally forgives him as she passes.
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u/aelysium 5h ago
Sorry - in Legends she reconciles during Tatooine Ghost, and later names a son after him.
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u/Fart_ricochet 4h ago
Let’s put it this way - it would take a masterful writer to come up with a reason for Leia to reconcile with Vader that doesn’t make 99% of the audience’s eyeballs to roll out of their heads.
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u/GoblinPunch20xx 2h ago
I love the orig trig with all my heart and I know Leia’s role was actively being retconned and retooled as the scripts were being written and rewritten and script doctored (props to Carrie herself!) but in the end product it still definitely feels like Luke and Leia are on dramatically different journeys in terms of moving on from trauma at the end of RotJ
Luke: you’re my father and I love and forgive you always no matter what, you have good in you and can be redeemed. Hey cool you’re a blue Force Ghost, that’s pretty Wizard! Oh BTW, Leia, you’re my sister, and the guy that tortured you and stood by while your Homeworld was destroyed is our dad. He could have killed me and he cut off my hand but he threw the emperor down a shaft and he felt bad about stuff so he’s all good now, and I’m a space monk so I encourage you strongly to accept that at face value and forgive him. Oh, you’re also Force Sensitive and therefore a potentially very powerful Jedi. Want to Dance? Oh not with me, with Wicket! Yub Nub!
Leia: (Processing Computer sounds, Printer and Fax and Copier noises…) WHAT?!?
If Luke and Leia were real people, the subject of how they felt about their father would be a real source of strife in their relationship for the rest of their lives, possibly to the point of severe estrangement from one another.
Luckily in STAR WARS everything usually works out as it’s a “Good Guys Tend to Win” type Universe. Chewie still deserved a Medal though, the cheap bastards.
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u/aelysium 4h ago
Funny then, that authors have done that in both timelines. Oh, and a third time in a what if comic.
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u/aelysium 3h ago
Leia canonically reconciles with Anakin/Vader in both continuities though, as well as an Infinities run lmfao.
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u/darlo0161 7h ago
The New Republic wouldnt let him go, hes a fucking war criminal.
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u/RedEclipse47 7h ago
Don't see Vader surviving post ROTJ at all. Luke is not going to convince the entire Galaxy to absolve his father of his crimes just because Luke is a Jedi Master. People would turn on him simply for the fact that Vader is Luke's father. Even Leia had to deal with this fact, as she received a lot of smear in the New Republic Senate. She was apposed the bill to demilitarise the New Republic calling her a warmonger and publicly calling out her heritage.
Vader would be, and should be, executed for his crimes. Yes he saved Luke, and thereby the Galaxy, by killing Sidious, but that would not absolve him of all the other horrors he inflicted.
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u/ChurchBrimmer 6h ago
At best Luke would expend all political capital her had on "please don't execute my father for war crimes' and Vader still spends the rest of his life in a special prison and Luke gets zero support from the New Republic in rebuilding the Jedi.
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u/just_another_guy235 5h ago
I could see Vader turning BACK to the dark side if this happens and becoming worse than before
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u/Malkovtheclown 6h ago
I dont even think Anikin would want to be forgiven. He was a law and ordrr guy for the most part. He broke the rules when it violated his personal code, but he would not want to leave his own crimes unpunished.
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u/SpaceDelay424 6h ago
The whole idea that he could be “redeemed” and go to Jedi heaven in the first place is absurd. You can’t just say sorry and that somehow makes horrific crimes okay. It’s such a terrible message
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u/Marfalump67 5h ago
there is no "Jedi heaven" and his being a ghost is not a reward for making up for everything & being a good person. all it means is that he, internally, was able to reject the dark side's influence and be at peace. quibbling over punishment and justice is irrelevant.
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u/Acceptable_Map_8110 4h ago
Well the point of the story is about forgiveness and redemption. In the eyes of the force he was redeemed.
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u/Cloaked_Crow 5h ago
Many Christians believe that. Many of them believe you can just squeak through into Heaven as long as you believe in Jesus and repent all your sins on your death bed. It doesn’t matter what you did in life, you still get in.
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u/Heavy-Transition7916 5h ago edited 5h ago
Not exactly. Christians believe that everyone is too guilty for heaven, by virtue of any sin. But that everyone has been forgiven/saved by Jesus’ actions.
so via choosing that forgiveness (and feeling genuine remorse) they can go to heaven. It’s not really the get out of jail free card that people meme.
Actual Christianity teaches that a person is truly changed by that salvation and is going to act differently.
There are a lot of parables Jesus said that kind of boil down to “people will pretend to be a Christian but if they’re not actually helping others/living the way I laid out, then they’re not mine.”
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u/Kah0000 8h ago
Yes, but it will take time. Leia has already forgiven him in both the Disney canon and EU.
In a universe where Vader survives, Leia would likely hate him and want no contact with him; Vader would respect all such requests.
After a few years, Leia might forgive him or develop some kind of relationship with him (assuming Vader helps the Republic against the remnants of the Empire) which could eventually evolve into a healthy father-daughter bond.
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u/Luvnecrosis 8h ago
Its also very easy to forgive someone who is dead. You can make an image of them in your mind that suits whatever narrative you want the most. If Vader lives, though, it might not be that easy
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u/aelysium 4h ago
You might want to read the ROTJ infinities comics (in that, Vader survives ROTJ, takes on a white suit, and reconciles with the kids iirc)
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u/FarWestEros 8h ago
Especially with Luke playing the middle, constantly in touch with both of them.
It seems inevitable that they’d at least cross paths at Chewie’s during some Life Day celebration.7
u/Kah0000 8h ago
And I get the feeling that Vader will be similar to Endeavor from My Hero Academia, a father who did a lot of wrong, possesses a depressive personality, and wants to "make up for" his past mistakes.
He’d make a great grandpa.
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u/TheMikeyC 7h ago
If they develop any kind of relationship it'll be years down the line. Suddenly, 10 years or so after Endor, Imperial Remnants with mysterious cultists start appearing and she's truly at a loss for leads. So she goes down to the super max prison down at the Hellish under-under-under city of Coruscant where Vader is held and uses him as a Hannibal Lecter type to probe for information.
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u/Choice-Ear-9021 8h ago
What are you talking about? Leia never forgives Vader in canon. Bloodline says the exact opposite — that she doesn’t forgive him and doesn’t even believe in his redemption.
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u/MysticalPiplup Grand Admiral Thrawn 5h ago
Though you can debate on the canon status of it, she finally forgives him as she dies in the junior novelization of TROS.
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u/FruitNut221 7h ago
Or an unhealthy bond.
"Leia, did i ever tell you that you look like Padmé? Let me see that Jabba's Palace outfit again. Then I'll tell you all about Ahsoka Tano and how great of a friend she was"3
u/Haunting_Ant_5061 6h ago
“…Leia has already forgiven him in… Disney canon…”
Wait, what now? When did this occur?
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u/Kelsiersdaggers 8h ago
“Vader would respect all such requests”
What an insane thing to assume about and actual genocidal maniac.
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u/Vailx 6h ago
He's clearly a good guy at the end. The metaphysics of the dark side makes falling to the dark side the character flaw, and the redemption at the end makes it clear that he would never do any of those things again.
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u/Ripley_LV_426 6h ago
If the idea is Vader redeemed himself by abandoning his selfish need for absolute control over his loved ones, then him accepting the pain of his daughter refusing any contact is believable.
If he keeps attempting to force a relationship that she clearly doesn't want, then he hasn't actually stopped being "vader".
Whether it's realistic or not, the intention is that Anakin chose not to be the type of person who force chokes his wife or slaughters children.
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u/Kah0000 8h ago
Do you think that, after Luke saved him, he’s still a deranged genocidal maniac?
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u/MathMindfully 7h ago
Vader died when he chose to save Luke. In addition, Anakin gained a connection to the cosmic force, part of what enabled him to become a force ghost. This connection to the cosmic force is what actually make a person 'good' in StarWars and protects them from corruption. Their doctrine's against more 'human' connection and emotional suppression also led to this downfall. The fact that Jedi lost this connection and guidance, with the exception of Qui-Gon, is a primary cause of the Jedis' downfall in the prequel era.
Many of Vader's acts were atrocities against the force, but the cosmic force gave a sort of unspoken ultimatum to the Jedi. Either be guided by the cosmic force or continue to using me as a tool for political tasks and face the consequences. Vader's aid in destroying the Jedi was, in part, the will of the force.
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u/colemanjanuary Chirrut Imwe 8h ago
Somehow, Leia reconciled with her father.
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u/aelysium 6h ago
People joke but she does in both Legends and Canon (in Legends she doesn’t at first (Truce at Bakura, but does later in Tatooine Ghost, in Canon it’s right before her death in TROS).
🤷♂️
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u/coffeejizzm 7h ago
Vader making a good choice does not undo the evil. Star Wars makes crossing from the light to the dark side seem like a switch that completely changes you, but that’s because it’s a kids show.
Vader saves Luke for his own selfish reasons. If Luke was someone else’s kid, Vader probably chuckles as he gets fried by Force Lightning.
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u/wisestoffelines 5h ago
Force users play by different rules. Vader didn't become a different person, he just chose Jesus in the end and got into heaven.
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u/KnuxFive 5h ago
There’s a STAR WARS INFINITIES about this; I remember the last panel is a white-suited Anakin with a blue lightsaber going to clean up the remnants of his poor decisions.
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u/aelysium 4h ago
Infinities: Return of the Jedi (in that version, both Luke and Leia are on DS2, Vader turns on Palps who escapes to save his kids, they make it off the station, and Vader’s love for his children pulls him back to the light, giving us ‘White Vader’ in that run)
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8h ago
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u/MiNdOverLOADED23 8h ago
Vader wasn't wearing the suit for fasion purposes. He medically needed it to survive.
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u/murderously-funny 8h ago
Yes…and no.
Vader needs the suit to live but he could’ve easily had a better suit if he wanted
However
- He hates himself qnd believes he should suffer
- He uses that hatred to make himself stronger in the darkside
Palpatine actively wanted to keep Vader vulnerable to his force lightning (which his suit in cannon was)
so kept him in the shittier suit
There’s a reality where Vader gets a new, better, less painful, suit following his redemption
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u/leftshoe18 Mandalorian 3h ago
If Vader survived, he would have had to go in hiding and be officially dead to everyone. And no, I don't think Leia would have been able to reconcile with Vader. Beyond his complicity in destroying Alderaan simply being too personal, Leia just doesn't come off as the forgiving type.
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u/aelysium 3h ago
Leia canonically reconciles with Vader in both continuities. (And a third ‘what if’ one as well lol)
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u/lonestar-rasbryjamco 8h ago edited 8h ago
Before or after he asphyxiates from not having his mask? Or he goes blind and deaf without the filters? Or gets a skin infection?
Shit wasn’t for show. Even if he survives there is no version of Anakin capable of surviving without Vader. The moment Luke removes the mask Anakin is on a very limited timeline.
Taking off his helmet was him accepting the death he should of had on Mustafar to have a single moment of authenticity with his son.
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u/Kelsiersdaggers 8h ago
Could’ve just pained the suit white. “Totally different guy! Nothing to see here”
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u/DarkAvenger27 5h ago
Vader didn’t die just because Luke took off his helmet. Palpatine blasted the shit out of him with lightning.
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u/TheMikeyC 8h ago
My headcanon for this scenario is that this is a difference between Luke and Leia that they can never reconcile. They still respect each other but she flat out tells him there are no conditions under which she'll ever speak to him or forgive him. If there is any scene between them it'll be Anakin being stared down by a furious Leia.
He'll ask "what has Luke told you? About me? Your mother?"
"He told me enough. He told you killed her."
Between that and his role in the destruction of her planet, and as one of her key war oppositions as a rebel leader, she pushes hardest for execution. Her brother is a forgiving man but she's a political leader and pragmatic.
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u/Darthbane2007 7h ago
Leia could and will probably argue Luke hasn't known Vader or what he has done over the years as much as she has..
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u/Mr_YUP 7h ago
She did a TON of politics in which he was involved. She knew him at the start of 4 so there’d be a lot of stuff she’d probably need answered.
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u/archwin 7h ago
Also, didn’t he directly torture her?
I don’t he ever tortured Luke to that level.
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u/DrBlankslate 4h ago
Directly tortured her, and forced her to watch the destruction of the planet she knew as home.
I doubt there would ever have been any kind of reconciliation.
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u/Aldbrecht 7h ago
You can say something and regret it later.
You can feel in a certain way and time after, those feelings can change.
Leia could say X. She could ending up doing something else.
Even in real life, when you take out your ego glasses, you can see how much damage you’ve done, and go through a crisis. I’ve seen this multiple times, and I’ve experienced that myself as well. And even in those cases, beloved ones, with a lot of time, can end up forgiving you and giving you love.
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u/gothteen145 5h ago
I suppose i'd wonder if she could forgive him after seeing her son fall down the same path, and arguably commit worse acts since the first order destroyed multiple planets
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u/TheMikeyC 5h ago edited 4h ago
Knowing he's directly inspired by Darth Vader she would hate him even more and likely even cause a schism between her and Luke. Honestly I expected some terrible falling out with his sister on top of failing his order to be the reason he secluded himself. Learning he kept these artifacts of Vader only for her son to be influenced by a wad of chewed gum to embrace those artifacts would cause some issues. Watching her son become the new Vader, knowing Luke played any hand and could have stopped it much, much sooner could cause such a cataclysmic argument that it breaks their relationship. Luke would get such a severe verbal beatdown from his own sister that he just becomes depressed and leaves.
The thematic through line for the sequels being about sibling reconciliation could have been a powerful rhyme to the originals' father and son reconciliation.
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u/aelysium 6h ago
As I’ve stated elsewhere in the thread - Leia canonically forgives Anakin in both continuities though (in Legends it takes longer - she kinda pushes Anakin’s ghost away in Bakura but forgives him in Tatooine Ghost and then names her kid after him, in Canon, it only really happens during the TROS novelization where she forgives him on her deathbed because Anakin’s spirit reached out to comfort her in her final moments).
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u/Outrageous_Ad_1011 8h ago
No, he destroyed her world and killed her father, I know Luke also lost his uncles but that wasn’t direct from Vader
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u/Darceus2000 Inferno Squad 8h ago
That was Tarkin, Vader was accessory to the destruction at best.
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u/LeicaM6guy 8h ago
“I didn’t pull the trigger, I was just standing next to the guy who did. We were workplace associates at best.”
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u/ClioCalliope 8h ago
I'm sure she thought the guy who held her in place to watch her home being destroyed and torturing her was just an innocent bystander.
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u/Choice-Ear-9021 8h ago
Yeah, I’m sure that distinction will really matter to the person whose entire home got blown up alongside her father.
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u/aelysium 4h ago
Leia reconciles with Vader both in canon (TROS novelization) and in Legends (specifically Tatooine Ghost).
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u/darkbreak Sith 5h ago
In the Expanded Universe she kind of did. After learning more about Anakin's past she gained a new perspective on him. She said that while she could never forgive what Darth Vader did she could honor and remember the good man Anakin Skywalker was. To that end Leia named her third child after him: Anakin Solo.
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u/JetBrink 3h ago
Luke would argue that even Vader saw himself as a different person to Anakin, but to Leia he is the monster that was complicit in destroying her home and everyone she loved.
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u/AntiVenom0804 7h ago
Anakin would stay away out of shame and guilt, and for Leia's benefit.
He would be the one to impose some exile upon himself rather than Luke. Either he'd go back to tatooine, take over the Lars' moisture farm. Or he'd find himself on Ahch-to
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u/aelysium 5h ago
You don’t have to assume.
In both timelines, legends AND canon, Leia canonically forgives and reconciles with her father.
In Legends, it happens during Tatooine Ghost (she had denounced him at Bakura, but finds Shmi’s journal and forgives him then, and later names a son after him).
In Canon, it happens in TROS but only the novel iirc, where Anakin’s ghost visits her on her deathbed and they reconcile just before the end).
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u/BaloneyMaker2780 8h ago
He was complicit in committing planetary genocide...he'd be locked up for eternity
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u/Demonic-STD 8h ago
Yes. She does in canon, and in Legends it's just going to take a very long time.
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u/aelysium 4h ago
She does in both continuities.
(In Legends, she reconciles/forgives in Tatooine Ghost, then names a kid after him.
In canon, it’s tucked away in the TROS novelization, where Anakin’s ghost is at her bedside as she dies and they reconcile there iirc)
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u/wisestoffelines 5h ago
I feel like narratively she would have to. But I can't imagine how that conversation would go. Like if we got Lucas sequels I'd say that would be the end stage Leia had to get to at the very end.
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u/aelysium 4h ago
She does. In both continuities.
(In Legends, she denies him at Bakura, forgives him in Tatooine Ghost, and in Canon, it’s tucked away in the TROS novelization where Anakin’s ghost visits her on her deathbed and they reconcile at the end).
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u/--Albion-- Galactic Republic 5h ago
Nah, not in a million years.
This guy was the Empire's most feared and visible enforcer. Arguably he was feared more than the Emperor himself because the Emperor rarely dealt with problems himself.
He was the symbol of the New Order's tyranny and the bogeyman of anyone who thought to stand up to the Empire.
All of that doesn't just disappear because he saved the life of his son and helped kill the Emperor.
I know the Jedi believe in atonement and redemption but taking on Vader as a Jedi would burn so much political capital at a time when the New Jedi Order was only just getting off the ground that it'd be a non-starter.
If anything, the decision on whether or not to forgive Vader and admit him as a Jedi would cause a schism in the New Jedi Order almost immediately.
Best case scenario for Vader, I can see him being locked up in some super-prison for the rest of his life because Luke would speak up for him. Even his word wouldn't be enough to exonerate Vader but it might be enough to spare his life at the cost of his freedom.
And even then, that decision would be super unpopular with the general public. After Endor, there was still a war going on and the Empire didn't immediately die with the Emperor. People would want blood after two decades of Imperial tyranny and it still being wartime would make that impossible to ignore.
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u/aelysium 3h ago
She literally does in both timelines though, and even in a third what if continuity… 😂😂😂
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u/Darthbane2007 8h ago
To be honest I don't think anybody except for Luke would ever forgive Vader..
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u/aelysium 6h ago
Leia does, in both continuities tho.
(In Legends she denies Vader during Bakura iirc and reconciles during Tatooine Ghost, and in Canon Anakin’s spirit comes to her as she’s passing during TROS and they make peace shortly before she dies)
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u/No_Psychology_3826 8h ago
That's a tough ask after Alderaan. Not for a very long time probably
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u/Own-Virus3288 7h ago
Tbh I think when he became Anakin again he would accept his punishment, him asking Luke to remove his mask was him doing that in a way.
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u/mattmaintenance 5h ago
There is no multiverse where Vader was getting off the Death Star 2.
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u/aelysium 4h ago
There is one, actually. And it was published in 2003.
(Return of the Jedi: Infinities, has Luke AND Leia in the DS2 throne room, Vader redeems himself protecting his children, and they escape the DS2. ‘White suit Vader’ is from this timeline.
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u/InkAndMysteryFalls 7h ago
Absolutely not. He’s the reason her biological mother, adopted mother and adopted father died. Without his aid, the Republic doesn’t fall. She, like her mother and adopted father, is pro-democracy. She could never reconcile with a man who’s spent more time establishing, maintaining and serving a dictatorship than he did serving a democracy.
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u/Autzen_Downpour 8h ago
Maybe, but all her conversations with him would likely be in a high security prison specially designed for him. That's if the New Republic doesn't decide to execute him, which is a pretty big if.
To the rest of the galaxy, hes one of the worst war criminals of all time.
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u/lanwopc 8h ago
He was party to destroying her planet and killing the only family she ever knew, and she wasn't a softie like Luke. I'm saying that's a hard no.
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u/CyberWolfexe 7h ago
Leia is not as forgiving as Luke. Kind of ironic, cause she takes after her father in that way
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u/logo1986 7h ago
Honestly with how rebels dealt with Kallus I could see them somehow saying Vader was manipulated by the emperor using the force both physically and mentally.
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u/LadyofFlame 7h ago
No. Remember he's a mass murderer and there's no way she'd get over that he was allowed to live after he presided second in a regime that exterminated billions, as well as the countless crimes affecting trillions.
I don't get why people don't act like people when it comes to Vader's legacy, they just automatically forgive him without cause or reason. Leia in particular likely puts him alongside Tarkin as *they* destroyed her homeworld and murdered billions. Vader may not have done it, but absolutely had the power to stop it... and didn't.
That alone should make forgiveness impossible.
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u/PainterEarly86 6h ago
I think she would be indifferent. Not exactly forgive him, but simply accept the situation.
I don't think the New Republic could, should, would ever pardon him.
But he could easily go into hiding and never be found. He'd only reveal himself to people when he wanted to help protect the galaxy or help Luke or the jedi. And even then he'd only offer counsel, he'd never interfere in anything directly.
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u/silasdobest 4h ago
Considering she named her youngest child Anakin, I'm pretty sure she forgave him. Truce at Bakura starts it and Anakin Solo finalized it.
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u/The_Aeris_Raha 8h ago
If I remember correctly, in the EU Leia never forgave him.
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u/Filmfan345 7h ago edited 7h ago
She did enough to name one of her sons after him after learning about his past on Tatooine
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u/aelysium 5h ago
You remember wrong.
She forgives him in Tatooine Ghost, then names a son after him.
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u/aelysium 6h ago
Leia reconciles with Vader in BOTH timelines though?
In Legends she kinda denies things at Bakura but comes to terms in Tatooine Ghost (and names her kid after him) and in Canon, Anakin’s spirit comes to comfort her as she’s dying in TROS and she forgives him as she passes.
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u/LeicaM6guy 8h ago
I don’t know why she would. Sometimes it’s possible to go so far into the red that you’ll never be able to balance the books.
Anakin did some awful, genocidal stuff. He was a murderer and henchman for an autocratic, authoritarian regime. Leia didn’t owe him forgiveness, and Anakin didn’t deserve it.
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u/Cisterna_Solar 8h ago
I think Leia could, eventually, find it in her to forgive him, though it would take time and Anakin would have to find a way to forgive and live with himself first and foremost. Him saving Luke and killing the Emperor is probably a good step at softening that anger, but it won't be automatic.
I do, however, really hope they eventually they get along well enough to have a scene together like this:
Leia: I want a space pony.
Anakin: I'm sorry, what? That's really out of nowhere, why do you even--
Leia: Hey, remember that time on the Death Star you locked me in a room with a Torture Droid?Anakin: ... what planet did you say they're on?
And on and on, using things like freezing Han to continually guilt trip him.
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u/Aedessia 8h ago
I think Anakin himself wouldn't want to get in Leia's way. Maybe a message from time to time out of guilt and with Luke's help, but that's all.
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u/SmokyMetal060 8h ago
I feel like it would be very hard for her to do. Even in the interpretation that gives him the most grace, Vader was at least accessory to blowing up her planet and killing billions of people on it including most of her family and friends. I think any reasonable person would have an extremely difficult time forgiving someone for that.
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u/ElectricTurtlez Mandalorian 8h ago
Vader? No. He’s dead. This is Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, hero of the clone wars. Apparently, Vader had been keeping him locked in a cell, and tortured him for decades!
Technically true. From a certain point of view…
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u/Jedibri81 7h ago
I think he killed too many people , including young Jedi trainees to ever be forgiven.
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u/aelysium 6h ago
She reconciles with him in canon (novelization of TROS, Anakin’s spirit reaches out to her as she’s passing and she forgives him before her death).
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u/SirReginaldTheIII 6h ago
Im going to say hell no on that. Vader may have been her biological father but for her life the Organa's were her family. Vader could try but that does make up for butchering untold thousands/millions
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u/Ancient-Cow-1038 5h ago
Bearing in mind that he tortured her AND her husband, it’s gonna be an awkward Life Day Dinner Table at the very least…
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u/ColtMcChad69 3h ago
At best she’d have him kill empire remnants?
Or sent to the Wall to fight the white walkers
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u/ScapegoatMan 3h ago
Probably not....
The best part of the Legends novel Truce at Bakura is when Anakin's Force Ghost does try to reconcile with Leia and she more or less tells him to go fuck himself.
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u/Vegetable-Grocery265 2h ago
He'd wear a hairpiece, I'm sure.... a mullet hairpiece, like the Tattooine Joe Dirt.
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u/stragomccloud Luke Skywalker 59m ago
Based on what I've read in "Bloodline," I would say no. In the novel she's thinking about how he tortured her and how she found out much later that it was her father. And she was really having to deal with how he's her father and he tortured her and she'll never forgive him. And how conflicted she is about how Luke could see this other kind person inside, but all she could remember was herself being tortured.
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u/hopseankins Mayfeld 8h ago
Probably not. She lived her entire life in politics and knew Vader was the supervillain in the galaxy.
Luke was just some podunk kid who went on a road trip with the town kook and met his father.