8. Darth Vader turning on Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
By the time we see Return of the Jedi, we all know how ruthless and terrifying Darth Vader can be. Even someone who hasn’t seen Star Wars probably knows that Darth Vader just isn’t a good guy. Heck, he’s barely human underneath that suit of his.
However, when Darth Vader is forced to choose between Luke and the Emperor, he turns on Palpatine and kills him. You can tell that Luke is in trouble and when he won’t submit to the Dark Side, the Emperor isn’t too fond of that decision.
Does Darth Vader actually redeem himself? I don’t think that saving his son makes up for all of the horrible things he did. While Luke is obviously valuable to the Rebellion, his life still doesn’t outweigh all of the lives lost due to Vader’s actions. One good thing doesn’t make up for the hundreds of bad ones.
Despite the fact that it doesn’t make Vader a good person, it’s still shocking to see that there is still a glimpse of humanity in him. Who knew? He probably could have killed Luke before, but he showed some restraint and ultimately chose to save him.