Did Leia’s paternity turn Ben to the Dark Side?
For over thirty years, Star Wars fans have known Princess Leia as the daughter of Darth Vader. Though, did the truth send her son Ben to the Dark Side?
The Skywalker family has always been the center of the Star Wars galaxy. Shmi who gave birth to a child without a father. She named the boy Anakin, whom she raised as a single parent.
As the second generation, young Ani became a Jedi Knight who broke the rules and married Naboo senator, Padmé Amidala. With her, he’d father twins, Luke and Leia. His wife’s death triggered the darkness within his soul and he fell to the dark, becoming a servant to his master, Darth Sidious.
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Years after Luke told her their true paternity, the former princess kept the truth from her offspring with Han Solo. Their son, Ben, learned his maternal grandfather was Darth Vader through the media. However, did the news of his mother’s paternity turn him to the dark side?
Yes, Absolutely!
All throughout Ben’s life those around him saw the darkness brewing within him. Not just by his parents, but Luke too. As his uncle told his mother years earlier, the Force was strong in their family. There wouldn’t have been a doubt in their minds that a child born into their bloodline would have great potential with the Force.
Ben’s Force potential might have been strong, and he’d inherited his grandfather’s temper, but on an astronomical scale. It terrified Han and Leia to the point they sent their son to train with his uncle.
Until Ben’s early 20s, he didn’t recall the identity of his mother’s father. The plan his family created to keep him from the truth came crashing down around them. Leia’s enemies in the senate outed her for lying about her parentage.
No, It Didn’t!
Photo credit: Lucasfilm/Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Sure, young Kylo Ren didn’t have the knowledge his grandfather was Vader. Though it wasn’t his parents’ fault. As Leia tells Han in The Force Awakens, Snoke served as the reason their son fell to the dark side. She adds they did everything possible to keep him from falling for the same trap his grandpa did.
Leia, Han, and Luke tried everything to prevent history from repeating itself. However, Snoke put thoughts in Ben’s mind to make him turn against those who loved him. Because of his ancestry, Anakin’s blood ran through his veins and his Force abilities became unstable because of his unpredictable temper. If he kept his anger in check, he would have been able to tap into his abilities with ease if his anger didn’t get the better of him.
If you consider the facts, Leia tried to protect her son from her biological father’s fate. Yes, what she did was wrong, but he turned to the Dark Side either way.
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What’s your view on Ben’s turn to the Dark Side? Did Leia’s lies turn him or would it have turned him if he knew about Anakin earlier in life?