Ultimately, even though there were several characters who contributed to Anakin’s fall, it was Anakin himself who sealed his fate. That doesn’t, however, undo the fact that the Jedi Order had several opportunities to help Anakin and failed to take advantage of them. One of the ways the Order could have saved Anakin dated back all the way to the High Republic era, yet it was gone by the time of the prequels. The reason it disappeared also speaks to a major flaw in the Jedi Order, one that ensured Anakin would eventually become Darth Vader.
The Jedi Order Let Some Members Be Wayseekers During The High Republic
During the High Republic era, there was a formal position within the Jedi Order known as a Wayseeker. A Jedi who became a Wayseeker could act almost independently of the Jedi High Council and go out into the galaxy to listen to the will of the Force as they heard it. Orla Jareni, for example, became a Wayseeker because she felt the Force through her instincts, which often clashed with the teachings of the Jedi Order. She was then able to do whatever she felt would help the galaxy most without direct orders from the High Council, which let her act quickly and decisively.
Anakin Skywalker Would’ve Been The Perfect Wayseeker
Given the amount of freedom Wayseekers enjoyed by being separate from the Jedi High Council, Anakin Skywalker would have been a perfect candidate to become one. There were quite a few reasons behind Anakin’s fall to the dark side, from his obsession with Padmé Amidala to his lust for power, but one of the biggest factors was his problems with the High Council. Anakin’s main issue with the Council was a difference in opinion: Anakin believed in taking direct and simple actions to solve problems, and he rarely understood why the Council took issue with his methods even though he had proven time and again that they were effective.
If Anakin had become a Wayseeker, however, it would have solved his main issue with the Jedi Council. As a Wayseeker, Anakin wouldn’t have had to justify his actions to the Council or even listen to their commands: he could have been like Orla Jareni and followed the Force in whatever way he wanted. If the High Council had simply granted Anakin the freedom he wanted, he might never have grown to view them as his enemies. It’s even possible that with enough time as a Wayseeker, Anakin would have learned the lessons the Council was trying to teach him, and he could have become a more traditional Jedi again.
With a Wayseeker’s independence, Anakin could have even figured out some of his internal struggles. He could have loved Padmé out in the open without having to hide from the rest of the Jedi, which would have made him less fearful of losing her. He also could have physically distanced himself from Chancellor Palpatine, which would have ruined his plan to seduce Anakin to the dark side. Being a Wayseeker also would have taken Anakin away from the stress of the Clone Wars, which could have given him enough time and space to learn to regulate his anger and passion.
Why Did The Jedi Stop With Wayseekers?
Though Anakin would have been the perfect Jedi Wayseeker, and he would have gained a tremendous amount from it, the position had been completely abandoned even before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Star Wars has yet to give an explanation for why the Order stopped allowing its members to become Wayseekers, but there’s one very likely reason for the decision. The Jedi High Council likely ended Wayseekers because of their own overconfidence in their ability to interpret the will of the Force.
The main goal of a Wayseeker was so that an individual Jedi could follow the Force as they saw fit, usually when they interpreted it in a way that contradicted the Council’s teachings. By the Fall of the Republic, however, the High Council was absolutely convinced that they knew how to determine the will of the Force and that there was no room for alternative interpretations. That can be seen in a variety of places, from their mistrust of Qui-Gon Jinn’s ideas about Anakin being the Chosen One to their reluctance to believe the Sith had returned.
Since the High Council was convinced that they were the best source of information about the will of the Force, they would have seen no reason to keep Wayseekers around. In the Council’s view, there was no point in letting individual Jedi search for their own way to interpret the Force: the Council already had all the answers. Any Jedi who became a Wayseeker would ultimately end up seeing the Force as the Council did, and letting them figure it out for themselves would only be a waste of time.
It’s even possible that the hubris that led to the end of the Wayseekers came from a former Wayseeker: Vernestra Rwoh. The Acolyte proved Vernestra was a high ranking member on the Council. It’s possible the Council used Vern’s experience as a Wayseeker as evidence that they knew how to interpret the Force and as justification for getting rid of other Wayseekers. By the time another Jedi replaced Vernestra on the Council, that view had already been institutionalized. Since there were then no Wayseekers left to challenge the Council’s authority regarding their ability to interpret the Force, the damage was already done.
The Jedi Council Would Never Have Let Anakin Be A Wayseeker
Even if the Jedi Council did still allow members to become Wayseekers, it wouldn’t have allowed Anakin to become one because of another major flaw. By the time Anakin became a Jedi Knight and could have become a Wayseeker, the Clone Wars were already raging. In response, the Jedi Order became militarized and turned from peacekeepers into generals. The Order needed all of its members to contribute to the war effort, and they never would have let Anakin leave the front lines because of its growing militarism.
In the end, it wasn’t the Jedi Order’s rulings on attachment that doomed Anakin, it was their overconfidence and complacency. In essence, Anakin was just the culmination of decades of decline and mistakes. In its heyday, when Wayseekers followed the Force how they saw fit, Anakin might have become one of the greatest Jedi to ever live. During the Fall of the Republic, however, the Jedi Order was completely unequipped to deal with Anakin and give him the guidance and opportunities he needed to overcome his dark side. Anakin was doomed from the start, making him one of the greatest tragedies in Star Wars.
