Character Analysis
Darth Vader is the ruthless right-hand man of a tyrant and travels the galaxy dispensing merciless punishment on those who would fight for freedom and democracy. Even siding with Darth Vader is no guarantee of your safety—disappointing him will probably get you choked to death.
But every fear-mongering secret police officer must start somewhere, and Darth Vader sees his beginning as a 10-year-old blonde kid who really enjoys shouting things like, "Now this is podracing!"
Yeah… hardly an image to strike terror in the hearts of millions.
Skywalker Zero
The purpose of the prequel trilogy is to show how Anakin Skywalker fell from grace to become Darth Vader… but Anakin isn't the protagonist in this particular film.
Instead, The Phantom Menace is all about setting up Anakin's origin story, so he can take the lead in the films to follow.
Little Ani's origin story, in fact, directly parallels Luke Skywalker's. In the original Star Wars: A New Hope film, Luke wants to escape the drudgery of Tatooine life and seek adventure in the universe, planning to use his flying skills to join the academy and become an ace fighter pilot.
Luke helps some off-world droids and an old Jedi named Obi-Wan Kenobi agrees to train him in the ways of the Force. After experiencing the loss of his only known family, Luke accepts Obi-Wan's offer: "I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father."
Anakin's origin story follows a similar path, and in him we see a mirrored image of his son-to-be:
PADMÉ: You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?
ANAKIN: I listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here. I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm gonna fly away from this place.
PADMÉ: You're a pilot?
ANAKIN: Mm-hmm. All my life.
The difference is that Anakin is a slave while Luke is a restless, frustrated teen. But in both cases, we see a desire to escape the hand life dealt them on Tatooine and seek adventure in the larger galaxy.
We also see that both are kind people who are willing to help others without thought of reward. In A New Hope, Luke plans to rescue Princess Leia from her execution because it is simply the right thing to do. (Han Solo took a little more convincing and the promise of a money to get his heroic butt in gear.)
Likewise, Anakin agrees to race in the Boonta Eve podrace to win Qui-Gon and Padmé the money they need to repair their ship. He doesn't ask for a cut of the prize money or ask Qui-Gon to steal him away from Watto in exchange. As Qui-Gon tells Anakin's mother, Shmi:
"You should be very proud of your son. He gives without any thought of reward."
Finally, both Skywalkers use their mad piloting skills to defeat the enemy and rescue their friends. Luke Skywalker flies an X-Wing during the Death Star assault and destroys the moon-sized space station. Anakin flies a Naboo Fighter and destroys the droid control station during the Battle for Naboo. As if the similarities weren't obvious enough, both are assisted by R2-D2 during the dogfight.
(R2: the real hero of Star Wars, or the only hero of Star Wars?)
The origins for Anakin and Luke are important given the Star Wars saga as a whole. Both come from similar backgrounds and both face similar trials in their path to become Jedi knights. But their paths lead them to very different fates: Luke learns to conquer his fear, but Anakin remains a slave to his.
Fear and Loathing in Mos Espa
As Obi-Wan Kenobi tells us in A New Hope, "Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force." Anakin doesn't don a teensy Darth Vader suit in The Phantom Menace—even for a movie featuring Jar Jar Binks that would be too silly—but we do see the beginnings of his descent into darkness even at this early age.
Thanks to Qui-Gon betting—and, let's face it, cheating Watto—the Jedi is able to win Anakin's contract and immediately sets the boy free. Qui-Gon agrees to take Anakin to Coruscant and train him in the ways of the Jedi.
But there's a catch. Qui-Gon was unable to win Shmi's freedom, meaning Anakin must leave his mother behind:
ANAKIN: You're coming with us, aren't you, Mom?
SHMI: Son, my place is here. My future is here. It is time for you to let go.
ANAKIN: I don't want things to change.
SHMI: But you can't stop the change any more than you can stop the suns from setting. Oh, I love you.
Here, we learn that Anakin's afraid of change because change brings inevitable loss, and he doesn't want to lose those he loves. Again, we see a parallel in Luke: in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda warns that the future will show "old friends long gone," and the thought of losing Han and Leia pushes Luke to prematurely confront Vader at Cloud City.
On Coruscant, Yoda and the other members of the Jedi Council test Anakin and recognize this fear in him. As they tell the boy:
KI-ADI-MUNDI: Your thoughts dwell on your mother.
ANAKIN: I miss her.
YODA: Mmm. Afraid to lose her, I think, mmm?
ANAKIN: What has that got to do with anything?
YODA: Everything. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
Yoda's argument is that fear leads one to act fearfully, which likely includes anger… which we know leads to the dark side of the Force. Although we don't see Anakin turn to the dark side in this film, his Achilles' heel has been firmly established.
Anakin's fear of loss will lead him to battle against change, and, as Shmi said, this is impossible, even for the most powerful of Jedi. Unable to prevent change, Anakin will grow frustrated, his frustration will manifest itself as anger, and his anger will evolve into hate. After that, all he'll need is a red lightsaber to be a full-fledged Sith.
And this is exactly what plays out in the other two films of the prequels. But that's a discussion for later.
Hallowed by thy Midi-Chlorians
Anakin's birth draws parallels to the story of the birth of Jesus in the Bible. As Shmi explains:
"There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can't explain what happened."
In Catholic theology, Jesus being born of a virgin meant that he was free of original sin, a concept called the Immaculate Conception.
The Phantom Menace isn't trying to go too deep with the comparisons, mind you. Anakin wasn't conceived by a god but by tiny microscopic organisms called midi-chlorians. His fatherless parentage also isn't meant to say he's free of sin.
But the film is drawing connections between Anakin and Jesus—not to mention other religious figures said to have been born of virgins, such as the Egyptian god Horus. The purpose is to suggest a spiritual importance in Anakin's birth. Qui-Gon believes Anakin was born of the midi-chlorians to signify he is the one of prophecy, who will bring balance to the Force.
And it's actually possible to read this prophecy as coming true in the Star Wars saga. When Anakin destroys the Emperor in Return of the Jedi, he also kills himself as Darth Vader. This act rids the universe of the Sith and leaves Luke as the only Jedi in the universe, effectively hitting a reset button on the Force in the universe.
Until, of course, The Force Awakens came along…
Anakin Skywalker's Timeline