This still haunts me.
Like, I’m not surprised. Vader’s big “line crossed” moment was killing a bunch of defenseless kids in Episode 3.
But this hit different. Where Vader back then seemed reluctant and even cried over it, he justified it as necessary.
This… wasn’t. It was just straight up pointless slaughter. Killing a kid who posed zero threat, who wasn’t Force-sensitive, who wasn’t on the side of the Jedi, who just wanted to check up on his dad. Not because he was told to do it. Just because he WANTED to do it.
Episode 3 even kept that slaughter off-screen. This didn’t shy away.
Vader has been almost neutered over the decades from over exposure. It was like how they poked fun at Freddy Krueger in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare by saying every kid knew who he was and wasn’t afraid. He’s got toys and LEGO sets and funny plush dolls and is in kiddie Golden Books.
And this episode was like a splash of cold water to remind folks he’s not just a villain in Star Wars. He’s THE villain of Star Wars. The one who gets his hands dirty in the blood of children and delights in slow, torturous deaths. Emotionally detached from the pointless cruelty of it all.
I have issues with some of this episodes paving and editing (how the heck did that secret tunnel work with nobody crossing paths?!), but this was easily the scariest version of Vader ever, including the Rogue One scene.