Some talk about “Vader and Anakin are different/alternate/split personalities” trope I see cropping up here and there.
I’ve seen it in fic, and I’ve seen it even discussed in relation to canon here and there: That Anakin is somehow still “within” Vader, like some separate part of him, vying for control.
It seems to be a product of writers struggling to reconcile brash, loving, heroic Anakin with the violent, obsessive and callous man he grows into as Vader.
It lends itself to portraying Vader as a more sympathetic character: By partially divorcing Anakin from his agency, or writing him as a kind of internal voice of conscience, or portraying him as a man who, by psychological and mystical means, is not fully capable of controlling his actions, the audience can more easily see the “good” in him.
But Anakin is not the “Good” in Vader. Anakin IS Vader.
The trope’s simplification of Vader’s character reduces his complexity. It also ignores years worth of character development: By the end of RotS Anakin believes his friends and loved ones have deserted him, he has thoroughly violated his beliefs, and he has been manipulated and twisted by Palpatine. Vader is EXACTLY the kind of person a man like Anakin becomes when pushed beyond despair.
By separating out Anakin from Vader, Vader’s whole character is cheapened. Vader is not some malignant specter to banish. He is Anakin Skywalker, a sad, scarred old man who finally found the strength to hope again through the love of his son.