Quote:PSA: This post is all kinds of spoiler. Don't read it if that bothers you.

 

Well, I mean, we've already been told Vader's story. Like, many times. Six movies and a TV show that ran for five years. It's time to move past Darth Vader's story, because we know it already.

 

Vader wasn't exactly a goon in Episode IV. The Rebels TV show, which is canon, makes it pretty clear that he's in charge of the efforts to track down and destroy all remaining Jedi. Managing the Imperial Fleet falls outside his job description until he earns it, more or less. The admirals distrust him for any number of reasons, but one possibility stands out: Anakin's relationship with the admirals in Clone Wars was...strained...at times. If there were rumblings going around that this black-suited killing machine called Vader was actually Anakin Skywalker, they might feel outright threatened by his presence to the point where they wanted to continually pee on their starships and put Vader in his place. As far as Tarkin goes, the Clone Wars TV series made it clear that he and Anakin had a long history of working together and they had a great deal of respect for each other. I think it's more likely that they were equals in Episode IV, with Tarkin in charge of the Death Star (and possibly the Imperial Fleet) and Vader in more of an enforcer role with broader responsibilities that took a back seat to, you know, recovering the Death Star plans and killing off those pesky Jedi once and for all. I also think it's highly likely that Tarkin was one of a very few people who actually knew--not suspected, knew--that Vader and Anakin were one and the same.

 

So if Vader and Tarkin were equals, why was Tarkin bossing Vader around? Simple. The Death Star was "Tarkin's Folly", not Vader's. He had overseen the station's construction, far more so than Director Krennic actually had, and Vader knew it. How else do you explain the scene between Vader and Krennic? Had most people asked such a stupid question of Vader, he may well have killed them on the spot, particularly if he knew of Tarkin's distaste for Krennic (he probably did). Instead, Vader made a point of reminding the thorn in his friend's side that asking Vader to align himself against Tarkin was almost as stupid as aligning himself against Tarkin in the first place. Tarkin gave Vader orders and Vader obeyed them because he respected his longtime collaborator and probable friend, and because in matters relating to the Death Star, Tarkin's word would have been second only to Palpatine's.

 

I also think you're misinterpreting Krennic's role. He's not a threat to Tarkin, and he never was. The plot makes it very clear that despite his grand ambitions and his grand claims about his work on the Death Star, the sad truth is that he's just a middle-manager trying to get noticed by the CEO. He was a nuisance to Tarkin. A necessary one because his presence was moving the project along, but a nuisance all the same. Good luck convincing me that Tarkin's wry grin at the realization that he could destroy Scarif and prevent the plans' release once and for all wasn't partly because he was enjoying the thought of blowing Krennic into space dust.

 

And yeah, I was thrilled to finally see Vader on the big screen being a [BAD WORD REMOVED] again. After three Anakin films punctuated by the most scrawny, pathetic Vader appearance ever, the reminder that he is the most dangerous man in the galaxy was awesome.

 

 

That's a great take on it, and one that I admittedly hadn't thought of. Then again, I haven't seen all of Clone Wars, although I did see one of the Tarkin episodes, so maybe that was the piece I was missing. I just didn't put together that Tarkin and him viewed each other as "co-workers" so to speak.

 

And you're right about Vader's story being told, but to me there's just a big, giant, glaring gap as to his motivations. Yes, I know that there were movies about it and all, and I can fill in the blanks, but a big part of movie-going to me is them telling me the story. And I'm not certain if you've read the "Tarkin" novel or not, but yes, he does know Vader's identity. 

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