Palpatine was grooming Anakin for over a decade to become his newest Sith apprentice. Not only could Palpatine identify the uncertainty and darkness that resided within Anakin, but he actively used it to turn him toward the dark side.
The Dark Side of the Force is an inherently corrupting influence. Anakin was pushed to "willingly" embrace it, so where a normal Dark Jedi would have taken months to twist to evil, with some encouragement from Palpatine Anakin speedran the corruption in one evening.
Anakin's dark spiral was fueled by trauma, culminating in his decision to protect Palpatine over Mace Windu. Anakin's journey symbolizes how small choices and grievances can lead to a devastating fall from grace.
The Slaughter of Tusken Raiders was the first time Anakin experienced the Dark Side, and enjoyed it, he actively drew upon it to fuel his slaughter. Sure, he felt remorse afterward, but that isn't enough to mitigate the slaughter. Overall, this gets a 9.5/10 on the Evil Meter.
What could have prevented Anakin from the dark side?
All Evidence Qui-Gon Jinn Could Have Stopped Anakin's Dark Side Turn - IMDb. Qui-Gon Jinn is seen by many as the best of the Star Wars prequel era's Jedi, and there is evidence that he could have even stopped Anakin Skywalker from falling to the dark side of the Force.
3 Deleted Scenes LITERALLY CHANGE how Anakin Became Vader
Would Padme be alive if Anakin didn't turn to the dark side?
Sadly the Clone Wars would have still happened, but Padmé would have also survived, giving birth to Luke and Leia who would have probably been inducted into the Jedi Order. As for what would have happened between the two, with their marriage and all, that's a bit tricky.
In this timeline, Anakin would no doubt have become one of the most respected and powerful Jedi Masters on the council, joining the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and Yoda. However, Anakin's relationship with Senator Padmé Amidala would stand as a potential roadblock for the newly appointed master's Jedi career.
The canonical comic Star Wars: Darth Vader #7 confirms the younglings' deaths caused Anakin grief, self-loathing, hatred, and pain, fueling his descent even further into the Dark Side.
However, all this sudden anger is the result of decades of manipulation from Palpatine. With Qui-Gon Jinn's death in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Anakin lost the father figure he needed in his life.
Jurokk noticed the thousands of Clone Troopers behind Anakin, and while he was distracted, the Sith Lord raised his lightsaber to his chin and flicked the activation switch, giving the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker his first Jedi kill.
Instead, the theory suggests that Padmé died because Palpatine killed her. By taking a closer look at how Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader is intercut with Padmé's death, a clearer picture emerges of how Padmé's death was more likely a planned-out murder as opposed to an accidental tragedy.
Slaughtering The Tusken Raiders. Anakin's infamous slaughter of the Tusken Raiders is a critical moment in his life and his fall to the Dark Side of the Force. It follows the death of his mother and shows us his first real cinematic flurry of anger and hatred. It was a massive mistake by Anakin.
Ultimately showing the darker side of Anakin's love, his passionate nature leads him to care for Padme with all of his heart, far in excess of anything else in his life.
He wasn't calm, he was more disciplined. There's a difference. Vader realized after his crippling defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan, he couldn't be headstrong, overly emotional Anakin Skywalker anymore. He had to discipline himself and allow his rage to fuel him, while not controlling him.
When Padme confronted her husband on Mustafar, Anakin choked her to unconsciousness out of anger. While the act alone didn't kill her, Anakin's turn to the dark side was too much to bear. Holding on long enough to give birth to her children, Padme eventually passed away, having lost the will to live.
While George Lucas has never officially commented on it, it's agreed upon that when someone's eyes turn yellow, it means they are fully immersed in the dark side of the Force. They've lost control of emotions such as hatred, letting the dark side take over momentarily.
Anakin's fear of loss is something that is visible during every stage of his life: and it began with Shmi. He didn't want to let her go, he feared for her when he saw visions of his mother suffering which led to his desire to develop even more powerful abilities — to save the ones he loved.
During the battle, Anakin, who had been known as the Sith Lord Darth Vader, was redeemed by Luke and brought balance to the Force. However, the redemption cost Anakin his life, having been mortally wounded by the Emperor, Darth Sidious, while killing his former Master. After his death, Anakin became one with the Force.
Anakin does not have even the slightest bit of remorse. By the end, he feels nothing but anger. Although he feels regret for killing Padme, he still helps the evil Emperor.
Anakin Hated Obi-Wan Because of an Imagined Relationship With Padme. Although Padme and Obi-Wan's affair couldn't have been further from the truth, Anakin apparently built up a scenario in his mind, which was only heightened by the Jedi Council's obfuscation in other areas.
The added risk Darth Vader takes in allowing children to live in a situation where he could have killed them proves that he regrets killing Younglings and will avoid harming any more children for the rest of his days, though intense intimidation is a dark strategy to avoid repeating his Youngling massacre.
Dooku, AND Anakin, would be less likely to fall to the dark side if Qui-Gon was left alive and Maul's sympathetic past would never be revealed. For the former, Order 66 wouldn't be executed since Dooku wouldn't be the one planning to do that on the clones.
What would have happened if Anakin killed Palpatine?
The Clone Wars only ended when Palpatine sent Darth Vader to assassinate the Separatist Council and shut down their droid forces. Without Palpatine, the Separatists would continue to plague the galaxy, even with Dooku and Grievous dead.
Qui-Gon saw potential in young Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One, and could have prevented his dark fate. Marvel's new Phantom Menace Special issue further confirms Anakin needed Qui-Gon's guidance to control his emotions and remain on his Jedi path.
