Saw Gerrera and Darth Vader
In "In the Name of the Rebellion: Part 1" (Rebels 4.3), Mon Mothma and Saw Gerrera butt heads over how to fight against the Empire. Saw argues in favor of more extreme tactics, but Mon Mothma objects: "If we degrade ourselves to the Empire's level, what will we become?" When Saw reappears in Rogue One, it turns out that his fight against the Empire has, in fact, degraded him to the level of his enemy. In particular, Saw has come to bear a striking resemblance to Darth Vader.
Like Darth Vader, Saw has become a cyborg because of traumatic injuries. He has lost one leg and now has a mechanical foot. His face, like Vader's, is scarred, and like Vader, he requires a technological apparatus to help with his labored breathing.
Saw and Vader's physical injuries reflect their emotional wounds; Saw is haunted by the death of his sister Steela during the Clone Wars, and Vader is haunted by the death of his wife Padmé at the end of the Clone Wars. Both men have become brutal as a result of the losses they suffered, acting out of their own pain and inflicting pain on others. In A New Hope, Vader tortures Princess Leia to extract the location of the Rebel base; in Rogue One, Saw tortures Bodhi Rook to determine the veracity of the message he is carrying from Galen Erso.
However, neither man is beyond saving, and Saw's redemptive final moments foreshadow Vader's. When Vader is about to die in Return of the Jedi, he asks Luke Skywalker to remove the helmet that helps him breathe. Similarly, when Saw is about to die, he defiantly tears off his breathing apparatus. Both men finally accept death and, in the process, overcome their dependence on technology.
Moreover, both Saw and Vader reconcile with their estranged children in their final moments. Luke wants to save Vader, but Vader sends him away with the tender words, "Now go, my son." Likewise, Saw urges his surrogate daughter Jyn Erso to leave him to his death on Jedha, saying, "Go, my child." After spending their lives visiting destruction on their enemies, both men turn to thoughts of salvation at the point of death: Vader tells Luke that he has "saved" him and Saw's final words to Jyn are an exhortation to "Save the Rebellion! Save the dream!"
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Darth Vader / Saw Gerrera
Films: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story / Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Shows: Rebels
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Concepts: cyborgs / death / fathers / nature and technology
READ MORE ABOUT…
Follow The Jedi Archives on…