8)Â Vader Saves Luke – Return Of The Jedi
We’ve already discussed the opening of Return of the Jedi, but its grand climax is even more iconic. Goaded by the Emperor, Luke goes to kill him – only to be stopped by Vader. Fuelled by rage, Luke almost kills his own father, but comes to his senses just in time. The Emperor attacks him instead, before Vader finally stands up for his son and tosses the Emperor to his death. At last, the good in him has won out over the dark.
As the culmination of everything the trilogy had been building up to, this sequence had a lot riding on it, and it didn’t disappoint. On an action level, the various feuds between the three characters are all awesome to watch unfold and, on a dramatic, character-level, Luke’s realization that he’s falling into a trap and then Vader’s ultimate redemption are tremendous.
The battle – both physical and internal – between good and evil has never been portrayed on a more epic, grander scale in the Star Wars franchise than in this scene.
