Even George Lucas has described Star Wars as being the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and as Star Wars movies and TV shows have added more to his story, that statement has only felt truer and truer. When Darth Vader was first introduced in A New Hope, for one, no one had any idea he was Anakin Skywalker.

Of course, that reveal came in The Empire Strikes Back, in a moment that changed Hollywood forever, and it started a whole new era of Anakin’s Star Wars timeline, wherein he was actually this incredibly complex, even sympathetic character. He was undeniably evil, but his story took on an entirely new meaning when this revelation occurred.

The prequel trilogy only made this all the more interesting, as those movies began with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which showed Anakin’s difficult childhood, enslaved on Tatooine, and how much he had missed his mother when he left to become a Jedi. From there, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (and, eventually, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, too) showed just how difficult and painful his young life was.

In many ways, this added context doubled down on the idea that Anakin’s story is a tragic one. Although he’s not really the victim of these circumstances, given what he becomes, his story should inspire empathy, especially since audiences have now seen just how much pain he was in throughout the prequel trilogy era. However, there’s one detail in particular that drives home what a true tragedy this story is, and it’s one that often gets overlooked.

Anakin Only Spent A Few Minutes Of His Life Without A Master

One of the bleakest truths about Anakin’s story, which is easy to miss, is that he actually spent mere moments of his life without a master. He was born into slavery on Tatooine, eventually being sold to Watto along with his mother, Shmi Skywalker. Although he was eventually freed by Qui-Gon Jinn, his freedom was always based on the fact that he was going to become a Jedi Padawan—something Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan Kenobi he would do anything to make sure happened.

Qui-Gon, of course, then dies in The Phantom Menace, at which point Obi-Wan steps in to become Anakin’s Jedi Master. Now, this isn’t to say that Jedi Masters and slave masters like Watto are the same; they very obviously aren’t, as Jedi can leave the Order at any time, and Jedi aren’t enslaving their Padawans. Even so, this was yet another person who was giving Anakin directions and rules to live by and, ultimately, was controlling his life in a sense.

Anakin does become a Jedi Knight between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but even after that transition, he continues to call Obi-Wan “master,” and it’s clear he still feels that dynamic between himself and Obi-Wan. Then, just about halfway through Revenge of the Sith, Anakin is back to having a master—one a lot more like Watto than the Jedi were—Palpatine/Darth Sidious.

Really, the only time that Anakin is truly without a master throughout his entire life in Star Wars are the few moments between when he kills Palpatine to save Luke and when he dies in Luke’s arms. This is an absolutely brutal realization about just how restrictive, controlled, and painful Anakin’s life was.

Anakin’s Actions Were Wrong, But He Is Still A Tragic Character

This fact, while sad, does not mean Anakin is absolved of all he has done. After all, Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order directly showed Anakin that there was another way, and at the very least, he did not need to turn to the dark side or slaughter the Jedi, including younglings. Worse still, he goes on to become one of the cruelest villains in the galaxy.

Yet, this detail should make Anakin more of a sympathetic character to audiences. Anakin’s life, even when he was being trained as a Jedi, was never easy. From the moment he arrived on Coruscant, he was treated like a threat and an outsider (and he was fully aware that the Jedi Council had rejected him at first). He also experienced the gutting loss of his mother.

It’s clear, based on these details, that Anakin Skywalker’s story in Star Wars really is a tragedy. That doesn’t mean anyone has to forgive what he did, but it is an important factor in his larger timeline.