Why Would Anakin Still Turn, Knowing What the Brother Revealed?

If we can all agree on something, it’s that the Mortis arc is one of the best storylines in The Clone Wars. It’s where things get weird, mystical, and heavy with Force lore. We meet the Father, the Daughter, and the Son—beings who seem like gods, each representing a side of the Force.

Then comes the twist: the Son takes Anakin aside and shows him his future—everything. The fall of the Jedi, the rise of the Empire, Padmé’s death, and his transformation into Darth Vader.

And Anakin gives in. He turns.

He even tells Obi-Wan, “I have seen that it is the Jedi who will stand in the way of peace.”

Just to clarify—I’m not asking why he falls later in Revenge of the Sith. We know the Father erases this vision from his mind. I’m talking about this moment on Mortis. Why would Anakin turn right then and there? Why would he side with the Son?

He Turned to the Son to Prevent the Tragedy He Saw

The first clear answer we get from the Mortis arc about why Anakin joined the Son is simple: he believed he had no other choice.

After witnessing the horrifying vision of his future—from turning into Darth Vader to causing countless deaths, Anakin’s entire mindset shifted. Before the vision, he was determined to stop the Son. With the Daughter dead, Anakin believed killing the Son was the only way to restore balance to Mortis.

But once the Son revealed what Anakin would become, everything changed.

The Son promised that the future could be altered. He told Anakin that together, they could destroy the Emperor, avoid that dark path, and bring peace to the galaxy. In that moment, Anakin didn’t turn to the dark side because he craved power—he turned because he was trying to prevent the nightmare he had just seen.

That’s why he later tells Obi-Wan, “I have seen that it is the Jedi who will stand in the way of peace.” He believed the Jedi would make the wrong choices, and that siding with the Son might be the only way to save Padmé, the Republic, and maybe even the Jedi—just not in the way he originally imagined.

Anakin Believed His Visions Too Much

This moment on Mortis wasn’t the only time Anakin let a vision of the future control his actions—it’s a pattern we’ve seen before. Back in Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin saw Padmé dying in childbirth, that vision haunted him. Even though it hadn’t happened yet, he treated it like it was guaranteed. That fear led him to make decisions that actually caused the very outcome he was trying to avoid.

So when the Son shows Anakin his future as Darth Vader—the fall of the Jedi, the rise of the Empire, Padmé’s death—it’s not just shocking. It’s real to him. Just like before, he doesn’t question whether it might be one possible future. He assumes it will happen unless he does something drastic to change it.

And that’s exactly what the Son offers. He tells Anakin the future can be changed, that together they can destroy the Emperor and bring peace. To Anakin, that sounds like a lifeline. He’s not thinking like a Jedi anymore—he’s thinking like someone who’s desperate to stop the vision from coming true, even if it means turning against everything he’s ever known.

That’s what makes his fall so believable. It wasn’t just manipulation—it was Anakin falling into the same trap he’s always been vulnerable to: thinking he can control the future, and trusting the vision more than the people around him.

We see how deeply he believes in the vision when the Father asks, “What did he show you?” and Anakin responds, “I’ve seen what I become. And I cannot let that happen.”

To which the Father answers:

“Your destiny can change, just as quickly as the love in one’s heart can fade. Nothing is set in stone.”

But maybe the Father understood something important in that moment: Anakin couldn’t come back from what he’d seen—not on his own. The vision had already taken root. So the only way to restore balance was to take that vision away. That’s why the Father used the last of his power to erase what the Son had shown him, giving Anakin one more chance to walk his path without that weight on his soul.