By Ben Hardwick
Anakin joined Palpatine with the goal of saving Padme. But after she died in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, he didn't leave the dark side behind.
Over the course of the Star Wars prequels, Anakin's fall to the dark side is full of irony. He only wanted to care for his friends and family, and his need to keep Padme alive drove him. Anakin even joined Palpatine and betrayed the Jedi to prevent her from dying during childbirth. However, if saving Padme was Anakin's only plan, why did he stay with Palpatine after she died?
When Anakin became Darth Vader, he had no care for the Sith and what they stood for. His only reason for turning to the dark side was a need to protect the ones he loved and to learn the secrets of preventing death. From Anakin's point of view, becoming Palpatine's apprentice was simply a way of becoming more powerful, and all the evil tasks he had to complete were to bring him closer to his goal.
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Anakin Was Already Gone After Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
After Padme died, Anakin had already fully committed to the dark side. Even if he still desired to do good, his anger had corrupted him to the point of no return. And this anger was amplified even further once he believed he caused Padme's death, as now he had nothing but a deep hatred for himself and everything around him. Yoda even says in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, "If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice."
Of course, it didn't forever dominate Anakin's destiny, as he eventually returned to the light. But it was still a long process to get there, and little remained of the man Vader once was. Even during Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader told his former master, "You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did," which fully commits to the idea that Anakin and Darth Vader were two separate people.
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Darth Vader Had No One Left in Star Wars
Even with Anakin gone, it doesn't mean Darth Vader had to stick around as a Sith. If he wanted to, he could've gone into exile or attempted to kill Palpatine. After all, Vader still had no attachment to the Sith and their ideals at this point. However, Palpatine was seemingly the only friend he had left.
Vader had no idea he had been groomed by Palpatine his entire life and that their friendship was entirely fake. He still believed Palpatine was telling the truth when he said he would help save Padme. So, from Vader's distorted point of view, Palpatine had done nothing wrong and was the only person left by his side. And rather than lose everyone in his life, he figured he might as well commit to his life as a Sith.
Director George Lucas often described Star Wars as "The Tragedy of Darth Vader," which sums it up. Anakin had pushed away everyone who loved him to the point where he was left as the corrupt Darth Vader with only Palpatine to rely on. And despite losing everything he wanted, there was still anger and the need to become stronger through the Sith.
