Being consumed by the Dark side of the Force while walking around in a giant space-age iron lung means Darth Vader was pretty miserable. But, it turns out the worst part about being a Dark Lord of the Sith and an enforcer for the Empire is that you just don’t have any free time to yourself!
In a fantastic fan-made video posted on YouTube by an account called “Fact Free,” the simple of question of “What Does Darth Vader Do in His Free Time?” is explored in fantastic detail. Incorporating details from both old Legends canon and current, “real” Star Wars canon, the video highlights Anakin Skywalker’s early years imprisoned inside his all-black life-support suit. The video also postulates that his time in his bacta tank — as glimpsed in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — was probably one of the only times he wasn’t in constant physical pain.
But the best point made here is easily the fact that Darth Vader buried himself in his work in order to avoid dealing with the pain of all the mistakes he made. Instead of trying to work through his personal pain, Vader just signed up for a ton of overtime with the Empire. Between hunting down the last of the Jedi and looking for the Death Star plans, he had almost no time for personal hobbies or reflection.
Fans have always thought of Vader as a great metaphor for all kinds of vices. From addiction and anger management to possessiveness and arrogance, we’ve all seen what Vader-like behavior can do in real life. Now, we can add workaholic to that list. Anger and fear definitely lead to the Dark side, but not getting enough time off to yourself might be even worse.
