After asking Luke to remove Vader’s helmet, the last line the freshly redeemed Anakin spoke before dying was: “Tell your sister you were right about me,” meaning there was still good in him after all. That interaction between father and son was so touching, but seriously, those were the only words he had for the daughter whose mind, body, and friends he tortured? Ick. This continues to leave me with gross feelings, especially since multiple canon sources indicate how awful and permanently scarring Leia’s experiences with Vader were.

With this as a reminder, what do you think would have been the most appropriate last words?

P.S. I know things are much different in Legends, but I am looking for input on the canonical story. Thanks!

"I'm sorry for all the horrible things I've done."

Serious answers, people. Thank you, @Shambala108 I agree that probably would have helped Leia. I personally doubt that he would have sincerely meant it, but I would have been glad that he at least said sorry.

I think “I’m sorry” takes the cake. It’s short and straight to the point, and instead of making excuses like “I didn’t know”, it actually acknowledges that no matter what information he may or may not have known or what his reasonings were, his actions were despicable all the same and he regrets them. Because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter who Leia is or what kind of relation she has to Vader, torturing anyone is wrong and more than worthy of an apology.

”An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything.” - Lynn Johnston

@Daisy Aipom That's a great response and a great quote. Thank you for sharing!

Piggybacking off of @Shambala108 , never underestimate the power of an apology. The whole time I’m reading their conversation in Truce at Bakura, I’m waiting for Anakin to actually come out his mouth and say “I’m so sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you and the people you love”. Instead he says things like “Don’t be scared of me. I’m forgiven” and “I strengthen the alliance but that wasn’t my intention”. I’m like “Seriously bro…you were forgiven by who other than Luke..?”. The fact that Leia was justifiably upset at the very sight of him probably wasn’t the best time to mention that he had no intention of helping the organization she dedicated her life to but what do I know lol? Anyways, I would very much appreciate Anakin actually putting his remorse in the form of an apology instead of trying to make it seem like Luke being right about him is supposed to be of some comfort to Leia.

@Swatteam123 fully agreed. I imagine that meeting would have proceeded similarly if it had existed in canon.

The closest thing there is Anakin's conversation with Obi-Wan as he too became one with the Force. It is so lovely that it almost makes up for the terrible last words spoken with his meat body. Almost.

He should've apologized for all the terrible things he has done, i agree with the previous responses

In a way, I also feel like the only one of these that would have made much of a difference to Leia is mentioning her mother. Both of them indeed would have been so very proud of their daughter. Hmmm.