Star Wars: 10 most disliked storylines, ranked

2. Anakin Skywalker's character arc (Prequel trilogy)

Imagine waiting years to see how the galaxy's greatest hero, Anakin Skywalker, turns into the most feared villain, Darth Vader, only to find out the journey feels like it was plotted on a napkin during a coffee break and then badly delivered.

That's a bit how some Star Wars fans felt about Anakin's character arc in the prequel trilogy. It's not that we didn't want to see him go from a cute and slightly annoying, podracing wunderkind to the Dark Side's poster boy - it's more about how that transformation was served to us. Instead of a slow-burn transformation filled with nuanced decisions and a gradual descent into darkness, Anakin's turn to the dark side felt more like someone flipped a switch. One minute he's a moody yet promising Jedi with really nice hair, and the next, he's slaughtering younglings and turning on his friends faster than you can say "I have the high ground!"

The prequels promised to show us the tragedy of Darth Vader, but the execution left many feeling like they'd been promised a gourmet meal and got fast food instead.

Anakin's fall from grace had all the subtlety of a neon sign, with his motivations ranging from teenage angst to a sudden and inexplicable willingness to do anything to save Padmé - including betraying everything he once stood for. The dialogue didn't help either, often feeling as wooden as the lightsabers are supposed to not be - which was definitely not on Hayden Christensen but whoever wrote the script. We craved a complex, relatable path to villainy, not a leap off the moral high dive with little explanation.

In the end, Anakin's journey to becoming Darth Vader is a bit like getting a puzzle with half the pieces missing: you can see the picture, but it's not as satisfying as putting it all together yourself.