#meta: anidala

[padawanlost]

Do you think Anikans love for Padme died eventually?

No, never. His love for her and their family saved him even nothing else could.

“Now, young Skywalker …” the Emperor snarled, “you will die.” Luke had not imagined pain beyond what he had already suffered, but then he was hit by a wave of power that was even more staggering. His harsh screams echoed across the throne room. Beside the Emperor, Darth Vader continued to stand and watch. He looked to the Emperor again, then back to Luke. And then, in a moment, something changed. Perhaps he remembered something heard in his youth a long time ago: an ancient prophecy of the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. Perhaps the vague outlines of someone named Shmi and a Jedi named Qui-Gon struggled to the surface of his consciousness. The most powerful, the most repressed thought of all could have emerged from the darkness: Padmé … and her undying love for someone he once knew well. And despite all the terrible, unspeakable things he’d done in his life, he suddenly realized he could not stand by and allow the Emperor to kill their son. And in that moment, he was no longer Darth Vader. He was Anakin Skywalker.

[Ryder Windham's Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]

[gffa]

Hot Take: I don't think Obi-Wan is being literal in this scene, but instead asking Anakin to read between the lines and to maintain the delicate balance he's kept thus far with his relationship vs his duty to the Jedi Order. The way Obi-Wan is written over the course of the story often implies that he knows about Anakin and Padme's relationship--Padme tells Anakin that Obi-Wan came to see her in Revenge of the Sith because he's worried about Anakin, Obi-Wan goes to her when he's trying to find Anakin after Order 66, or even in TCW where he sees Anakin sneaking off while making Rex cover for him and knows it's about Padme.

Obi-Wan knows that Anakin and Padme are in some sort of relationship. He doesn't know the depth of it, he doesn't know that they've been married for years at this point, but he does know that they have feelings and are acting on them to some degree. He's never said anything to stop it before. In this moment where he talks about Satine and feelings, it's not just a regular chat, it's specifically about Anakin having lost it, this is after he's become emotionally volatile about Padme, after he beat Rush Clovis pretty badly (to the point that he scared Padme off their relationship for awhile) and is obviously unbalanced. I don't think Obi-Wan is literally asking him to stop the relationship, he's pointing out that feelings are natural, of course they're allowed within the Jedi, but that Anakin is sliding into dangerous territory and he's asking that Anakin work to regain the equilibrium he had before this, to refocus on his internal balance and find it again. Because, several episodes later, when Anakin has calmed down and refocused himself, Obi-Wan knows he's still seeing Padme and doesn't object again. He's not trying to stop it even knowing that it's still going. Obi-Wan isn't asking Anakin to give up the relationship for the Jedi Order, but to take a step back and get his shit together again for the sake of the Order. He's just asking Anakin to read between the lines to understand what he's actually saying (keep the relationship, feelings are normal and allowed, but get your cool back together), because that's how Obi-Wan speaks and this is a delicate conversation. He's asking Anakin, if you're going to keep this relationship, you have to maintain your balance with your emotions and not fly off in a rage about it, because you are a level 100 psychic space wizard who can kill people with your mind powers when your emotions are out of whack.

[darth-jess]

In my head, Vader relives every single moment he ever had with Padmé over and over again. Partly for comfort, partly because he misses her, but mostly to torture himself.

I wonder, if in all his remembrances, he thinks of how Palpatine admitted he knew of their marriage (Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover), and yet he still sent Padmé on a mission to basically seduce Rush Clovis.

And I wonder if it ever crosses Vader's mind that Palpatine did this just to drive a wedge between them. That Palpatine tried to get between him and his wife.

I wonder if he ever thinks about how many times Dooku tried to have Padmé assassinated, but Dooku was just taking orders from Palpatine.

I wonder if he thinks about every risky mission Palpatine sent Padmé on, missions where she got captured or badly hurt.

Vader is not stupid.

You know he thinks about these things.

You know he hates Palpatine for all of this, and so much more.

And yet, Vader stays by Palpatine's side.

Not because he believes Palpatine is his friend. Not even because he believes Palpatine will help him become more powerful, though he definitely tells himself this lie.

Vader stays because Palpatine is the only one who accepts him. If Vader left, where would he go? What purpose would he have? He would have to go live out his life completely alone and isolated, and he would be forced to confront all the grief and the horror he caused.

Nobody loves Vader, nobody ever could.

He hates himself.

Because he was the Chosen One, who couldn't save his mother, who couldn't save Ahsoka, who couldn't save his wife, who couldn't save his unborn child.

And this existence, of being used and made to do all these terrible things, is what he deserves.

[skywalkr-nberrie]

I think it’s so under appreciated how much Anakin admired Padmé and looked up to her while also being madly in love with her. She wasn’t just the woman he loved, she was many things in one. She was also an inspiration for him, and Anakin had the utmost respect, love, adoration, and admiration for her. So I wanted to bring this into light.

Let’s begin.

Starting off in Secrets of The Jedi where Anakin states how he’s proud of Padmé’s reputation that she’s built for herself as a well known and outspoken Senator.

The way he lists of all here in Clone Wars: Wild Space that she had many aspects to her and he absolutely adores and loves all of them. Again his pride for her seeping through in this passage.

If anyone knew better how much difference Padmé makes everyday with her influence and position, it was Anakin. He always believed in her and he knows the Republic needs her.

Anakin hyping his girl, stating the facts that she’s no dolt and he rightfully acknowledges her intelligence and excellence 💯 he knows his wife is a queen.

“you are anything but weak-minded.” 😭

Literally this passage of Brotherhood where Anakin admits he sees Padmé as a guide in his life in her own way. The amount of respect and high regards he must see her in to view her as something so special 🥹 he admires her morality and determination to do her duty, that he feels inspired by it.

Which brings me to my favourite page in “A Jedi’s Journal” where Anakin sketches a picture of a feisty Padmé and writes about how he doesn’t want to look like a failure in her eyes. Her opinion of him matters to most to him.

One of my fave Vader comics (Vader and the lost command) where Vader dreams up an AU where Padmé lives and he defeats Palpatine, and the clear vision of seeing Padmé as becoming the Chancellor because he always saw her as the only person fit to rule over the galaxy. And in this particular page, we see Padmé doubting herself and Anakin reassuring her that she’d never make the wrong decisions, that she was “born for this role”, that there couldn’t be anyone better for the job. A testament to how much faith he has in her and her capabilities even as Vader ♥️

Moving onto the next page from the same comic, we see how Padmé is referred to as the “the galaxy’s true guardian of peace and freedom”, and reminder that this is still Vader’s vision, and that means it’s truly something Anakin/Vader thinks of Padmé (despite that it is in fact true.) as I mentioned, he always sees her in the highest regards.

Vader even dreams of their kid “Jinn” making note of how with Padmé in power, the use of the Jedi will become “obsolete” and Anakin himself replies “we can only hope.” It’s like he sees Padmé as the true hero and not himself, the ‘Chosen One’ and ‘The Hero With No Fear.’ or the Jedi. 🥹

Then it ends with Anakin stepping up to Padmé and tells her how everyone adores her, because that’s exactly the kind of respect and love Padmé deserves, he knows it, and he envisions it so clearly. Cause that’s how things SHOULD be.

Padmé is the reason why Anakin is the man he is, she’s responsible for making him into the hero he’s become and Anakin really said it himself in Clone Wars: Wild Space pretty clearly without hesitation:

“The point is that without you, I’m nothing. Without you, Anakin Skywalker doesn’t exist.”

[butchvaderkin]

If you were the shepherd and I was the lamb, and long was the journey and dark was the land, who would be following? Who would be free? And who would believe that the shepherd was me? (x)

for @padmestrilogy - thank you for writing and sharing your beautiful padmé analysis <3

[david-talks-sw]

Part 2 of the 4-part post series interweaving George Lucas' words in a curated meta post. Here's PART 1, here's PART 2.5.

In George Lucas' words: The Fall and Return of Anakin Skywalker

- Episode II -

Anakin's status quo at the start of the film.

In Episode II, Anakin is a teenager. A petulant, whiny, pain in the ass teenager, and I hate to say it, but that's what a lot of teenagers are!

He is a little cocky, a little sure of himself, and constantly chafing a little bit with Obi-Wan. That said, it's worth pointing out that Obi-Wan and Anakin actually like each other.

Their introduction scene was, in fact, a reshoot, that came from George wanting to emphasize the fact that the two are partners and friends, and even though there’s a little bit of tension between the two of them, throughout the film, where they're at each other's throats, they do have a history of warm friendship, off-screen.

Even though Obi-Wan is a "stern taskmaster" and mentor, he still cares about Anakin. And he’s more frustrated with their relationship and Anakin’s unwillingness to go along with the rules, whereas Anakin feels he is being held back by Obi-Wan.

They both have a point. Because while Anakin is indeed a gifted person, very talented, there is a constant dichotomy of "Anakin's lack of discipline vs his natural talent" at play.

In every set-piece, we think that [Anakin's] gone a little bit too far and made a mistake, and then you realize that he’s actually very clever. And then, sometimes, it's the opposite. We think he's got this, and actually... he doesn't.

The fact is that, being the Chosen One, Anakin is slightly more powerful than other people, which means he is slightly ahead of himself at all times.

We also get a little sense that Anakin has some relationship with Palpatine and that he likes Palpatine, his other mentor figure. 

The chancellor's place in Anakin's life isn't helpful, as we can see that Palpatine is sort of boosting his ego to make him feel that he's better than possibly he really is.

A lot of Anakin's philosophies and some of Anakin's dialog later on - about how he should be allowed more freedom, more assignments - come from Palpatine.

So on the one hand, things aren't perfect. For someone in Anakin's situation, the ability to do evil is much easier to come by. The issues he struggles with are the same issues that everybody struggles with, the fact that sometimes they don’t consider the consequences of what they’re doing because it’s not expedient.

On the other hand, Anakin is still essentially a good kid, and he's determined to be greatest among the Jedi. It's not that he has evil intentions, but in this film we see how he's under some pressure and we start to realize that some new temptations are coming his way.

These new temptations come in the shape of:

the nightmares of his mother

and the reunion with his beloved Padmé.

Anakin & Padmé - from attraction to love

When Padmé re-enters his life, the film shifts into a story about Anakin's dealing with his emotions, the difficulty of his being torn between his duty as a Jedi who swore to serve the Republic, and his emotional needs, which relate to Padmé.

Back in Episode I, Anakin had a crush on her when he was little. She dismissed him because he was just a little kid, but she liked him, like as with a puppy. Now, she’s grown up. And she's beginning to see him as an attractive young man.

As they are paired together, we go back and forth between them - as two young people having feelings for each other - and them, in the context of her position as a Senator, and his position as a Jedi.

She's more disciplined, whereas he's naive, especially around her. He's never been in a situation like this before, so he’s falling in love, but he doesn’t really know it. And it is forbidden.

There are social barriers that have been put up and there's a practical reality of what would happen to them in the future, if they were to let their emotions run wild. 

They're both government officials who have made a commitment toward the Republic and its citizens. Seeing as neither of them is willing to quit, duty dictates that they renounce their love, and dedicate their lives selflessly to carrying on with their responsibilities.

After he spills his guts out to her and she refuses to go along with him, Anakin does realize that, yes, this would not be a good idea… because it would jeopardize his career, it'd jeopardize her, and it probably wouldn't be a good thing.

But they do love each other. They’re truly in love with each other.

It’s the issue of "true love over duty." It’s really the "Romeo and Juliet" aspect of it, of a doomed relationship, in more ways than one really.

And eventually... they give in. This culminates with an idyllic situation on Naboo, where Anakin and Padmé are getting married in what appears to be a somewhat happy ending.

But Anakin and Padmé's marriage is not gonna work. It is a complex, slightly dysfunctional relationship because, to Anakin, she’s much more than a wife. And it will only become clear too late to Padmé that she married the wrong guy.

It's only when you put it in the context of the bigger story that you see the handwriting on the wall.

You notice flaws in Anakin's personality that are going to sink him in the end, as hinted by his metal hand, and the fated "Darth Vader influence" it implies.

Anakin & Shmi - from love to attachment

When we're talking about Anakin's flaws, many of them are established in Episode II.

His emotions run amok... moreso now that he's falling in love.

He's undisciplined... as teenagers tend to be.

He's arrogant... but with exceptional powers like his (and the constant egging on from Palpatine), it's easy to see why.

However, there is, one flaw that comes back to haunt him, all the way back from Episode I. Anakin has a fear of losing things, namely the fear of losing his mother.

The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that he can’t hold onto things is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally.

And as a result, he wants to begin to control things, he wants to become more powerful. And these are not Jedi traits.

Part of the reason for this flaw is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi.

He started to be trained so late in life, that he had already formed these attachments. And for a Jedi, attachment is forbidden. You can love people, but you have to love them unconditionally, in terms that you can’t hold on to them.

If he’d have been taken in his first year and started to study to be a Jedi, he would have been trained to love people without getting attached to them.

But Anakin has confused possessive love with compassionate love.

Because he was unwilling to let go of his mother, because he was so attached to her, he committed this terrible revenge on the Tusken Raiders. This is the first act that ultimately takes him on the road to the Dark Side.

And in the aftermath of this... he is very sad and depressed. Horrified at his actions.

But what he’s really upset about is the fact that he’s not powerful enough. He voices jealousy and anger at Obi-Wan, he blames everyone else for his inability to be as powerful as he wants to be, and he hears all the time from Palpatine that he will be.

He tells himself that "if he had more power, he could’ve kept his mother, he could’ve saved her and she could’ve been in his life."

Down the line, he will also become attached to Padmé and these things are - for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments - a dangerous situation.

Because whereas a good Jedi overcomes their flaws and kinda goes above the normal human tragedy that most people have to experience, Anakin doubles down on this crucial flaw, which feeds into his fear of losing things, and grows into greed and wanting to keep his "possessions," and things that he should be letting go of.

Sources:

Attack of the Clones Commentary Tracks #1 and #2, 2002

Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of 'Attack of the Clones', 2002

Primissima, p. 32, May Issue, 2002 

LA Times, 2002

CNN, 2002

Attack of the Clones, “Story” Featurette, 2002

Starlog Magazine #337, 2005

Rolling Stone, 2005

The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020

[reactorshaft]

Padme, the child queen, who wears her stoic face of diplomacy under a ten pound wig and headpiece, who poses pillar-straight under even heavier 50 pound elaborate gowns, who pleads to the Galactic Senate to help her planet. Her planet was blockaded, her cities invaded, her people captured and detained in camps. The queen Padme, whose pleas were democratically ignored due to the greed of corrupt senators allied with the Trade Federation that sought to seize her planet. Padme, the young queen, with her back straight and her face calm and unlined, had to bear their dismissal. Padme, who assisted in the defense of her planet with two Jedi and a boy they pulled from slavery. A boy who called her an angel and did not hesitate to risk his life to help save hers when thousands of galactic representatives so recently declared the lives of her and her planet not worth the risk or effort.

And years later when this boy cries over his mother, only just dead, and admits to slaughtering those who captured and imprisoned her, Padme thinks, “This is a man who will do anything for me, will slay my enemies, will be the anger I should not feel. He is worth the risk and effort.”

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

I just had a thought. So, you know that infamous scene in Attack of the Clones where Anakin complains about sand and then kisses Padme? I’m wondering now if the scene would’ve landed better if the situation was reversed. Not the lines, but the kiss.

Anakin talks about his rough childhood, but then unintentionally flirts with Padme (the soft and smooth line). We can excuse this since Anakin is socially awkward and doesn’t really know how to talk to people. So, Anakin doesn’t interpret what he said as suggestive, but Padme does. Padme, thinking that the cute Jedi is hitting on her, leans in to kiss him. Anakin initially accepts, but then remembers he’s a Jedi. He breaks off the kiss and says they shouldn’t have done that.

With this rewrite, we establish:

1) Padme is as attracted to Anakin as Anakin is to her. This helps fix the problem that people had with the movie in that the romance seemed too one-sided.

2) It reaffirms that Anakin, despite his dark tendencies, is taking his Jedi vows seriously.

3) It makes more sense that the character who took a strict vow to avoid attachments is the one who breaks off the kiss.

4) It works better for Anakin’s story since he was “seduced” by the Dark Side. Not saying that Padme was seducing him or that she’s secretly a Sith Lord, but it works in that Anakin is someone who was tempted to break his vows by his own desires. He’s like a priest who falls in love, despite knowing that his vows are preventing him from getting married.

5) Maybe this is just me, but I feel that it makes more sense to portray Padme as the one pushing for the romance than Anakin. Padme is a rich politician, she doesn’t have the same restrictions in pursuing a partner that Anakin has. I mean, the justification the movie gave was that she’s a senator, which doesn’t really make sense. You can be a senator and still be married. Sure, she could be thinking that it’d be scandalous if people learned that she was dating a Jedi, but that’s more Anakin’s problem than her. Her political career could survive, Anakin’s Jedi career would be toast.

Also, Padme is someone who had guys pursuing her, thus it makes more sense she’s a lot more comfortable when it comes to romance. You can further justify this as Padme being someone who isn’t used to so many rules and restrictions over how to live her life, thus she doesn’t realize that Anakin is taking his vows seriously. Meanwhile, Anakin is someone who spent most of his childhood with his mom, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi Order, it makes more sense for him to be the one who doesn’t have romance on the mind. You can further justify this as Anakin is someone who never thought he’d even get the chance to fall in love because he grew up as a slave and then took on the Jedi vows.

[sad-stucky-shipper-107]

I apologize in advance for spamming the tags but I just had a cursed thought and I need you all to also think about this:

Ik some of us don't really like to acknowledge the sequels but Palpatine rlly said trans rights lmfao when he was tryna transfer his consciousness into Rey's body, like man simply did not give a fuck the body he was trying possess was female.

[padmestrilogy]

VOTE NOW!!!

[groove-on-boogie-down]

Just watched Attack of the Clones and noticed more parallels between Anakin Skywalker and Osha Aniseya.

(Long post ahead, with visuals!)

In AotC, Anakin's mother dies before she can tell him, "I love you," and Anakin descends down a path of destruction out of grief.

Osha force-chokes her father figure before he can say, "I love you," because she grieves his betrayal and the loss of her family.

Now these are very different forms of paternal love by Shmi and Sol, but I LOVE comparing and contrasting Anakin and Osha because these situations lead to different outcomes and reactions. Yet at the core, they have these strong emotions they hold inside. In the simplest form, they have both lost parents and both lost their mothers.

Both Osha and Anakin are born with the help of the Force, we know this. Anakin is born completely of the Force. Osha and Mae are born through their mother's magic augmented by the Force. Anakin didn't care for his home planet. He was born into slavery and trauma. But his mother loved him dearly. He left because he dreamt of better. To be a Jedi and return to free her too.

Osha came from a family that loved and protected her, but she longed for individuality and to explore the galaxy outside of their coven walls. Anakin finds his mother in her last moments, and the dark side takes over him. He seeks revenge and kills the Tusken camp out of rage.

Osha learns the man who raised her killed her mother. Her silent anger is simmering. She doesn't lash out the exact same way, she's in shock.

Their reactions work for both of them. Anakin had his emotions building inside of him. In his feelings of inadequacy, he tells Padme that he is used to fixing everything, but this is the one time he failed. Anakin thinks he lost his mother due to his own weakness and believes more power will prevent it in the future. However, he is also ashamed of how his anger manifests and the act he committed in the camp. Padme tells him, "To be angry is to be human." (And as I am typing this RotS is on and Palpatine tells him the same, that seeking revenge on Dooku is natural despite his unease). But because of his training, Anakin says, "I'm a Jedi. I know, I'm better than this."

Osha has power, but she doesn't realize it. Striking out at Qimir catches her off guard. Killing her master startles her to shock. She's not seeking power. Osha seeks an understanding of herself and to be understood. Just like Anakin, Osha believes she failed as a Jedi for showing her anger. For not being able to accept loss. Qimir pushes her to confront his realization, and similar to Padme, he tells her, "This anger, this pain. This is who you are."

Anakin and Osha descend to darkness in similar ways. They feel and emote in similar ways. The Jedi are not successful in teaching them how to healthily deal with their feelings. So these experiences mirror, but they are still distinct examples of Jedi that are seduced to the dark side.

To me, Anakin Skywalker and Osha Aniseya are incredibly compelling characters that are only strengthened when analyzed together. End.

[wlwanakin]

could you explain to me in your opinion what exactly saw padme in anakin to fall for him? in aotc it came like out of nowhere after three days knowing him, anakin then commited tusken genocide and padme was ready to forgive him despite her strong sense of justice, to me it just feels very off and diservicing to her, how wasnt that a deal breaker for her

i’ll gladly explain!! and i’ve spoken briefly about how i view padmé’s reaction to the tusken massacre before, but i’ll elaborate here too.

i think the key things to remember when looking at anidala from padmé’s perspective are a) love is by nature pretty irrational so you’re never gonna be able to fully rationalize padmé’s love for anakin, b) padmé is a deeply lonely person in a career that requires her to distance herself from others and sacrifice authenticity, c) padmé met anakin when he was an enslaved child and she was a teenaged queen dealing with an unprecedented crisis and he played a key role in solving that whilst showing her extreme kindness and selflessness, and d) as of the beginning of aotc, padmé has just narrowly escaped death and lost two of her devoted handmaidens who she also considered to be her friends. these are the big things informing her mindset and her perception of anakin throughout the film.

i think one thing that trips people up even before they go to tatooine is that anakin is just weird in aotc, but the thing is that that’s what made padmé fall for him. she’s been in politics since she was a child, and politics is a field that requires inauthenticity by default, and in padmé’s case that’s to an extreme degree because she spent her teen years putting on the queen amidala persona and the anonymous handmaiden persona, then the minute that was up she became a senator and senator amidala is not as dramatic a persona but it is one nonetheless because politics and diplomacy require that. her entire life since she was fourteen has been spent playing roles, surrounded by others also playing roles, and she’s a severe workaholic working under a sense of moral obligation so unlike some people in the same field might she doesn’t really have a life outside of this. and here comes anakin, who she’s already fond of because of the kindness he showed her and her people when he was a child, and he’s so unlike any of the people she’s surrounded by because he is earnest to a fault. he’s socially stunted, he’s abrasive and combative, he doesn’t give a shit about niceties or diplomacy, he says every weird thing he thinks before he even finishing thinking it, and can you imagine how refreshing that must be to someone whose entire social life is just her staff and fellow politicians who are all inauthentic by nature? and on top of how appealing that is on its own he’s also hot, and he still shows that he cares for her, and he gives her space to be authentic as well. he jokes with her, he speaks openly about his emotions and gives her room to do the same, he treats her like a person rather than a figurehead. it’s a perfect recipe for romance, really.

so it’s important to note that, for all these reasons, she was already in love with him before they even left naboo, and that informs all her actions throughout the last half of the film. it’s also important to note that she is carrying the guilt and grief of cordé and versé’s deaths on her shoulders as well as all the strange emotions that come with a near-death experience. and that’s the mindset she’s traveling to tatooine with, knowing that anakin might be on the verge of a monumental loss himself. and then the worst case scenario happens and she does see him grieving, and she understands to an extent what it’s like to experience a loss that feels like her fault. it’s the opening scene of the film! so she sees his volatile grief and that doesn’t scare her off because his vulnerability and depth of emotion are part of what drew her to him in the first place since she is someone who has long been denied access to such vulnerability. and all this gives her immense grounds to sympathize deeply with him by the time he confesses to the massacre.

i guess i kind of understand why people think her reaction to anakin’s confession is a bad character moment or a disservice or whatever, but it’s actually one of my favorite padmé moments for a lot of reasons. it makes sense to me that under the circumstances padmé would underreact to the crime being confessed. she has a strong sense of justice but she also loves anakin and understands what he’s feeling, she knows him and knows his immense capacity for goodness because she’s witnessed it, and above all she is an idealist. she is driven by immense compassion and that is something that can be misapplied and it isn’t inherently virtuous. she can look past anakin’s crime because she sympathizes deeply with the emotions that motivated it, and because she knows him well enough to know that he isn’t defined by this level of cruelty and she has no reason to believe he’ll make a habit out of it considering the remorse he’s expressing, and quite simply and selfishly because she loves him. it isn’t a morally upright moment for her but it doesn’t have to be because this streak of hypocrisy she has is really interesting and makes her feel more human than if she was just a paragon of virtue.

so after that really crazy week? week and a half? geonosis happens, and this is padmé’s second super close brush with death in like a month, and her love confession comes in a moment right before what’s supposed to be an execution because of course you’re gonna grab life by the tits if you only have like five minutes of it left. and near-death experiences are very perspective shifting things, and she just had two super close together and anakin just had one right along with her and is about to be shipped off to the chronic near-death experience that is Fighting In A War, and she is very madly in love with him and he is the only person she can be herself around, and after all that and lifetime of repressing and sacrificing her entire self for public service she says fuck it and lets herself have this one selfish thing and marries him. and that’s really all of it, nothing was a dealbreaker because padmé really truly loves anakin and almost died twice and also almost lost him and he gives her something no one else ever could and she wants that. and after the whirlwind she just experienced she’s gonna take it.

and even with all this aside i think it’s important to give padmé as a character space to be irrational because she is, at the end of the day, a character, and not a real person or even an audience insert. and she’s a character in a shakespearean space opera on top of that, one where an exorbitant amount of guys cope by doing mass murder. her love interest is one of those guys and he’s also constantly off his rocker about everything all the time, so why can’t she be a bit off hers too, yanno? anakin and padmé’s relationship is almost transcendentally intense, and that just wouldn’t work if the intensity weren’t on both ends. and padmé loves just as intensely as anakin does, it’s just more focused and less outwardly fiery. and her moral oversights are part of that intensity.

[darth-jess]

“Why would Padmé choose Anakin when Obi-wan was right there” maybe because Anakin is truly the only person who ever understood her as their humanity was taken from both of them at a very young age and they have rolls to fill that very few people can ever understand.

Maybe because Obi-wan is 11 years older than her (he was 25 in TPM and Padmé was 14) and also Obi-wan is so rigid in his worldview whereas Padmé isn’t. She sees light in the dark, and dark in the light, and Obi-wan cannot comprehend this. Anakin embraces both sides of himself.

I also think Padmé choosing Anakin says a lot about Padmé as a person, but I think it also says a lot more about who Anakin was. He’s got cringy ass pickup lines but he is raw, he is passionate, and he does not shy away from what he feels even when it’s possibly wrong. Even when it’s definitely wrong. And Padmé always has to hide what she’s feeling in her line of work, so being with someone like Anakin allows her to embrace the full experience of being alive, the full range of emotion, and she isn’t judged for it by him, because he feels it all too.

They are both extremely passionate people.

Anakin’s love burns brighter than anything in the universe, and while it is his downfall, it is also his saving grace. That light never truly is extinguished within him.

Padmé chose Anakin because they were two halves of a whole. Because there was no choice. They found themselves in each other.

[skywalkr-nberrie]

I love how for all 3 stages of concept arts for Padmé’s character design in all 3 prequels movies emulates the essence and vibe of her development throughout the story.

In The Phantom Menace, she’s drawn innocently, with smaller and softer features, giving her a child-like appearance while still portraying herself as a confident queen and leader of her people. Radiating her passions, hope, and joyful or kiddish ideals of the galaxy and her dreams to someday make it a better place.

Moving onto Attack of The Clones, she’s purposely given a more mature look as she’s now older, and added with the extra layer of sensuality and seductiveness which is symbolic and reflective of her feelings and love story with Anakin. Finally tapping into her true self and letting loose by putting herself and her desires first by involving herself with her yearning love.

Lastly in Revenge of The Sith, she’s drawn more now with the eloquence of a dove, and with the experience of a woman who’s been through life in all its troubles and joys alike. She never lacked elegance before but the ROTS version perfectly captures the beauty and complexity of womanhood that before she was still processing and learning to go through. And that isn’t just because she’s pregnant and is about to give birth, but because she’s lived through the horrors of war and oppression, witnessed it firsthand, learned the ugly truths and reality in the line of work that she’s in, coming to a point where she’s able to recognize that some of the evil was coming from within (The Republic)

It’s these realizations that make her capable to make the choice to prioritize herself and run away to have her family in a quiet peace with the love of her life. It takes knowing your circumstances and the environment around you to know when to step away from your way of life to focus on something more precious to you, and I feel like the Padmé ROTS concept arts are able to tell this story to us in just it’s depiction.

[gffa]

Was Padme and Anakin's marriage legal? Someone on reddit was very insistent that there's somewhere in canon where it says they used fake names, so it was actually legal, only ceremonial, but I can't find anything definite on it.

I've seen that concept in fic before (which can have a lot of cool things to explore about it!), but as far as canon goes (at least Disney canon, I don't know Legends as well), they were legally married:

Star Wars: Complete Locations, 2016

Star Wars: Queen's Hope | EK Johnston Looking into this a bit further, I think where this comes from is a thing from Legends and a really suspect one--it's not from a book or comic or anything, but one of those on-line databank entry things (which really weren't super serious hard canon), you can find the archived copy here, as it's no longer on the starwars.com website. Which, even in the content itself, makes it very murky--they do use false names and the only place its registered with is the Brotherhood of Cognizance, but it's still said to be an official marriage:

So, that's where that came from, but it's from Legends and I wouldn't count the databank stuff as super hard canon, and ultimately it was still official, just secret and only the one (legal) organization knew about it. We don't really know how Naboo's legal system worked beyond that, but the context of the quoted material seems to say, yeah, it was legal there, too.

[valenteal]

The Clovis Arcs in Star Wars the Clone Wars: a Breakdown of What Went Wrong and What Had Potential

Part 1: Introduction and Senate Spy

Okay, so I’ve been meaning to talk about this for a while but I keep forgetting or putting it off but here I go. I am going to tackle the Clovis arcs from The Clone Wars. This post will include in depth analysis, including my inferences into the implications and consequences which are not necessarily canon but in my opinion are the obvious conclusions to draw if the story were more fleshed out. If it bothers you that I am stating things that were never explicitly said but were definitely implied, this essay is not for you.

Full disclosure: I loved them when I was a naive little kid who didn’t understand the difference between fear and jealousy. I was a possessive kid who feared having people or things taken away, not because I saw them as purely mine but because that was my experience. Someone else swoops in and “steals” my friends or toys or projects. So for me, it was very easy to love these episodes seeing Anakin as similar to me, fearing that Clovis would take Padmé from him, without Padmé’s consent or permission because Clovis was obviously the bad guy. I didn’t understand the attempted nuance of the jealousy and the supposedly “toxic” relationship between Anakin and Padmé. And honestly the first Clovis arc still works with some minor tone adjustments or added dialogue between Anakin and Padmé. The second arc, not so much.

Let’s start with the first arc, which is just one episode, Senate Spy. The opening quote is, ironically “A True Heart Shoud Never Be Doubted.” It begins with an adorable and in character scene where Anakin returns to Coruscant and Padmé bearing food from a kind stranger who he’d hitched a ride with after he blew up his own ships. There’s a couple adorably sad moments when it’s made clear how committed they are to one another but also how new the relationship truly is when Padmé is surprised but incredibly happy when Anakin calls her apartment home, and when Anakin learns that apparently his wife is a good cook as well as a badass politician. The first few minutes of this episode are perfect. The trouble starts, as it is won’t to do, with the Jedi Council.

Actually it starts with Anakin getting their summons to meet, since nothing to bad happened in the scene where they’re trying to get him to pick up, but that’s the trigger for the downward spiral as this is where they begin deliberately butchering Padmé’s character, though it does bring up an important point in my personal view of Anakin. When Padmé gets angry that he has to leave, which is understandable but ends up getting blown way out of proportion, Anakin is able to sense that anger, but not, I assume, who it’s directed at. Padmé isn’t mad at him, she’s mad at the situation and his presumption that he can “read [her] mind.” Which tells us that Anakin’s passive awareness of other people’s feelings is much stronger than most Jedi’s. This is the kind of power that unnerves people, but also explains a lot about Anakin’s character, particularly why he was so quick to trust Qui-Gon and Padmé. But it’s also something he doesn’t talk about to openly, presumably because it scares people and the Jedi really didn’t need anymore reasons to fear him. Therefore he hasn’t been able to hone or practice this particular skill, leading to fumbles like this where he assumes he knows what someone is feeling but he misunderstands and reacts incorrectly. What would’ve been the right words if Padmé had been angry with him became condescending and aggravating. If Padmé were truly in character she would understand Anakin’s struggles and tried to help him understand, maybe promise to have a conversation about this passive ability once he was done reporting to the council. Instead she’s made oblivious and insensitive for the sake of drama *jazz hands.*

When Anakin finally joins the “council” (it’s just Mace, Yoda, and Obi-Wan! That is not the full Council it’s a tiny group of Councilors at best!) they are obviously teasing Anakin about his affection for Padmé (Obi-Wan) or subtly interrogating him about his relationship with her (Yoda and Windu). Once they’re satisfied that yes, Anakin is too attached to her and yes, meddling is necessary, they demand he convince Padmé to spy on Clovis. Let’s be clear here: this was not a request. Yoda’s exact words were “convince her, you must,” to which Anakin bowed and gave a subdued “yes, Master.” That rubbing anyone else the wrong way? The entire conversation is just really creepy and shady and manipulative. It is set up to be literally shady, there is an obviously sinister vibe to the whole thing. They’re plotting in the middle of the night, with all the lights out, illuminated only by a holo table displaying a candid shot of Clovis and a Nemoidian, with eerie music playing in the background. The three councilors practically gang up on Anakin, presenting shocking information that he doesn’t get time to process and then steamrolling him into doing what they want.

Anakin of course doesn’t just roll over and do as they asked, instead approaching Padmé to basically confirm that no, she won’t be spying on Clovis. But Yoda’s crafty, he planned this whole thing out. He didn’t tell Padmé Clovis was a spy, leaving Anakin the unknowing messenger of the particular bit of intel, which is all it takes for Padmé to be on board with the plan. I’m glossing over this scene because it’s full of OOC drama that needs no further explanation, it’s just stupid and petty and neither Anakin nor Padmé would actually act like that, case closed, goodbye.

Now, I’m not saying that asking Padmé to spy on Clovis wasn’t a good idea, it very much was, she has all the skills and Clovis trusted (read: underestimated) her. No, the issue was how the Jedi Council presented the mission, both to Anakin and to Padmé, in a way that was meant to drive a wedge between them, and especially the wording used when briefing Padmé on the mission.

The briefing scene is absolutely disgusting to me, the second even more than the first, because rather that simply being callous and manipulative in a shady room, this one happens in the middle of the day, in the council chambers, bathed in sunlight. Windu and Yoda continue making inappropriate and inaccurate insinuations that they know will get under Anakin’s skin, and Padmé, continuing to be either oblivious or petty and callous towards her husband’s feelings of insecurity, doesn’t make it clear that she and Clovis were not lovers, Clovis just wanted to be. So Anakin is uncomfortable, he feels vulnerable, no one in the room is on his side, he’s isolated in his discomfort and ignorance, and his superiors are actively trying to make it worse but he can’t see that, or at least he can’t admit it to himself.

Padmé reveals that Clovis “didn’t take it well” she returned their relationship to a professional level, which is definitely a red flag for someone who only knows Clovis as a Separatist conspirator from the Banking Clan. And then the fear mongering begins. Windu asks if Padmé might be able to “rekindle their… friendship,” and Obi-Wan tells her that the closer she can get to Clovis, the better, prompting Padmé to respond that she “will do anything to succeed in [her] mission.” Do you hear how icky that sounds?! They’re deliberately trying to make Anakin not only insecure about his relationship with Padmé, but also afraid for her safety! They don’t tell her to be mindful of her own safety, they don’t tell her she doesn’t have to do anything she’s uncomfortable with, in fact they encourage her to do so! They offer no aid or protection, Anakin assigns himself to be her bodyguard once again, but reminder, her just got back from “a lengthy tour of duty” and is probably supposed to be on some kind of leave and no one ordered him to go with her. He was just supposed to convince her. He is giving up much needed time off, ostensibly of his own accord, to participate in a stressful mission, which is followed almost immediately by what might be the most brutal conflict in the non-Disney portion of the Clone Wars.

Honestly my issues with this episode are pretty much covered, before we even get into the meat of the episode. All the problematic stuff is kinda covered in the first 7 minutes and 40 seconds of the episode. Of course the tone of everything remains for the actual mission but nothing new happens to screw things up from a writing perspective. Padmé slips into character for pretty much the rest of the episode so of course she’s OOC, it’s deliberately done to appeal to Clovis and make him underestimate her. Anakin is still unstable and anxious and terrified but that’s less because of butchered character and more because of the Council’s manipulations. The mission is basic, made ridiculously easy by Clovis’s obsession with Padmé and his severe underestimation of her intelligence but it’s entertaining enough, I love watching Padmé being a boss and manipulating Clovis expertly. The Nemoidians were well thought out for villains in this series since they’re usually pretty basic, but Lot Dod (or however you spell it) is both shallow and complex in his motivations, because he’s simultaneously a businessman and a senator and a conspirator and a person with grudges. While his actions are simple, poisoning Padmé but giving up the antidote went held at gun point, his motivations are layered. Padmé is a long time opponent of the Trade Federation, a Republic spy, a personal thorn in his side, and someone Clovis (who he hates) cares about. Like I said, the episode has its redeeming qualities, and honestly the overarching plot is one of them. It’s a set up for the Second Battle of Geonosis, it’s a view into Padmé past and current relationships outside of Anakin and the Jedi, and it’s got a good villain who has wasted potential as a reoccurring major antagonist.

The biggest issue I have with it is that despite being a Padmé episode she got pushed to the side. The whole thing is full of sexist undertones, and indeed overtones. I really wish they hadn’t damsel in distressed her at the end, if it were me I would’ve kept the poisoning scheme but add in that Padmé realizes she’s been poisoned and actually tells Anakin that something’s wrong and then deliberately uses it to escape questioning about her movements and to distract from the data disk she stole, just like in canon. Just make all the convenient stuff that happened as a result deliberate on her part and erase the “Anakin saves the day because he got super anxious” thing. Not that I don’t think Anakin has anxiety, but just… Padmé balances him perfectly because she’s got a cool head and incredible awareness of her own body and skills. De-damselify the Queen, have Anakin actually be her partner instead of her restless bodyguard.

All you have to do is get rid of the sexist ink it’s written in and it’s a good episode. The argument between Anakin and Padmé in the senate is basically just sexist writers projecting onto Anakin. He’s not that overprotective of Padmé, he knows she can handle herself and if she says “let’s go rescue Obi-Wan” then they’re going to go to a hostile world alone to rescue Obi-Wan together. He is way too smart to tray and tell her what to do. So take that out of the equation, get rid of Padmé’s OOC childish attitude, and we’re good. I don’t like what the Council did and the way they plotted to break up Anidala, but it’s not completely out of character. I would give it a little more nuance or motivation, maybe explicitly link it to Anakin’s behavior during the Blue Shadow Virus arc, but it’s something I would keep because it’s one of the best times where we get a real glimpse into how the Jedi have treated Anakin, not just how he thinks they’ve treated him based on Palps manipulations.

In conclusion: I will probably be writing a fic that completely retells this episode because this is very long and rambling and I don’t think anyone is going to read it!

For real this time, in conclusion, the Clone Wars episode Senate Spy committed atrocities against Padmé Amidala but by fixing that we could make a more than decent episode with many important plot points and insights into characters. It’s a tragedy that this plot was executed so poorly because it had SO MUCH potential. I know all Anidala fans hate the Clovis arcs with a burning passion, and believe me I do too, but mine is a hate borne from love turned sour. I have tried before, when I was a lesser writer, to ease the pain with a fix-it fic, but the wound still festers. I will try again. And this time I will succeed in not just attempting to patch up the ending but rewriting the episode better and deeper and more nuanced than before!