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Author Topic: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
Palp_Faction  689 posts
Registered: Feb '02
6026_Palpatine
Date Posted: 3/1 3:19pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
When Bail and his wife suddenly adopted a baby girl, one would assume that the Alderaan media would want to know where she came from i.e. who the mother was. Putting aside the rather implausable likelihood that Leia really did remember Padme, is it possible that one of Padme's handmaidens, still remaining loyal to Padme after her death, volunteered to become the focus of the media's attention as her mother? The "kind but sad" description would certainly match a devoted former-handmaiden, perhaps Motee, now serving in the royal house of Alderaan.

 

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Merlin_Ambrosius69  1974 posts
Registered: Aug '08
6602_Obi-Wan Kenobi
Date Posted: 3/1 3:23pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
You may be on to something here. After AOTC came out, and I noticed how much the camera lingers on Dorme (the Rose Byrne handmaiden), in both the "Are you alright milady?" and the leave-taking scenes, I thought for sure Lucas was hinting that this "kind, sad" Padme lookalike would somehow take the place of Padme after her death. I even posted a much-ridiculed thread about it in 2002 or '03. Alas, the ridicule proved well-founded, as nothing of this sort came to pass.

 

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jedimasterbac  6257 posts
Title: CT and Fan Design Manager
 Registered: Jun '04
24180_Obi-Wan Art
Date Posted: 3/1 3:37pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
If it's anyone other than Padme, the significance of the scene is lost. Watch how Luke asks the question and how he's reacting - he wants to know about his mother. While Leia may be the one saying the dialogue, the scene is about Luke. He's come to tell her the truth, and he first wants to know about his mother. He already knows all about his father, so he wants to know a bit about that other half of his parentage. Having Leia talk about some handmaiden or, as another theory goes, Breha Organa herself ruins the significance of it not only from a dramatic standpoint but for Luke's character and his personal growth.

In the end, Leia remembered Padme from birth through the Force. Is it a ridiculous stretch? Yeah, kinda. Anything else, though, ruins the scene, kills the drama and fails to be anything significant for Luke.

 

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DarthBoba  33059 posts
Registered: Jun '00
8187_Luke Skywalker
Date Posted: 3/1 5:42pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
I donno about all that, Bac-Luke doesn't necessarily need to know about his real mother to conjure an image of her, which is what he's trying to do here. He's trying to redeem Darth Vader on the basis of what Ben told him about his father in ANH, which from Luke's POV may or may not be true; Luke's basically going on faith that Anakin was at all like that, and I don't see why it wouldn't work for him as far as Padme is concerned.

 

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Merlin_Ambrosius69  1974 posts
Registered: Aug '08
6602_Obi-Wan Kenobi
Date Posted: 3/1 5:56pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
I think jedimasterbac has the right of it here. DarthBoba may be hypothetically correct, but from a storytelling standpoint the best, most dramatic approach is to have Luke ask about Padme, their real mother, and for Leia to respond in kind. That said, there isn't a lot to go on here, and I suppose we can imagine whatever we like. It's even possible that Lucas, at the time he made AOTC, was contemplating the handmaiden angle, but then realized the better, more meaningful approach would be as 'bac has described.

 

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jedimasterbac  6257 posts
Title: CT and Fan Design Manager
 Registered: Jun '04
24180_Obi-Wan Art
Date Posted: 3/1 6:04pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
DarthBoba posted:
I donno about all that, Bac-Luke doesn't necessarily need to know about his real mother to conjure an image of her, which is what he's trying to do here. He's trying to redeem Darth Vader on the basis of what Ben told him about his father in ANH, which from Luke's POV may or may not be true; Luke's basically going on faith that Anakin was at all like that, and I don't see why it wouldn't work for him as far as Padme is concerned.


He may not have needed it, but he wanted it. If he didn't want it, he wouldn't have asked. If you say it was someone else and justify it on the basis that he didn't "need" it, then it's still taking away from the significance of it because he still wants to know it. It's important to him to know something about his mother.

 

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Arawn_Fenn  10379 posts
Registered: Jul '04
46079_Darth Plagueis
Date Posted: 3/1 6:59pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory - Date Edited: 3/1 7:01pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Arawn_Fenn
jedimasterbac posted:
Watch how Luke asks the question and how he's reacting - he wants to know about his mother.


No one disputes that.

Merlin_Ambrosius69 posted:
DarthBoba may be hypothetically correct, but from a storytelling standpoint the best, most dramatic approach is to have Luke ask about Padme, their real mother, and for Leia to respond in kind.


That is exactly what happened in any event. The question is whether Leia's memories are actually of Padme.

 

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Merlin_Ambrosius69  1974 posts
Registered: Aug '08
6602_Obi-Wan Kenobi
Date Posted: 3/1 8:16pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
I regret I was unable to convey what I meant, which is: Leia responded specifically about Padme. Otherwise, as 'bac wisely notes, the exchange would have no significance and it would serve no purpose in the film.

 

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rsterling78  4915 posts
Registered: May '02
7008_Clone Sergeant
Date Posted: 3/1 8:28pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
Maybe it's just a continuity error. Leia and Luke are born. A minute later Padme is dead. Luke has no memory of his mother. Neither should Leia. If Leia had some sort of "Force memory" of her, why wouldn't Luke?

 
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KennethMorgan  434 posts
Registered: Sep '04
8208_ANH Poster
Date Posted: 3/1 8:32pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
I'd say Leia is referring to Padme...sort of. In all likelihood, what she remembers is actually a combination of images through the Force and whatever her foster parents told her about her mother. She was probably told something similar to what Luke was told about Anakin by Uncle Owen & Aunt Beru: your father/mother was a good person who had to give you up, but he/she is dead now so it doesn't really matter; try not to think about it. Remember, Leia herself says she doesn't really remember much, so this jumble of images & legends would fit into such an idea.

May I present a parallel theory: the reason Luke doesn't remember Padme is that, unlike Leia, he doesn't have that need for introspection until ROTJ. Remember, Yoda said Luke was always looking to the future & the horizon; he's constantly moving forward and not looking back or around. It wasn't until post-Baspin that he may have felt the need, either conciously or otherwise, to know who his parents really were. He was satisfied with either Owen & Beru's story, or Ben's "certain point of view".

 

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jedimasterbac  6257 posts
Title: CT and Fan Design Manager
 Registered: Jun '04
24180_Obi-Wan Art
Date Posted: 3/1 8:33pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
rsterling78 posted:
Maybe it's just a continuity error. Leia and Luke are born. A minute later Padme is dead. Luke has no memory of his mother. Neither should Leia. If Leia had some sort of "Force memory" of her, why wouldn't Luke?


Well, arguably, he does. He has his mothers unwavering belief that there is still good in Vader, despite what Obi-Wan tells him. Nevertheless, you are right in saying that it's a plot hole (continuity error isn't really the right choice of words), and it can only be explained through rather bleh explanations.

 

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Ree  3793 posts
Registered: Jan '05
48939_Jarael (71909)
Date Posted: 3/1 9:15pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
jedimasterbac posted:
rsterling78 posted:
Maybe it's just a continuity error. Leia and Luke are born. A minute later Padme is dead. Luke has no memory of his mother. Neither should Leia. If Leia had some sort of "Force memory" of her, why wouldn't Luke?


Well, arguably, he does. He has his mothers unwavering belief that there is still good in Vader, despite what Obi-Wan tells him. Nevertheless, you are right in saying that it's a plot hole (continuity error isn't really the right choice of words), and it can only be explained through rather bleh explanations.


Yes I agree.

 

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Arawn_Fenn  10379 posts
Registered: Jul '04
46079_Darth Plagueis
Date Posted: 3/1 10:15pm Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
Merlin_Ambrosius69 posted:
Leia responded specifically about Padme. Otherwise, as 'bac wisely notes, the exchange would have no significance and it would serve no purpose in the film.


That Leia responded specifically about Padme is not in question. However, Leia is not omniscient.

 

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Merlin_Ambrosius69  1974 posts
Registered: Aug '08
6602_Obi-Wan Kenobi
Date Posted: 3/2 8:56am Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
Yes, I gathered that, thank you. If the events of this movie had actually happened in real life, a case could be convincingly made that Leia was not talking about her real mother. Within the context of this fictional story, however, with mythic and familial resonances, there is no reason for this dialogue exchange to exist unless she's talking about the real Skywalker mother, who as we now know is named Padme.

 

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Arawn_Fenn  10379 posts
Registered: Jul '04
46079_Darth Plagueis
Date Posted: 3/2 9:03am Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
The reason the dialogue exchange exists is because Luke asked her. Leia has no way of knowing whether the memories in question are of her real mother or not. She just assumes so.

 

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jedimasterbac  6257 posts
Title: CT and Fan Design Manager
 Registered: Jun '04
24180_Obi-Wan Art
Date Posted: 3/2 9:31am Subject: Do you remember your real mother? - A new theory
Arawn_Fenn posted:
The reason the dialogue exchange exists is because Luke asked her. Leia has no way of knowing whether the memories in question are of her real mother or not. She just assumes so.


When we start saying that, I think we're getting too analytical and trying to go too deep into something. Yes, there are many instances where we have to dig deep to analyze something in the Star Wars Saga, but this really isn't one of them. This, I believe, is something that we just need to take at face value. Does it make sense from a realistic standpoint? Not really. Merlin covered that by talking about the difference between reality and fiction in this regard. Does it make sense from a storytelling, dramatic and character standpoint? Yes, even if the explanations do require a suspension of disbelief.

 

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