PT Anakin Skywalker MEGAthread - Don't talk to him about sand, it makes him uncomfortable

That would be very interesting if true, and really be a good example of the collaborative nature of film-making and characterization. Those are the sort of behind the scene details that can be very fascinating.

I have to say that the "aggressive negotiations" dialogue was some of my favorite between Padme and Anakin in AOTC, and I got a chuckle out of the callback to it on Geonosis.

 

@Subtext Mining, the Approaching Storm book is a great lead-up to AOTC, and the older I get (I first read the book when I was a teenager) the more I can appreciate what was done with Obi-Wan and Anakin's characterization and the focus on two strong female Jedi, Luminara and Barriss even if Alan Dean Foster's prose at times gets a bit clunky for my tastes.

@Deliveranze, I had to try to Google the article you mentioned (think of it as the same morbid urge that makes a person watch a train wreck) and I think I found the one you are referring to called "20 Uncomfortable Things Fans Ignore about Anakin & Padme's Relationship." I'm not going to link mainly because I don't want to give the article the clicks (which will only encourage more click-bait articles like this one), but I did want to share my opinions about the article's list since many of them are ones that us fans of the Prequels, of Anakin, of Padme, or of all three routinely hear regurgitated so I find it helpful to share why I think many of those perspectives are flawed.

First there is the arrogant assumption on the author's part in the title itself that fans are ignoring any uncomfortable elements about Anakin and Padme's relationship. We haven't. We've been discussing them since AOTC came out. Scratch that, since TPM came out. We're discussing those uncomfortable elements because the story of Anakin, of Padme, and of their relationship is ultimately not a pure romance but a tragedy or a romantic tragedy in the tradition of what we might find in Greek theater or Shakespeare updated for a modern audience and set in outer space. Relationships in tragedies tend to have some elements in them that will make us uncomfortable. That's part of what tragedy is. Think of how silly it would be, for example, to write an article acting as if nobody had ever noticed the unhealthy elements in Romeo and Juliet's relationship or Hamlet and Ophelia's. This article is about as ridiculous to me since to me it betrays a fundamental lack of understanding about the genre of the Prequel Trilogy which was tragedy rather than straight-up romance. With that out of the way, I'm going to delve into my thoughts on some of the twenty points made, many of which I felt were really straining for an argument so the list could read the round number of twenty.

20. The author argues that Anakin blames Padme for the kiss in AOTC when he talks about how it torments him. Thing is this isn't really supposed to be romantic dialogue (viewers aren't supposed to scribble down as some excellent pick-up line or something) so much as it is tragic dialogue. Tragic dialogue that lets us know how guilty Anakin feels about being attracted to Padme and about not being the perfect Jedi. These are two of the core tragic ideas of AOTC, so really the point of this scene is more about Anakin blaming himself than about Anakin blaming Padme. Now one could say that's not "healthy romantic" dialogue but that's kind of the point of it being tragedy.

19. The author thinks Padme's declaration of love to Anakin before they are carted into the arena in AOTC is invalidated by the scene in Padme's apartment where Padme was uncomfortable with how Anakin looked at her. Thing is Padme is allowed to change her mind about things (especially when she believes she is about to die) and anyway Padme could have been uncomfortable about the way Anakin was looking at her precisely because it stirred up feelings of attraction to him that she didn't want to acknowledge.

18. The author thinks Anakin should have just left the Jedi to be with Padme and that would have spared a lot of people much suffering. However, Anakin does talk about being willing to leave the Jedi for Padme, and it is Padme who urges him to remain a Jedi because she believes he has a duty to the rest of the galaxy to serve as a Jedi, so Anakin leaving the Jedi was something this couple discussed. Then they made a choice about it. A choice that ended in tragedy but one still rooted in that conflict between duty/love of the collective and duty/love of the individual that runs throughout the Prequels.

17. The author rakes Anakin over the coals for not respecting Padme's authority in the throne scene on Naboo in AOTC. Thing is Padme also isn't particularly respectful of Anakin's duty to protect her in that scene. In fact, she's pretty dismissive of him, and by that point she knows that he doesn't appreciate being treated as a little boy by her or Obi-Wan. Neither one of them was really respecting the others' authority in that scene. Probably because both are independent-minded, strong-willed people and I think these scene shows that.

16. The author observes that Anakin and Padme don't age at the same rate between TPM and AOTC, and by age at the same rate, the author makes it clear she is speaking entirely superficially about physical changes, not about emotional or mental maturity (which actually would have been a more legitimate objection). Some of that can be explained out of universe with the fact that Anakin is played by two different actors in TPM and AOTC, while Padme is played by the same actress both times. In universe, Anakin ages from nine to nineteen, which would encompass most of the years of puberty for males, while Padme ages from fourteen to twenty-four and could have already gone through much of puberty by the age of fourteen.

15. The author thinks the Council should have known something was going on between Anakin and Padme. One could argue that Obi-Wan at least probably had his suspicions but turned a blind eye, but there is really no need. This point is about the Council and doesn't make Anakin and Padme's relationship more or less uncomfortable regardless of what the Council does or doesn't suspect.

14. The author extends her above point to criticize how Anakin and Padme show some mild public displays of affection in the Senate rotunda after Anakin has been away at war for a long time and could have died. Anakin and Padme showing mild public displays of affection in those circumstances doesn't make their relationship uncomfortable. It means they love one another and want to show that even though they have the fear of getting caught in that scene. It's tragic but it's not really uncomfortable.

13. Padme losing her will to live is criticized. She is raked over the coals for not forcing herself to stay alive to look after Leia and Luke when she has dealt with seeing her husband turn to the Dark Side, has been Force-choked by her husband, and has seen the Republic she loved turn into an Empire. I can forgive her the lapse of faith in this case. Her life has been very tragic and even as strong a person as Padme may get tired of fighting battle after battle.

12. Anakin is called obsessed with Padme. Yes, he is obsessed with Padme. That is part of the tragedy, part of what leads to Padme and Anakin's downfall.

11. Anakin's behavior toward Padme on Mustafar is brought up as unacceptable. The movie pretty obviously treats it as unacceptable Dark Side behavior from Anakin, so, yes, if you are uncomfortable and horrified watching this scene, that's because you are meant to be. This scene is meant to show how the Dark Side is twisting Anakin and causing him to destroy the woman he once loved and wanted to save. That's why this is a tragedy, not a romance.

10. Anakin and Padme are criticized for not avoiding Padme's pregnancy. Thing is most common contraceptive measures in the modern world aren't completely effective so for all we know Anakin and Padme were using those family planning methods but that was just never brought up on screen.

9. Padme's access to medical care in her pregnancy is brought up, but I think it's pretty clear in the movie that she will have access to good health care but Anakin has an irrational fear of losing her in childbirth because of his nightmare, which reminds him of the nightmare he had about losing his mother. Anakin's fear is an irrational one, but he turns his vision of the future into reality by trying to avoid it. It's a classic tragedy of prophecy type story. Anakin's fear for Padme is of the irrational type so it can't be relieved by giving her the best medical care in the galaxy. That's what causes Anakin's tragic downfall.

8. The author says that Anakin doesn't open up to Padme. I disagree with that. I think Anakin is quite open with her about his thoughts and feelings. In fact, if anything Anakin seems to me to be a character who over-shares his feelings and thoughts. Not just with Padme, but also with people like Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and the Council. Anakin's a fairly straightforward guy in my view. You don't really have to guess his thoughts and feelings since he doesn't tend to hide them.

7. Padme is accused of being a damsel in distress in ROTS. This ignores the fact that she is a Senator in ROTS capable of making powerful political commentary like her line about how liberty dies with thunderous applause that always gives me shivers. A damsel in distress is also defined by her desire to be rescued. That isn't Padme, who is defined more by her desire to save her husband. Padme goes to Mustafar to try to save her husband's soul. She doesn't go to Mustafar hoping he will save her. Padme is not a damsel in distress and she is given more agency than women typically get in tragedies.

6. I do agree that there is a maternal quality in Padme's relationship with Anakin. I think Anakin's separation from his mother in TPM and then losing his mother in AOTC does cause Anakin to somewhat latch onto Padme as a mother figure, and in scenes like the one on the ship to Coruscant in TPM, Padme does seem to want to mother Anakin. Anakin can definitely be analyzed in a Freudian way in terms of his need for a mother figure. Again, I think this uncomfortable element is meant to be there since we are dealing with a tragedy rather than a pure romance.

5. Basically, the author argues Padme shouldn't have found Anakin's comment about sand romantic. People can find all sorts of random stuff romantic. It's an awkward line since Anakin isn't used to romance but it makes sense that he wouldn't like sand based on his childhood on Tatooine and it doesn't really make their relationship uncomfortable just by existing.

4. I think this point is supposed to be about the meadow scene on Naboo where Padme and Anakin debate political philosophy. This scene is meant to show Anakin's potential to go to the Dark Side (so in that sense we are meant to be made uncomfortable by it) but there is also the fact that Padme ultimately thinks Anakin is joking with her rather than serious. There is a playful element to the scene but it is also foreshadowing tragedy. The setting is romantic, but the story itself is in the end one of bitter tragedy, not sweet romance. If you try to interpret AOTC as standard sweet romance, of course it fails, because it is meant to be interpreted in the context of the Prequel Trilogy as a prelude to tragedy. Even when Anakin and Padme marry, they aren't getting a happily ever after, and that's the point. The lack of a happily ever after might make some people uncomfortable, but that is the point of tragedy. To challenge us and make us uncomfortable.

3. Padme does enable Anakin and look the other way when some of his faults are on display. This is not portrayed as a positive in their relationship but rather as a negative that contributes to the tragedy of the Prequel Trilogy. However, it is very realistic that someone will enable the person they love and turn a blind eye to that person's bad behaviors or make excuses for unacceptable behavior. Even intelligent and strong people unfortunately engage in enabling behavior. It's uncomfortable and leads to tragedy, but then again that is the point. The point isn't a sweet, ideal romance. That would be a different story than the one the Prequels want to tell.

2. The author could argue that it is a plothole that Anakin doesn't sense Padme's pregnancy but it doesn't make their relationship uncomfortable.

1. The author could argue that it is a plothole that Anakin doesn't sense that Padme is pregnant with twins but again that doesn't make their relationship uncomfortable.

Bottom line is so much of that twenty list is built on missing the point that the Prequels are a tragedy, not a romance. In fact, so much of the criticism of the Prequel Trilogy is based on misreading the genre. It's one of things that frustrates me the most as a fan of the Prequels.

 

@Tonyg, I would definitely not recommend reading the article (part of why I didn't link it but it can be found via a Google search if anyone wants to see it for themselves). Definitely one that I felt like I might have lost a couple of IQ points after reading. At the least, it was probably bad for my blood pressure but I had to see the train wreck.