Could Padme be blamed to a degree for the destruction of the Jedi and Anakin's Fall?

Example: A man who is normally of good heart commits horrible crimes of murder, he left no witness in the event, but he told his girlfriend about it. Although she is shocked, she forgets the darkness that she saw and only sees the good in the man. Because of this she doesn't tell the authorities (Police) about the incident. But this incident did affected the man mentally, not in a good way. A few years later he does a similar incident. In the real world if the Police found out about the girlfriend hiding that horrible secret, she could even be convicted of being partly responsible for the deaths in the 2nd incident.

Now that story is similar to what happened between Padme and Anakin. Padme saw the good in Anakin, and there is nothing wrong with that, but she ignored the evil within him as well. The question i ask though, is would Anakin have fallen and joined Palptine to destroy the Jedi if Padme revealed to the Jedi Order anakin's sins? Was it her responsibility to do so? If a crime is committed and YOU are the only one to know about other then the perpetrator...is it not your responsibility to tell the authorities?

If Padme truly loved Anakin, wouldn't she want to give him help?

When Obi-wan tells Padme in ROTS that he witness Anakin killing younglings, she says (paraphrasing) that Anakin couldn't do something like that. Now remember, this was before she encountered Anakin later on and did the "i don't know you anymore" thing when she realized he had become a monster sense he felt no remorse for what he did. So her comment to Obi-wan leads be to believe she wanted to "forget" the fact that Anakin could kill kids. Deep down in her brain she knew he could, but decided to keep the incident in the past. This also means she did not keep bringing up the tusken incident after her marriage with Anakin. That also means she never truly got him help, and Anakin was left feeling the remorse and keeping the dark secret to himself since he had no one to talk to about it (other then Palpatine).

Of course Padme can't be blamed completely for the fall of the Jedi and Anakin's fall, since Anakin chose with his own free will to follow Palpatine, but could it be said she should be blamed partly?

Now imagine a scenario if the jedi counsel found out about the incident through Padme. Anakin would have likely had his lightsaber taken away and be banned from the Jedi Order. Although im sure he would be punished in some way, it would not be through the Death Penalty (not the Jedi's way). But whatever the case is, Palpatine would have had harder time in corrupting Anakin since he wouldn't be a jedi. This could have also helped Anakin become a better man, perhaps teach him to be responsible for his actions instead of the whole "its all obi-wan's fault" thing.

So what do my fellow Star wars fans think? Should Padme at least be partially blamed?

 

Ummm, there is hardly a soul in the movies who can't be blamed. "Should be" is another - and in a way, all are complicit to varying degrees. Even circumstances rather than people shaped the tragedy that came.

To address your specific points:

I don't think Padme would be considered an accessory to murder (assuming for this dicussion that we all agree Anakin's actions against the Sandpeople is murder - many do disagree, keep in mind) - she didn't drive the "get away vehicle" or supply the weapon, lie to law enforcement officials...

I don't know enough about the law to know the definition of "accessory after the fact," either, so I won't touch that.

Morally - well, even in the real world I think someone who covers for someone's hurtful actions, be it animal cruelty or worse, does prevent that person from getting help - still, it is the person who must accept help in the end.

Some will argue that Anakin only took justice into his own hands, Padme believed the settlers view of the Tuskens as "mindless animals" and believes Anakin did little other than kill the varmints who killed his mother (the analogy: the ranchers who kill wolves to protect their sheep, etc.)

None of us really know the answer to that. If she thought he needed help, she was remiss. I don't remember if she thought "her love was enough" as relates to that or not.

AS to the Order's response: again, none of us know though I'm sure we'll argue back and forth like usual. IMHO they would not have kicked out Anakin but they darn well would have had him in counseling and remedial training.

Palpatine would have had Anakin eating out of his hand even sooner if the Order kicked him out - he'd spin it that Anakin was being punished for providing justice on a lawless world, and so on and so forth.

 

I can't blame her for it, Anakin was a big boy and he was the one with the lightsaber in his hands.

 

^Exactly. Anakin should have taken responsibility for his actions---not Padme.

 

Not reporting a mass murder is a very serious crime in my opinion, both ethically and concerning the law. So yes, she is to be blamed.

 

In a way, sure she's to blame-Padme's the one to put a relationship back on the table before they're about to be executed. Without Padme, Palpatine's levers on Anakin are pretty limited.

 

Padme saw the good in Anakin, and there is nothing wrong with that, but she ignored the evil within him as well.


Padme WAS NOT Anakin's nursemaid or Jedi master. Whatever evil that was within Anakin, was HIS responsibility to deal with, not hers. The only evil, negativity or bad choices that Padme was responsible for was her own.

 

It is usually considered a citizens responsibility to report a crime - to prevent it from happening again. Also Anakin has obvious mental problems and playing the nursemaid (as in getting him professional help) is usually what friends do when they see their friend suffering. Otherwise they'd be bad friends.

 

Well, I think I might of killed the Tusken Raiders if they tortured my mother to death. If Anakin's mentally ill because of what he did, so am I.

 

The only ones who should be blamed for the Jedi killings and Anakin's fall are Anakin and PalpSidious. Palps influenced Anakin into becoming a horrible person and Anakin foolishly chose to betray and murder the very people that raised him.

Padme should not be held responsible for what Anakin is doing.

 

Thank you. I am tired of people blaming Padme. Heck, if anyone was enabling Anakin it was Palpatine. In the ROTS novelization, Palpatine lied about Anakin killing Dooku when he was unarmed, but no one makes a big deal out of that. At least Padme didn't outright *lie* about what Anakin had done...

 

Padmé isn't directly responsible for the destruction Anakin caused but she did hold the power to stop it.

 

I know this sounds dumb, but could Padme even be able to tell them? I mean, what is she gonna do, walk into the Jedi Temple and ask to speak to the Council? Find time to get Obi-Wan alone so she can tell him?

 

Yes.

@ anakinfan
Or he gets used to the lack of pressure and can finally learn to live without fear and obsessions of being the best and controlling others fates. Since this is an what-if scenario, it is pure speculation. But I do believe that Anakin wasn't suited for the life in the order. He could still be a hero (he could pilot fighters and command troops, for instance), and in a more "humane" environment than the Jedi-tempel he can find the love he so desires.

 

With time some wounds can heal. He will probably always struggle against his fear, but the lack of pressure gives him time to arrange his priorities. The other guys (or soldiers, whatever) around him could show him how they deal with loss and maybe Anakin could learn something from them. Normal people wouldn't give him platitudes like Yoda did when he sought his help in ROTS.

 

http://law.justia.com/codes/florida/2010/TitleXLVI/chapter777/777_03.html
From; 2010 Florida Code
TITLE XLVI CRIMES
Chapter 777 PRINCIPAL; ACCESSORY; ATTEMPT; SOLICITATION; CONSPIRACY
777.03 Accessory after the fact.

"Any person who maintains or assists the principal or an accessory before the fact, or gives the offender any other aid, knowing that the offender had committed a crime and such crime was a capital, life, first degree, or second degree felony, or had been an accessory thereto before the fact, with the intent that the offender avoids or escapes detection, arrest, trial, or punishment, is an accessory after the fact."

So under this law, Padme could be considered an accessory after the fact and could be prosecuted.

Regards
Nordom

 

I think that we're also overlooking one very, very important factor here: Palpatine. Anakin didn't just tell Padme, he also informed Palpatine, the leader of the Republic. It's the equivalent of bypassing the police and telling the President of the United States. So it's not as though Anakin refused to tell anyone in authority, he simply informed someone he trusted (which unfortunately turned out to be the one person he shouldn't confide in). Palpatine obviously told Anakin that what he had done was alright -- "it is only natural." So why then, would Anakin feel the need to inform the Jedi?

And let's consider Padme's position for a moment. Obviously, Anakin committed a terrible crime, but it's something that any one of us could be capable of, given the circumstances. She didn't see what happened. All she knows is what Anakin and Cliegg told her, along with having seen Shmi's body. A war has recently broken out. I think it's very likely that Anakin could persuade her (or she could convince herself) that with the war going on, Anakin is needed to defend the Republic -- that this is his chance to save lives and redeem himself. It's also probable that Anakin reasoned that because none of the Jedi had relationships/attachments to their mothers, none of them could sympathize, whereas someone like Palpatine would be more understanding. This combination of factors (the war and Palpatine's involvement) would make it much easier for both of them to accept not telling the Jedi.

And if Padme did go behind Anakin's back and tell the Jedi, as anakinfan said, what then? They would likely expel Anakin or have him prosecuted. Now, do you imagine Palpatine would sit back and do nothing? I certainly don't think so. He could likely pardon Anakin (justifying it using the circumstances and the war effort) and make him a military commander. And thus we're left with an Anakin that no longer trusts Padme, hates the Jedi all the more and feels betrayed by both of them, and is deeply indebted to Palpatine. Not a great situation all around.

 

I agree that Padme thought Anakin was important to ending the war. Also, are you sure Anakin would get punished for what he did? Like anakinfansince1983 said, crimes like murder are not illegal on Tatooine. While what Anakin did on Tatooine was morally wrong, it wasn't exactly lawfully wrong on Tatooine because it was outside of the Republic. The Jedi could not exactly punish him, because they defend and protect the people of the Republic---not the whole entire galaxy.

Also, I do not think Padme is an accessory after the fact. Not only because mass murder is not illegal on Tatooine, but also because there is no evidence that she *hid* what Anakin had done. While she didn't report him, it might have been because she forgot about it or had other things on her mind. There was a war going on, after all, and she is a very busy woman.

However, in a EU Clone Wars book, Obi Wan asked her about the details of what had happened on Tatooine. She told him to ask Anakin about it, so that might means that she thought *Anakin* would take responsibility for his actions.

 

Ah, yes. I forgot about that. Anakin broke the Code by giving into his anger and committing mass murder because of it, so I guess he could be punished for that. However, it's true that neither Padme or him could be arrested.

Well, there are the Hutts...although they most likely wouldn't care.

 

Not that the argument matters, but I think the Hutts would care about mass murder in their system. As rulers of the planet they can only control it when they establish some kind of order. A large group of Tusken murdered could lead to all kinds of bad consequences. Revenge by other tribes, for instance. The situation on Tatooine could even grow to a civil war and that would be bad for business.

 

I agree with Valairy_Scot, I think there is not a character in the prequels that can't be partially held responsible for the fall. Having said that, Padme is an enabler (I think that's the word). She obviously doesn't have to demonstrate the detachment Anakin must as a Jedi.