Defenders of the A&P Love Story Reloaded (Part 3)

Hmm only ten reasons.

OK, 147.23 reasons then, but if you post .01 reasons more than that I'll reset your post count!


*sigh* I have a bacterial infection of the sinuses so I'm on horse pills and toast...

Ouch! Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Meanie!

Arriss

Lovely wallpaper darlin I definitely need to add that one to my collection



My 10 favorite moments:

1) "This is the happiest day of my life" in all of my viewings of ROTS, I always choke up every time Anakin says that. He's so happy and sweet and everything goes so wrong

2) Padme's Ruminations - this is by far is one of GL's triumphs in directing in the whole prequel trilogies, it is quintesentially LUCAS. The scene doesn't have a single uttered word spoken, the music conveys the emotions of the scene and the simple beauty of of the raging war going on in Anakin's heart as he makes the worst decision of his life. This scene is every bit as poignant as Luke staring off at the sun's setting dreaming for a better life.

3) Fireplace scene - the dialogue is cheesy, yet immature and completely heartfelt. There's an element of creepiness to it as Hayden using JEJ's exact intonations to his voice to woo Padme...it is Vader speaking words of love. The setting is gorgeous and the tension palpable. Both are chained by their social standings to refuse each other, yet you can tell in both of their eyes that their hearts do not want them to say no. Wonderful scene.

4) "Are you an angel?" Their first meeting is so cute, both are utterly unpretentious a slave and a lowly handmaiden - they met as equals of sorts and were so young.

5) "Ani? My you've grown!" Padme has a moment where she completely breaks w/ decorum and beams w/ amazement when she sees how Anakin has matured. Padme never smiles around anyone but Anakin.

6) "And the baby?" The after the nightmare scene is a wonderful scene, beautifully acted and heartfelt.

7) "I'm really ahead of him" /"I feel lost" - both of these scenes are wonderful when viewed side by side with each other. In AOTC Anakin is arrogant and impatient, ready to take over the world and then 3 years later, he no longer knows himself or his own feelings. In both scenes Padme is there to calm him but there is always a current of tension that is palpable.

8) "I truly, deeply love you" Padme's confession is every bit as heartbreaking as Anakins in AOTC. Anakin reveals that he lost his way as a Jedi, whereas Padme reveals that she has lost control of her stoic personna and thrown it away for a gamble on love.

9) "I'd be much too frightened to make fun of a Senator" I love the meadow scene both are the happiest and carefree that we ever see them in the series.

10) The wedding - the end scene nearly mirrors where Luke/Leia R2/3PO are standing at the end of ESB and although the event should be a joyous occasion, the happieness is marred w/ secrecy and the knowledge that somewhere along the way all will go very wrong.

My favorite moments in no particular order:

--"Are you an angel?"

--Anakin giving Padmé the jappor snippet

--The first kiss

--"Please don't look at me like that."

--The fireplace scene. I love it. It's pure gold.

--"I truly, deeply love you...."

--"Ani...I'm pregnant."

--From the CW cartoon (season 2)--When Anakin returns to the lake retreat, and the light goes out

--The hairbrushing scene--cheesy dialogue, yes, but a perfect moment only to be followed by a fateful one.

--Anakin rubbing Padmé's belly at the very beginning of the scene when she asks him to convince Palpatine to end the fighting. It's so sweet and intimate.

One thing I also love, even though it's so sad--when Obi-Wan takes Padmé from Mustafar, just before she loses consciousness, she asks if Anakin is all right. Then, when Anakin wakes up as suited Vader, his first words (other than yes master) are "Where is Padmé....is she safe....is she all right?" (I think that for the first time in awhile in the film, he was actually thinking of her first).

Hey it took me a long time to reach 10,000 posts.

Hey where is ever one this fell to page three.

My favorite moments . . . that's difficult. I'll have to get back to you on that.

Here's a new link to the first still from Hayden's upcoming film Awake which he just finished. Wow, Jessica Alba is taller than I thought. To quote a line about her from the recent Family Guy: "I would definitely plow that!"

Here are my favourite A&P moments:

- The first kiss --- a SW love classic
- Reunion scene (ROTS) --- absolutely wonderful. Anakin is such a sweetie in that scene.
- Meadow picnic --- a lovely scene, we can see the love starting to blossom
- Love pledge --- one of the most important A&P scenes
- Padme's parents house --- "He is NOT my boyfirend" is one of the best SW quotes ever.
- Fireplace scene --- the dialougue is very cheesy, that is true, but also very romantic. Hayden did an awesome job in that scene.

Welcome back Defenders!

I like all of those scenes.

I'm here.

Come on people don't let this thread die.

Glad somebody bumped this one.

By the way, the SWC forum now has twice the Skywalker love'n.

Greetings defenders! We're back in business here!

Reading back a few pages, it looked lively enough until for some reason it got squashed...then, the posts dried up. What happened to all the fangirl gushings?


Aurra

Your post is showing up in the middle of the page, FYI.

I didn't know this thread existed! Awesome! Thanks for bumping!

Ahhhh Han and Leia lovin' Here's a little wallpaper I recently did of them to celebrate their love:

[image=http://webzoom.freewebs.com/padmeleiajaina/SW%20Images/Han%20Leia%20Smoocheroo5.jpg]

I don't know. Work's picked up for me so I have less time to be online, don't know about everyone else though

The dinner gown was the only costume of Padmé's that was designed by George Lucas himself, according to Dressing A Galaxy, so that "bad feeling" is quite intentional.

The dinner gown does looks like Padmé had bought it from the dressmaker of the Dark Gown of Lilly in the 1985 film, Legend, a gown also featured in a fiery and dark room.

Likewise, the Meadow Picnic gown is reminiscent of Lilly's princess gown.

The significance of the scenes with this black pleather corset gown comes to light when compared to Mustafar in ROTS. The floating fruit scene makes it absolutely clear that Padmé would know that Anakin's Force ability included telekinesis. Thus, Padmé recognizes the Force Choke as the same power once used for harmless flirting. That the dinner gown features a prominent choker seems to foreshadow the suffocating attachment to come. Mustafar echoes the fireplace scene in lighting. I interpret it in two ways. First, the fireplace foreshadows Mustafar. Second, the similar lighting suggests a similar confrontation. In the fireplace scene, Anakin struggles with his duty as a Jedi as if Kenobi were in the room, but yields to Padmé's belated rejection.

Perhaps the Balance of the Force, is found in the fire and water elements of the SW Saga, too. Under control, fire is the protective hearth or the cleansing pyre. Out of control, it destroys the house and body. Anakin's temper is fiery. In the waterways and fountains, water gives the verdant Naboo. An excess of water, as in the Naboo Core or in Kamino, brings the danger of the sea beasts or the Stormtroopers. Padmé's overflowing tears undo her. Ian McCaig on the watergown concept - "The flowers are tears."

Where the parents faltered, the Twins triumphed. For example, Leia on Yavin states, "We have no time for sorrows." While Luke almost succumbs to sorrow at Bespin, he overcomes his temper over Endor.

do we each have to post daily just to keep this alive? should our posts not be worth posting or do we post just to post?

double post

Well, don't spam, but otherwise you can post as often as you like.

Wow this is really confusing our posts are all out of order.

So what's everyone's thoughts about what happened this week? I wonder if this means someday we might get an adventures of Padme and Anakin cartoon or something

I would post early and often to keep threads alive. This whole board has been totally derailed and virtually has no activity anymore due to "changes".

This out-of-order posts thing is really confusing... I wonder if it's due to the sheer size of the thread and a new one ought to be started?

So we're getting Episodes VII-IX... and onward. I NEVER expected that announcement, at least while Lucas was living. The Disney merger I'm mostly at peace with, I think - it makes sense in a lot of ways - but I'm not wild about the notion of making SW films just for the sake of making SW films. The current six films were made because Lucas had a story to tell. I'm less concerned about VII-IX because evidently Lucas has story treatments for those and will be a creative consultant on them. It's beyond that that concerns me.

Depending on when VII-IX take place, maybe we'll have the opportunity to see A/P make cameos in the films as holograms/Force ghosts? Hayden and Natalie are still plenty young enough to resemble the characters, and it would be a lovely way of tying the new trilogy in with the old.

PLJ, you brought up elsewhere an interesting potential angle on what this merger could mean for the merchandising: Disney, especially with its marketing towards "Princess" gear, may be more likely to finally give us the official line of Padmé and Leia dolls we've always dreamed of? The ladies are Disney royalty now, after all. Sure, my dream would be a 16" Tonner line of all Padmé's and Leia's ensembles ala Tonner's Gone With the Wind Scarlett collection, but I could easily make do with a 12" one - the Katniss Everdeen Barbie I bought earlier this year is gorgeous. But Tonner has done many Disney dolls, so maybe we WILL finally get that 16" Padmé and Anakin wedding set? A girl can dream.

I like to think this means more hope in general for more merchandise and gear out there for the female fans - shoot, this has to be a dream come true for Ashley Eckstein, who loves Disney as much as she loves SW. I'm sure she's itching for Her Universe to be able to release gear featuring Leia and Padmé as Disney royalty! I have my doubts on an A/P TV series, but maybe at least a novel or line of comics? Luke/Mara and Han/Leia each got comics devoted to their romance ("Union" and that Valentine's Day comic respectively), why not A/P?

-- A21/Aeryn

I'm still here!!!

I've been busy, but I'm re-reading ROTS, so I'm sure I'll be in here with comments, as that book has some good A/P moments.

I swear the news about the merger followed immediately with "new films coming starting in 2015" hit me like a ton of bricks. The news was nearly as shocking as when the prequels were announced. The difference was that when they announced the prequels, I knew they were George's films and my heart cried out with joy. Hearing this news I can't help but feel apprehensive. I guess those fears should ease as we learn more about the direction that Disney/LFL plan to take with the franchise. It is boundless and limitless for the direction that they can take George's universe, that is the joy of it.

I'm getting somewhat excited about the prospect of finally seeing different tales and adventures that aren't related to much of the EU that's been established. Disney coming on board means that there's potential for a whole new universe to open up that isn't JUST revolved around either shoot-em-up action video games or ultra violent older male oriented storylines.

Disney has been itching to find its way into the young male's market forever - remember "Atlantis" and "Treasure Planet?" Yeah, likely not. Both were full length animated feature films that flopped at the box office. It was because Disney couldn't appeal directly to the young boys that they merged with Pixar (who's projects fill that void,) and Marvel (who appeal to full male audiences.) "Star Wars" is a happy melting pot for them - they can now air animated TV series from a franchise on their cable kids TV networks that will directly appeal to young boys. It was interesting that in the investors conference call they mentioned this as one of their pursuits but they were quick to point out that they don't see "Star Wars" as gender specific - this is SMART. Alienating girls would be moronic. I've been thinking from the beginning that that Star Wars needs to refocus and work on luring in more girls to the franchise, what with "Twilight" and "Hunger Games" being huge new female centric franchises, there's no way that they can't be thinking of ways to use "Star Wars" to bring in even more girls to the franchise.

I believe that if female fans start making noise to the folks at Disney that we want this - it'll happen. Disney wants to make as much money off of their huge investment as possible and if they were to see that there's a merchandising market need out there, they'll work to fill it.

If dreams really could come true - I'd really love to see that in a future Star Wars themepark we had a "Hall of Queens" in the Naboo section of the park where they had a permanent exhibit of all of Padme's amazing costumes - once you reach the end you get to a gift shop where you could buy Disney-park exclusive Tonner dolls & Mattel Barbies based on the gowns.

Everything is up in the air right now - I think if we make enough noise we could make this happen.

I'd love to see a series of young adult books based on the young adventures of both Padme and Leia and see how they both turned into the women who we all know and admire today

I like that look Anakin has after Padme breaks off their first kiss. He blinks a few times and looks confused.Padmes mixed signals - wear sexy dresses but act the ice queen.
I like all the dorky things he says there so funny.But what do you expect him to say? Hes been following Obiwan around for ten years. i don't think he'd have much time to practice pick up lines.

darthzeppo

You're so right! Not only would Anakin not learn any pickup lines at the temple, but mix in raging teenager hormones...of course he's going to act like a dork around Padme

Here's another Wallpaper I did not long ago after finding a great picture of Padme all lit up by the fire from the fireplace scene. For those Dark DV/P story lovers out there

[image=http://webzoom.freewebs.com/padmeleiajaina/SW%20Images/Lord%20%20Lady%20Vader.jpg]

****Shrugs library dust off self and enters***

Hello All,

It's been years since I was last here...Anyway just popped in to give a brief plug for a movie coming out soon--Tristan and Isolde. Now I can't be sure that the movie follows the medieval legends properly as I have not yet seen it, but Tristan and Isolde is the great tragic love story of the medieval period. In its day, it was widely popular throughout Europe. I thought I'd bring it to your attention because as A&P fans, tragic love is something with which you are all familiar. Moreover, I know most of us recognize that GL based A&P's love story on stories like this....

Hope everyone is doing well.

JS slinks back to the world of Arthur, Beowulf, medieval drama, and grading freshman papers....

Interesting. I didn't know they were making a movie about that. If they do it right, it should be really good.

Hmmm, yes, I agree. Anakin was doomed from the beginning around Padme as far as pick-up lines went. I mean, the Jedi lifestyle is not one that gives you experience in that kind of thing, and when you take into account that most nineteen year olds don't do much better and he hasn't seen her in ten years, not to mention hormones galore--well, he actually comes out of it looking pretty smooth, comparatively.

I've been thinking about my favorite moments, and I think I've come up with ten! I can't believe it! In no particular order:

1. Anakin giving Padme the japor snippet in TPM, and I also love any later reference to it (I suppose that's cheating a bit). It's such an expression of his innocent love and affection.

2. "This is the happiest moment of my life." Such a touching and heartfelt reunion scene. I love everything about it, I think it's just about my favorite moment in RotS, and that's saying something--the way they can't keep their hands off each other, Anakin's obvious joy, and then Padme's revelation and the way he reacts. It's clear that she was terrified of what his reaction would be, and he's so overcome with emotion--it's sweet and sad at the same time, because you know what's going to happen.

3. The first kiss by the lake and Anakin's "I'm sorry?" That scene just strikes every note right with me.

4. The hug Padme gives him before he rides off to find his mother on Tatooine. I don't know why, but that scene just really gets me.

5. The picnic scene in AotC, especially, "I'd be much too frightened to tease a Senator." They're so lighthearted and happy and actually seem their age.

6. Anakin sending Padme his braid in the Clone Wars series, and her sending him Artoo in return, especially the way he closes his mechanical hand around her holographic picture.

7. The scene in Padme's parents' house. That's one of my favorite scenes from AotC, and I'm very upset it was cut. Still.

8. When Anakin comes to find Padme and say goodbye in TPM and the Queen says, "We will tell her for you. We are sure her heart goes with you." It's just a short little moment, but I love that part. To me it seems to show a lot about Padme's personality.

9. "This baby is a blessing" and the entire scene before it.

10. The exchange on the refugee ship on AotC. "We are encouraged to love," and the way Padme keeps looking at him and then looking down, and the way he bits his lip at the end, as if he's wondering if he should have said that.

OH.. am reading the last of the Dark Nest Trilogy and just got to the part where Luke is getting information that has been locked inside R2.. very interesting how they use the quotes directly from the script of the movie when Anakin comes back to Padme on the balcony just before he leaves to take care of business on Mustafar. It was sad reading that and I agree with other's comments on how the writers make Mara interpret his lines differently from Jacen... whole different twist on it. I had trouble getting into that series because the story line gets pretty complex but the parts about Luke trying to get at his family history are good. It was strange when Jacen referred to Padme as his 'grandmother'.. had a bit of trouble picturing Padme as a grandmother and Anakin as grandfather.. too bad that is not what could have happened.. what a long lovely love story that would have made.. only in the fanfics

Not to pick on you particularly, Darthana, but seeing the dialogue described as "cheesy" annoys me no end. What, may I ask, is cheesy about it? It's heavily stylised - but so are the plays of Shakespeare. Would you call those cheesy? I think a much better and more eloquent term is "melodramatic". The dialogue is deliberately grandiose and larger than life. "Cheesy" is a term I'd generally shy away from using, but if I were were to use it, I'd employ it for a much finer spectrum of examples - like silly Matrix lines such as, "Dodge this!", or, "He is the One!". Lucas' dialogue in the fireplace scene is much more elevated and sublime than that; it doesn't deserve such a souless and trivialising label.

I don't think there's a single A&P scene that I remotely dislike: they're all, in ways big and small, bringing something extra to the table. Despite what may superficially appear to be overly long action pieces (e.g. the podrace), repetitive dialogue (e.g. any time Yoda talks about the Dark Side) and replica duels and battles (conflicts, like most things in the saga, visually rhyme with one another), Lucas is an incredibly ecomomical filmmaker who seems to not only abhor redundancy and excess, like any good filmmaker should, but actively avoids becoming ensnared for even an instant in either. He is not given enough credit for this - not nearly enough. In six films and twelve hours, there is virtually nothing that outstays its welcome or feels derivative. Most people would beg to differ, however - but what else is new?

The fireplace scene is absolutely pivotal. It lays bare the thoughts and feelings of Anakin (and more subtly those of Padme) in a sustained and beautiful declaration of attraction and desire. I struggle to call it "love" - at least in the traditional sense. Why? Quite simply because Anakin does, too! He never once tells Padme that he loves her. Padme, on the other hand, does - both in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. It makes some sense, too. Padme always struck me as the pragmatic side of Anakin; her depth of feeling was equal to Anakin's from the get-go, but unlike Anakin, she carefully weighed the pros and cons before diving in (hence her initial reluctance to admit her feelings, then her reluctance to enter into a relationship, and in RotS, we see her telling Anakin not to "say things like that" after he asserts that he doesn't "care" if "they know we're married"). Anakin was probably too blinded by his inner fragility and possessiveness to take a necessary step back and realise he could love Padme as she loved him. Yet his calm and restraint in Episode II, such as when he tells Padme not to be afraid before their "execution", or when he acquiesces to leaving Padme in favour of apprehending Dooku for the greater good, is to be commended. I'm neither a basher nor a gusher of Anakin. What Anakin and Padme had was something special and unique; I'm glad Lucas communicated this with so many layers and allusions. The A&P romance is a fine achievement. How people can even think that Peter Parker/Mary Jane, Neo/Trinity and Aragorn/Arwen come close is a mystery to me! Just my two cents.

Wow I haven't posted here for so long! I really miss this place though.
A few points...
I don't always get why people focus so much on if something's cheesy or not. So the love story may be a bit cheesy it might not be (it's up to you). What matters most is that Anakin and Padme hat a true and deep love, whether you consider their lines to be cheesy or not.

Yes, Anakin never tells Padme he loves her in ATOC (although I do belive that when he tells her he can't be with the people he loves he's refering to her as well as his mother), although I wish George Lucas had put it in to the script, I don't think there's any reason to look deeply in to this. GL repeats over and over again how much Anakin truly loves and cares about Padme. He also tells her he loves her in the clone wars series and the novels. I think it just really didn't fit in to the script.
Oh, and in ROTS... He says that he's soooo in love with her, how is that any different than him saying the exact three words. He also calls her "my love". If people are going to actually concentrate on such details they should know that Padme only says "I love you" once in ROTS (and ATOC).
In other words, I am not trying to bash anybody but saying things like Padme's love for Anakin was stronger than his love for her is just completely inaccurate with the film and any of GL's quotes.

Anyway... to answer the latest question...
Well, like the poster said above I love every single A/P scene (well maybe not the last one).
I do wish though that George Lucas hadn't cut out so much. For example, the family scene from ATOC and the part where Anakin and Padme ride together on a shack in the fields (It's in the script and I even saw a picture of it). It even gets worse in ROTS. I was so upset that GL cut out the part where Anakin and Padme contemplate wheter they are having a son or a daughter (trhat would have been so sweet!) and the kiss in the scene after Anakin has a nother nightmare (as if we've had enough of watching them kiss!)

What I love most about Padme, Anakin and their love is how deep and true it is, as much as bashers would like to deny it. They care so deeply for eachother and are always willing to sacrifice for the other's well being. I especially love hhow Padme still loved Anakin after he had turned, how she was willing to run away with him just to save him and be with him even after all the evil he had done, how he is the first thing she asks about and how she never loses faith in the good in him that was still there.
I also love how Vader/Anakin's fist concerns was for Padme when he wakes up. This bashes all of the basher's attempts in arguing that Anakin only wanted to own Padme, he only cared about himself etc. His question was only about her and her well being it wasn't "where's Padme? I NEED her!!!" It was "is she safe, is she alright?" that is basically all he cared about at that point. Not his sever limbs or burnt flesh, not about any hatred towards Obi Wan but just about PADME.
Anyway, enough rambling for now. I'll pro come back later.

Interesting stuff here.

As for the dialogue--okay, I admit that that scene sort of bothers me on one level, but it isn't because of the dialogue or acting; it just makes me feel really uncomfortable, especially Padme's dress. If she had been wearing something else I would probably feel less edgy about it--but hey, the scene's supposed to be uncomfortable, that's the whole point.

Also, about Star Wars dialogue--it was always a little over-the-top and melodramatic, that's the whole point. It's an entirely different style. Star Wars isn't supposed to be taking place in our realistic galaxy, it's a galaxy far away and a long time ago, right? George Lucas is trying to evoke that difference, the quality of the Star Wars universe, in the dialogue. It might sound a little stilted to us, but the point is not realism.

Anakin was probably too blinded by his inner fragility and possessiveness to take a necessary step back and realise he could love Padme as she loved him. I certainly agree with this. He definitely loved her in every way that he possibly could, but he had so many issues that he just couldn't step back from her at all and really examine their relationship. He was too afraid.

I also agree that what they had was deep and true and were "truly, deeply" in love with each other, no matter what the bashers say. The most obvious example of this is the example you bring up--neither one of them asks about the myriad of other things that they could have asked about and you might expect to take precedence--they ask about the other. Other examples of this include Padme's reluctance to enter the relationship at all, partly at least because she knows it would destroy his future as a Jedi and Anakin's willingness not to press their relationship even though we know he loves her.