What was the point of Anakin Force Choking Padme?

I think it's also there to contrast him saving Luke. Almost murdering Padme is probably the most heinous thing Vader's done---and I'm sure he knows that too, and was thinking about Padme when he said "It's too late for me, son." as if he was saying "How can you believe there's good in me, after what I did to her?"

But saving Luke was a miracle, and supposed to be one of the heroic things he's done. Sure he used to fight in the Clone Wars and save the Republic, but saving Luke's life not only more meaningful to someone who values family like Vader/Anakin, but also more heroic because he gave up his life when he did it.

 

Yes...I remember that passage from the ROTS novel. That's where I got the idea that he felt he had "earned" her, and it makes a lot of sense.

And yeah, I don't think he enjoyed doing evil deeds either. In the novelization, he enjoyed killing the Separatists, but in the movie, which is more canon anyways, he shed a tear.

Speaking of the idea of him not doing anything as Padme dies---in the ROTS novelization, he threw her against her ship, and because of that, she was seriously injured and dying. When Obi Wan said she needed to go to a med center and that she was dying, he didn't care.

I at first thought that was very out of character of Vader/Anakin, but now I see where Stover was going with it. He made Vader ignore the fact that Padme was possibly dying to contrast him coming to Luke's aid when he was dying at Sidious's hands.

Anyways, I think one of the primary reasons why Vader/Anakin abandoned Padme, and didn't take her to a med center is because he was on a Dark Side high---he'd already committed many evil crimes while on the Dark Side, which somewhat diminished his ability to love. It wasn't until he was put in the suit and learned of Padme's death that he loved her again, and by then it was too late because she was dead.

 

What the... okay, I'll cool down. You really think that choking Padmé is the most horrible thing he's done? Even if you discount that Falleen-incident in the EU he's been standing next to Tarkin watching Alderaan blown up to bits without once objecting. And later he says (waiting for another Planet to get blown up): "This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi and it will soon see the end of the Rebellion."
In TESB we see him sacrificing crews of Star Destroyers in the wild chase after Luke Skywalker.
No, Vader is rotten to the core until Luke changes him. This is the great deed of Luke Skywalker. He made real evil see the light.

 

@ TL: I do agree that it probably had more do with Padmé than OW. After all she's the one at fault in his eyes at first not only for bringing OW but also his ignoring his plea to wait for him which he would see as lack of confidence in him which is just as bad when it comes to Anakin. For me it weights more the "connection" between them.

True, but Vader could give a crap what OW says; he's the reason Vader is choking his poor wife in the first place.


As for the point of the Force Choke: To show how completely gone he was.

If that were so, redemption would have been impossible at any point IMO. Anakin was never a proper Jedi or Sith.

"You will not take her from me!"

He's talking about Padme as if she were an object, not his wife; she's a possession as far as Vader is concerned. All of Anakin's ugly emotional subtext in AOTC (mainly having to do with abandonment feelings, and self-blame, IMO) has gone into full-blown objectification. Padme's not a person to Vader; she's an object without any role besides to bring himself greater power.[/i]

True, but than again...thanks to OW exposing the truth, Anakin DID lost Padmé and thus taking her away from him. Anakin feared loss (any type) as well as CHANGE. Losing Padmé represents both.


He had always been a little too possessive, but when he turned to the Dark Side, it amplified that flaw to the point of him thinking of her as a literal possession. Just as the Dark Side amplified his bad temper. What used to be a bad temper turned into a complete inability to control his anger(on Mutsafar, at least). It's funny; the Jedi encouraged detachment, and in a way, Vader is the most detached you can get---thinking of people as objects.

QFW!

I also believe the atrocity of the choke kept Padmé's memory and the motivation for his turn branded within Vader therefore Anakin alive.

 

Thinking of someone as your personal possession is not detachment, it's attachment. He just turned Padme into his favorite toy, that's all.

 

^
There's a difference between personal possessions (Padmé) and(the rest of the galaxy) subject objects.

 

Anakin thought it was, hence the "NOOOOOO" after he learned of her death.

 

Pretty well explained in the film, by the scene itself. It?s just a fit of rage. Crimes of passion in real life usually involve a strangulation. If Obi-Wan wasn?t there Anakin probably would have finished Padme off. Of course, the whole reason why he did it in the first place was because of Obi-Wan?s presence. But he probably would have done it regardless, as Padme would have refused to join him either way.

 

Yes...much like how he chopped of Luke's arm when he wouldn't join him.

 

Yes, I agree, Anakin thought.

 

To a degree one can make this argument. It's much easier to rationalize his other crimes than his choking of Padme. The Jedi younglings, for example, are no threat to him, but are certainly a match for stormtroopers/clonetroopers (given how many we see killed) and have the potential to become greater threats and enemies of the Empire. Killing them is chillingly evil, but it at least accomplishes some purpose so it's easier for Anakin to justify in his own mind. It's a similar situation with Alderaan -- where Vader can tell himself that they were all traitors and the deaths were necessary. The attack on Padme stands out because there is no way that Anakin can justify attacking her when he's been telling himself that everything he's been doing has been to protect her.

It's a twisted, but effective, thought process I'd imagine.

 

Again, I agree. In Vaders twisted mind the killings of the younglings and future killings for the empire are justified. Doesn't mean that we, as the audience, have to agree with Vaders thought process. Imo he has done far worse than killing Padmé (yes, I know even that can be questioned, but lets not get into this).

 

Oh no...the killings of the Younglings and stuff like that was bad. But I'm an Anakin/Padme fan, so the Force Choke really sticks out to me.

 

So you think he directly killed her? I thought it was quite understood that he didn't, the medical droid said she was perfectly healthy. To me, Anakin being consumed by Vader psychically causes her to lose the will to live. I know that could make her seem weak, only fulfilling a role as Anakin's wife, but it works far better for me that he didn't kill her.

I agree. This action is the one that makes the darkside seem like a mental disorder. Anakin was unstable and, IMO, not a full-fledged Sith at this point. Maybe not actually seeing the younglings being killed has something to do with it, but before he force-chokes Padme I don't see him as completely unable to be related to.

 

I like Padme being weak, actually. it fits with the upside-down mirroring of the prequels regarding the OT:

If you sub Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan for Luke, Leia, and Han, they're all character reversals of eachother:

Luke is Anakin without the greed and fear of loss; I'd say that's obvious.

Leia is Padme, but without the lack of experience in the real world. Padme get depicted as being, frankly, too good for the people and galaxy she lives in. I don't mean that in a bad way; Padme is how people ought to behave but ultimately she's ignored and shunted aside as her beliefs (which come from living on a planet where Everything Is Perfect And Nothing Bad Ever Happens, which) ultimately unravel in the face of reality. Leia's do not; we see that she's firey about her beliefs in a way her mother never really is. Even in the face of her home planet being destroyed and her own torture at the hands of Vader, and then the loss of her lover Leia never wavers, never gives up; her mother makes a solid effort in TPM, but then is seemingly unable to stop or even impede the coming tidal wave of horror and darkness. Padme, in a way, is too nice, too willing to compromise; can anyone see Leia leaving Coruscant just because some sorry bounty hunters are after her and everyone is telling her to leave? Leia probably would've said something sarcastic and stuck to her guns.

Obi-Wan is Anakin's best friend, as Han is Luke's, but with a clear sense of decency, which Han doesn't really fully exhibit until ROTJ. Also-Obi-Wan starts his trilogy with everything and ends it with ultimately nothing; Han starts his trilogy with nothing and ends with everything.

 

The medi-droid is a heap of crap. At least that's the only way I can bear that scene. Dying of broken heart = cardiac arrest = medical issue in real life.

 

Good points.

I think it is intentional that as the trilogy progresses, Padme seems weaker or more submissive. It happens while Anakin becomes more dominant. Also, Luke never has the attachment problem that Anakin has because in their trio the best friend is with his sister. Padme and Obi-Wan's relationship is purely platonic. I think it is an intentional contrast that Luke has no girlfriend.
It's interesting that Han is wearing white at the start of ROTJ, Luke black.

Also, Luke's circumstances make it a far trickier job for Palpatine to turn him.

This is a good point. You could say Padme and Leia are products of their environment. Padme's strength seems more tied to her peoples' situation, and eventually Anakin. She can't take it when things break down, as you have said, which is demonstarted strongly in the later scenes of ROTS.

Padme is also easier for Palpatine to sway (to call for a vote of no confidence in Valorum's leadership). I can't see Leia listening to him. Having said that Padme loses a lot more than Leia. Leia's probably used to living in the Empire, and is stronger because of it.

Interesting.

 

You're trying to find logic in an emotional response from Anakin?


Leia is Padme, but without the lack of experience in the real world. Padme get depicted as being, frankly, too good for the people and galaxy she lives in.

I disagree. I've been aware of Padme's flaws since TPM. You weren't?


To me, Anakin being consumed by Vader psychically causes her to lose the will to live. I know that could make her seem weak, only fulfilling a role as Anakin's wife, but it works far better for me that he didn't kill her.


Is that what you saw in Padme's response to Anakin becoming a Sith Lord? Only fulfilling a role as Anakin's wife? That's it?

 

I didn't phrase that well. I meant it could be argued that she was only fulfilling this role for some observers.
Her reaction to Anakin's change is one of love, and comes from a position of forgiveness. She is willing to run away with him, even though she knows he's done bad things. It's only when she hears what he has planned that she realises Obi-Wan was right, and even then she is still willing to "leave everything behind". I see your point though.

 

I find Padmé pretty dissimilar from Leia. Leia has a scathing humor, Padmé hasn't. Leia's represses her emotions, Padmé doesn't. Leia puts duty before personal needs, Padmé doesn't. Leia's fiery, Padmé isn't. Leia can be harsh, Padmé isn't. Yes, they look alike, but they are pretty different. I mean, if you compare two completely random woman you'd probably find more similarities than they have.

 

I don't know, there are some similarities. I do think Padme represses her emotions to quite an extent, especially during the Naboo blockade and (like Leia) when it comes to falling in love. I would also say that Padme puts duty before personal needs given that the last relationship she had before meeting Anakin was when she was twelve and she's served as a Queen and Senator. Let's also not forget that Padme is older in AOTC (24) than Leia is in ROTJ (23). Like you said, there's certainly differences, such as humor, but both women had a deep love of democracy and believed wholeheartedly in the Republic and thus were not afraid to take up arms for their cause.

 

The force-choke is Vader's signature move. So when Anakin uses it on Padme I felt a sort of a sense of poetry to it. That the first time he uses the move he's most well-known for is on the person he fell to the darkside to try and save says something to me.

I almost wish they had made it more organic too like if Anakin had said something like: "Silence." or "Don't lie to me." to her before doing it. Would have been the icing on the cake of that moment, IMO... though perhaps a step too far. George was probably wise to not have him say anything to her just before choking her. Though part of me feels it was a missed oppurtunity during a key moment to reveal Anakin's mental state at that crucial step to the Vader we know in the CT.

 

What the droid says is reflective of Lucas' intent. Since he is unable to teleport into the story to divulge information personally, he relies on characters to serve as his mouthpieces. It is fairly obvious in the film that she doesn't die from being choked. A person who dies from strangulation doesn't do so after a long interval following the strangulation during which the victim has carried on conversations with people. There is also this: