Will Anakin Kill Padme?

what I want to know is, since Padme didn;t look pregnant to me in the webcam photo, when did she have the twins? Does she have them early in the film, and then go right out and fight, or what? I thought before that her suit was hiding the pregnancy, but on the webcam it seems clear to me she is not pregnant. Anyone know the deal?

 

She looked very pregnant to me on the webcam.

 

I dont think thats how its going to go down, personally I believe that Anakin will be falsely told by Palpatine that the Jedi are in some way responsible for the death of Padme. This will be his breaking point and this will be why he hunts down all the Jedi.
Afterall theres got to be a really good reason why Anakin would help wipe out the Jedi

 

"Will Anakin Kill Padme?"

"As long as you have absolutely no follow-up questions, yes."

 

"I dont think thats how its going to go down, personally I believe that Anakin will be falsely told by Palpatine that the Jedi are in some way responsible for the death of Padme. This will be his breaking point and this will be why he hunts down all the Jedi.
Afterall theres got to be a really good reason why Anakin would help wipe out the Jedi"

This is what I originally thought, too...because it seems that this is the direction GL is going-in at the end of AOTC. But once I heard the "Anakin force-chokes Padme" spoiler...I came to terms with it...accepted it... and I've actually come to prefer it to happen in this way. It's so friggin' tragic, it's unbelievable. I may actually be pretty disappointed if this spoiler is proven false...

 

Well,we will just have to wait till next year to find out the truth.

 

Yep.


EDIT: I'm sure that no-matter how it goes-down, it'll be highly tragic and emotional. It had better be, anyways.

 

Going by the webcam images, Anakin is doing something that makes Padme fall down.

It can't be pretty.

Let's remember one important thing: Episode III is when Anakin becomes Darth Vader, the most evil being, next to Palpatine himself, in the galaxy.

His turn must be convincing and not toned down for the benefit of avoiding controversy and making the film a comfortable viewing for all kids. Also, Lucas must not take the easy way out and have Anakin manipulated by Palpatine regarding Padme?s death. Doing something like that would only help to take away the blow of Anakin?s eventual downfall.

 

Anakin choking Padme isn't going to go over too well with most viewers. Fans will be more accepting, but the average person watching the film will see it as wife-beating and Lucas's career will be shot.

I don't believe this scene will cause any controversy in the "wife-beating" domestic violence sense for a varitey of reasons.

-First this isn't Anakin slapping Padme around in the kitchen because she didn't have dinner on the table when he got home from work. This is Anakin fallen to the darkside losing all rational control and lashing out at everyone who was important to him, be it Padme or Obi-Wan or the Jedi order.

This story is about Anakin going down the wrong path and the price it costs him. He is weak enough to give into the darker aspects of his nature and as a result ends up killing the woman he loves. You know who also did a story almost exactly like this? A guy called William Shakespere in his play Othello. Othello is a tradegy (and a great one, I recommend everyone see the film version starring Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branaugh). ROTS is also a tradegy and the scene that will make it a great one is when Anakin does the unthinkable and hurts the one person who still meant something to him. That won't cause people to start screaming "wife beating" but it will give the story resonance and impact for the audience because it is the tradegic part.

-Second is the physical aspects of the scene or propably the lack there of. The scene seems to be Anakin using the force to choke Padme. Which is horrible but won't have the same visual impact of him physically beating her. It reinforces the fantasy aspect of the movie because he is using "magic powers" and moves the audience away from real life comparisions.

-Third would be that it is little different than Vader trying to kill Luke. If we are going to use literal, real-life interpretations then Vader trying to murder Luke in ROTJ should be considered child or family abuse. The audience is smart enough to realize Lucas isn't literally trying to demonstrate the kind of spousal abuse that sadly happens in American homes everyday.

-And finally even if none of other arguments I have made were true, the fact still remains that Anakin is the villian of the piece. He is supposed to fall and become the second most evil person in the entire galaxy. He has to do things so evil and dark that no one, not even he himself, believes he is capable of coming back. That is what makes his redemption so powerful and Luke's beleif in him so extrodinary. The farther Anakin falls the more significant the redemtpion.

 

"Going by the webcam images, Anakin is doing something that makes Padme fall down."

This is true. It also appears he is doing the Vaderesque holding out his hand while he does said choke.

"It can't be pretty."

Nope.

"Let's remember one important thing: Episode III is when Anakin becomes Darth Vader, the most evil being, next to Palpatine himself, in the galaxy.

His turn must be convincing and not toned down for the benefit of avoiding controversy and making the film a comfortable viewing for all kids. Also, Lucas must not take the easy way out and have Anakin manipulated by Palpatine regarding Padme?s death. Doing something like that would only help to take away the blow of Anakin?s eventual downfall."

I agree with all of this.



EDIT: GREAT post, Crashlanding77. I agree 100%.


EDIT #2: "Othello is a tradegy (and a great one, I recommend everyone see the film version starring Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branaugh)."

The movie O, from 2002, is another great theatrical take on this Shakespearean classic.

 

The scenario in which Anakin chokes Padme is actually a very interesting way for Anakin to show how far he has been lured into the Dark Side of the Force, but I still don't think it'll go over well with viewers.

The movie is for kids as well as adults. Choking is choking, force or no force. You choke your wife, you're a wife-beater (or wife-choker).

Furthermore, this is a lot worse than Vader fighting Luke. Luke could defend himself with the Force; Padme can't. Padme's also pregnant. Choking might work with clumsy Admirals, but not with pregnant wives.

 

The scenario in which Anakin chokes Padme is actually a very interesting way for Anakin to show how far he has been lured into the Dark Side of the Force, but I still don't think it'll go over well with viewers.

The movie is for kids as well as adults. Choking is choking, force or no force. You choke your wife, you're a wife-beater (or wife-choker).

Furthermore, this is a lot worse than Vader fighting Luke. Luke could defend himself with the Force; Padme can't. Padme's also pregnant. Choking might work with clumsy Admirals, but not with pregnant wives.

And this is where the Anakin is evil part of the equation comes into the argument. His actions aren't being held up as good behavior or something that should be emulated. He is committing evil acts and he pays for it with a little dip in the lava.

We know that Anakin leads the assult on the Jedi temple where there are dozens of jedi children that get killed. Is force choking Padme any inherently worse than the killing of children? Frankly if your worry is about children seeing the force-choke then I think the murder of the younglings or even implied murder(i.e. artfully offscreen) would have a far greater impact on kids seeing the movie than kids equating Anakin/Padme to everyday spousal abuse.

Anakin commits numerous evil acts when he falls to the darkside, that is the point of falling to the darkside. Contributing to Padme's death is just the culmination of his transformation, the cherry on top of his evil ice cream sundae as it were. Is he hurting his wife? Yep, but it is part of a greater swath of evil on his part not an attempt to show real life spousal abuse. I think the audience (even the kids) will be more than smart enough to see the difference.

 

"-First this isn't Anakin slapping Padme around in the kitchen because she didn't have dinner on the table when he got home from work. This is Anakin fallen to the darkside losing all rational control and lashing out at everyone who was important to him, be it Padme or Obi-Wan or the Jedi order. "

True, Anakin slapping Padme about dinner isn't the same as him choking her to death. But you have to agree that choking her is way more violent and cruel. It doesnt matter if he's on the Dark Side, that doesnt get by the fact that choking his pregnant wife to death is incredibly cruel and hateful, and yes, it is worse than wife beating.

"-Second is the physical aspects of the scene or propably the lack there of. The scene seems to be Anakin using the force to choke Padme. Which is horrible but won't have the same visual impact of him physically beating her. It reinforces the fantasy aspect of the movie because he is using "magic powers" and moves the audience away from real life comparisions. "

Magic Powers? He chokes her. It's not like that doesn't happen in real life. It doesn't matter if he uses the Force to do it, or just with his hands. He still chokes her. Again, worse than wife beating.

"-Third would be that it is little different than Vader trying to kill Luke. If we are going to use literal, real-life interpretations then Vader trying to murder Luke in ROTJ should be considered child or family abuse. The audience is smart enough to realize Lucas isn't literally trying to demonstrate the kind of spousal abuse that sadly happens in American homes everyday. "

Luke is not a child and should not be compared with child-like abuse. Other than that, all I have to say is that a fight between to grown men trained in the force and lightsaber fighting is definitely not the same as a grown man killing an innocent wife pregnant with his two children, who have no means of defending themselves.


Also, if Anakin killed Padme by choking, wouldn't that set a bad example to little boys who watch the movie and look up to Anakin? And Bariss Coffee, I completely agree with you...

 

I second that: Crashlanding, awesome post.

Furthermore, this is a lot worse than Vader fighting Luke. Luke could defend himself with the Force; Padme can't. Padme's also pregnant. Choking might work with clumsy Admirals, but not with pregnant wives.

I don?t really see much difference. Anakin may Force Choke Padme, but he doesn?t use it to kill her, only harm. She likely dies during childbirth. You don?t really think Vader knew for sure that Luke would be able to defend himself gracefully during their Bespin fight, do you? If Luke didn?t let go of that railing, Vader would?ve likely killed him.

Lucas did say Episode III?s story would be very, very dark (the darkest of all the SW films, in fact) and that he believed the film would make the least out of the prequels. Scenarios like this one probably stood out in his head.

I?d rather have him tell the story the way it was meant to be told than cater to the masses and PC-crowd.

 

"...if Anakin killed Padme by choking, wouldn't that set a bad example to little boys who watch the movie and look up to Anakin?"

Even children should be able to tell at that point that Anakin has done a bad thing. Clearly, GL would not allow things to play out this way because he wants to glorify violence. I don't expect a reaction across the board like: "Oh, look how scared and sad she looks. Mommy, I want to do that!"

There will always be some crackpot who wants to go shoot people after viewing Natural Born Killers, though the film doesn't glorify violence. If any kids out there want to be like Anakin after a scene like this, the kid's already screwed up. It wouldn't be GL's fault.

 

"You don?t really think Vader knew for sure that Luke would be able to defend himself gracefully during their Bespin fight, do you?"

At least Vader knew that Luke had training in defending himself with the force and with a lightsaber.

"Scenarios like this one probably stood out in his head. "

Yeah, especially since the general target of Star Wars is little kids.

 

You can make a movie dark without violence. And I don't care if the movie is PG-13 because Anakin is hacking off Separatist limbs and cleaving Jedi in two.

Physcologically, RotS can still be dark. I mean, Padme will obviously know at one point that she's married to a villian. But does he have to kill her (choking her will probably play a part in her eventual demise)...?

 

I totally love how this scenario is making even hardcore Star Wars fans jittery. Bring on the darkness, George!


Oh. The Force-choke alone doesn't kill her...for the umpteenth time. It's a combination of things that starts with "the choke" that leads to her death.


EDIT: "You can make a movie dark without violence."

How can you have a Star Wars movie--dark, or otherwise--without violence? All the movies have violence in them...

 

LOL... right Leonard. I've never really gotten this into an arguement before... it must be late...

 

Also, if Anakin killed Padme by choking, wouldn't that set a bad example to little boys who watch the movie and look up to Anakin? And Bariss Coffee, I completely agree with you...

And Anakin killing the dozens or even hundreds of other people in the film doesn't "set a bad example"? It is not a bad example when he either kills or lets Mace die without helping him? It isn't a bad example when Anakin helps wipe out the younglings? It isn't a bad example when Anakin helps set up a totalitarian dictatorship which rules the galaxy with violence and fear?

I will say this again, Anakin is the VILLIAN! He is the bad guy. The evil one. The nasty dude who the hero (basically Obi-Wan) fights. He is not meant to be an example to anyone. He is not a role model. And any kid who goes out of ROTS thinking it is okay to maim and kill anyone you want because Anakin did it was messed up before he saw the movie. Most kids are fairly smart, I think they will pick up on the notion that what Anakin is doing is wrong.

 

At least Vader knew that Luke had training in defending himself with the force and with a lightsaber.

Maybe so, but that still doesn't diminish the impact of what Vader's goal was: to kill Luke. Going by what we know so far, Anakin's intention is not to kill Padme, but only harm her. There is a difference.

Yeah, especially since the general target of Star Wars is little kids.

TPM was all wide-eyed, swashbuckling, and cheery for a reason. Lucas knew where the story was eventually heading. Episode III is gonna be tragic for a reason. Perhaps the younger crowd should be cautious about watching some of the images in the film. That should be the parents? discretion, though, not Lucas'.

 

Did kids look at it that way in TPM? Look at Darth Maul. When that movie came out, instead of hating Maul because he's the evil villain, little kids all wanted to be like him! They bought the double blased lightsabers, they all wanted his action figure...heck, even look back to the OT....don't you remember all the little kids think vader was so cool? They still do now.

 

Also, if Anakin killed Padme by choking, wouldn't that set a bad example to little boys who watch the movie and look up to Anakin?

Well, if it ain't a sci-fi/fantasy movie that'll influence little boys to go (female-dog) slapping on females, it'll be what they listened to on the radio. Assuming they're into rap.

 

Maul and Vader were essentially presented as one dimensional characters. Anakin is complicated. If kids truly view him as a hero up until then, they should fell betrayed by him in some capacity. They will not endeavor to be like him.

Additionally, I thought Maul was a lot of fun as well. But, believe it or not, neither I nor any of the numerous children I teach who also enjoyed Maul have killed anyone with a lightsaber.

 

"Also, if Anakin killed Padme by choking, wouldn't that set a bad example to little boys who watch the movie and look up to Anakin?"

Well...what about the Tusken slaughter? That's in the same vein as this. He admits to killing everyone...including all of the women and children. I don't recall seeing any parents taking their young kids out of the theater in disgust after he admits to this. What I think will set the "bad example" is if these metaphorical little boys parents behave in this manner in real life...not something from a fantasy movie. I also think that--if the metaphorical parents of these metaphorical little boys are anywhere near being good metaphorical parents--they should tell them that what he did...and the evil things he did before this...is completely wrong, and they shouldn't take it literally/act in this manner. Explain to them that it's "just a movie".


"LOL... right Leonard. I've never really gotten this into an arguement before... it must be late..."

It's alright.

 

Anakin attacking Padme demonstrates how far he has gone and ties into the regret in his voice, come ROTJ time.