PT Was Shmi's death part of Palpatine's scheme?

this seems to be the common theme lately

yes, SW has become a new, weird meta thing apparently where we must second guess everyone's words, connect these words with scenes that are not even connected, in some sort of weird gnostic fashion....only then can we become elite and truly understand SW.


*looks at thread title*

oh and...nope, but he used it to his advantage, Palpatine did not know:

when Shmi was gonna be picking mushrooms
how many Tuskens there were
exactly when Anakin was gonna find her and orchestrated it to the very second to her death.

etc, etc

 

Right?! I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing this.

 

No, I don't think you're supposed to just assume, you're supposed to wonder. I watched ESB before the PT and I felt like I barely knew anything about the mysterious masked warrior. The PT filled in the knowledge gaps.
Even if you want to assume that his words are 100% truthful, that still doesn't tell us anything about whether Vader liked the Empire. He offered Luke the option to rule with him, but Luke didn't give him an opportunity to discuss what kind of government system they should rule as before jumping off the gantry.

 

Nothing in the OT hints that he doesn't. Vader is presented as a person who believes "the ends justify the means" and only when he's watching his son die, while yelling for his help, does he finally have a moment of realization that, regardless of past motivations, THIS is not what he wants. So he saves his son, kills the Emperor and sacrifices himself.

It wasn't until the PT that GL decided Anakin was just a dummy with anger issues.

 

But Vader believes in order by the end of the PT.
He basically misguidedly puts the Rebellion and the Separatists in the same category as threats to order, and threats to his power. It isn’t spelled out but it is still there.

 

If Shmi never got killed and everything went according to Sidious's plans (i.e. Empire created and Anakin turned), do you think Sidious would allow Vader to bring Shmi to Coruscant and have warm family interactions all the time?

Can assassinations ever happen if the murderer hasn't been spoon-fed on all the details of the target's current life?

 

I don’t see how Shmi’s death being orchestrated really benefits the narrative.

Palpatine foreseeing Anakin would be somehow present when he and Mace fought makes a LOT more logical sense however.
I agree with your assertion that it would be silly to assume Palpatine’s scheme covered everything except the most crucial part. He tells Anakin to inform the Council of his true identity then sits behind his desk and waits for the result without calling for any kind of backup. It isn’t rocket science.

 

The issue with Shmi is that her presence would be problematic for Sidious in the future, as I explained earlier in this thread:

 

Fair point but IMO you are overthinking it. Palpatine planning every single detail makes for a boring story. It was just fate.

Maybe if Shmi had survived I could buy Palpatine eliminating her down the line, but that doesn’t appear to be what happened on Tattooine.

 

At what point do you think it would be believable that Sidious killed her? During the Clone Wars, or after the creation of the Empire?

I think Sidious killing her during the Clone Wars is an option too, but after the creation of the Empire would be a bit too late. Anakin misses her a lot, and would rush to see her asap when he no longer has the Jedi restraints of no attachment. She would quickly become a problem for Sidious. If Sidious kills her then, Anakin is likely to get suspicious of him.

 

can Star Wars have an actual storyline without Palpatine holding its hand is the better question.