PT Who or what event affected Anakin's turn to the dark side more?

Who effected Anakin's turn to the dark side more? Padme Amidala (wife) or Shmi Skywalker (mother)?

 

I voted for his Mother purely because I think it had more of an effect on him, it fed his taste for revenge and anger and he wasn't well trained enough at that point so he took it very badly. Whereas with Padme it was more about him not listening to people and taking the advice offered to him, but rather more about his obsession and regarding himself as special and powerful and his selfishness. Although I'm not sure about his "Turn to the dark side" as there are pretty strong arguments for both, But I certainly think the death of his mother was more destructive then that of Padme's.

 

I think Palpatine was the most influential out of anyone.

 

There were numerous elements which led to his downfall, so it's hard to really justify my choice. But I view it to be like this:

• Shmi's death (or the way it happened) was the catalyst that made Anakin go down the dark path. After that he just needed the right trigger to finally turn to the dark side,
• and that final trigger was Padme and the fear of losing her. Once she was dead, there was no turning back.

That's why I voted for Padme, even though one event (Shmi's death) led to another and they both contributed somewhat equally. Padme situation only tipped Anakin over the edge.

 

I think his own selfish pride, arrogance, and possessiveness led to his downfall.

 

His arrogance was certainly a pusher, though I think the possessiveness part and his disdain for change were the leading factor
As a result, I vote his mother. Had the dreams just passed and she lived a happy life before dying of natural causes, then I doubt Anakin would have gone nearly insane about his dreams of Padme... if he even had them in such a circumstance

 

Maybe they weren't dreams - but "visions of the present" as opposed to the "visions of the future" in ROTS and TESB.

That said - if Shmi had never been captured in the first place (but the rest of AOTC had still played out in a similar way, followed by the Clone Wars) - Anakin wouldn't have any context in which to place any visions of Padme - he wouldn't, yet, have a reason to trust them.

(Or, at least, not as much reason - didn't he mention visions of Padme leading an army, in TPM?).

 

Hm.... not ringing any bells I'm afraid...

 

She responds "I hope not. I hate fighting."

I might be thinking of the novelization.

 

I voted Padme. Here is my reasoning. Palpatine had great influence over Anakin and did sow the seeds of the Dark Side in him. However, it was Anakin's fear of losing a loved one, and actually losing a loved one when it came to his mother that caused him to go Dark Side. Palpatine had great sway over Anakin, but Anakin did intend to hand over Sidious to the Jedi. It was only because Palpatine communicated via Force Telepathy to Anakin and said, "If they kill me, she (Padme) will die." Anakin was motivated to save Padme, and he had the failure of saving Shimi to sway him to act this time without hesitation. Ultimately, Anakin did submit to Sidious, but what compelled him to go to the Chancellor's Chamber and circumstances that led to his fall was the fear of losing Padme.

 

Anakin Skywalker.

 

Ric Olie. Obviously.

 

I feel everyone plays a part in this fall, the Jedi council and Obi-Wan included. Padme may have put the nail in his goodness coffin, but Shmi is what started him down the path to darkness in the first place. I vote Shmi.

 

id say mainly Obi Wan and the Jedi, but to answer your question Padme.

 

Neither. It was his choice and his choice alone. No one to pin the blame on.

 

Nobody's saying either of them did anything "blameworthy" - but if Attachment led to the Dark Side for anakin - those were the two people he was most attached to - with the question being - which attachment was more important, to the story arc?

 

I disagree. I'd say it was Anakin himself than Sidious.

 

Yeah, strange poll choices. I mean, I clicked on the thread expecting to see Palpatine for sure, and then maybe Obi-Wan/the Jedi.

But Padme and Shmi? Okay. I'm not criticizing the TS, I guess discussing something different is good, or can be good.

I mean, sure. They had an effect on Anakin. But damn that Shmi for getting kidnapped and tortured to death, and damn Padme for existing and making Anakin fall in love with her, and not going along with his insane ambitions.

The answer is Anakin.

Runner up goes to Palpatine.

Third place is a mile down the road.

 

I voted for Shmi because it was having to leave her at a young age, then not being able to save her then losing her is what started the whole torment inside Anakin, feeling like he should have been able to save her, and then getting there too late and blaming himself.

Anakin is responsible for Anakin's actions and turning to the Dark Side, but I think that losing his mother twice helped facilitate his fall, IMO

 

I heartily agree.

 

The only reason I chose these two as the candidates was because I felt it was his attachment to them that made him turnh to the dark side. After all, wasn't it the fear of losing Padme that caused Anakin to save Sidious. Palpatine only managed to convert Anakin by using the death of his mother to get close to him and then used his fears of losing Padme to turn him to the dark side. Palpatine's up there but I feel that he only managed it because of what had happened with Padme and Shmi.

I didn't mean to cause offence. It's purely coincidence that they both happened to be women. I would have put Padme and his father if he had a father and he had died, but he didn't.

 

You can't say either woman affected Anakin's turn to the Dark Side more because neither of them did anything. They had things happen to them (or things that might have happened) but neither person actually took action that drove Anakin to the Dark Side. Shmi was kidnapped and tortured to death, but she hardly had a choice. Meanwhile Padmé didn't do anything -- Anakin just had visions of her dying. A better question would be whether the Tuskens or Palpatine affected Anakin's turn to the Dark Side more.

 

But did his initial separation from his mother not cause issues - Hence the whole Yoda quote;
'Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
This was said prior to The Tuskens took Shmi.

Whilst the way in which his mother was kidnapped and tortured, which ultimatley resulted in her death, obviously was a catalyst for his fall to the darkside, the fear and anger was already there to be magnified.

 

Yeah, but that can hardly be blamed on Shmi -- she was a slave. She did what any reasonable person would have done -- she wanted her son free and tried to get him a better life. It's not like she had the choice to go with him or to try to move to a safer planet.