Star Words: Episode III, Part 31

[matril]

When Yoda tells Obi-Wan that he will know how to find Anakin/Vader if he searches his feelings, it's hardly a shock that the next scene finds him at Padmé's apartment. He's no dummy. He might not have figured out every detail of the secret relationship, but he definitely knows something has been going on between the two of them. And he's allowed it because he loves Anakin and wants him to be happy.

It's heartbreaking to think that he might be regretting that choice; fearing that his indulgence might have contributed to Anakin's fall. This isn't a love triangle the way people conjectured when the prequels were first announced, of Padmé being the object of two men's affections and blah blah blah boring stupid. No, it's much more moving and intriguing and tragic. They both love Anakin in different ways, which is probably the biggest element of their own friendship. And Anakin comes to distrust them both, suspecting them of conspiring together against him. We'll get that more later.

Here, Obi-Wan faces the awful task of telling Padmé of Anakin's betrayal. Padmé instantly replies that he must be wrong, but he offers the indisputable evidence of what he saw in the security hologram. And still she denies it.

"I don't believe you...I can't."

These two simple phrases convey with a perfect, heartbreaking brevity the state of Padmé's mind. She speaks the first in a hollow, almost toneless voice as if she has gone numb. And then the second part, in exhausted grief. Because of course she knows Obi-Wan wouldn't outright lie to her. Of course she knows that something has gone wrong with Anakin. But the act of accepting this truth is more than she can bear. It's not a question of Obi-Wan's credibility. It's the only way she can protect herself from overwhelming horror.

Still, Padmé has never been the sort to sit and do nothing while passively hoping things will get better. If this truth insists on forcing itself upon her, then she will confront it directly, with the fierce determination that Anakin is still alive somewhere within the Sith Lord.

We see how Obi-Wan's tactics differ from hers. He might yet have hopes of reasoning with Anakin, but as a Jedi his primary goal must be to destroy the Sith. Even as he acknowledges Padmé's pregnancy and the secret father, all he can offer is a bleak, "I'm so sorry." That apology doesn't mean much when you're on a quest to kill that father. Oh, there are those tears again. And then the scene transitions directly to Mustafar, silently surveying Vader's grim handiwork until a closeup reveals a single tear on his face -- the little thread of humanity still remaining. Even as I know what's going to happen, I can't help thinking, "See, Padmé, there's still hope! Go and save him!" Oh, my heart.

Next time: like mother, like son....

Comments

[krpalmer]

For most of the time a "prequel love triangle" would have been an open question I was holed up by myself, just trying to avoid what I assumed would be a torrent of condemnation to match or beat the stuff oozing through every "off-topic" pore elsewhere, and when I did happen on a happy few "prequel-positive" people a year ahead of Revenge of the Sith they brought "the love triangle" up only to put it down. I admit this way of proposing a triangle appeals to me a lot more (even as I imagine the "slash goggles" fixed on some would interpret it a bit differently). Unfortunately, these days there's something like a "triangle" with interpretations of the Disney movies, or at least somebody's going to be left unhappy in a bit over a year's time. It already seems to have shut down the comments on the Prequel Appreciation Society...

[matril]

Yes, I was sad to see the contentious discussions at the SWPA and the subsequent no-comments policy. Honestly, it might have been better to leave out any discussion of the new films and focus only on the prequels. But since I've never successfully run a site with a large following, I don't really consider myself in a position to judge how it's run. It's just sad.

[krpalmer]

I can imagine a "don't discuss this" policy only enticing some people to try and tweak it, but I haven't tried moderating a large discussion group either. We'd got through two years anyway before my impression of lazypadawan taking a sudden shine to one particular interpretation that I've seen really set off other people elsewhere (and I can sort of agree with them, to the extent I don't just try and shrug the whole thing off as "Disney Space Movies"), but I had noticed some dire official warnings near the end too.