Star Words: Episode II, Part 15

After scenes of edenic loveliness in the sunshine and open air, things are beginning to close in on Anakin and Padmé's developing relationship. The teasing and playfulness of their dinner conversation is counterbalanced by the symbolism of the sunset -- their perfect day is ending and cannot return -- and the fruit that Padmé eats -- a possible reference to the fruit that forced Eve and Adam from paradise, and certainly a symbol of Anakin's transgression against Jedi tenets as he notes Obi-Wan's hypothetical disapproval.

Now comes the reckoning. In an enclosed, almost suffocating space, lit only by firelight (fire is always present at pivotal moments for Anakin) he lets out a tortured expression of his feelings. The wording of his monologue is very intriguing to me. Never does he actually say "I love you." As far as he's concerned, that hardly needs to be said. His attachment to Padmé has always been there, and it's only grown stronger during their time alone on Naboo. No, what he's describing here is what his feelings are doing to him. That his thoughts are constantly occupied by her....that he's in pain at the thought of not being with her...that the one kiss they shared has become a tormented memory...that he will do anything she asks to be with her (keep that line in mind when it's echoed during a crucial moment in Episode III).

Is this scene romantic? That's a matter of opinion. If tortured angst is your preferred flavor of romance, then maybe so. Not so much for me -- I like happy romance, so the first kiss and the meadow picnic are far more to my taste. But that isn't to say that this scene is unimportant to me. It's crucial in providing an insight to Anakin's viewpoint, a flawed viewpoint that will lead to great pain.

He's tormented by the possibility of unfulfilled desires. Well, that's not too unusual, not for any impassioned young person. Lots of teenagers feel like if their crush doesn't return their feelings, it's the end of the world. He's also focused almost entirely on a selfish expression of love, of how it affects him, how much pain he is in. Again, perfectly common for a young person who's still learning how to think outside of his own limited experience. The problem is that Anakin's situation doesn't offer a lot of space to learn and grow out of this mindset, as a well-adjusted teenager should. The Jedi forbid attachment, but it appears that they don't know what to do with someone who already formed attachments before he entered their Order at all. They don't offer any resources for Anakin to manage his feelings and learn that selflessness they're so fond of, because the very fact that he has such feelings is foreign to them.

And though Padmé has some advantage in age and experience here, she's not really all that different. She began her career in politics at such an early age that she, too, has spent much of her life repressing many personal needs and desires. When Anakin bursts back into her life, a handsome and passionate young man who she already associated with many happy memories, she falls hard. She never outright denies having feelings for him in this scene, even though that would be an easy way to put more strength behind her rejection. When she says "regardless of the way we feel about each other" and Anakin shows a desperate hope that she cares for him too, she just dodges the question with "I will not let you give up your future for me." She's suffering too, no question. Her very clothing, tight and form-fitting, could be seen as a symbol of the restriction she feels...though of course an outfit that revealing could as likely be a symbol of her emerging physicality. In any case, at this moment her sense of duty is just a little stronger than her desire to be with Anakin.

That will change.

I don't personally feel their relationship was doomed to inevitably fracture. I like to imagine scenarios wherein Anakin learned healthy coping mechanisms and they both communicated better and avoided tragedy. But of course, in terms of the required storyline, we know this won't end well. And what better way to foreshadow it than with one of Anakin's melodramatic descriptions of his suffering?

"I can't breathe."

This one cuts deep, doesn't it? Darth Vader's character was always associated with labored breathing, but it becomes so much more poignant when we witness how his feelings for Padmé -- the unmanaged, fearful, "I can't breathe" side of them -- leads him to literal suffocation, to lifelong imprisonment inside an artificial lung. And when you add to that the notion that his first act of telekinetic strangulation is against Padmé herself -- well, my heart is breaking right alongside hers.

The scene finishes with another ominously foreshadowing line, as Anakin at last concedes that they cannot live a secret life together. "You're right. It would destroy us."

And so, alas, it does.

Next, some advice from Yoda that he should have followed himself...