Ep. 2 mass murder and other gripes

Always seemed to me that Yoda sensed a disturbance in the Force but didn't know what it was. We, as the audience, knew what it was because we watched it, so it seems like it should be obvious to Yoda. But he didn't watch it and only knows that something bad has happened.

Also, Threepio's memory was wiped. He wouldn't remember Uncle Owen. Would Owen remember Threepio? I don't know... all of those protocol droids kind of look EXACTLY the same.

 

What is the Jedi protocol for ordering a mental health review? If it's as anachronistic as the rest of their code, I bet Yoda just told Obi-Wan to make sure Anakin was OK. You know, kick the tires a little. I don't think Anakin would've been summoned before the council to be questioned. They'd consider it a Master/Padawan matter.

If Obi-Wan asked about the events preceding the recovery of Shmi's body (an insensitive thing to ask), I bet Anakin would've just lied, or been like: "Dude, she's dead.... Let it go. And I just lost my f'ing arm too. Chill."

But, if he did tell Obi-Wan about the massacre, that's interesting. It means Obi-Wan probably lied to Yoda and the council. It'd be another example of how he enabled Anakin to do whatever the hell he wanted. But if Obi-Wan did report the massacre, well, that probably would've been the end of young Skywalker's career as a Jedi.

 

It was a emotional episode IMO.

 

I am almost certain they are not programmed the same way. remember the protocol droid from the beginning of TPM? He wasn't near how annoying C3PO is. I love the character too, but I thought I was the only one who thought he complained a lot.

 

I don't think that the Jedi knew he massacred a village. their vision was clouded, and they would definitely have kicked him out, chosen one or not.

What really gets my goat about that scene is the fact that he straight up tells Padme, and she's like, oh bummer, lets get married and you can father my children, because I'm some sort of crazy person.

 

Or she cared for him and thought she could help him.

 

Help him turn back from being a genocidal maniac? Her being anything other than horrified means she also has some sort of psychosis.

 

Let me start out by saying that I'm not defending the execution of that scene or the execution of the entire Anakin and Padme romance really(still the worst onscreen romance I've ever had to sit through ).

However, I think I get what George was going for with Anakin and Padme's relationship. The focus of the PT is obviously the tragedy of Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader, hence the romance was going to be a central part of that tragedy. Anakin and Padme don't see some of the potential problems with the other person as far as compatibility goes. Padme in particular overlooks some glaring issues with Anakin.

An early warning sign is their conversation during the pick nick in the field, they are discussing politics and Padme of course favors freedom and democracy(a core aspect of her character), Anakin however, basically states that he would prefer a dictatorship(which frequently leads to something also commonly known as fascism ). Padme hesitates, but then Anakin plays it off as a joke and they engage in more godawful courting.

More importantly(as has been stated), Padme doesn't seem that bothered by Anakin's admission of slaughtering the Sand People. Having been in bad relationship when I was younger, I can see somewhat what George was going for. When a person is in love and overcome with all the feel good hormones and whatnot, one simply does not want to see the writing on the wall in most cases, ignoring or understating important details that can affect one's long term happiness.

Additionally, when you are in a relationship with someone that you care about, you want to help that person, even if it is clear that they aren't really taking the steps to help themselves. Also, even though its a cliche, its true that many girls are drawn to bad boys(let me clarify that I am not saying ALL or even MOST girls feel this way, but I have still known more than a few through the years that do feel that way), not necessarily because they approve of all of their actions, but because they think they can help them and with their love they can reform them(although I think most sane individuals would run the other way when the person they are interested in tells them that they have just slaughtered women and children ).

If we take those ingredients and apply them to their love story in a worthwhile way, it can really heighten the tragedy of their whole relationship and make the audience feel for them that much more. Sadly what we got was one of the worst onscreen romances ever seen in a big budget film, mostly due to poor dialogue and piss poor chemistry between the two leads. So if anything, one could say a further tragedy of Anakin and Padme's relationship is the fact that it really could have been an amazing and integral part of the PT had it just been handled properly.

 

I'm so close to agreeing with you. There are a million truly terrible things he could have done, and I would have bought it. He could have beat people up, he could have abused padme, he could have killed a couple of people. He could have even done exactly what he did, but then padme could have heard about it second hand. I would have bought the tragedy of an abusive/bad relationship. But genocide. Genocide? It's too far. If Luke and Leia had already been born, maybe. Then it's kind of like the godfather. There is just no way she has enough emotional investment at that point to excuse the slaughter of innocents. She is either of her rocker or considers the sand people sub human.

 

I actually agree with you on that point though, I think that was just to far to buy. I could buy it if he just killed the warriors, but he specifically goes out of his way to tell her that he killed the women and the children too. Based on everything we'd been told about Padme up to that point, her being a well educated young leader who is passionate about democracy and freedom, also shown being compassionate and humble in her dealings with the Gungans, something like genocide is not something she would abide by.

 

Totally! Like Charles Mansons wife.

--- Double Post Merged, Aug 26, 2015, Original Post Date: Aug 26, 2015 ---

Maybe he made her love him with the force... The irony is the force needed Luke

 

Hey @Darth Lexor Kai, I know your gripe is about how Yoda didn't really sense and understand and help Anakin after he massacred the Tuskens, but in the Vader comics, it really has left a scar on him and is his first major dive into the Dark Side. The movie kind of made Padme love a serial killer, but in all actuality, the massacre is a very important part of the saga.

 

I never thought of it that way but yeah Padme did marry a serial killer.

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 9, 2018, Original Post Date: Apr 9, 2018 ---

Anakin never told Obi-Wan or the Jedi. He told Sidious. Who used it to seduce him to the dark side. Yoda said he sensed pain and suffering, death. Something terrible. We don't know what he is seeing. Could be younglings being killed. assuming it was a clear vision and not emotions sensed.

 

Exactly. Which makes the relationship between the two completely nonsensical. Freedom-loving, brilliant Padme brushes off Anakin's child murder as a perfectly understandable burst of human anger, which makes her a horrible person for completely overlooking it and agreeing to marry the creepy psycho a few days later.

 

I think Padme at that point
probably tried to act like she never heard any of that. When Anakin breaks down crying on the floor after he tells her about it, she
comforts him and immediately sees him as someone deeply hurt by the loss of his mother. At that point she was just wanted to comfort him because she pitied what happened to his mom.
I honestly think padme tried to forget about what he told her though. She never brings it up ever again, and it seems as if
Padme either didnt fully believe him or just made herself forget it

 

I wished Lucas didnt cut away when the slaughter begins.
He probably wanted to avoid the pg rating.

 

The answer is hinted at in ROTS...

Padme asks Anakin if he is blinded by love, when in fact she has also become blinded by love. It's clear that Padme has already fallen in love with Anakin before the Tusken slaughter, and her warnings about what would happen to them if they lived the lie, started coming true almost immediately.

Their love story shows that because they had decided to live the lie of thinking they were entitled to break all kinds of rules and have their love, it corrupted their morals as well including Padme.

 

Think about it. If Yoda didn't knew exactly what he did, wouldn't he address it? He wouldn't just let it go. He knew something bad happened, but that was about it.