20 years afterStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright offer their advice to Anakin and Padmé. The love story between Anakin and Padmé lies at the heart of the prequels, and their story has a lot of bumps in the road long before their fateful confrontation onMustafar. But could the disastrous end have been averted?
The latest episode ofMovie Therapy, by Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright, offers advice to Anakin and Padmé in the hopes of salvaging their relationship - or, at least, saving Padmé’s life. The two have very different opinions on the prequels, but they’re both agreed that the relationship between Anakin and Padmé is deeply problematic.The key, in their view, lies in the failure to communicate.
Decker offers insight into the whole emotional rollercoaster - including the controversial Tusken Massacre - but he really focuses on the way Anakin hides so much of himself from Padmé inRevenge of the Sith. Anakin carefully shields Padmé from his own inner conflict, apparently out of a deep sense of shame, and he ultimately makes pretty major decisions without any consultation.“Honey, I’m gonna join the dark side” is a big decision.
The Relationship Between Anakin & Padme Was Always Problematic
I don’t think Decker and Seawright are always entirely fair to Anakin and Padmé, although I appreciate their noting the fact that they don’t intend to criticize Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman. That said, they’re absolutely right that there’s something awkward and uncomfortable about the relationship right from the start.The dynamic between nine-year-old Anakin and 14-year-old Padmé is problematic, especially when Padmé tells Anakin she cares for him.
Decker points to something “Freudian” about Anakin’s infatuation with Padmé, because he’s looking for a maternal figure to show him compassion and love. What he struggles to understand, though, is just what Padmé sees in Anakin; he suggests she’s rebelling against an environment that had forced her to conform for most of her life.Padmé was 14 years old when she became queen, so she didn’t exactly have a normal childhood.
Padme Simply Ignores The Biggest Red Flag Of All
The biggest red-flag, though, was inStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. There, Anakin tells Padmé about theTusken Massacre, where he killed men, women, and children. Decker and Seawright suggest Padmé’s most sensible reaction would have been to back away in fear, but instead she comforts him. She’s literally unfazed by Anakin confessing to murder -in spite of the fact she’s a senator, supposedly committed to justice.
This scene makes Anakin’s shame inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithall the more confusing. He hides his darkness from Padmé, as though fearful she will reject him, which doesn’t make sense given she already knows he slaughtered men, women, and children. If she wouldn’t turn away from Anakin after the Tusken Massacre, why did he ever think she’d leave him?
