Besides himself/his own choices, of course...


This is the current poll question over at the Saga Journal website, and I thought it might be fun to explore it a little.


The answers to choose from in the poll are:

Having no contact with his mother after Episode I
Obviously, he missed her terribly and worried for her...whether she was lonely, whether Watto was treating her right, whether she was safe, etc. I suspect this issue caused no small bit of resentment on Anakin's part toward Obi-Wan and the Jedi for keeping him from even contacting Shmi (I don't know how conscious Anakin was of the resentment , but I think it was there). And there's a possible guilt factor here: if Anakin's trying to be a good Jedi and take on all that entails after TPM, I wonder if some part of him thought he shouldn't miss/worry about his mother and then subsequently felt bad because there was no chance he'd be able to stop. Add to all that his mother's tragic death, and his reactions to it...

Losing Qui-Gon Ginn
Qui-Gon was the one who found Anakin, believed in him, defended him, agreed to train him, and freed him from slavery. Qui-Gon was a maverick who didn't hold the Code above the Will of the Force and wasn't afraid to disagree with the Council; who listened to the Force and followed his beliefs even when that led him to the Chosen One or to rediscovering the Sith. Qui-Gon was an accomplished Jedi and Master, who had successfully brought a Padawan to the brink of Knighthood, and who would be on the Council if not for his rebellious streak. Qui-Gon was a good match for Anakin, in a way no other prequel Jedi that we were introduced to could have been. Having him as a Master might have made a profound difference in Anakin's life.

Navigating a caring, but complicated, relationship with Obi-Wan Kenobi
While it's clear Anakin and Obi-Wan cared about one another a great deal, were very close, etc., it's also clear there were issues between them that never went away and came to a head when Anakin fell. Personality-wise, they weren't a great teacher-student match. Obi-Wan has little or no understanding of where Anakin's coming from, and how that affected him in almost every aspect of his life. Anakin's approach to Obi-Wan is complicated -- he craves acceptance and recognition from him, but is also competitive with him. Add in Obi-Wan's complete inexperience in training a Jedi and the fact he'd been a Knight for 2 minutes before taking on Anakin, and you have a set-up for real difficulties.

Having Palpatine in his sphere of influence
This one doesn't even really need explaining. From the age of 9, from the moment he joined the Order, Anakin unknowingly had a Sith Lord befriending him and ruthlessly exploiting any issues or problems Anakin had, for the express purpose of turning him to the Dark Side one day.

Working through difficult relationships with the Council/Jedi.
It's clear from his first meeting with them, that the Jedi don't trust Anakin. They reject him for training and only take him on reluctantly. While things seem a little better in AOTC, by ROTS it's clear that the same lack of trust colors the Council's dealings with him. Like Obi-Wan, the Jedi don't seem to understand Anakin very well (and they don't seem to like/care for Anakin as Obi-Wan does). When Anakin needs to make his choices in ROTS (between the Jedi and Palpatine, between the Jedi and Padme, etc.), this strained, somewhat distant, and damaged relationship certainly didn't help matters.

Marrying Padme and carrying that secret
This put a strain on Anakin, and on all his other relationships, as he lied and kept secrets, and eventually felt he had no one to turn to when he felt Padme and his child were in danger. It pulled his loyalties in yet another direction, gave Palpatine another avenue to exploit, and in a manner similar to what I suspect happened with his mother, led to some resentment on Anakin's part toward the Jedi, knowing that he would be expelled from the Order for being with the woman he loved.

Witnessing the detoriation of the Republic/Senate
A smaller point, perhaps, but not an insignificant one, as the politics of the prequel era lead Anakin to further support and empathize with Palpatine, and believe he was in the right for doing so. Anakin's frustration with the Republic (and going back to his childhood, his lack of grounding in democracy) gives him a way to legitimize certain actions (both his and Palpatine's) to himself.


Though I understand why the Palpatine option is winning the poll, I voted for losing Qui-Gon, because I think that having him around would have either changed these issues for the better, or rendered them moot. Anakin would at least have had some contact with his mother (in fact, I think Qui-Gon might have tried again to free her, eventually). Obviously, Obi-Wan's not Anakin's master. Palpatine has no father figure/sympathetic friend void to fill in Anakin's life. Qui-Gon can deal with Anakin and the Council (as he defended Anakin to the Council in TPM). I don't think Qui-Gon encourages Anakin to marry Padme, but I think he's aware of and better understands Anakin's feelings, and at the least brings things out into the open. My speculation is that Qui-Gon would have shared some of Anakin's concerns over the Republic as well. I guess the key to me is that Qui-Gon "gets" and cares for Anakin, and he's a strong, powerful, upstanding Jedi to boot. More than anything, that's what Anakin needed (and never really got until Luke came along).


What do you all think?



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