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Okay folks, I'm back with another question to ponder...if Padme believed Anakin
was still alive after his battle with Obi-Wan, and if she believed there was
still good in him...why then did she lose the will to live? Wouldn't the knowledge
that Anakin survived, and that there was still good in him, be enough to keep
her alive, knowing she might be the very thing needed to bring her husband
back from the Dark Side?
This has been a burning question for a very long time for me. While I get the
whole concept of "dying of a broken heart" (though I wish GL would have
made her actually die from the force choke) it doesn't really make sense to me
that she would feel this way if she really had the hope she claimed that she
had. Thoughts? Opinions? Rants? All welcome. May the Force be with
us all through this holiday season.
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http://blogs.starwars.com/darthbryan/11 |
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Smuggler Jedi
Hokey Religions and A Good Blaster at My Side
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date Posted: Dec 05, 2007 1:27 PM
I could probably right a blog of my own in response to this. As much as I enjoyed RotS, I think Lucas handled this part poorly. Why did Padme lose the will to live? Is it because of Anakin's turn? The fall of the Republic? Both? Something else?
Did she actually know what had happened to Anakin? That they faught? That he cut off his limbs?
Padme was too strong a character to simply lose the will to live because she didn't care for Anakin's view point...especially considering she was about to bring a baby into the world. I never bought the "losing the will to live" reason for her death. Complications from nearly being strangled to death by an angry Sith makes much more sense.
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Smuggler Jedi
Hokey Religions and A Good Blaster at My Side
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date Posted: Dec 05, 2007 1:33 PM
I'd also add that given that Padme was elected Queen of Naboo at the age of 14, stood up to the Trade Federation, shouted down the Senate after her planet was invaded, called for the vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, stood up to Count Dooku, and faught in the arena on Geonosis...it just seems hard to believe that a few cross words from Anakin would be enough to make her give up hope.
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tooclonecrazy
You will never find a more wretched hive of nerds and geekery.
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date Posted: Dec 05, 2007 4:14 PM
Poor writing. Sorry to be negative, but it's true. RotS was my favorite of the prequals, but there were still some mistakes.
She had two adorable twin babies to raise -which she was really looking forward to. She thought Anakin still had good in him. Anakin was alive-obviously she knew that The losing the will to live thing was just dramatic. That's all.
Anakin killing her was even more traumatic (did I use that right?) in my opinion. Really evil. Woulda been better.
But, maybe knowing that Anakin almost killed her was what destroyed her will to live. Maybe she figured he didn't love her so what was the point?
Still, poor writing seems to be a better excuse. 
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DJ Maul: Got Feet?
DJ Maul's Dancin' Cantina Party
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 6:13 AM
yeah I gotta say I agree, Id much rather believe that padme WANTED to live but it was the injuries that Anakin inflicted on her that caused complications while giving birth and thats why she died.
and again i too and a HUGE fan of Ep III but this is a flaw in the otherwise great movie.
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Master Deireanach
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 7:25 AM
As the droids said she had no real injuries, she did give up the will to live. I think it was a culmination of everything, Anakin turning into a monster, the republic (which she loved more than anyone) collapsing and knowing that if she was still alive her children would be hunted down. They couldn't have Anakin kill her, otherwise he'd never be redeemed. No one would ever forgive him if he killed Padme
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YodasPadawan4
Star Wars Appreciation Society
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 9:08 AM
I love the movies so much that I hesitate to say "bad writing"....that is the crutch of
every prequel-hater, and I don't think the movies suffer from that at all. I think it's possible
that it was a plot device created to make the movie a little less dark for the kiddies,
but I don't buy the losing the will to live thing. Maybe the dark side was clouding the
minds of the medical droids too, and they couldn't see her injuries. Okay, that was
lame even for me.
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Darth_Hiram
A Journey into The Force
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 9:21 AM
I'm not going to try and justify the reason behind Padme's death ... it is what it is now. But I can theororize that she could have sensed Anakin was deeply entrenched in the darkside now ... he couldn't be brought back yet. Remember he asked her to join him and defeat the Emperor ... right before losing it and choking her. And really, to be choked by the love of your life would definitely put a damper on the relationship!
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Darth Draconius
A Lot of Limericks and Nonsense
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 9:50 AM
Actually, I have a different theory. As my sister, who is a pediatrician, will attest, carrying a baby - let alone twins - is very taxing on the body and can easily endanger the mother, especially during the final stages of pregnancy. I'm sure you've heard about gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Both can be life-threatening, and with Padme active and on her feet a lot during the end of her pregnancy, these conditions could have surfaced as well. They also would have been EASY details to add to the story as valid complications of carrying twins and Padme's wish to keep her pregnancy secret.
(cont.)
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Darth Draconius
A Lot of Limericks and Nonsense
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 9:50 AM
Padme has too strong of a personality to simply "give up" the will to live. It's "Hollywoodization" of a broken heart that I believe contradicts her character, and as we all know, the best scripts for Star Wars were not written by GL. 
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Green Am I
Mudhole? Slimy?! My blog this is!
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 9:57 AM
Ah, nobody likes that ending. It just seems like a really bad excuse to get her out of the story. I'd like to say it was the Force choke that killed her, but they made it quite plain that her wounds weren't bad, she just simply decided to die. Unfortunately even with the whole Anakin turning to the Dark Side thing, she still should of had the will to live... she just had twins, after all! It's probably my #1 gripe about RotS.
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Leia's Mother
Daughter of Naboo
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 12:03 PM
It was obviously a combination of things that led to Padme's death. Anakin was obviously a big factor, he committed atrocities that Padme would never have thought he was capable. Yes, Padme was a very strong person and she loved Anakin with all the strength and passion that was in her. To learn that he was no longer the person that she thought he was, that he was practically the opposite, would have been utterly heartbreaking. Plus, he hurt her, which was probably the pinnacle of her heartbreak.
Of course, then there was the pregnancy and Anakin himself had seen that she would die in child birth. I think as for Padme "knowing that there was good in him" was mostly her being optimistic and still loving Anakin.
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Leia's Mother
Daughter of Naboo
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 12:03 PM
I don't think that if Padme had lived, she would have been able to save Anakin. Anakin joined the dark side because of her. Perhaps, Padme understood this and blamed herself, and that is another reason why she no longer had the will to live. Also, her death was necessary to solidify Anakin's journey down the dark side, which would have been why GL had to make her die
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YodasPadawan4
Star Wars Appreciation Society
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date Posted: Dec 06, 2007 12:20 PM
Now that is an interesting idea...maybe her death was precipitated by the Dark Side itself...maybe
Palpatine was responsible for her death, the prophecy that Anakin foresaw happened
because it was meant to happen. She survived everything else, so the Dark Side itself
took over and sapped her strength and her will to live....its as good of an explanation as
any. I'd be interested to see what GL would say about the whole scene.
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RC-1290 'DReADnought'
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date Posted: Dec 07, 2007 5:24 AM
She had already tried to bring him back from the dark side, so she knew she couldn't. Or something like that :P.
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RC-1290 'DReADnought'
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date Posted: Dec 07, 2007 5:26 AM
...well that, or she was an octopus, which die after bringing the babies to life.
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Vader'sKid
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date Posted: Mar 28, 2008 11:12 PM
As far as I'm concerned it was handled poorly and not believable. Padme may have loved Anakin, but she hid their marriage relationship, etc from others. She had her own reasons I'm sure, but it would be more believable if it was a complication from child birth which I think was the original plan.
With a child who needs you this is off kilter. It makes no sense. Heart broken absolutely, giving up on life NOT! She had loved ones, friends, family and the respect of friends and enemies.
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Vader'sKid
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date Posted: Mar 28, 2008 11:15 PM
Oh, and another thing. I think there were other things pulling at Anakin that lured him besides Padme. She's often mentioned as him turning, but no altogether, she was a key reason, but not the only one. I think had she been the key reason she could have stopped him.
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