Last weekend, I did a mini-marathon of the PT. People noticed when AOTC came out that Palpie arranged for Padmé to be protected by "an old friend," Master Kenobi--and presumably his padawan Anakin as well since Palpie knew darn well whose apprentice he was. Thus followed the theories that Palpatine wanted a mutual distraction with the two, perhaps even hoped they'd fall in love. After all, it is entirely possible Anakin might have admitted during one of his chats with Palpie that he had a crush on Senator Amidala or perhaps, he frequently asked about her. Toward what end? Most theories figured it would distract Padmé from the military creation act vote and better yet, encourage a wedge between Anakin and the Jedi.

But after ROTS, one has to wonder if Palpie had his eye on the carrot to lead Anakin to the dark side all along, at least from the time Anakin reached adulthood. It's Anakin's love for Padmé that leads him to the dark side. Did Palpie forsee that years in advance, which is why he made sure Anakin's path crossed Padmé's again? If so, why were the assassination attempts necessary? Or were those attempts on Padmé's life a red herring, intended to excuse sending her off on a trip alone with Anakin to the most romantic planet in the galaxy? Think about it...Palpie knew Padmé was going back to Naboo. Surely he could have tipped off Jango or any other assassin to track her there and whack her if he really wanted her dead right then. But he didn't. She was needed to serve another purpose. That Padmé and Anakin got married made Palpie's plans even easier.

This leads me to also wonder if perhaps Palpie had something to do with Anakin's dreams in ROTS. He knew Anakin feared Padmé's "certain death." How did he know that if the only people with which Anakin discussed his dreams were Yoda (very vaguely) and Padmé?

As far as I'm concerned, it was the will of the Force that A/P hooked up, even if it did have to act through Palpie. Not because I think it was pre-destined for Anakin to turn to the dark side, but because I think the Skywalker lineage is important to bring the Jedi into a new era. What do you think?