I'll let you in on a little secret about Darth Plagueis.

No one really knows if he did or didn't create Anakin. Oh, George Lucas knows, but he's not telling. Authorative source material written about the subject has to dance around it, steeply couching any claims with phrases such as "some believe..." and "it is possible..." and "according to some theories..." and so on.

Plagueis may have crafted Anakin. Or, at least planned to. Sidious may have killed him before he did it. Or the two may have crafted the Force-strong child together. Or neither of them did it. I don't know, and no one with a green or purple name knows for sure either. Oh, we have educated guesses and theories, but they are no more solid coming from us than they are coming from anyone.

What do I think? I think Anakin's birth was orchestrated by the Sith. By Palpatine actually, who applied Plagueis' arcane knowledge after killing him. Part of me wonders if Plagueis tried and failed with other "experiments," creating horrific Force abominations in the wombs of unsuspecting mothers. But by the time he figured out how to build a better baby, Palpatine killed him.

What does this have to say about free will and destiny? Well, a lot, but I won't get into that discussion now. What this blog is about is this: believing in the Sith-borne Anakin answers some questions about Episode I.

If Sidious was responsible for the Force-sparked life developing in Shmi Skywalker's womb, then he clearly had his wicked eye on Tatooine long before Padme and her crew arrived there on the lam. So, it's no wonder that he and Darth Maul knew where the Queen's ship landed. There's the answer to that question of how did Maul know to go to Tatooine. It was never satisfactorily answered until now (if you call that satisfactory!)

But the coolest change it makes to the Episode I experience has to do with a piece of music and a shot of Shmi in Phantom Menace. After Qui-Gon Jinn takes a midi-chlorian sample, proving that Anakin is truly exceptional, he looks at Shmi. We hear the Sith music begin.

Now, the rational minded viewer would point out that the music was really just meant to bridge the scene into the next, where Darth Maul arrives on Tatooine. But others came out with what sounded like a crazy theory. That Shmi was a Sith! That she had somehow been corrupted! That the Sith were somehow involved with her!

Granted, at the time, conspiracy theorists were seeing Sith everywhere (and seeing Kitster as Boba Fett for some strange reason). But now, in retrospect, maybe that music wasn't just a bridging element. Maybe it was a deliberate clue.

George, you sly devil you!

Update in response to comments: Let me clarify. Oh, I'm not saying Shmi was a Sith. I'm just saying that that crazy theory wasn't as crazy. It's very likely that the Sith had something to do with Anakin's birth. If someone said that in 1999, they'd be branded a nutloaf. But now, it's very much so a possiblity.

No, I didn't mean to besmirch Shmi's good name. I don't think she's a willing or knowing participant.

ph