Star Wars fans are revisiting what went through their mind during the most pivotal scene in Revenge of the Sith.
Redditor Skibot99 posted a still photo of Padmé Amidala (Nathalie Portman) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), with the caption, “To those who saw Revenge of the Sith in 2005 how did you react to this moment?”
In the scene, the pregnant queen confronts her husband about his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi’s suspicions that Anakin has turned to the Dark Side. Much to her dismay, she finds him very much changed. Anakin is distrustful of Obi-Wan, dismissive of the strength of their love, and obsessed with obtaining more power.
As Padmé listens to Anakin justify his violence with grandiose ambitions and misguided claims that his actions are for her sake, she discovers that the man she loves has become a stranger and backs away from him in horror. Anakin grows increasingly paranoid as he realizes that Padmé doesn’t share his vision for ultimate control of the galaxy. It soon becomes evident that his quest for power isn’t about her at all.
Unmoved by his wife’s tearful plea that he return to his core values, the only thing Anakin is concerned with is his loss of control of the situation and the fear this breeds in him. This provokes him to furiously lash out at Padmé, and he uses his powers to violently strangle her. Anakin is stopped by Obi-Wan, who he childishly blames for his violence.
It is possibly one of the most intense scenes in the Star Wars franchise, and fans have a lot to say about it. The Lazy Archer thought that Anakin’s fall from grace should have been more measured.
Another Redditor saw the scene during childhood and found it confusing, as Anakin had used Padmé as an excuse to devote himself to the Dark Side only to turn around and inflict a mortal injury on her.
TheDarkLordofAll17 described the pathos of the scene, identifying with how Padmé’s distress and heartbreak ultimately led to her tragic demise.
The impact of the scene was a coming of age moment for jesse7412:
ElBurritoCarlito praised the writing and described Anakin’s story arc as a Greek tragedy.
The scene also served the purpose of explaining Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader. It was tasked with answering the enigma of what could make someone turn their heart to stone and completely separate themselves from feelings of love and compassion. It seems that Anakin never learned to process the loss of his mother in a healthy way, and some might say that this doomed him to compulsively repeat the trauma he experienced in his early life. In a childlike way, to cope with his irrational fear of losing his wife the way he lost his mother, Anakin deluded himself into the false belief that his omnipotence could protect him from more pain. Sadly, he gave himself to fear at the expense of reason.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is currently available to stream on Disney Plus.
