The love story between Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) still troubles many fans. It is clear that the Jedi Knight, never Master, and the Senator loved each other. But what was the price of their love?
They got secretly married and separated by the war. They were hiding from their loved ones remaining in the shadows. Even Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side is connected with Padmé. So why did something so pure create the greatest villain of all time?
Let’s go back to the Clone Wars and discover what went wrong and how Anakin almost killed his wife.
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Why did Anakin and Padmé get married in secret?
Both Anakin and Padmé had reasons to get married in secret. Anakin promised his life to the Jedi Order that didn’t allow attachment. At the same time, Padmé was a successful Senator whose career would be destroyed by the scandalous marriage.
You can find out why Padmé is confused with Queen Amidala here.
Not the Jedi Way
Let’s start with the hero with no fear (definitely not Anakin from Episode II). Anakin gave the oath to serve people and the Jedi Order. It is no secret that the Jedi Code didn’t allow attachments.
Jedi couldn’t even have possessions!
They truly believed that emotions and possessiveness would lead to the Dark Side. Knowing Anakin’s story, there was some truth in the Code. Considering his oath and no attachment rule, Anakin couldn’t get married officially. He would be banned from being a Jedi.
Besides, he couldn’t abandon the Order because he was the Chosen One.
Legends materials suggest that some Jedi were allowed to form emotional attachments and get married. However, this case was only valid for certain species, and Anakin wasn’t the exception.
Senator’s Career and Naboo
But let’s not focus on only Anakin. Padmé also had her reasons.
In the films and animated series, she is a strong and well-known politician. She advocates for freedom of speech and human rights. The Senator from Naboo is hardly a woman who needs a man to save the day.
Imagine how the public perception of her would change if they knew about the marriage!
She would no longer remain neutral in the public eye. Besides, having a successful career rarely coincides with fruitful marriage. In other words: Padmé wasn’t necessarily attached to the Code like Anakin. However, she knew that the scandal would influence her career.
She was also the voice of reason in this relationship. At least one of them realized that their age gap was questionable. Finally, they were also entering the war. Arguably, this was not the best time for love fairs.
They Weren’t Ready
Anakin and Padmé were still young. Yes, they ruled planets and fought in wars, but they were barely 20 (19 and 24). You can hardly expect them to jump into marriage and not have any doubts about it!
Sadly, the audience doesn’t have enough time during the wedding ceremony.
It’s impossible to judge what both characters feel. Emotions are hidden by the music in the background and only several seconds of screen time.
It’s a good thing that we can look at the extra materials (such as other novels) to find out more information!
Star Wars: Queen’s Hope finally gave us more insight into what Anakin and Padmé felt. According to the book, they loved each other dearly. However, Padmé still felt like she was abandoning her friends, her parents, and her sister.
Even Anakin, who continued to push for this relationship, wasn’t ready for it. He had great destiny in front of him. But he was about to throw it away.
Here is the actual excerpt from the book:
At least being married in secret gave them both more time to decide their future course of action.
How did Anakin and Padmé keep their marriage secret?
In a few words: they almost failed. There is literally a scene in Episode III when they hug and kiss each other. The representatives of other planets and Senators are several meters away from them.
You would think that the Jedi Knight and the former Queen of Naboo would be better in hiding. But let’s give them a fair chance. What measures did they take, and who knew about the marriage?
Were they successful?
Never Communicating Directly
They tried not to speak in public. However, this practice was quickly abandoned. If you go back to the Clone War series, there is yet another hilarious scene.
Padmé and Anakin enter the senate together on the same platform. They had a whole relationship dispute in front of the senators. Dozens of them. It is clear that Anakin was jealous of Padmé’s ex, Clovis, politician and baron from Scipio.
At least during the Clone Wars, they had improved (a little bit). Anakin uses the gear from one of the clones to speak with his wife. It almost leads to them getting caught, yet at least you see some effort.
Never Telling Anyone About the Marriage (Directly)
Anakin and Padmé never told anyone directly about their marriage. Their friends and family didn’t know. They might have suspected, but no one confirmed their thoughts.
So it is pretty clear that they both thought they were doing a great job. Do we tell them now or a little bit later? Because towards the end of Episode III, quite a few people knew (allegedly).
Almost Getting Caught
Our lovely couple almost got caught several times. It will take us days to remember every single incident. But our favourite one comes from the Clone Wars.
Anakin got jealous that Padmé had to work with her ex-fling. Clovis asked Padmé if she had feelings for Anakin. Having received a negative response, Clovis (ex) tried to kiss her, but Anakin interrupted. He force-choked him, nearly killing the man.
In that episode, Clovis and Obi-Wan both definitely suspected something.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Jedi Master who trained Anakin. It was never confirmed whether Obi-Wan knew about the marriage. However, there are several scenes that indicate that he did.
The Negotiator is hardly a fool and a blind man. He lectured Anakin about his jealousy of Clovis. General even asked him to remain friends with Padmé.
Besides, he also knew that Anakin was secretly talking to Padmé during the war. Kenobi, the sarcastic menace he is, even asked to say “hello” to the Senator.
In the last episode of the prequels, Obi-Wan also speaks with Padmé about his former Padawan. That scene was sadly deleted. However, it revealed that Kenobi knew about their relationship.
He deduces that Anakin is the father of Padmé’s children. This deduction had its grounds, naturally. Kenobi must have known about their relationship or marriage beforehand.
You can find out why Obi-Wan left Anakin to die in Mustafar here.
Rex
Rex was the captain of the 501st and served as second in command to Anakin. They became really good friends during the war, and Anakin trusted him.
The Jedi used Rex’s helmet to communicate with his wife (Season 7, Episode 2). As such, it was evident that Rex knew at least something about their relationship.
However, nothing was said explicitly.
Wedding Witness (Holy Man, C-3PO, R2-D2)
Even if Anakin and Padmé had a secretive wedding, the ceremony had to be official. That’s why they had a priest who actually married them. Since it was also a Naboo wedding, the ceremony required several witnesses. Naturally, C-3PO and R2-D2 were the only ones who were invited.
We are not sure whether they told anyone about the wedding, or if they understood the gravity of the situation!
Palpatine
Anakin may not have told the Chancellor, but Palpatine already knew what buttons to press. He was definitely aware of Anakin’s weak spot.
How can you tell that the Sith knew about Padmé? Well, for one thing, he called Padmé Anakin’s “wife” without blinking. A small slip-up that tells a lot about Palpatine’s plan.
He knew how emotional Skywalker was and precisely his knowledge about the wedding helped him to gain Anakin’s allegiance.
If not for the secret ceremony, maybe things would have been much different.
Honorable Mentions
It seems like almost everyone around the happy couple actually knew about their relationship or wedding. So here is a quick list of other people who allegedly suspected Skywalker and Padmé:
- Ahsoka Tano (Anakin’s Padawan)
- Organa family (Leia’s adoptive family)
- Captain Panaka
- Owen
- Bail Organa
Funnily enough, canon never confirms who knew and who didn’t! All the scenes were either deleted or edited.
Final Thoughts
Anakin was definitely afraid to lose Padmé. He was also scared of being kicked out of the Jedi Order and losing his position of power. As you know, emotions, attachments, and fear lead to the Dark Side, and Anakin Skywalker is the brightest example of it.
The hidden marriage and possessive nature of Anakin’s love destroyed everything and everyone he cared about. Even though the marriage wasn’t the only reason why he fell to the Dark Side, it was arguably one of the strongest ones.
Was it necessary for Anakin and Padmé to keep their marriage a secret? Yes, sadly, it was. The Jedi Code was pretty clear about attachments. Besides, Padmé didn’t need this scandal.
Did they succeed? No, not really. Many people around them knew about their relationship, including Obi-Wan, Rex, Ahsoka, Palpatine, and more.
Moral of the story: Anakin’s fear, jealousy, and desire for power led to his fall. That was his journey from marrying the love of his life to almost killing her.
You can find out more about why he chose to kill the younglings, as well as Force choking Padmé in these articles.
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