IMAGE

Tsum-Tsum T-shirt, by Disney
WALLPAPER

Untitled
by Grant Gould (for StarWars.com)

FAN ART
by master--burglar
by master--burglar
FAN FICTION
Rush
by Love and Rock Music. (TCW) The first half of "Destroy Malevolence," as Anakin and Padmé make their way towards each other.

P/A SITE
The Anakin and Padmé Gallery

CALENDAR
Desktop Calendar // March/April 2015

 


THE MOMENTS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES

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1) The Reunion.  Anakin and Padmé's first meeting since the Federation crisis.  Padmé is greatly impressed with how much Anakin has grown - complimenting him and even giving him the up-and-down - and though extremely nervous and stumbling over his words, Anakin does not hesitate at all to express his own feelings about her being even more beautiful to him.  Instantly Padmé backpedals (the first of many such instances on her part), saying she'll always be that little boy she knew on Tatooine.  When the two of them and Obi-Wan are discussing her security arrangements, it becomes apparent quickly that Anakin and Padmé share a differing viewpoint from Obi-Wan's.  When she retires to her suite, Anakin gazes longingly, lamenting to Jar Jar that she doesn't seem to recognize him, and that he's thought about her ever since their parting ten years before.

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2)  It Was Her Idea...  Between on-screen scenes, Anakin and Padmé, in their first one-on-one meeting in 10 years, work together to form a plan to catch her would-be assassin.  The two have evidently re-established a rapport fairly quickly, and also share a similar train of thought on how the 'investigation' should be handled.  She also trusts Anakin to protect her even while she's awkward enough around him to be hiding behind covered security cameras.  ;)

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3)  There's a Jedi on You...  The second assassination attempt on Padmé comes in the form of two poisonous worms slipped into her room as she sleeps, which is halted at the last moment by Anakin charging into her room and right onto her in her bed, slicing them apart with his lightsaber.  As he charges out again after Obi-Wan, Padmé's stunned gaze follows him out of the room.  (And, we all know the obvious physical imagery that charging onto a bed with a fully ignited lightsaber evokes.  GL can certainly have a sense of humor when he wants to.  ;-))

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4) Grown Up.  The first on-screen signs of mutual sparkage.  Padmé vents to him about her frustration over being forced to abandon her duties, and Anakin impresses Padm*eacute; with his mature views on doing things we don't want to do - she tells him he's grown up.  He in turn confides to her his frustrations about Obi-Wan and his training.  Comforting his frustrations, Padmé suddenly comes face-to-face again with the fact that he's not a little boy anymore.  She backpedals again, telling him not to grow up too fast - Anakin raises himself to full height and gazes into her eyes, reminding her she already said herself that he'd grown up.  The moment becomes too awkward for Padmé, who ends it by telling her the way he looks at her makes her uncomfortable.  Since it's clear she's impressed by him and finds him attractive, that discomfort undoubtedly comes from being under the intense scrutiny of someone who has caught her misstep in concealing that attraction.

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5)  My Jedi Protector.  Anakin and Padmé prepare to depart their bus for the transport that will take them to Naboo.  There is apparently no lingering awkwardness from the previous scene (further bolstering that she is not uncomfortable around him even with his feelings); she even almost flirtatiously smiles his way when reassuring Dormé "her Jedi protector" will have Padmé's safety well in hand.  The only tension comes about when Anakin reminds her it's time to leave.  Once they've departed the bus, Padmé confesses she's suddenly afraid.  Anakin tries to reassure her by telling her this is the first assignment he's had on his own too - and that they needn't worry, because Artoo is with them.  The joke makes Padmé laugh, and they smile at one another.

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6) Dinner on the Freighter.  Alone together, Padmé and Anakin's bond begins to intensify.  Eating dinner together, Padmé directly brings up the fact that apparently Jedi aren't allowed to love (awfully interested in his love life, aren't we?  ;-)).  Anakin impresses Padmé with his views on love and compassion and how they fit into a Jedi's life (attachment is forbidden, but compassion-- to Ani, unconditional love-- is central)... they're so different and mature from the boy she once knew, again challenging the image she's had of him as just that.  He's changed so much, she says with a soft smile, to which he replies she's exactly how he dreamed she would be - bringing another awkward moment between them.

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7)  Arrival on Naboo. (Extended on DVD deleted scene.)  Walking through Theed, Padmé and Anakin freely discuss their memories of Naboo, and the good feelings those memories sparked.  Padmé also opens up about her personal history and even some of her more personal desires (such as hoping to have a family); the two seem to have recaptured their comfortable former relationship, and seem more at ease than earlier.  (Now that I've seen this scene, the final version really seems truncated.  If there was one deleted scene I would have left in the film, it would be this one.)

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8)  Meeting with Queen Jamillia.  While discussing Padmé's safety arrangements with the Queen, a disagreement suddenly sparks between Padmé and Anakin over those arrangements: perhaps feeling things have gotten too informal (and therefore inappropriate) between her and Anakin, she again backsteps on her earlier compliments by dismissing him as just a Padawan learner.  Anakin responds indignantly, but aware they're in an audience, they stifle the disagreement - too late; the tension between them is already apparent to those around them.

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9)  At the Naberries'.  (Cut from film; deleted scene on the DVD.)  After leaving the Palace, Padmé takes Anakin when she visits her family in Theed.  There, Padmé's sister Sola teases Anakin about being the first boyfriend her sister's brought home (much to Padmé's displeasure and denial) and notes to Padmé how obvious Anakin's feelings are for her and wonders at how her sister can ignore them.  Padmé firmly denies anything between them, asserting (while staring out the window at him) that hers and Anakin's relationship is 'strictly professional.'  Her family doesn't buy it.  (This scene also would have shown Padmé's first signs of loosening up, wardrobe-wise - the dress she wears reveals both midriff and back.  Poor Anakin.  ;))

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10)  Padmé's Bedroom(Cut from film; deleted scene on DVD.)  Still at her family's house, packing to go to the lake retreat, Padmé shares a little bit more of her personal history with Anakin, and how good it feels for her to be at home.  This reminds Anakin of his mother: to him, wherever she was was home.  Anakin has a genuine interest in Padmé's growing-up, and she seems to delight in sharing it with him.

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11) First Kiss.  Though she has not admitted so, Padmé is quite evidently affected by Anakin's presence.  Wearing a stunning and revealing dress, she accompanies him to a beautiful spot at the lake retreat, again happily sharing memories with him of her girlhood here.  When Anakin reaches out tentatively to gently caress her bare arm and back, she does nothing to resist it.  They stare into one another's eyes for a long moment, and he moves in to kiss her, and she quickly falls into it, reciprocating.  The kiss goes on for several long moments, until she finally does break it off in fear of what she's allowing herself to slip into.

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12) Teasing a Senator.  Amidst the settings of a beautiful waterfall-surrounded meadow, Anakin and Padmé picnic and discuss (her) old crushes and politics, and share an afternoon where (Padmé seeming to have forgotten her previous reservations for the moment) the two romantically inexperienced people share one of their few carefree times together.  The two playfully tease one another, and Anakin shows off by trying to ride on the back of one of the meadow beasts.  He is seemingly injured when the beast throws him off, sparking intense fear in Padmé-- which turns to laughter as she discovers he was again only teasing.  She tackles him full-on, and the two roll through the grass on one another, laughing giddily.  The roll stops with Padmé straddling him, his hands at her waist, each staring into the other's eyes.  The laughter dies, but for the first time, Padmé makes no hurried move to get away from her extremely compromising position with him.

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13) Dinner at the Retreat.  Anakin continues to charm Padmé over dinner one evening, telling her stories of (presumably) his and Obi-Wan's adventures, and using the Force to feed her her dessert in a very cute scene.  Watching the free-spirited young man, Padmé is quite entranced, as she gazes at him throughout the scene, even gasping as he floats the fruit over to her.  She flirtatiously takes a bite from the fruit, still grinning and gazing back at him.

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14) I Will Not Give in to ThisAfter dinner, by the fire in the sitting room, Anakin confesses the true depth of his feelings for her... that being with her when she believes she can't be with him is a great pain for him.  Padmé feels that despite that they do obviously feel something for one another, their careers make a romance impossible, that she won't allow Anakin to compromise his future as a Jedi for her, and firmly draws a line for them... which Anakin very reluctantly accepts.  (Again, her body language and choice of attire speaks the truth of her feelings where her words do not, as the leather dress, and the looks she gives to him - am I the only one who saw her keep looking at his lips? - shows.  Perhaps she hadn't initially decided to say no.)

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15) Your Presence is Soothing.  Anakin has another nightmare about his mother in pain, and Padmé finds him the next morning meditating alone.  She turns to leave him, wanting him to have a moment of peace-- but he asks her to stay, because her presence is soothing to him.  He wants to go to Tatooine, and she easily (almost breathlessly - enjoying the view, Senator? ;)) says she'll go with him.  This scene marks a change in the roles of the pair: it is now Padmé who begins seeking Anakin out, and he no longer pursues her.

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16) Mos EspaAs they arrive at Watto's, Anakin gently helps Padmé from their rickshaw, looking long at her as she walks away and even lingering with his hand in hers for a bit.  Anakin may no longer be pursuing her, but he of course still feels very much for her.

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17) You'll Be Safe.  Upon arrival at the Lars Homestead, Padmé and Anakin discover the news of Shmi's abduction.  Several times she casts worried looks Anakin's way - the one she gives as he stands up to leave the table to search for Shmi is the most prominent.  There is pain visible in it, and she sadly looks away - as if resigned about something.  She follows him to the surface, and when Anakin tells her it'll be safer if she stays there - she would go with him if he let her - she embraces him fiercely, murmuring his name.  When he speeds off into the desert, she watches him as he disappears into the distance.

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18) To be Angry is to be Human.  (New lines added in the DVD.)  Anakin is a storm of hatred and guilt in the wake of his mother's death, and his brutal slaughter of an entire Tusken Raider camp-- guilt that he was unable to save his mother, hatred for her killers and his conflicting remorse for the massacre.  He confesses the brutal act to Padmé, who at first looks on in shock and disbelief... then, seeing the broken man she cares about before her, tries to soothe and comfort him by telling him anger is human.  He refutes this, because as a Jedi he knows he should be better than that - he breaks into tears, and Padmé lovingly strokes his hair and puts his arm around him, staying with him.

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19) If You Plan to Protect Me... After discovering Obi-Wan is in danger on Geonosis and being ordered to stay on Tatooine, Anakin is resigned to his Master's fate.  Possibly because of his guilt over the Tusken massacre, and fearing the possibility of failing someone else he cares about by acting rashly.  Padmé is incredulous at his attitude, refusing to accept it.  She intends to help Obi-Wan, and if Anakin wants to continue protecting her (as he's been ordered), he'll have to come along.  This display has a positive effect: almost instantly Anakin is lifted from his bad mood, smiling at her as he joins her at the ship's controls.  Once again, Padmé proves her ability to pull Anakin from the darkest of moods.

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20) I've Given Up Trying to Argue with You.  Upon arrival on Geonosis, Padmé advises him to let her do the talking if they come across any trouble; she'd prefer to find a diplomatic solution instead of starting a war.  Anakin smiles, and his response comes as if they're already an old married couple, perfectly aware of what she intends to do and equally respectful of his inability to stop it: "Don't worry.  I've given up trying to argue with you."

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21) Captured. (DVD deleted scene.) Anakin and Padmé are captured by the Separatists after landing on Geonosis. Padmé unsuccessfully pleads to Count Dooku for Obi-Wan's freedom, after which she and Anakin are put on trial and sentenced to death. Nothing particularly shippy about these scenes, actually, other than maybe the pretty visual of them looking upward together in the above banner. But that's okay, given what comes next...

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22) Padm�'s Love Pledge.  With Anakin and Padmé both facing certain death in the arena, Padmé comes to realize the triviality of submerging her feelings in the name of her duties at such a time-- and freely confesses the love she's felt all along for Anakin, because she does not want them to die without him knowing.  The couple shares one "last" lingering kiss, which all but serves as a gesture of betrothal.

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23) Kiss in the Arena.  Classic bit of courtly romance: the knight charging in on his steed to rescue the fair maiden, and being rewarded with a kiss from said maiden.  In this case, it's Anakin charging in on the Reek and killing the nexu threatening Padmé, after which she jumps on behind him, holding him tight and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.  Or, it's just a spontaneous moment of affection - either way, it rocks, and even people who don't like the love story love this moment.

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24) Aggressive Negotiations.  During the battle, Padmé and Anakin fight alongside one another, exchanging lighthearted banter. Freed from their inhibitions, they're both newly energized as they battle together. And even in the heat of the firefight, chivalry remains alive and well, Anakin helping Padmé aboard their waiting gunship.

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25)  Padm� Falls from the Gunship.  While pursuing Dooku, when this happens, Anakin is separated from Padmé-- and is for a moment willing to give up everything, even his future in the Jedi order, to ignore Dooku and go back and save her, before he is convinced (reluctantly) by Obi-Wan that in Anakin's place, Padmé would not let her feelings interfere and would uphold her duty.  It is the first time Anakin has truly had to choose between Padmé and his Jedi status, a choice that it is not certain he will be able to make again.

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25) The Embrace After the Duel.  When Padmé enters the hangar after the duel with Dooku that injured Obi-Wan and has cost Anakin his arm, she immediately runs to Anakin, calling his name. She passionately embraces and kisses him, standing on tiptoe to do so - well in sight of Obi-Wan and Yoda, no less.

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26) The Wedding.  Anakin escorting the Senator back to Naboo one last time, he and Padmé-- directly defying his Jedi vows-- secretly marry at the lake retreat in the same spot they shared their first kiss.  During the ceremony, Padmé reaches and takes Anakin's new mechanical hand in hers.  Foreshadowing that even in his eventual maimed, more machine-than-man state, she would still love him.  The scene is incredibly bittersweet because we know the lovers have found happiness now, but will soon be forced apart tragically.

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