This Star Wars theory suggests that Palpatine may have kept Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader alive in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in the most sinister way. Revenge of the Sith is largely considered one of Star Wars’ best movies, and for good reason. Not only is this movie the perfect bridge between the prequels and the original Star Wars trilogy, but it also represents an absolutely pivotal point in the Star Wars timeline.
Specifically, Revenge of the Sith sees Anakin fall to the dark side of the Force and become Darth Vader, the end of the Jedi Order with the tragedy of Order 66, and the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire. These major events provided answers to many questions in Star Wars movies and TV shows, but they also created brand-new ones. Specifically, the questions of how Anakin lived and why Padmé died remained after Revenge of the Sith, and this Star Wars theory may reveal just how disturbing the answer is.
There Was No Medical Reason For Padmé’s Death
Padmé’s death remains a major disappointment in Star Wars. Clearly, Luke and Leia’s mother had died long before A New Hope, but the manner of her death remained undefined in the franchise. Moreover, it seemed that Padmé had lived for at least a few years after giving birth to the twins, as Leia said she remembered her vaguely in Return of the Jedi. However, Revenge of the Sith revealed that either Leia was able to sense her mother through the Force as a newborn, or she was creating false memories, as Padmé died in childbirth.
Padmé’s death remains a major disappointment in
Star Wars
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While having Padmé die in childbirth would have been enough of a letdown, though, the way that Revenge of the Sith did it made this choice even worse. Specifically, Padmé was said to have died because she simply lost the will to live. In fact, the droid helping Padmé through her labor specifically said that, for reasons they could not explain, she was dying. Many have interpreted this to mean that Padmé died of a broken heart, which, thankfully, Star Wars has never canonized.
However, even if it wasn’t a broken heart that killed her, Padmé simply losing the will to live makes no sense and is a major insult to her character. Throughout the prequels, Padmé was incredibly fierce, even facing an attack on her people at just 14 years old without backing down. She then proved her resilience throughout the Clone Wars era, especially in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show, always fighting for what was right. That Anakin turning to the dark side would destroy her enough that she would just give up is a betrayal of this characterization.
Moreover, one would think that the birth of her children would be enough to give Padmé hope. She may have been heartbroken, but clearly, she had plenty to live for. What makes this even stranger is that Star Wars had plenty of room to make a different choice. George Lucas even toyed with having Padmé go to Alderaan with Leia for a brief time, which would also have avoided the massive Return of the Jedi plot hole. Instead, Revenge of the Sith pushed the idea that she simply gave up, as there was certainly no medical reason for her death.
Anakin Was Left Dying On Mustafar… And Yet Padmé Was The One Who Died
Simultaneously, as Revenge of the Sith makes clear by splicing the events together in a montage, Anakin/Vader was on the brink of death, having been left on Mustafar after Obi-Wan Kenobi cut off his remaining flesh limbs and watched as he burned in lava. Even with the power of the dark side of the Force, it’s a bit bewildering that Anakin survived such a brutal experience. In fact, Obi-Wan firmly believed this event killed Anakin, which was more than reasonable to assume. Of course, part of this was out of necessity.
Clearly, Anakin had to adopt the iconic Darth Vader suit somehow, and Return of the Jedi had also revealed a man who looked very different from Hayden Christensen. Particularly considering a mere 23 years pass between Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi, something major had to happen to explain Anakin/Vader’s physical transformation between the two movies. Having Anakin burned nearly to death was certainly a good way to achieve that, but it also raised another question. How did Anakin survive this extreme near-death experience?
Did Palpatine Use The Bond Between Anakin & Padmé?
One convincing Star Wars theory suggests these two major Revenge of the Sith events may be intrinsically linked. Specifically, this Star Wars theory posits that Palpatine drained Padmé’s life force in order to save Anakin/Vader. This would make sense for a number of reasons. For one, it would explain how Palpatine knew so quickly that Padmé had died. For another, and more importantly, it would explain both how Anakin survived such a harrowing experience and why Padmé died seemingly for no reason.
Moreover, Star Wars has already proven that this type of exchange of life is possible, as Ben Solo saved Rey’s life in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in a similar way. This would be a much better explanation for Padmé’s death and would mean that, rather than giving up, Padmé had been killed by Palpatine. This would also make Palpatine’s assertion that Anakin killed Padmé in his anger even more sinister, in keeping with his character. Hopefully, this Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith theory is true, as it fixes one of Star Wars’ worst mistakes.
