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Post #1304176

Author
RogueLeader
Parent topic
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Another Happy Sanding. (Released)
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1304176/action/topic#1304176
Date created
10-Nov-2019, 1:14 AM

Sure! Basically, the idea stems from two issues I had with the movie. First, Padme is heavily underutilized in this movie, and second, the “seeds of rebellion” scenes are not as significant as they seem. Yes, the first two deleted scenes do establish that Padme had meetings with what would become the rebellion, but all it builds up to is her confrontation with Palpatine as part of the “Petition of 2000”, and nothing comes of that meeting whatsoever. She never really seems to contribute to the proto-rebellion in any way. You could argue that Padme represents the last attempt at democracy before the Republic falls apart, but it ends up giving Padme little impact on the movie.

While I have never attempted it, I believe that if you could rearrange the scenes, it could recontextualize her story a lot.

So, chronologically, the first deleted scene we see would be when Padmé meets with Palpatine about the Petition of 2000. Palpatine “reassures” them that he’ll do the right thing, but does not promise that he will make no further amendments. This version would cut the reference to the regional governors, and just refer to more constitutional amendments in general. This scene would occur right after Anakin and Obi-Wan’s conversation about spying on the Chancellor. Both scenes are sunset scenes, so I think they fit pretty well one after the other time-wise. So, Obi-Wan asks Anakin off-the-record to spy on Palpatine, and then he would immediately go back to Palpatine’s office, where he is meeting with Padme on behalf of the Petition of 2000. Palpatine begins sewing doubt in Anakin regarding Padme’s honesty early on in the film.

The next deleted scene would be the meeting in Bail’s apartment. In this scene, the senators discuss Palpatine appointing Regional Governors across the Republic, which goes against the Petition of 2000’s wishes of making no further amendments to the constitution. This can’t go on any longer for them. Now, the “organization” that Bail alludes to more obviously appears to be referring to what eventually will be the Rebellion rather than the Petition, and going forward, everything Padme does is clearly for this new Alliance. The stakes have risen, and they can no long rely on simply democracy in a corrupt system. I do think this scene could be trimmed too, like how Padmé is being a Palpatine apologist, since she would have already seen that Palpatine can’t be trusted.

This scene should take place right before Anakin and Padme’s conversation about the Republic (where Padme is wearing the same outfit). Now, Padme’s hesitation to agree to not tell anyone clearly relates to wanting to talk to Anakin about it. Anakin, having previously been made suspicious by Palpatine, calls out Padme for sounding like a Separatist and snaps at her for pushing the subject. Padme drops it, and realizes that she can’t talk about this with Anakin.

The third deleted scene would be when Padme talks to the Senators about involving the Jedi in their “conspiracy”. The senators are hesitant, but Padme wants to talk to a Jedi she trusts. Originally, this scene ends with Bail telling her to wait, and try to see what the Petition of 2000 can do first, but we would cut all of that and leave the senators thinking on her request, not knowing if they agreed to it or not. This would make the scene rather brief, but I think it is important to keep. This scene would take place after the Opera scene (preferably right after), but before the “Has Obi-Wan been here?” scene between Anakin and Padme. By putting it before that scene, the “Jedi she trusts” would be heavily implied to be Obi-Wan. Plus, since the previous deleted scene established that Padme can’t talk to Anakin about it, it helps support the idea that Padme is getting Obi-Wan involved with the Alliance instead. That connection could also add further rationale for Bail’s connection with the Jedi, since Bail goes the temple immediately after the purge begins, and then goes looking for Obi-Wan and Yoda soon after. It could give the implication that Padme helped establish that connection between the Jedi and the future Rebellion leader.

Also, not having an actual scene where Padme and Obi-Wan meet could be a benefit, because it could put the audience in the shoes of Anakin, giving us the feeling that Padme and Obi-Wan are going behind our (and Anakin’s) back. The “not knowing” could help add some legitimacy to Anakin’s paranoia. In this version of events, Palpatine isn’t wrong about the seeds of doubt he plants in Anakin. Even though they have good intentions, the Jedi and a group of Senators are really making plans against the Chancellor. For obvious reasons, of course, but Palpatine is still technically right. He made them react exactly the way he wanted them to, and now when Anakin sees Padme and Obi-Wan together, it all but confirms to him what we have been seeing throughout the movie. By Palpatine sewing seeds of doubt earlier in the film, as well as giving Padme further motivations, I think it could actually add more perceived subtext to scenes with Padme just by the audience knowing there is more going on behind the scenes. Now everything Padme says could be interpreted in different ways.

To sum it up:

  1. Padme deleted scene #3 after scene where Obi asks Anakin to spy on Chancellor
  2. Padme deleted scene #1 before scene where Padme tries to talk to Anakin about the Republic
  3. Padme deleted scene #2 right after Opera scene (at the very least before Obi leaves Coruscant).
    [Trims throughout to remove any contradictions.]