Just to be explicit for the purposes of generating some thought, here’re some of the things that scene communicates:
- They have a fun teasing relationship but Anakin still defers to Obi-Wan’s teaching and wisdom
- Anakin is aggressive and focused on martial victory, and usually wins their duels
- Obi-Wan thinks Anakin’s too aggressive and blinded by a need for victory and to prove himself - he’ll remain a Padawan until he’s past this
- Anakin needs reminding by Obi-Wan that Jedi are defenders
- Obi-Wan’s patient, and resourceful even when apparently losing
Scenes from AOTC which could be relevant to those threads:
- Anakin’s eager to protect Padmé - could be read as needing to prove himself
- Anakin rushes after Zam Wesell when Obi-Wan pursues a smarter approach
- Anakin murders the Tuskens - “Mercy doesn’t defeat the enemy, master”
- Anakin vows to Padmé that he’ll find a way to prevent the deaths of those he loves
- Anakin’s captured by Dooku during his attempted rescue of Obi-Wan
- Geonosis fight
- Anakin rushes into the Dooku fight and is defeated
Back then I tried to work out a way by which Anakin/Padme headed from Naboo to Geonosis instead of Tattooine. It requires changing the background that’s visible from the ship’s windows when they receive obi wan’s distress signal, and some tweaking.
But Anakin felt that his mother was in danger when he’s staring at the lake, Padme kinda tries to relieve him, but he closes up staring at the lake and the shot ends.
I wanted Anakin to be actually repressing himself to be a better Jedi. And after that, I had Anakin and Padme visit Tattooine at the end of the movie, with Shmi’s death and everything. The movie would have ended with Anakin departing to the horizon an a “homely” Padme would be left at Tattooine for some time, with his husband marching on to the Clone Wars.
This scene suits that arc for Anakin rather well. Like “I will prove Obiwan that I don’t want to prove myself so I will stay in Naboo” only to later see that if he didn’t stay there, maybe things were different for his mother.
That suits EPIII too, with an arc sort of “I don’t want to make the same mistake again” (and he does worse)