I love honesty- thanks! You won't believe me, but I had the exact same thought- it was on my list of things to rerecord. Rest assured knowing that a pickup was already recorded, and it sounds much better. The sound was kind of "temp".
MTH: The bedroom scene is making some more sense to me, particularly without as much yakking from Padme and some nice music that evokes the feelings that the scene has to to make it work. So far so good. The main issue I have with this is that it seems out-of-place and confusing, and I as an audience member would be wondering, "Why isn't Padme excited to see her parents after all this time? Why did she just slip upstairs to the bedroom without even saying hi?" This would be detrimental to the movie.
Then, I remembered...I have the power to make Anakin say anything I want. Something like "I'm looking forward to meeting your parents when they come home." at the beginning of the scene. This would explain why they went up to the bedroom to unpack- nobody was home when they came. Unfortunately, this scenario would require cutting the little scene with R2 and the children, which adds a lot more character. I guess you could assume that either the children were only left home for a little while, or Padme's sister was actually at home but didn't see them come in. We don't want to create negligent parents for Padme!
It seems to me that if they meet the parents, have the nice picnic in the meadow, and then have their first kiss, (in that order), presto! They are young kids in love, and you can cut out ALL the rest of their horrible, creepy love story, and I mean all of it.
Well, that's almost how it works, only we have a chat after they arrive on Naboo (which, thanks to the deleted footage, is now void of any politics or "terms"). Also, they do not kiss on the balcony, and the balcony scene leads into the fireplace scene. I do want you to know that my initial plan was to have them kiss on the balcony and completely delete the fireplace scene; this would make me happy. However, I've been convinced by MTH that a flat-out rejection is necessary to create a character arc for Anakin. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, (boy loses mother), boy finally gets girl. In this way, we create an ultimate low point for Anakin in the garage, which makes everything he does far more reasonable.
Know, though, that in the new fireplace scene, it has a lot more to do with music and unspoken things implied by close-ups. None of the "Hoping that that kiss you never should have given me will not become a scar" garbage. Just "It's not possible." "What...what do you mean, Padme?" (very sad). "That was forbidden for a Jedi. I can't." Anakin is very upset. Some long close-ups. Anakin stands and walks a few steps. "Now, you do know....they wouldn't have to find out about all this." (his last shot). "We could keep it a secret." Close-ups and music plays. "No. I can't do that." Pause. "Could you live like that, Anakin?" Long pause and music builds. "No."
HOWEVER...aesthetically, I like your solution better, with the "We could keep it a secret" before the arena. There's a part of me that really likes the dramatic approach with "I love you", music builds, kiss. There's also a part of me that would really enjoy a more light-hearted touch to this. The OT was so much more fun that way. Maybe I could mix both of them- still have the partial fireplace scene, and then change the confession...
Padme: "I love you."
Anakin: (happy) "I guess you're able to keep secrets after all." Smooch.
I don't know- something like that. I think the whole "gloom and doom" atmosphere of the romance could be lifted with one or two comments like this. Anyhow, these are very good concepts. Thank you, guys!