DominicCobb said:

It is annoying that George couldn't make it line up with the preexisting OT, but, if I were to change anything when it comes to Padme's fate, it would be the line in ROTJ. In that film, the line is rather inconsequential. I disagree that it;s a big deal. I could have been, maybe even should have been. But it's one line that barely factors into the conversation Luke and Leia are having. If you took the line out, the film is practically the same.

In ROTS, however, Padme's death is the source of much genuine emotional power, and is one of the film's strongest aspects. It's what really makes Anakin's story a tragedy. If you took it out, you would be making the film worse.

The line might be inconsequential if not for the fact that it hung around for 22 years before the audience got to see the events lining up to the other side of it. When you've got pre-existing material like that which has been around for that long it IS owed some amount of reverence. It has a weight, or seniority in our minds because we've been imagining it for so long.

And while I agree that Padme's funeral is one of the only points in the story where the audience has a chance to connect on an emotional level, it shouldn't be solely responsible for holding up the entire film. If the narrative doesn't hold up without that scene, then the film is crap.....as opposed to that scene being essential to making the film slightly better.