So what if Annakin is younger than Padme by a few years? My last gf was 8 years older than me, is that so weird? And people keep commenting on this, like it was a problem in TPM. Why? Especially since they never got romantically involved until Annakin looks about 18, so what's the problem?
shareAnd Han was clearly older than Leia by more than 10 years, why doesn't that get griped about?
shareI think it works for the characters, or rather, that it's one of the more plausible things about their relationship.
Of course a little straight boy might develop a massive crush on the first beautiful, elegant, kindly woman he ever sees, and might secretly nurse that crush into an obsession, if he's kept from normal human warmth while growing up. And the fact that she's a bit older just makes her more out of his league, when they're reunited.
“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!
The main issue is when they met. Pray tell, when you were 14, did you have a crush on a 9 year old? Most 14 year olds wouldn't. And it's not like Padme did (pretty clear she just viewed him as a sweet little boy, almost like a younger brother). But then years later they fall in love? This despite the fact that Padme still sees Anakin as "that sweet little boy from Tatooine" (because they haven't seen each other since). Not to mention how Anakin behaves as an adult, which is downright disturbing, and early on we get Padme telling him that his creepy stares make her feel uncomfortable. Then he murders a village (regardless of his reasons) and goes on a psychotic rant about it and how he craves more power right in front of her. And oh yeah, earlier he talked about how fascist dictatorships are okay as long as they do things the way he likes, and basically begged for sex while spouting off some of the franchise's worst dialogue ("I wish that I could just wish away my feelings!" ??? Seriously, even 13 year olds don't talk like that).
So we have a young woman who would remember this guy as a 9 year old and then has no good reason to develop romantic feelings for him given his behaviour when she meets him for the first time in 10 years. It's weird. If she were interested in him solely because of his looks, I could buy that, but that doesn't seem to be what George is going for at all.
Well stated.
The first time I saw the films, I thought that Padme was creeped out by Anakin's one-sided obsession and disturbing behavior, and I kept waiting for her to give him the push. So when did she said she loved him too when she thought they were about to die, I was shocked! Yes, the whole slow burn was SO badly done that I had no idea she returned his feelings!
Or maybe she didnt. Maybe he pulled a Jedi mind trick on her.
The problem is that Padme looks 18 or 19 in Phantom Menace and Anakin looks like a 7 year old. One is an adult, the other is a little child yelling yippee and woah and oops. That's the problem.
Sure, Padme is supposed to be 14 in Phantom, but the actress is 18, so not actually 14--and doesn't look 14 in any respect.
Han looks 30 and Leia looks 20, no problem, because they're both adults.
Exactly this.
Read a few people spluttering comments recently that's it's no different from the Han / Leia age difference but the weirdness comes from the priors.
You can bet your bottom dollar if the sexes were reversed or say Han had met Leia when she was an 8 year old then met her again as an adult, announced "Oh Leia, you'll always be that little girl from Alderaan to me", then banged her half an hour later, people would rightly be up in arms.
No pass for Natalie Portman simply because she is a woman.
Plus, people forget that Padme didn't reciprocate Anakin's love until Attack of the Clones.
shareI didn't take much of an issue with it. Phantom Menace doesn't show any overt romance between the two when they first meet, and it blossoms naturally (for George Lucas, anyway) when they reconnect as young adults. News flash - older women can be attracted to younger men.
shareIt only became an issue in the last couple of decades.
shareOnly those too stupid to do their homework and learn just how old Anakin and Padme were in the films. I had to explain it very clearly to several people over the years, because they were too lazy to go find out.
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