Is Palpatine Anakin Skywalker's father?

[ixtore]

Is Palpatine Anakin Skywalker's father?
Watching Ep. III, that's a dramatic moment I thought was missed ... during Anakin's 'turning' - when Mace makes his exit out the window ... I said to myself, this is where Palpatine should say to Anakin, "I am your father." Which would have cemented his relationship with Palpatine and given us a reason to believe this kid could actually revolt against the Jedi the way he did. Not just a disgruntled youth, stuck in a situation he can't control that gets steamed and joins the bad guys. This would have given the entire Skywalker saga some sort of poignant echo years later in Ep. V.

 

[airair]

So Palpatine and Anakin's mother had an affair? that would be a bit creepy given the age differences!!

 

[tamplain]

So Palpatine and Anakin's mother had an affair? that would be a bit creepy given the age differences!!

Meh, Palps only became significantly older/decrepit looking after his battle with Mace and Mace reflected Palp's force lightning back into him. Prior to that he was like a distinguished older gentleman. He was even younger looking when TPM happened so not really any diferent than say someone 50 dating someone in their 20's.

 

[ixtore]

So Palpatine and Anakin's mother had an affair? that would be a bit creepy given the age differences!!

Anakin's mother lived in slavery. Who knows how Palpatine spotted her and took her. This would have been an act of violence that resulted in a child with a genome ready to become a Jedi. Or Sith.

What a moment Lucas missed when Anakin is broken, on his knees before Palpatine, in a total state of 'tell me what to do, where to go because I am lost.' What a moment for the Emperor to tell him "I am your father", raise is son up and give him the 'guidance' he's really been waiting for. (Not just some powerful guy that sympathizes with Anakin's bruised ego).

 

[Monkey67]

Why you think he carried that cane? its not to help him walk, its to help him strut. Old Crackle laugh got himself a pimp cane.

 

[Lflank]

What a moment Lucas missed when Anakin is broken, on his knees before Palpatine, in a total state of 'tell me what to do, where to go because I am lost.' What a moment for the Emperor to tell him "I am your father", raise is son up and give him the 'guidance' he's really been waiting for. (Not just some powerful guy that sympathizes with Anakin's bruised ego).

It's all the more surprising because the movies are full of incidents which happen in pairs. General Grievous's physical transformation and Darth Vader's. Princess Amidala's offer of an extended term of office and Chancellor Palpatine's. Anakin's killing of Dooku because he was "too dangerous to live" and Mace Windu's attempted killing of Palpatine. Dooku's transformation from good guy to bad guy, and Anakin's. Darth Maul's apprenticeship to Palpatine and Anakin's. And of course Anakin's loss of an arm and Luke's.

These paired events (and the differing reactions to them) tell us much about the characters and their motivations.

 

[Bryancd]

This describes the part of the book where they attempted to create life using the Dark Side. Again, the implication is that in response to this effort, the Light Side of the Force created Anakin, although it's not expressly said in the book, you can be sure GL was aware of and approved of this being in the novel.

"Sidious and Plagueis then entered a meditative trance and managed to tip the scales of balance in the favor of darkness. Plagueis attempted to go one step further and attempted to create life by mentally reaching out to the inhabitants of the galaxy, but he was, by his own estimate, ultimately unsuccessful. Immediately afterwards, his test subjects succumbed to various diseases, and he set most of the survivors free; some of the animals he had experimented on adapted to the forests of Sojourn. Plagueis had developed a theory that the Force was actively opposed to the Sith's efforts, and saw each setback in this light."

 

[Solo4114]

It's all the more surprising because the movies are full of incidents which happen in pairs. General Grievous's physical transformation and Darth Vader's. Princess Amidala's offer of an extended term of office and Chancellor Palpatine's. Anakin's killing of Dooku because he was "too dangerous to live" and Mace Windu's attempted killing of Palpatine. Dooku's transformation from good guy to bad guy, and Anakin's. Darth Maul's apprenticeship to Palpatine and Anakin's. And of course Anakin's loss of an arm and Luke's.

These paired events (and the differing reactions to them) tell us much about the characters and their motivations.

That's actually one of the things I most dislike about the Prequels. It's bad enough that the universe is the size of a thimble and we end up playing "Six Degrees of Luke Skywalker" with every freakin' character, but to also have everything repeat itself...it's just laziness in the writing, in my opinion.

 

[Lflank]

***'s just laziness in the writing, in my opinion.

Not at all---it is the core of the very movie arc itself. Without those paired examples and the differing character actions in response to them, the entire theme of the movies (themes, actually), would be lost.

Indeed, the core of all six movies can be found in just two of those paired incidents----the differing reactions of Princess Amidala and Chancellor Palpatine when they are each offered the chance to extend their time in office, and the differing reactions of Anakin and Luke towards the persons who cut off their arms. Those differing character reactions are crucial to all six movies.