How 5 Faiths Drive The Prequels' Story | Padmé & Anakin analysis

There are five plot points I've noticed in the Prequels that hinge upon the faith a character has in one or more other characters.
Does faith as always have a positive outcome? Here, we explore the impact these faiths had on the story and the outcomes they produce. With a look into why Padme loves Anakin.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
1:04 Qui-Gon & The Chosen One
2:42 The Jedi Order
3:58 The Republic & Democracy
5:28 Padmé & Anakin
9:05 The Jedi & The Clones

[@nickford5347]

My head canon has considered how the prophecy paralyzed the Jedi. By the time of the prequels the Jedi seem sclerotic and lacking purpose. Some are willing to believe the prophecy while others aren't and still others are somewhere in between. This space of doubt about how to handle the situation gives their leadership space to be purely reactive and in a constant state of introspection. They are aware that a powerful dark side user is gaining power but do all but nothing except observation for years. That some of them had faith that the chosen one was with them played into their passivity.

[@SubtextMining]

Good way to put it. And it works organically, in that one brilliant part of the Sith hiding for so long, was that without them around, the Jedi lacked any stiff competition to keep them on their toes, which allowed for them to rest on their laurels and become complacent & overconfident. And when the Sith returned, a prophesied one in their midst got them assuming the good guys were just bound to win.

[@jmwilliamsart]

It’s too bad that Obi Wan and the other Jedi didn’t have as much faith in the prophecy and in Anakin that Qui Gon did? Qui Gon was the last true Jedi because he followed the will of the force, he understood that Jedi are supposed to care, and to have compassion.

[@jmwilliamsart]

Padme wasn’t wrong to have faith in Anakin, as we would see later on Luke would have the same faith in Anakin that he could be redeemed. Both Padme and Luke had been right about Anakin.

[@SubtextMining]

I agree. Great story crafting!

[@nickford5347]

While I support "freedom of speech" conceptually I would like the phrase "chosen one" to be banned from all non-comedy entertainment.

[@SubtextMining]

Haha! It can be overused, and some were put off by its use in Star Wars. But at the same time, there's something about it's pulpy quality, and also the mythological roots that go back to the dawn of man, that make it work for me. And I find the psychological notion that we're all the "chosen one" in our own story interesting to think about. And Anakin's journey is basically a psychological journey we all go through, both individually and collectively, many times.