Ok, so first things first. Spoilers for Rise of Skywalker! Do not pass if you care about such things! Don't even read the tl:dr, it also includes spoilers.
TL: DR - Rise of Skywalker potentially explains Padme's death via Darth Vader unconsciously draining her life away.
So, let's get in the way back machine and go all the way back to the end of the last trilogy and Revenge of the Sith. Obi-wan savagely amputates Anakin's limbs and leaves him burning and in agony. Padme, after being attacked by Anakin, goes into labor. And although the medical droids claim they can find no cause, she is dying. "She has lost the will to live."
This is probably the single dumbest moment of the prequel trilogy. Forget Jar Jar Binks. Padme's boyfriend goes evil and suddenly she just wants to die, with no thought at all for her twin children that are in the process of being born at that very moment. Your mileage may vary, obviously, but it just completely takes me out of the movie every single time. WTF?!
However, the sequence is cut in a way that has always been interesting, and offered my headspace an opportunity to justify the action. The entire sequence cuts back and forth between Padme and Vader, as he is rescued from Mustafar and placed into the familiar life support suit. And I always thought it would be interesting if Vader had unconsciously connected to Padme and was unintentionally draining of her of the Force to keep himself alive in his ruined state. And now Rise of Skywalker may have actually opened the door to my silly fanon being plausible. To that end:
Did Darth Vader vampirically feed on the life of his pregnant wife to keep himself alive after being injured on Mustafar?
Force healing is now a thing. TROS grants this incredibly powerful boon to the Jedi, but also implies that it comes at a cost. Mortal wounds require, to borrow a phrase from an entirely unrelated franchise, equivalent exchange. To heal someone from death requires someone else to die. This is most evident when Ben Solo heals Rey at the climax of TROS, an action which ends his own life moments later. But it is also in play when Rey heals Ben after stabbing him through the chest aboard the Death Star wreckage. In that moment, Leia has connected to her son, and we see that it she that passes away. Fueling her son's regeneration with her own life force? It's telling that Leia doesn't fade into the Force until Ben dies, which I think strengthens this interpretation of events.
We also know that it can go the other way. That life can be stolen. Palpatine does just this to rejuvenate himself during his battle with Rey and Ben. There's a hand wavey explanation about the power of their connection in the Force to justify just how much power he's able to drain from them. But the principle is sound. Force vampirism. In the old Legends EU this used to be a thing as well (see Darth Nihilus).
Vader was obsessed with keeping Padme alive. As he lays burning, his thoughts turn to her. And, perhaps without intent or conscious effort, he reaches out to her in the Force. And begins to feed. Slowly draining away her energy. So grievous are his wounds, and so slow the drain, that he isn't able to heal, but merely prolong his agonizing and tortured existence. But as he continues to draw breath he steals more and more of her to keep himself alive. Until she simply gives out. And the only thing that keeps Vader alive at that point is that he's bought himself enough time for the Emperor to strap him into his new wardrobe.
The tragedy of it is kind of beautiful, in a way. That Anakin could directly be responsible for his wife's death without ever meaning to. And that the death of the kind, caring woman could fuel the emergence of a creature of evil and malevolence that is the stuff of legends.
Oh, and it conveniently does away with that stupid "lost the will to live" bit too. Medical droids just don't have a test for having your life sucked away by the Force.
Thoughts? Criticism? Where have I gone hopelessly astray?
TL: DR - Rise of Skywalker potentially explains Padme's death via Darth Vader unconsciously draining her life away.
So, let's get in the way back machine and go all the way back to the end of the last trilogy and Revenge of the Sith. Obi-wan savagely amputates Anakin's limbs and leaves him burning and in agony. Padme, after being attacked by Anakin, goes into labor. And although the medical droids claim they can find no cause, she is dying. "She has lost the will to live."
This is probably the single dumbest moment of the prequel trilogy. Forget Jar Jar Binks. Padme's boyfriend goes evil and suddenly she just wants to die, with no thought at all for her twin children that are in the process of being born at that very moment. Your mileage may vary, obviously, but it just completely takes me out of the movie every single time. WTF?!
However, the sequence is cut in a way that has always been interesting, and offered my headspace an opportunity to justify the action. The entire sequence cuts back and forth between Padme and Vader, as he is rescued from Mustafar and placed into the familiar life support suit. And I always thought it would be interesting if Vader had unconsciously connected to Padme and was unintentionally draining of her of the Force to keep himself alive in his ruined state. And now Rise of Skywalker may have actually opened the door to my silly fanon being plausible. To that end:
Did Darth Vader vampirically feed on the life of his pregnant wife to keep himself alive after being injured on Mustafar?
Force healing is now a thing. TROS grants this incredibly powerful boon to the Jedi, but also implies that it comes at a cost. Mortal wounds require, to borrow a phrase from an entirely unrelated franchise, equivalent exchange. To heal someone from death requires someone else to die. This is most evident when Ben Solo heals Rey at the climax of TROS, an action which ends his own life moments later. But it is also in play when Rey heals Ben after stabbing him through the chest aboard the Death Star wreckage. In that moment, Leia has connected to her son, and we see that it she that passes away. Fueling her son's regeneration with her own life force? It's telling that Leia doesn't fade into the Force until Ben dies, which I think strengthens this interpretation of events.
We also know that it can go the other way. That life can be stolen. Palpatine does just this to rejuvenate himself during his battle with Rey and Ben. There's a hand wavey explanation about the power of their connection in the Force to justify just how much power he's able to drain from them. But the principle is sound. Force vampirism. In the old Legends EU this used to be a thing as well (see Darth Nihilus).
Vader was obsessed with keeping Padme alive. As he lays burning, his thoughts turn to her. And, perhaps without intent or conscious effort, he reaches out to her in the Force. And begins to feed. Slowly draining away her energy. So grievous are his wounds, and so slow the drain, that he isn't able to heal, but merely prolong his agonizing and tortured existence. But as he continues to draw breath he steals more and more of her to keep himself alive. Until she simply gives out. And the only thing that keeps Vader alive at that point is that he's bought himself enough time for the Emperor to strap him into his new wardrobe.
The tragedy of it is kind of beautiful, in a way. That Anakin could directly be responsible for his wife's death without ever meaning to. And that the death of the kind, caring woman could fuel the emergence of a creature of evil and malevolence that is the stuff of legends.
Oh, and it conveniently does away with that stupid "lost the will to live" bit too. Medical droids just don't have a test for having your life sucked away by the Force.
Thoughts? Criticism? Where have I gone hopelessly astray?
Last edited:
