What if Anakin Was a Genius? Let’s explore the depths of it in the video.
Anakin watches the people of Kiros being returned to their home planet. He and Ahsoka are among the many who volunteered to help resettle them there. While he is happy to see them safe, he still feels a twinge of anger at the Republic as the motion to provide relief aid to them was postponed once again.
It got so bad, it required several Jedi and clones to volunteer. This is just one of the many issues that he’s found with the Republic recently. While he’s no stranger to its corruption and incompetence, this one hits differently. As a former slave, he can’t help but feel a personal slight against it. Issues like this are why slavery persists in places like Tatooine.
As he hauls supplies, his frustration only grows as he promises himself to begin making changes. While he initially made such a vow when he was a Jedi, years of serving the Republic has made it clear that this isn’t enough anymore. If he wants to make real change then he must make changes through politics.
When he returns to Coruscant, Anakin surprises Padme by asking to accompany her in political events like dinners and rallies. He explains that he wishes to learn more about politics to better serve the Republic. She happily agrees, allowing Anakin to serve as her ‘bodyguard’ during these events.
This also allows them to spend time with each other and when not on duty, the two organize dinners, attend balls, or go to meetings where Anakin rubs elbows with powerful senators, business leaders, and other respected figures. It takes all of his willpower not to throttle them on sight.
Anakin immediately knows that these people are responsible for all the suffering he sees in the galaxy. But he keeps his cool thanks to Padme and forces himself to mingle amongst them. Thankfully being a war hero ensures they give him some respect and Anakin begins to forge connections with them, letting him start to dip his toes in politics.
One project that both Padme and Anakin value is the freeing of slaves in the Outer Rim. Although they dealt a crippling blow to the Zygerrian Empire, they still possess many slave colonies and Anakin wishes to liberate them. He explains the potential in these places and how helping create free cities in these places might create trade and stimulate the economy. They can even work with the locals to harness their resources and industrialize these areas.
Many senators agree to this and Anakin offers to lead the expedition. It takes plenty of favors and deals to get the Senate and Jedi Council’s approval, but he does and leads the expedition and the demoralized Zygerrian forces don’t hold against the Republic forces and are soon routed.
Several planets soon fall under Republic control, but to Anakin’s disappointment, the senators do not follow Padme’s master plan. Rather than work with the locals, they exploit them, offering terrible loans to rebuild their homes and effectively leaving them destitute. Soon, many of these people find themselves back in the same place as before.
Anakin is furious by this and is tempted to throw them out, but is barely stopped by Padme. However, he finds his frustration is shared by others as well. Many reformist senators share Anakin’s sentiments as do the clones who feel they are just fighting for the rich’s interests rather than winning the war.
Padmé had spent weeks trying to rally support among the Senate’s reformist bloc. She presents carefully laid-out plans to industrialize the freed worlds, emphasizing the economic benefits for the Republic. Many senators like Senator Chuchi and Mon Mothma, sympathize with her cause, but progress remains slow.
The Banking Clan and other influential interests exert pressure behind the scenes, arguing that the Republic’s resources were already stretched thin by the ongoing war. Others see investing in these newly liberated worlds now as an unnecessary expense. Even some of Padmé’s staunchest allies urge compromise.
To Padmé’s growing frustration, every credit allocated to aid the Outer Rim came with strings attached. The loans offered to the liberated worlds were predatory. Padmé sees the cycle repeating itself: worlds that had barely escaped the yoke of slavery were being plunged back into servitude, this time under the Republic’s economic policies.
Despite her tireless advocacy, the political machinery moves slowly, grinding hope into bureaucracy. Though she never admits it, Padmé feels the weight of Anakin’s disappointment each time she returns home with little to show for her efforts.
One day after walking Padme to another senate meeting, he’s surprised to find Palpatine waiting for him.
Palpatine: Ah, my boy. You look troubled. Tell me, what weighs so heavily on your mind?
Anakin: Everything. The Senate, the Council, all of it. We free those people, and what happens? Nothing. We sacrifice soldiers, equipment
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