Duty and Detachment
At the beginning and ending of Attack of the Clones, one character convinces another to detach from a loved one in the name of duty.
In the opening scene, Padmé Amidala’s handmaiden Cordé, acting as a decoy, is killed in a bombing intended to assassinate her mistress. Padmé lingers by Cordé’s body, voicing regret that her return to Coruscant resulted in her handmaiden’s death, but her head of security Captain Typho persuades her to leave the scene by reminding her that Cordé gave her life for a greater good: “This vote is very important. You did your duty. Cordé did hers.”
This scene is paralleled near the end of the film, when Padmé falls from a Republic Gunship as it is chasing after Count Dooku. Anakin Skywalker demands that they break off the pursuit to rescue her, but Obi-Wan Kenobi, using logic that recalls Captain Typho’s, reminds his apprentice that a greater good is at stake: “If we catch [Dooku], we can end this war right now! We have a job to do!” When Anakin is still unswayed, Obi-Wan chides, “What do you think Padmé would do were she in your position?” “She would do her duty,” Anakin admits, and assents to leave Padmé behind.
The parallels between these two bookending scenes reinforce that Anakin’s assessment of Padmé’s character is correct: by detaching from her to do his duty at the end of the film, he is doing what she did at its beginning.
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Characters: Anakin Skywalker / Captain Typho / Cordé / Obi-Wan Kenobi / Padmé Amidala
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Concepts: attachment / duty
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