Hidden in the Force

by Courtney Martin

Having the Force does not make one knowledgeable. Courtney examines what can be learned and hidden in the Force, and if that power can be subverted.

While watching Return of the Jedi the other day, I noticed something that struck me as odd. Even after repeated viewings, Star Wars is surprising me. During the throne room duel between Luke and Vader, Vader makes the comment that Luke’s feelings for his friends are strong. And for someone else. “Especially for…Sister! So… you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me.” It appears that Leia has been hidden in the Force this entire time.

darthvaderluke

Wait a second. So Vader never knew he had two children? How is this possible? He is strong in the Force (both before he turned to the dark side and after). How could he have not felt two lifeforms in Padme’s womb? Can he feel the presence of others, but was his thought of only one child clouding his judgment? Clearly, the Force is an imperfect art, but so much so that it can actually hide–or misguide–a user into not even knowing he has two children?

The Influence of the Force

The Force goes largely unexplained throughout the Star Wars saga. The Empire Strikes Back is the film that explains it the most, yet gives only vague ideas. Even Yoda, with his centuries of experience and teaching, didn’t know everything about the Force. As evidenced in the prequels, Darth Sidious was hiding just under the noses of the entire Jedi council. For years. Clearly, dark side users can manipulate it to be hidden in the force to mask their presence and appear as non-Force users to those who are sensitive.

chancellors_suite

But what about light side users?

Would it have been possible for Obi-Wan to have Leia’s presence hidden in the Force from Vader–even during Padmé’s pregnancy? And if he did–did he suspect Anakin was having dark side tendencies? Perhaps Anakin’s struggle with his feelings of his mother’s death and how he felt powerless was clouding his Force use. Maybe he couldn’t tell Padmé was pregnant with twins because his powers were being pulled in two different directions. Thus it was easy for Obi-Wan to hide Leia’s presence after she was born.

Additionally, Vader would have been in so much pain from his burns suffered on Mustafar that he wouldn’t have been focusing his force powers on anything or anyone. The fact that he could even feel Padmé alive at all was amazing, in his condition. This lends to the theory of RetroZap’s Joe Tavano of Padmé Didn’t Die of a Broken Heart. Vader couldn’t tell what Palpatine was doing to Padmé’s life force.

Clouded Judgement

But what about before Anakin became Vader? Would he have not been able to feel two presences in Padmé?

star-wars-episode-ii-attack-of-the-clones

I think the best explanation for this is that he simply wasn’t being that attentive. During Padmé’s pregnancy, he was being groomed to become a Sith by Palpatine, at odds with the Jedi Council, and having nightmares of his mother.

Anakin never checked to see if Padmé was having more than one baby; he was too consumed by other concerns. As his Force visions were getting stronger, and Palpatine’s influence becoming more intense, Anakin was not able to use the light side of the Force to the best of his abilities.

Darth Sidious

In Return of the Jedi Vader assumes Obi-Wan hide Leia’s presence from him, but what if it wasn’t Obi-
Wan? What if it was Emperor Palpatine hiding both of Anakin’s children’s presences?

It’s entirely possible that Palpatine used his dark side techniques to hide the fact that Anakin and Padmé’s children were actually born. In Revenge of the Sith Padme’s funeral shows her fully pregnant. This would lead anyone, including Vader, to believe the baby died along with Padme.

padmes_funeral

Perhaps Palpatine used this to his advantage, and hide the children’s presence from Vader so he could cultivate his new apprentice further. He wouldn’t want Vader to be distracted by anything, let alone his own children. Palpatine wanted Vader to do his bidding and would want nothing to stand in the way of that. Knowing of Anakin’s love for Padmé, Vader would have wanted to find his child. So Palpatine hid the fact that the child survived.

Since the Force is not intricately defined, either in the films or books, there could be many conclusions as to why Darth Vader never knew that he had a daughter. I think these are certainly a few options for an explanation. And I’m sure there are more ideas out there as well.

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