Shipping Meme: Day 18
Day 18: Most annoying character that tried to come between a ship
Note, this post contains spoilers for some of the upcoming "Lost Missions" Clone Wars episodes.
I wasn't bothered by the idea of Padmé being involved with someone prior to Anakin: she reached adulthood five years before Anakin, and he wasn't a potential romantic partner until AOTC. Not to say I think Padmé played the field - she's too much a career woman for that - but maybe one or two short-lived relationships, which always came second to her career and/or the Republic. And after all, all those sexy dresses she wore around Anakin had to have been bought at some point. ;)
TCW usually did a pretty good job with its guest/one-shot characters, but Clovis was an utterly bland, generic character from the start, designed with no more purpose than to stir up drama between Anakin and Padmé. In Clovis's first episode, season 2's "Senate Spy," I tolerated him because it a) it was clear where Padmé's true feelings lay and b) that Anakin's mistrust was of Clovis, not Padmé. And on a shallower note, it always kind of irked me that Clovis got to enjoy Padmé in that jaw-dropping purple gown more than Anakin did. ;) (Kind of like Han not getting to see Leia in the bikini.)
With "Senate Spy" made as a deliberate homage to the classic film Notorious, I was happily convinced Clovis was a goner at the end - so I was surprised to learn he actually survived and was returning for a multi-episode arc. And the results aren't particularly good for Mr. and Mrs. Skywalker. (Take the below details with a grain of salt: the episodes have only been released in German so far, so I'm relying on visuals, my own broken ability to understand German, and other people's translations, but the gist is there. Likewise, if I've misinterpreted something in an episode, do correct me.)
This isn't to say that Clovis' return causes Padmé to question whether she'd rather be with him instead of Anakin - nothing as ridiculous as that, thankfully. We know that, come ROTS, A/P are still very much in love (and have conceived the twins), so any drama he creates is only temporary. But Clovis does set off a chain of events that, while perhaps realistic for a married couple under stress to deal with, aren't exactly fun for shippers to experience.
There's some sort of mystery/conspiracy involving Clovis' home planet, and Padmé is sent to investigate. Padmé, due to the events of "Senate Spy," where he was working for the Separatists and almost got Padmé killed, doesn't exactly trust him. Anakin is, obviously, even less thrilled that Padmé's ex - who had also told Anakin he still loved Padmé - has returned, to the point where Padmé has to physically keep them from coming to blows... for the moment.
In the second episode, Padmé has Clovis over at her apartment for dinner, wearing THAT dress from the fireplace scene in AOTC. Presumably for the same reasons she wore the nearly fall-off purple dress in "Senate Spy," as part of a way to lure Clovis into giving her more information so as to get to the bottom of the mystery/conspiracy surrounding him and his involvement with the Separatists.
Clovis, after pressing her about what kind of relationship she has with Anakin, makes a move on her (which she resists) - and that's the point where Anakin walks in. Anakin proceeds to beat the snot out of Clovis, and little wonder: this is his and Padmé's home, she's wearing a dress that she wore in an emotionally intimate moment with him, and to top it all off, the bastard - who Anakin probably holds responsible for nearly getting Padmé killed the last time they met - is trying to kiss her. Clovis seems to gladly goad Anakin to "fight him like a man," and informs him that Padmé claimed to have no feelings for him (Anakin). Yeah, buddy, not a smart thing to do with a powerful Jedi with anger issues.
While on some primal level it's usually at least a teensy bit satisfying seeing an Obvious OTP Obstacle get decked by a member of said OTP, it leads to a painful conversation between Anakin and Padmé. Partly due to hurt over Anakin's (however brief) mistrust of her, and feeling a lot of uncertainty due to the pressure of being in a secret relationship, she tells Anakin they need to be apart for a little while. Which, again, you know doesn't last because they're still together and happy when they reunite in ROTS - but it still cuts to see. To add to the "slap in the face" feeling, we even see Clovis recovering from the fight in their bed, arguably a couple's most intimate place. He's not only come into their home, but into their bed. You don't get much more blatant in the "OTP obstacle" symbolism there.
Now, in the next episode, Clovis's true colors are revealed: not just Obstacle Character, but Generic Scumbag as well, using Padmé and threatening her life to achieve his ends. Yeah, he really loves her. Though the writers seem to try to partially redeem him at the end, having him sacrifice himself so Anakin can save Padmé's life. A/P share a sweet little comforting embrace after this and appear to have reconciled, but still, it's small payoff for what we went through in the previous episode. Where was our kiss, dammit?
Long story short, perhaps the biggest part of what makes Clovis so irritating at this juncture is less any of his actual traits, but moreso his timing. He throws this emotional wrench into the gears when - because Disney cancelled TCW - we're not going to get much, if any, official follow-up. This may well be the swan song for on-screen A/P. It's bad enough knowing how things turn out for them in ROTS; I'd at least hoped whatever finale we got for them in TCW would be less bittersweet.
Hmm. Maybe this writeup should've focused on Disney instead? They're the biggest obstacle of all.
Note, this post contains spoilers for some of the upcoming "Lost Missions" Clone Wars episodes.
I wasn't bothered by the idea of Padmé being involved with someone prior to Anakin: she reached adulthood five years before Anakin, and he wasn't a potential romantic partner until AOTC. Not to say I think Padmé played the field - she's too much a career woman for that - but maybe one or two short-lived relationships, which always came second to her career and/or the Republic. And after all, all those sexy dresses she wore around Anakin had to have been bought at some point. ;)
TCW usually did a pretty good job with its guest/one-shot characters, but Clovis was an utterly bland, generic character from the start, designed with no more purpose than to stir up drama between Anakin and Padmé. In Clovis's first episode, season 2's "Senate Spy," I tolerated him because it a) it was clear where Padmé's true feelings lay and b) that Anakin's mistrust was of Clovis, not Padmé. And on a shallower note, it always kind of irked me that Clovis got to enjoy Padmé in that jaw-dropping purple gown more than Anakin did. ;) (Kind of like Han not getting to see Leia in the bikini.)
With "Senate Spy" made as a deliberate homage to the classic film Notorious, I was happily convinced Clovis was a goner at the end - so I was surprised to learn he actually survived and was returning for a multi-episode arc. And the results aren't particularly good for Mr. and Mrs. Skywalker. (Take the below details with a grain of salt: the episodes have only been released in German so far, so I'm relying on visuals, my own broken ability to understand German, and other people's translations, but the gist is there. Likewise, if I've misinterpreted something in an episode, do correct me.)
This isn't to say that Clovis' return causes Padmé to question whether she'd rather be with him instead of Anakin - nothing as ridiculous as that, thankfully. We know that, come ROTS, A/P are still very much in love (and have conceived the twins), so any drama he creates is only temporary. But Clovis does set off a chain of events that, while perhaps realistic for a married couple under stress to deal with, aren't exactly fun for shippers to experience.
There's some sort of mystery/conspiracy involving Clovis' home planet, and Padmé is sent to investigate. Padmé, due to the events of "Senate Spy," where he was working for the Separatists and almost got Padmé killed, doesn't exactly trust him. Anakin is, obviously, even less thrilled that Padmé's ex - who had also told Anakin he still loved Padmé - has returned, to the point where Padmé has to physically keep them from coming to blows... for the moment.
In the second episode, Padmé has Clovis over at her apartment for dinner, wearing THAT dress from the fireplace scene in AOTC. Presumably for the same reasons she wore the nearly fall-off purple dress in "Senate Spy," as part of a way to lure Clovis into giving her more information so as to get to the bottom of the mystery/conspiracy surrounding him and his involvement with the Separatists.
Clovis, after pressing her about what kind of relationship she has with Anakin, makes a move on her (which she resists) - and that's the point where Anakin walks in. Anakin proceeds to beat the snot out of Clovis, and little wonder: this is his and Padmé's home, she's wearing a dress that she wore in an emotionally intimate moment with him, and to top it all off, the bastard - who Anakin probably holds responsible for nearly getting Padmé killed the last time they met - is trying to kiss her. Clovis seems to gladly goad Anakin to "fight him like a man," and informs him that Padmé claimed to have no feelings for him (Anakin). Yeah, buddy, not a smart thing to do with a powerful Jedi with anger issues.
While on some primal level it's usually at least a teensy bit satisfying seeing an Obvious OTP Obstacle get decked by a member of said OTP, it leads to a painful conversation between Anakin and Padmé. Partly due to hurt over Anakin's (however brief) mistrust of her, and feeling a lot of uncertainty due to the pressure of being in a secret relationship, she tells Anakin they need to be apart for a little while. Which, again, you know doesn't last because they're still together and happy when they reunite in ROTS - but it still cuts to see. To add to the "slap in the face" feeling, we even see Clovis recovering from the fight in their bed, arguably a couple's most intimate place. He's not only come into their home, but into their bed. You don't get much more blatant in the "OTP obstacle" symbolism there.
Now, in the next episode, Clovis's true colors are revealed: not just Obstacle Character, but Generic Scumbag as well, using Padmé and threatening her life to achieve his ends. Yeah, he really loves her. Though the writers seem to try to partially redeem him at the end, having him sacrifice himself so Anakin can save Padmé's life. A/P share a sweet little comforting embrace after this and appear to have reconciled, but still, it's small payoff for what we went through in the previous episode. Where was our kiss, dammit?
Long story short, perhaps the biggest part of what makes Clovis so irritating at this juncture is less any of his actual traits, but moreso his timing. He throws this emotional wrench into the gears when - because Disney cancelled TCW - we're not going to get much, if any, official follow-up. This may well be the swan song for on-screen A/P. It's bad enough knowing how things turn out for them in ROTS; I'd at least hoped whatever finale we got for them in TCW would be less bittersweet.
Hmm. Maybe this writeup should've focused on Disney instead? They're the biggest obstacle of all.