What worries me a lot about the Jedi is that no one questioned or cared about how an old politician got UNSUPERVISED access and alone time with a CHILD. How...how is that not a giant red flag...?
I worry about that too, anon, almost as much as I worry about the people blaming Anakin for being abused. The whole thing is in bad taste. I don’t know if the people who rationalize it don’t care about kid!Anakin or if they really don’t see anything suspicious about a much older man wanting to spend alone time with a little boy he barely knew. Either way, it worries me.
And the worst part of it all is seeing people saying Anakin’s tutors did everything that could’ve been done to avoid it. THIS is not doing EVERYTHING in your power to prevent Palpatine from gaining access to a little boy.
Neither is this:
Or this:
Sate Pestage showed Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, into Palpatine’s temporary office in the Senate Building. Both Jedi were wearing light-colored tunics, brown robes, and tall boots. Facsimiles of each other. “Thank you both for accepting my invitation,” Palpatine said, coming out from behind a broad, burnished desk to welcome them. [...] “As I told you on Naboo, Anakin,” he said finally, “we will continue to follow your career with great interest.” [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]
or this:
Yoda stared at the floor, both hands grasping his gimer stick. There was no easy answer to that. Yes, he was concerned by Palpatine’s attachment to the boy. No matter how well-meaning, no matter how genuine and heartfelt, the Supreme Chancellor’s care for Obi-Wan’s apprentice was problematic. The root cause of all young Skywalker’s difficulties was his need for emotional connections. His friendship with Palpatine only complicated matters. But the man was Supreme Chancellor. And he meant well. Sometimes politics had to take precedence.[Karen Miller. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Wild Space]
or this
I would think that Anakin’s friendship with Palpatine could be of use to us in this—he has the kind of access to Palpatine that other Jedi might only dream of. Their friendship is an asset, not a danger.” [Obi-wan Kenobi in Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith]
People try to rationalize Palpatine’s grooming Anakin for years right under the Council’s nose as something being inherently wrong with Anakin and/or as the Council doing everything they could do prevent it. But the truth remains that the Jedi submitted to the Chancellor’s wishes without any resistance because as Yoda himself says: politics takes preferences. Yes, they were fooled by Palpatine’s kind Chancellor persona but that doesn’t negate their responsibility to Anakin as his guardians. I’m not saying the Council knew Anakin would be abused and allowed it to happen. That’s not the case at all. But there’s nothing in canon or EU that suggests they tried to ‘rescue’ Anakin from Palpatine or that they were out of options.
There’s nothing supporting the ‘theory’ that Palpatine having unrestricted access to Anakin was the only viable option. And even if there was evidence to support such claim the idea that Anakin’s abuse was somehow ‘inevitable’ it’s pretty gross point to make.


















