We rank the 50 Biggest WTF Moments in Star Wars History
By Josh Hill
45. Anakin Has To Leave His Mom Behind
Film: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
The Moment: As part of the prize for beating Sebulba in the big pod race, Qui-Gon has freed Anakin Skywalker, allowing him to leave Tatooine and presume his destiny. Part of that means leaving his mother behind, whom Watto wouldn’t agree to free as well in the wager. This means that in order to leave and follow Qui-Gon’s guidance, Anakin will have to leave his mother behind — something he’s not so excited to do.
Why It’s Memorable: It’s the first really sad thing that’s ever happened to Anakin, that meaning he issuing tested for the first time emotionally and it doesn’t end well. Not only does he end up turning into Darth Vader basically because he has attachment issues, but he fails his first test in being a Jedi.
This R2-D2 is controlled via your smartphone. Yeah, it’s awesome.
All Anakin needs to do is leave his mother and not look back — and he can’t do that. Instead of just leaving, he has to look back and then run back to his mother’s arms. You can’t blame a little kid for this, but it has far deeper meaning than just a kid missing his mother. This is the foundation of the pain that creates Darth Vader and shatters the little kid we see trying to cope with leaving his mom.
Next: 44. Droidekas Are Not Fun