WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "A Distant Echo," the latest episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7.
The trailer for the seventh and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars drew immediate attention for a scene of Anakin Skywalker talking to a hologram of an obviously pregnant Padme Amidala, leaving fans to wonder whether they were witnessing the creation of a Revenge of the Sith plot hole. Some suggested it might not actually be a discrepancy, because the exchange could be set following the scene in the film in which Padme informed Anakin.
But as the second episode, "A Distant Echo," confirms, the moment indeed occurs before the film, indicating Ani is utterly oblivious or else the Jedi Order's curriculum is lax in the areas of biology and sex education.
The exchange in "A Distant Echo" occurs when an embattled Captain Rex and Anakin meet up at the Republic's base on Anaxes. Still shocked from the revelation his friend Echo may be alive on Skako Minor, Rex insists he take a special squadron, the Bad Batch, to locate the clone.
However, before Anakin agrees to go, he has a favor to ask of Rex as they head to the clone's barracks. There, Ani privately contacts Padme while Rex keeps watch outside. As they sign off, Padme's left hand rests on her swollen stomach, a clear indication -- the viewers, at least -- that she's pregnant. However, Anakin misses the obvious clues.
Some fans have already theorized that Anakin realizes Padme is pregnant, but simply doesn't acknowledge it, and when she tells him in Revenge of the Sith, he feigns surprise. Still, one has to think their impending parenthood would be a major point of discussion as Anakin heads off to a battle in which he could die.
Anakin is usually intuitive, so we have to wonder how he could completely overlook Padme's condition. Obi-Wan Kenobi has often joked about Anakin not being the brightest in the bunch, but this next-level.
It could be that he's distracted with the mission to retrieve Echo, who was important to Rex's squad and to Anakin. Perhaps Padme should have spoken up, but we know she was scared, and confused as to how to break the news because it would have exposed their marriage. So it could have been a blessing in disguise that her pregnancy flew over Anakin's head, because he might have wanted them to reveal their relationship to the Jedi Council.
Streaming on Disney+, the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars stars Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex and the clone troopers, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan and Sam Witwer as Maul. A new episode arrives each Friday.