Padme Amidala

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Padmé Naberrie (46 BBY – 19 BBY) is a pivotal character in the fictional Star Wars universe. Padmé Amidala was portrayed by Natalie Portman in the prequel trilogy. She served her homeworld of Naboo first as Her Royal Highness, Queen Amidala of Naboo, and later as Her Excellency, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Padmé was the wife of Anakin Skywalker and the birth mother of Princess Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. Despite her young age, Padmé was an influential politician in the Galactic Republic and the Republic Senate and a key founder of the Delegation of 2000, which later became the Alliance to Restore the Republic, more commonly known as the Rebel Alliance.

Personality

Padmé Amidala "had a slight figure and a lovely, feminine face. She was remarkably solemn for one so young. It was clear that she took her responsibilities with the utmost seriousness."James Luceno, Cloak of Deception (Del Rey, 2002), ISBN 0345442970. Described elsewhere as "young, beautiful, and serene," Padmé represents nobility, loyalty, and tragedy in the Star Wars saga.Terry Brooks, [[Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace#Novelization|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]] (Del Rey, 1999), ISBN 0345434110. Throughout her career in the Republic, she was devoted to the disadvantaged, deprived, and enslaved beings of the galaxy; much of her childhood and adolescence was sacrificed to her service to society. Her sister Sola Naberrie tells her at one point, "You're so tied up in your responsibilities that you don't give any weight to your desires." Unlike many humans on Naboo and in the rest of the galaxy, Padmé's views are not blatantly [humanocentric].R. A. Salvatore, [[Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones#Novelization|Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones]] (Del Rey, 2002), ISBN 034542882X.

As a ruler and politician, Padmé is distrustful of bureaucracy, opposed to all forms of corruption, and beholden to the ideals of democracy and the rule of law. At one point she states, "Popular rule is not democracy .... It gives the people what they want, not what they need." She also relies heavily on diplomacy to resolve problems, often appearing as a pacifist. However, Padmé is not an advocate of appeasement as she exhibits a willingness to use "aggressive negotiations" and fight a just war as a last means of preserving democracy at home and abroad.Salvatore, Attack of the Clones. Her loyalty remains with the Republic until its waning days when she suspects that it no longer represented the democratic principles she espouses. She tells Senator Bail Organa, "Be good little Senators. Mind your manners and keep your heads down. And keep doing ... all those things we can't talk about."Stover, Revenge of the Sith.

Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars films

Padmé Amidala is a main character in the prequel trilogy, and therefore appears in all three prequel films. Her role in these films is considered canon. Deleted scenes and novelizations of the films, along with all officially-licensed Expanded Universe material (such as the [[Star Wars: Clone Wars]] animated series) are generally considered canon.

Early life

Many details of Padmé Amidala's life prior to the prequel trilogy are revealed in Attack of the Clones in several deleted scenes. Padmé was born in a small mountain village on Naboo to Ruwee and Jobal Naberrie. Devoted to public service at a young age, she joined the [Refugee Relief Movement], a Galactic-wide disaster relief and resettlement organization, where she was involved in the failed attempt to resettle the natives of [Shadda-Bi-Boran]. When only 8 years old, Padmé joined the [Apprentice Legislature] project which introduced her to politics. At the age of 12 she was named Princess of Theed, Naboo's capital city (a position similar to mayor), and two years later in 32 BBY she became the democratically-elected Queen of Naboo.Salvatore, Attack of the Clones. As queen, Padmé took the regnal name of Amidala. Padmé's first goal as queen was to assure the people that corruption would not tarnish her administration as it had that of her unpopular predecessor, King Veruna. Her first major challenge involved ending a Trade Federation blockade of the planet and thwarting a Trade Federation coup and invasion.Luceno, Cloak of Deception.[link]

The Phantom Menace

Padmé first appeared in [[Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]] (1999) as the 14-year-old Queen of Naboo. The film begins in the midst of the Trade Federation's blockade of the planet. Initially refusing to declare war on the Federation out of fear of bringing harm to her people, she narrowly escapes Trade Federation battle droids with the help of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. Under their protection, Padmé and her entourage attempt to reach the Galactic capital, Coruscant.

The queen's ship is attacked while trying to breach the blockade and forced to land on the Outer Rim planet of Tatooine. While searching for repair parts in the space port of Mos Espa, Padmé (disguised as a handmaiden) meets for the first time a 9-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker. The boy is entranced by her beauty, asking her if she is an [angel], a mysterious creature sometimes encountered by space pilots on the moons of Iego. Padmé later meets Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother, and discovers that the Skywalkers are slaves. Finally on Tatooine, Padmé witnesses Anakin win his first pod race at the Boonta Eve Classic, ultimately providing the means for the queen to have her ship repaired and securing his freedom.

Once en route to Coruscant, Padmé (still disguised as a handmaiden), consoles Anakin's fears about leaving his mother behind. Anakin gives Padmé a token of affection, a [Japor snippet], which becomes a symbol of their love in the future. It is now apparent that Anakin has developed a crush on Padmé, but she sees him as just a child, no different from the many other unfortunate people she aided while a member of the Refugee Relief Movement.

Having arrived on Coruscant, Padmé meets with Naboo's Senator Palpatine, who encourages her to appeal to the Galactic Senate to resolve Naboo's dispute with the Trade Federation. After lecturing Padmé on the inefficiency of the bureaucracy, Palpatine persuades her to make a motion in the Senate to cast a vote of no confidence against Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, who is swiftly removed from office after he fails to take action on the invasion (he was unable to, as he was merely following Senate protocol). Palpatine is elected in his place.

Unbeknownst to Padmé, however, Palpatine is using her as a pawn in his own scheme. As the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Palpatine is actually funding the Trade Federation's blockade and invasion of Naboo while pretending to crusade against them as a Senator to shore up public support for his rise to power.

Just after Palpatine's nomination as Valorum's replacement, Padmé returns to Naboo after intercepting a message from Nubian governor Sio Bibble about the suffering of her people. With the help of Gungan Jar Jar Binks, Padmé makes peace with the Gungans and secures their aid in the planet's liberation. The [Gungan Grand Army], the two Jedi, and the Naboo underground resistance defeat the Trade Federation in orbit and on the ground in the Battle of Naboo.

Padmé serves as Queen of Naboo until 24 BBY; she is appointed Senator in 22 BBY.Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (20th Century Fox, 1999); this note covers the entire section Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Attack of the Clones

The second installment of the prequel trilogy, [[Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones]] (2002), begins in 22 BBY, a decade after the events of The Phantom Menace. As representative of Naboo in the Galactic Senate, Padmé Amidala who is now age 24 years old is leading a faction opposed to the [Military Creation Act] which would establish a Republican army to quell the growing Separatist movement and counter its army of battle droids. After a failed assassination attempt sponsored by the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, Nute Gunray, Anakin Skywalker, who is now Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawan, is assigned to protect her. Chancellor Palpatine sends Padmé in hiding on Naboo, seemingly out of harm's way (and absent from the Senate to oppose the passage of the Military Creation Act). In Attack of the Clones, Padmé is portrayed once again as headstrong politician, caring only for the best interests of the citizens of the Galaxy.

After meeting with the Naberrie family (in a deleted scene available on the DVD), Padmé and Anakin retire to the Lake Country. It is here where Anakin, who has been nurturing a powerful infatuation with Padmé over the last decade, breaks down and confesses his love for her. She initially rejects him, disturbed by his intense anger and belief in the need for one strong leader, even if it means forsaking the democratic principles that she stands for. Over time, however, she grows to return his feelings, much to her own surprise. She fights her attraction to him as much as she can, however, as they are both duty-bound to keep their relationship platonic; Jedi are forbidden to form emotional attachments, and a romance with one could endanger her position in the Senate.

When Anakin has a vision of his mother in pain, Padmé accompanies him to Tatooine to save her. Unable to rescue her from her Tusken captors, he returns to the Lars homestead and confesses that, in a fit of rage, he slaughtered the entire tribe, including women and children. Padmé forgives him, even as she is troubled by what he has done. A few moments later, word reaches them that Obi-Wan has been kidnapped by Separatist leader Count Dooku on Geonosis. Padmé and Anakin rush to his aid only to be captured themselves and condemned to death in a Geonoseon coliseum. Moments from certain death, Anakin and Padmé declare their love for each other. They are saved at the last minute by Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda, along with a cadre of Jedi warriors and clone troopers, who burst into the coliseum to fight Dooku's army in the Battle of Geonosis, the opening salvo of the Clone Wars. There, Padmé shows herself to be rather handy in combat, more than holding her own alongside the Jedi. Following the battle, Padmé and Anakin are married in a secret ceremony witnessed only by R2-D2 and C-3PO on Naboo.Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (20th Century Fox, 2002); this note covers the entire section Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

Revenge of the Sith

In [[Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith]] (2005), Padmé Amidala's third and final appearance in the prequel trilogy, her resolve is greatly taxed as she struggles to maintain a close relationship with her husband as well as preserve the democratic institutions of the Republic. Padmé's first scene in the film show her greeting Anakin at the Senate building just after his victory over Count Dooku in the Battle of Coruscant. She informs him that she is pregnant with his child (unaware that she is actually carrying twins). The film is set in 19 BBY, 3 years after Attack of the Clones and immediately following the last chapter of Star Wars: Clone Wars.

During the film, Padmé watches with increasing suspicion as Palpatine becomes a virtual dictator, amassing unprecedented emergency powers by playing on fear of Separatist attack and gaining control over a number of Senators and the judiciary. She is one of the signers of the [Petition of 2000], a petition signed by 2000 concerned Galactic senators requesting Palpatine to give up his emergency powers since the Clone Wars are coming to an end. Later, Padmé sits by helplessly in the Senate as Palpatine claims that the Jedi are planning a coup, declares martial law and transforms the Republic into the Galactic Empire, naming himself Emperor. As the Senate cheers for Palpatine, she tells herself, "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause." Padmé joins with fellow senators Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and other members of the [Delegation of 2000], to form the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

At the same time as Palpatine begins his rise to absolute power, Anakin also begins having disturbing dreams in which Padmé dies in childbirth. Although she is somewhat dismissive of these visions, Anakin's fear for his wife ultimately leads to his conversion to the dark side and transformation into Darth Vader; Palpatine seduces the young Jedi into the nascent Empire's service by promising that if he were to join the Sith, he would gain the power to prevent her death. Padmé begins detecting changes in Anakin after Palpatine appoints him to the Jedi Council as his personal representative and unwitting spy. At this point, she is about six months pregnant.

Padmé's work with the Alliance is interrupted when she learns from Obi-Wan Kenobi that Anakin has become a Sith and murdered several Jedi, including younglings, in the attack of the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan asks a shocked Padmé for Anakin's location, but fearing for her husband's safety, she refuses to reveal it. In disbelief, she travels to the volcanic planet Mustafar aboard her Naboo Star Skiff to get the truth from Anakin. Panicked, she confronts him with Obi-Wan's claims, and is devastated to see for herself that Obi-Wan was right; as Anakin calmly explains and justifies the atrocities he has committed, she realizes that he has been twisted by the dark side and gone mad with power. He reveals to her his plans to overthrow the Emperor, and proudly offers her the opportunity to rule the galaxy by his side and "make things the way we want them to be." Heartbroken and horrifed, she recoils -- just as Obi-Wan, who had stowed away unbeknownst to her, emerges from the ship. Believing that Padmé has brought his old master there to kill him, Anakin uses the Force to choke her into unconsciousness. After the ensuing duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin, in which Anakin is horribly mutilated and burned, Obi-Wan brings her to Polis Massa. Despite the efforts of [medical droids] to save her, Padmé never fully regains consciousness; she is only barely able to muster enough strength to deliver the twins, whom she names Luke and Leia. While the droids could not find anything wrong with her physically, her agony over Anakin's betrayal had crushed her will to live. Broken-hearted and depleted, she dies beside Obi-Wan almost immediately after giving birth, apparently due to stress cardiomyopathy. Her last words to Obi-Wan are, "There's good in him. I know...I know there's still..." Even in the very depths of despair, with her dying breaths Padmé Amidala still displayed a glimmer of her trademark loyalty, optimism, and hope.

Palpatine eventually retrieves Anakin's scorched body and revives him with extensive cybotic prosthetics and tells him that he killed Padmé, breaking his spirit and transforming him into the cruel, brutal tyrant that would plague the galaxy for more than two decades. Padmé's body is returned to Naboo and given the elaborate funeral ceremony reserved for queens and senators. The Empire's official account of her death is that she was killed by Jedi during the alleged uprising and that the child had died in utero; Obi-Wan and Yoda decide that the Skywalker twins would never be safe if the Emperor knew of their whereabouts. Luke is brought to Tatooine to be raised by Owen and Beru Lars (Anakin's stepfamily), while Leia is adopted by Bail and Breha Organa and raised as the Royal Princess of Alderaan. They are both instrumental in the destruction of the Empire and the redemption of Anakin Skywalker, as seen in the original trilogy.Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox, 2005); this note covers the entire section Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Return of the Jedi

Although Padmé Amidala does not appear and is not even mentioned by name in the original trilogy, the first allusion to her as the mother of Luke and Leia is in [[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]] (1983), set in the year 4 ABY, 23 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. While in the Ewok village on the forest moon of Endor, Luke informs Leia that Darth Vader is his father and that she is his sister. He asks her if she remembers her "real mother." Leia says that she remembers "just a little bit." She then explains that she "died when I was very young." Luke asks her what she remembers and she says, "Just images, really. Feelings." Leia goes on to say, "She was beautiful. Kind ... but sad." Luke then admits that he has no memories of his mother,Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (20th Century Fox, 1983). although hequotes her when ever he says, "There's still good in him," in reference to Darth Vader.

No explanation is given in the film for how Leia could have remembered her "real mother" if she died in childbirth, nor has any official explanation been provided by director and creator George Lucas about this apparent plot hole. The most "official" explanation comes from Producer Rick McCallum who is quoted as saying, "Leia's recollection as described in Return of the Jedi have no inherent flaws and are valid given the greater context of the saga. But I suspect those looking for contradictions always find them."

It should be noted that in the original Return of the Jedi script when Obi-Wan Kenobi explains what happened to both Luke and Leia after their birth, the character we now know as Padmé was said to have survived and became a handmaiden to Bail Organa's wife, secretly raising Leia as her own child, just as Moses' mother Jochebed did. She later died three or four years after the birth. However, this part was deleted to shorten the scene because Lucas did not think it was necessary for the plot at the time. Lucas states in the 1997 book Star Wars: The Annotated Scripts that the "part that I had never really developed is the death of Luke and Leia's mother. I had a back story for her in earlier drafts, but it basically didn't survive. When I got to JEDI, I wanted one of the kids to have some kind of memory of her because she will be a key figure in the new episodes I'm writing."George Lucas, Star Wars: The Annotated Scripts (Del Rey, 1997), ISBN 0345409817. Many have simply just speculated that Leia was able to feel her mother's presence through Force-sensitivity, as Leia is revealed to be a powerful Jedi in the Expanded Universe. It is also theorized that while Padmé was speaking her last words to Obi-Wan, Leia was in his arms, and witnessed Padmé's final moments (perhaps making eye contact), developing a force bond with her mother, which lasted her entire life.

Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars Expanded Universe

Padmé Amidala's character and personality are further developed in several Expanded Universe Star Wars novels and comics that are set during the events of the prequel trilogy. She also appears in several original trilogy and post-trilogy era novels and comics, mostly as a hologram. In the Dark Nest Trilogy, for instance, Luke and Leia see images of their mother for the first time via holograms.

Most of the events featured in the Expanded Universe regarding Padmé are minor, but help to enhance the character's personality. For example, Expanded Universe material reifies the fact that Padmé's life is devoted to public service rather than her own personal desires as she breaks the heart of [Ian Lago], son of an advisor to King Veruna.Terry Moore, "A Summer's Dream," in Star Wars Tales, Vol. 5 (Dark Horse Comics, September 2000), ISBN 1593072864. It also emphasizes her beauty, as a young artist on Naboo becomes captivated by Padmé and features her in a series of paintings.Eric Tiemens, "The Artist of Naboo," in [[Star Wars: Visionaries]] (Dark Horse Comics, March 2005), ISBN 1593073119.

[[Image:Padme_cartoon.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Animated Padmé Amidala on Ilum in the [[Star Wars: Clone Wars]] microseries.]]Aside from the novels, Padmé Amidala appears in seven chapters of the microseries [[Star Wars: Clone Wars]] (2003 – 2005) as an animated character voiced by Grey DeLisle. The events of the series are set immediately after Attack of the Clones in 22 BBY and end in 19 BBY, immediately before third film. Her role in the series is subdued compared to the films and generally details foiled assassination attempts by Nute Gunray, her seclusion on Coruscant, and maintaining a secret correspondence with Anakin Skywalker, who is leading clone troopers in various theaters in the Clone Wars. She often worries about his safety, although she is thrilled by his victories and graduation from padawan to the status of Jedi Knight.

Her role in the series also illustrates her character as demonstrated in the first two films, especially loyalty to friends, self-sacrifice, and compassion. Four months into the war, Padmé travels with Yoda aboard her ship when the Jedi Master senses a disturbance in the Force coming from the planet Ilum. Despite Captain Typho's protests, she accompanies Yoda to the world and assists in the rescue of the Jedi Luminara Unduli and her padawan Barriss Offee. Throughout the Clone Wars, Padmé is also a source of diplomacy in the waning Republic. One such example takes place during the Outer Rim Sieges in which she and Captain Typho travel to the planet of [Bri'ahl] in order to persuade the natives to join the Republic.Star Wars: Clone Wars (Cartoon Network, 2003-2005).

Character conception and design

Character conception

While George Lucas created the Padmè Amidala character (if not the name) in the 1970s as he first wrote the script for the Star Wars saga, her actual development did not take place until the revision of the script for The Phantom Menace and the other prequel films. Some believe her character in the first film and accompanying sub-plot is based on Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii before its annexation by the United States. Prior to the annexation, Liliuokalani traveled to Washington, D.C., to appeal to the native Hawaiians' case to Congress to no avail. There is a parallel occurrence in The Phantom Menace as described above.

The name Padmé is derived from the Sanskrit word for lotus flower (पद्म, padma). In Hindu mythology, the lotus is associated with creation while according to Buddhists the lotus represents purity of body, speech, and mind floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. Padmé's regnant name, Amidala, comes from the Sanskrit word Mandala, a Hindu and Buddhist concept that generally acts as an archetype for the sacred union of opposite energies. The latter is an obvious reference to the love between Padmé and the future Sith Lord Darth Vader.

An image of Padmé Amidala first appeared in 1998 in the Star Wars saga in the fifth issue of the comic [The Last Command], based on the Expanded Universe novel by Timothy Zahn of the same name. Shortly after Natalie Portman was cast for the part, her likeness was used to illustrate a portrait of Padmé hanging in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant in 9 ABY. Subsequent images are obviously based on Portman's likeness.

Costumes

The elaborate costumes designed for the Padmé Amidala character in the prequel trilogy have been a focus of attention by designers and critics alike. Most of the costumes are based on royal fashion from different regions of the world and different time periods. For example, in The Phantom Menace, the dress which Padmé wears when addressing the Senate along with Senator Palpatine is based on Mongolian imperial fashion first worn by Börte, wife of Genghis Khan, and by later monarchs into the early twentieth century. Again, the dress worn by Padmé in Attack of the Clones while in disguise as a refugee is based on seventeenth-century fashion worn by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia in the early 1900s.

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