Padmé Amidala’sdeath remains controversial even 20 years afterStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithwas released, but one fan has suggested we may be seeing this death all wrong. Given Luke Skywalker had no memory of his mother in the originalStar Warstrilogy, and Leia barely remembered her, it seemed likely Padmé would die inRevenge of the Sith. Yet,how Padmé diedis what became truly controversial.
Namely, after two movies in which Padmé proved to be brave, fierce, and undeterred, the medical droid treating her explained that, despite being medically healthy, she had"lost the will to live.“This led many to claim she died of a broken heart, although that was never stated inStar Wars. Both explanations for her death have created heated controversy for years, butoneStar Warsfan is arguing that Padmé’s death is much more nuanced than many believe.
Many found the idea that Padmé would ‘lose the will to live’ to be entirely contrary to what we’d seen of her in the prequel trilogy prior to that. After all, Padmé was just 14 years old inStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menacewhen she was Queen of Naboo and refused to back down or save herself at the risk of leaving her people alone and vulnerable. Her unwavering dedication to justice and pushing back against what was wrong continued inStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
In that movie, she was being targeted and had multiple assassination attempts on her life, yet she was unwilling to abandon her political convictions. Consistently, Padmé showed that she was going to put her life on the line and face terrifying odds if it meant doing the right thing. That just made it all the more difficult to accept that she would simply give up at the end ofRevenge of the Sith, especially when she had just birthed two children.
However,isabellaamidalaon X has argued that those opposed to this plot point are seeing the situation all wrong. Specifically,thisStar Warsthread posits that what we really see over the course of the prequel trilogy is a series of devastating, traumatizing, and heartbreaking events in Padmé’s life, which, taken together, explain why she died this way.
In addition to pointing out just how many brutal moments Padmé experienced throughout the prequel trilogy, this thread highlights some aspects of this story that are often ignored but would potentially contribute to a death such as this one. For example, the fact that the harsh atmosphere on Mustafar could have affected Padmé isn’t often discussed, but it is a fascinating point.
It’s True That Padmé’s Death Is More Complicated Than It Seems
The Idea That She “Lost The Will To Live” Has Never Added Up, And This List Raises Some Good Points
The truth is,Padmé’s death is absolutely more complicated than it seems on the surface inRevenge of the Sith. As this extensive list makes clear, for one, Padmé had experienced years of loss, pain, and stress at that point, which would of course weigh on a person. Her ‘losing the will to live’ would be due to so much more than just Anakin’s fall to the dark side.
Even without this exploration of all the events that affected Padmé, though, it’s always been clear that there was more to this death than simply Padmé losing the will to live. That was such a simplistic, vague, and unsatisfying explanation for the death of one ofStar Wars’best characters, so it was clear that more was happening beneath the surface than what was being shown (or even what was being said).
It’s always been clear that there was more to this death than simply Padmé losing the will to live.
In fact, one of the most compelling points made in this thread is actually thatthe medical droid’s understanding of the situation would have been very limited. It’s important to note, the medical droid was the only character to say Padmé lost the will to live. This alone makes that assessment dubious at best.
Yet, my takeaway from the medical droid’s lack of awareness isn’t that he was missing the emotional context. Rather,I fully buy into the theory that Palpatine drained the life from Padmé to save Anakin/Darth Vader.Revenge of the Sitheven visually implies this is what’s happening, with the parallels between the two on the surgical tables.
This would also be something the medical droid was unable to anticipate, and it would explain why he refers to her as"completely healthy"medically and comes to the conclusion that she lost the will to live. Arguably, were it emotional distress or the amalgamation of many heartbreaks, that distress would be physically manifesting in some way. While I can appreciate the thoughtfulness of the thread, I still struggle to accept any reality in which Padmé lost hope—that just doesn’t gel with her character.
Revenge Of The Sith Could Have Handled Padmé’s Story Much Better
The Deleted Scenes Alone Would Have Improved Her Revenge Of The Sith Story
I’m in complete agreement that the circumstances surrounding Padmé’s death are so much more complicated than they’re often given credit for. The idea that Padmé died of a broken heart is specifically frustrating because it suggests the only thing causing Padmé so much anguish was the loss of her husband, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, losing Anakin was devastating, but Padmé’s grief extended so far beyond her romantic relationship, as this thread makes clear.
The idea that Padmé died of a broken heart is specifically frustrating because it suggests the only thing causing Padmé so much anguish was the loss of her husband.
At that point intheStar Warstimeline, she was aware that the Jedi had been massacred and were almost fully extinct, and she had witnessed Palpatine establishing the Empire firsthand. The galaxy Padmé had known and loved was gone. Yet, this storyline for Padmé remains unsatisfying and disappointing for myriad reasons, even in light of this.
For one, Padmé had just given birth to two babies, and the idea that she would ever give up on them, even with these years of suffering, is unfathomable. That just isn’t in keeping with the character we’ve seen throughoutStar Warsmovies and TV shows. What’s more,Revenge of the Sithmishandled other key aspects of Padmé’s story, which only made this explanation of her death all the worse.
Specifically,Revenge of the Sith’sdeleted scenes contained several essential moments for Padmé, from her being part of the earliest seeds of the Rebellion to the revelation that Palpatine had specifically begun twisting Anakin against her (in a way that makes his accusations on Mustafar make a lot more sense). These deletions and alterations ultimately weakened Padmé’s character, to the point that she was frequently crying and unsure of what to do inRevenge of the Sithrather than remaining the fierce leader we’d previously seen.
Ultimately, the points made in this thread are well-taken. It’s important that audiences acknowledge how much Padmé had endured at that point, even beyond her relationship with Anakin, and it’s true that there was more to what the droid said than what was shown inRevenge of the Sith. Even so, I have yet to be convinced thatPadmé Amidala’sdeath inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithwas handled as well as it could be.
