Padmé Amidala’s sympathetic reaction toAnakin Skywalker’s brutal murder of the Tusken Raiders inStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clonessignified a massive change in their relationship. Of course, it’s well known thatAnakin and Padmé’s secret love affairwas a major turning point inAnakin’s fall to the dark side. The distress of keeping their marriage hidden from those they cared about most – Obi-Wan Kenobi and the rest of the Jedi Order, especially – weighed heavily on them. And yet, they couldn’t stay away from one another, not even after Anakin’s undeniably heinous crime.
InAttack of the Clones, Anakin learned that his mother had been kidnapped bythe Tusken Raiders. He returned to Tatooine with Padmé and was briefly reunited with his mother for the first time since he left the desert planet all those years ago. As the Jedi Council knew, Anakin loved his mother deeply, and when she died in his arms at the hands of the Raiders, he couldn’t hold in his grief.Anakin slaughtered an entire Tusken Raider tribein anger. Should Padmé have so readily forgiven him, though, ordid her sympathy make her complicit in her husband’s fall to the dark side?
Padmé’s Love For Anakin Took Full Precedence
Despite the massive difference in their upbringing, age, and maturity levels when they first met inStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Padmé saw a different side of Anakin inAttack of the Clones. Underneath it all, he was still that same hopeful, brilliant young boy, but he’d grown and matured and become sure of himself and his place with the Jedi. There’s no denying that she loved him, both for who he used to be and who he was then, andshe let her love for him cloud her judgment, even when she shouldn’t have.
10 Heartbreaking Star Wars Moments That Proved Anakin & Padme Were Doomed From The Start
Although Anakin and Padme’s relationship is one of the most beloved aspects of the Star Wars franchise, they were unfortunately destined to fail.
She sided with Anakin when his mother was killed – she’d seen first-hand how much they meant to each other, and how hard it was for Anakin to leave her behind in a life of slavery. She understood his anger and his resentment, his need for retribution. Padmé was also a politician; level-headed, and sure of herself. She should have known better. Perhaps there was another facet to Padmé’s forgiveness that even she never really considered.
Padmé was the former Queen of Naboo, and her people had long held disparaging, if not downright prejudiced views of the Gungans, despite sharing a planet. Though she was eager to work with them to save their shared homeworld once it was clear that Naboo was about to be invaded, it’s possible she’d grown up in a society that had told her that the Gungans were inherently inferior to the rest of Naboo’s “civilized” population.
To see the entirety of Anakin and Padmé’s romantic relationship, watch the animated seriesStar Wars: The Clone Wars, which takes place betweenAttack of the ClonesandStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
As she worked with Jar Jar Binks and became closely affiliated with the Gungans during her political career, those thoughts clearly subsided, but some lessons are harder to unlearn than others. What if she let those old lessons cloud her perception of the Tusken Raiders, too? Anakin, and most other Tatooine natives, for that matter, believed the Tuskens were savages, and they did kidnap and kill Anakin’s mother.Everything she knew about them was violent and vengeful. Why wouldn’t she despise the creatures that hurt the boy she loved so much?
Padmé’s Empathy For Anakin Won, But Should She Have Actually Forgiven Him?
The Tusken Raiders have been treated much more humanely byStar Wars’storytelling sinceThe Book of Boba Fett, and Anakin’s crime feels much more heinous now than it did originally.Should Padmé have been able to see through her blossoming love for him and left him on Tatooine, broken and alone?Understandably, she didn’t, but in the long run, it may have been better for everyone if she hadn’t forgiven him. It was almost too easy for her. He openly admitted to her that he killed them all because he hated them all.
Anakin’s anger and resentment should have frightened her, but instead, she gives him comfort and tells him“To be angry is to be human.”Yes, anger is a human trait, but Anakin’s anger at that moment was fueled by more than just grief – it was fueled by power, by his incredible lust and need for strength. Padmé should have been more careful.
Anakin’s anger at that moment was fueled by more than just grief – it was fueled by power, by his incredible lust and need for strength. Padmé should have been more careful.
Anakin even reminds her that he’s a Jedi and should be able to rise above his anger. She doesn’t listen to him – not really. One could even argue that she only saw what she wanted to see; the boy she loved, destined to be a great Jedi.
There’s empathy and then there’s blind trust.At that moment, he didn’t deserve that trust, and if Padmé had told someone what was wrong and what had happened, then perhaps the fate of the Jedi Order and the galaxy at large would have been very different. Queen and Senator Amidala should have known better, but unfortunately,Padmé Amidala, the young woman in love with a young man who loved her, couldn’t see past her feelings inStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, not until it was too late.
Padmé Amidala
The elected Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala won galactic acclaim for her heroism when she led her people against the Trade Federation. She became an influential member of the Republic Senate, but her life changed forever when she fell in love with Anakin Skywalker. Padmé Amidala found herself torn between her love for Anakin and her belief in the principles of the Republic, especially when Anakin became Darth Vader. She was brutally attacked by Anakin on Mustafar, and died in childbirth.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
