Happy Sunday everyone, and welcome back to WoSW! Today's featured character is none other than Padmé Amidala, who I'm sure most people know lol. Hope you guys enjoy!
I love this fanart btw.
Biography (summary)
Padmé was born Padmé Naberrie in 46 BBY to Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie, on the planet Naboo. Though her family was not rich or famous, she quickly gained some recognition for her public service. She devoted much of her life to civic duty and was elected queen of Naboo at age 14. During her time as queen, she had many handmaidens, who she formed close friendships with. In 32 BBY, Naboo was invaded by the Trade Federation (plot of Episode I: The Phantom Menace). While escaping the planet with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, they made a stop on Tatooine to fix their ship. There, Padmé and the Jedi met young Anakin Skywalker, who would play a large role in the surrender of the Trade Federation in the Battle of Naboo. He would also eventually become Padmé's husband. After her term as queen ended, Padmé became the senator representing her homeworld in the Galactic Senate. Following a series of assassination attempts on her life, she was reunited with Anakin and Obi-Wan. They set out to find the source of the attempts and ended up uncovering an important secret (plot of Episode II: Attack of the Clones). After the First Battle of Geonosis and the beginning of the Clone Wars, Padmé and Anakin were secretly married. During the war, Padmé played a part in several key missions and battles. She died shortly after its end in 19 BBY, after the fall of her husband to the dark side and the confrontation on Mustafar between him and Obi-Wan. Her legacy lived on though, in her friends from the Senate as well as her daughter Leia, who went into politics much like her mother.
Why is she underrated?
I know you're probably thinking, "How can a main character from the movies be underrated?" Well, the answer at least to me is that a lot of people only know her from those movies. I've seen a lot of discussions on other sites about how lame her death was, basically many only know her as "the love interest who died of sadness". That's also what I used to think, at least kind of. But once you get into the other things including her, like the shows and novels/comics, it's easy to see that she's much more than a plot device. I recommend looking into this stuff if you're into her character or if you just need something interesting and SW-related to do. It's worth it, I can guarantee 99% 😂
Featured quote
"Far too often, we forget that our most important allies are not always the most powerful." (From 2008 Clone Wars)
How to learn more about her
If you haven't already watched the prequels (movies 1, 2, and 3) you should probably watch them. I know they're not for everyone but I personally love all three and they're Padmé's most well known appearance. Plus they have the best lightsaber duels and some truly amazing scenes.
There is a canon book trilogy about her, it includes Queen's Peril, Queen's Shadow, and Queen's Hope. I've read the first two (waiting on the last one so I can get it paperback) and they're pretty good, they give lots of more information on Padmé and her handmaidens. They also fill in her story between TPM and AoTC.
She appears many times in The Clone Wars (both versions but mostly 2008). These appearances give us more on her and Anakin's relationship, and she has some cool moments individually as well.
Adding on to the Clone Wars part, she's also a main character in the novel Thrawn: Alliances. I happen to really like the book, even though it's the weakest of that trilogy to many. While this might be true (the other two are awesome), it's no reason not to read it. Padmé appears only in the flashback scenes, but the book is split between the past and the present so she has plenty of content there.
She's in a few episodes of Forces of Destiny. It's mostly for younger kids though, but it's a fun thing to watch if you need something lighthearted or have very limited time.
In the Legends novel Darth Plagueis, Padmé has a couple mentions and minor appearances. It gives us some of her early background in community service. I count the story as canon and it's a must-read for people who want to know the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.
I know she has some more appearances in Legends, though I haven't really explored this. I think she's in some of the old TCW tie-in novels, but that's basically it for my knowledge.
And that's most of her appearances that I can think of right off the bat! Check out her wiki article if you want more.
Share your opinion
What are your own thoughts on Padmé? Underrated or overrated? Like or dislike? Share anything you'd like about her in the comments.
Thanks for reading! Next week's character is TBD, but it'll probably be someone from Legends or possibly from the canon books. I actually will be on vacation until two weeks from now, so idk if I'll have time to do the post though. If anyone is interested in doing it, feel free to let me know, and if not I'll try my best to find time. Have a great week, and MTFBWY all!
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