Padmé Amidalahas a subtle dark side inStar Wars, and it’s a bit too close toEmperor Palpatine/Darth Sidiousfor comfort. Padmé is undeniably one ofStar Wars’best characters, and it’s true that she’s frequently a moral compass for others in the prequel trilogy, although especially for Anakin Skywalker.
In fact, arguably,had the Jedi listened to Padmémore often, they may even have caught onto Palpatine’s plans earlier, particularly given she correctly predicted it was Count Dooku who was attempting to have her assassinated and in light of her concerns inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Siththat the Republic they were defending was gone.
Yet, Padmé is not without her flaws—far from it. Throughout the prequel trilogy, Padmé proved that there was plenty more beneath the surface of her character. Specifically,Padmé had her own dark side in theStar Warsprequel trilogy, and it shockingly links her to Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious himself.
As Queen Of The Naboo, Padmé Has A Significant Dark Side Role
Naboo Wasn’t Quite As Peaceful As It Seemed
From the moment she was introduced inStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Padmé seemed like a clear force for good. She was willing to sacrifice her life if it meant protecting her home planet, andthe Trade Federationwas clearly positioned as the ‘bad guys,’ whereas Padmé and the Naboo were positioned as the ‘good guys.’
The Phantom Menaceultimately revealed that Naboo wasn’t quite so straightforward, though. On the contrary,the beautiful, peaceful veneer of Naboo actually concealed the fact that Padmé’s reign extended only to the land-dwellers. Beneath the oceans of Naboo was an entirely different world, belonging to the Gungans.
It’s true that Padmé eventually brought the Gungans and the Naboo together, even showing significant respect to the Gungans by bowing before them as the Queen of Naboo. However, prior to that, the Gungans very obviously felt neglected, disrespected, and perhaps even subjugated by the Naboo.
The Gungans very obviously felt neglected, disrespected, and perhaps even subjugated by the Naboo.
In addition to the obvious ethical concerns this raises, this also implicates Padmé in a larger dark side issue. Namely,George Lucas viewed theStar Warsgalaxy in terms of symbiosis, with the light side reflective of balance and the dark side indicative of imbalance.
With the Naboo having such a broken relationship with the Gungans—and one that put them quite literally on top—it’s evident that Naboo was far from symbiosis. Yes, Padmé ultimately resolved this imbalance by asking the Gungans for help, but even that made her peace offering fairly complicated and, shockingly, somewhat aligned with Palpatine.
The Phantom Menace Deliberately Sets Up A Padmé / Palpatine Parallel
They’re Both From Naboo, But There’s More To It Than That
Palpatine and Padmé have an obvious connection in that they are both from Naboo (something that is easy to forget about Palpatine because he is so opposite to what Naboo represents), but it actually goes deeper than that. In fact, it’s Padmé’s plan with the Gungans inThe Phantom Menacethat makes this connection clear.
While it’s easy to praise Padmé for making peace with the Gungans, the darker truth is,Padmédidn’t reach out to the Gungans until she needed something from them. This wasn’t just any small favor, either. Padmé needed the Gungans to serve as soldiers fighting on her side during the Battle of Naboo.
Padmé’s reason for this wasn’t nearly as selfish as anything Palpatine ever did, of course, especially because this was something Padmé needed to save the entire planet of Naboo and all her people. Even so, it’s difficult to miss the similarities between Padmé convincing the Gungans to fight for her and Palpatine constructing an army for his aims.
It’s difficult to miss the similarities between Padmé convincing the Gungans to fight for her and Palpatine constructing an army for his aims.
This doesn’t make Padmé evil by any means, yet Padmé and Palpatine both effectively had ‘disposable’ armies fighting their battles. That may seem like a stretch, butStar Warsmade the parallels overt. For example, Palpatine’s clone army was called “the Grand Army of the Republic,” and this army inThe Phantom Menacewas called “the Gungan Grand Army.”
Let’s Face It, Some Of Padmé’s Reactions Are Pretty Dark
The Tusken Raider Incident Is The Most Obvious Example
Even outside of her myriad connections to Palpatine,Padmé had some truly shocking moments in the prequel trilogy that make it clear she had a darker side too. Among the most obvious was her response to Anakin’s confession about killing the Tusken Raiders inStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
Although Padmé had always seemed like a character dedicated to justice and doing the right thing, when Anakin confessed to brutally murdering the Tuskens—and, famously,“not just the men, but the women and the children too”—Padmé didn’t condemn Anakin, act appalled, or ever tell anyone else what had happened.
Instead, she jarringly told Anakin that to be angry was to be human, as though he’d simply lost his temper for a few minutes rather than single-handedly taking out an entire camp of families. What made this especially alarming was the way it suggested Padmé, like so many others, viewed the Tuskens as subhuman.
That was an egregious perspective from anyone, but it was especially disappointing coming from Padmé, who, again, was meant to be morally better than others. At that moment, though,Padmé had effectively chosen her love for Anakin over what was right, in a particularly horrible way, proving that there could at times be something darker in her nature.
Padmé Isn’t A Villain - But She Also Isn’t Just “Light Side”
The Idea That Padmé Is Purely Good Undermines The Complexity Of Her Character
I want to be clear that I’m not arguing Padmé is somehow evil, a villain, or on the dark side of the Force (which would of course make no sense). Rather, I think it’s important to recognize thatPadmé isn’t just a pure character who has no flaws. I believe interpreting her that way is a disservice to her character.
Just like anyone, Padmé had a darker side to her, even as she was consistently working for the greater good. That doesn’t make her a bad person; it just makes her a well-rounded character who at times makes mistakes (some, like her response to Anakin’s murder of the Tuskens, particularly grave ones).
Arguably, to be with Anakin Skywalker, one actually needs to have a bit of darkness in them. After all, shows likeStar Wars: The Clone Warsrevealed that there were events between Anakin’s murder of the Tusken Raiders and his fall to the dark side that demonstrated the path he was on, such as his attack on Rush Clovis.
Padmé was aware of such events and stayed by Anakin’s side regardless. Even after learning what he’d done to the younglings inRevenge of the Sith, Padmé went to Anakin and attempted to rectify things. WhilePadmé Amidalais far from aStar Warsvillain, she certainly has a darker side that even has connections to Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious himself.
