Highlights
- Fans speculate Padmé's death was due to Anakin unknowingly draining her life force, fueled by obsession.
- Another theory suggests Anakin's manipulative power influenced Padmé to love him, explaining her loyalty.
- The theories explore how Palpatine or Anakin's force abilities could have been at play in Padmé's tragic fate.
The death of Natalie Portman's Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith remains one of the more poignant elements of the prequels, But beyond that, it's also a relatively poorly explained moment that still leaves fans wanting. Luckily, those same fans have a knack for filling in the blanks on their own.
The official explanation Star Wars gave for Padmé's death was that she "lost the will to live," at least according to the medical droid on call at the time. Naturally, many fans refused to take that as gospel given how strong and driven the character had been up until that point. How could someone with such a demonstrably powerful will simply waste away from the lack of that same force? Is it simply a case of Portman elevating Padmé beyond the character's writing? Or is there possibly a better explanation?
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That's where the fans on the Star Wars subreddit come into play. Many have long theorized that Padmé's sudden demise was left deliberately unexplained to hint at something more sinister at play. As one user pointed out, Emperor Palpatine could very well have used the power alluded to in his infamous Darth Plagueis monologue to siphon her life force into Anakin to save his life on Mustafar. But another theory is potentially even more tragic.
The second notable possibility brought up suggests that the irredeemable Anakin Skywalker unwittingly possesses the power to drain Padmé's life force due to his fixation on her. Anakin was always an emotionally unstable person, and emotionally powerful to boot; a dangerous combination. So if he had that power, it would most certainly be devastating. Plus, it would explain why it never happened again, as he was simply unaware he had that ability.
"To me as revenge of the sith shows Padme flatline then Vader starts breathing. That Vader with his fixation on Padme unintentionally siphoned her life force away to fuel himself. As for why it is never done again is because he wasn't conscious of it."
Finally, a third commenter offered a more elaborate version of this theory, and it could help explain away some other things as well. Another fan brought up the possibility that the well-known "Jedi mind trick" is a powerfully unstable gift and that influencing someone's mind is much easier than people realize. Anakin was so fixated on Padmé that he unknowingly forged a connection there, unconsciously influencing her mind to love him back creating a path for him to ultimately steal her life force when he was in critical condition.
"How hard is it to imagine that Anakin, obsessed with Padme, has unconsciously been brainwashing her into loving him, forging a connection in the force between them for years and years."
If nothing else, this theory would help explain why she stayed with him when Padmé could do better than Anakin Skywalker. It also fleshes out the idea of the mind trick, explaining how it's so powerful (to an extent) that it can influence someone to turn their entire life around from a single interaction. Padmé deserved better from the Star Wars prequels. But at the very least, maybe this can offer some solace in that regard.
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space, including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, TV shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
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Source: Star Wars/Reddit
