Star Wars TikTok never ceases to disappoint, and a recent video from @t4ylorrussell captured how many Anakin Skywalker fangirls feel about our tortured Jedi-turned-Sith-Lord. The TikTok, which has been viewed over 570k times on the platform (at the time of writing this), raises an interesting question: if the average Jane is seemingly willing to cross over to the dark side due to their love for Anakin, what would have happened if his actual wife, Padmé Amidala, had done it?
Padmé Amidala, former Queen of Naboo and galactic senator, began a secret and forbidden romance with Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Then, Anakin was a Padawan of the Jedi Order, whose members are forbidden from participating in any romantic relationships. However, his and Padmé’s love was so strong that they defied the ways of the Jedi to marry in secret. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Padmé’s pregnancy and a vision of her dying in childbirth is what prompts Anakin, now a Jedi knight, to turn to the Dark Side. Anakin embraced the dark side of the Force in order to try and save his wife and mother of his children:
Love won’t save you Padmé, only my new powers can do that…I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of, and I’m doing it for you. To protect you. I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy.
We know that didn’t work out. Padmé spurned Anakin on Mustafar. Because she did, Padme did tragically end up dying as she gave birth to their twins Luke and Leia, and Anakin became the fearsome Darth Vader.
What makes Anakin’s descent to the dark side so heart-wrenching is the fact he did it from a place of misguided love for Padmé. So what if she, out of a place of misguided love herself, joined forces with her husband and Darth Sidious? What if Anakin was able to use the dark side of the Force to save her, and Padmé survived to raise Luke and Leia herself? If this had been the case, overthrowing the Palpatine/Darth Sidious and having Anakin and Padmé rule wouldn’t be so far-fetched.
RELATED: In Another Version of Revenge of the Sith, Padmé Lived to See Her Children Grow
The Galactic Empire with Padmé Amidala Would Be Terrifying
Known for her diplomacy and championing of causes like ending slavery in the galaxy, an Amidala-endorsed Galactic Empire would have been even more deadly efficient and enduring than the one we all know and fear. Where Anakin was impulsive and defaulted to brute force, Padmé was composed and calculating. Her time as Queen of Naboo trained her to be stoic in the face of enemies, and that wars are also fought at the bargaining table as much as they are on the battlefield. So was Palpatine, but Padmé could have served as the “face” of the new movement in a way that the Emperor couldn’t. She had less baggage as a politician and no Sith alter-ego to hide. In every piece of the Star Wars Universe Padmé is a part of, she’s a committed and relentless advocate of the causes she backs. Therefore, as an accomplished stateswoman and negotiator, would it really be that incredible to imagine she could have convinced allies like Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan to see things her way?
Given her history as a ruler, Padmé would’ve likely brought even more organization and bureaucracy to the burgeoning Empire. Also, as a woman, and Anakin’s wife, she would have brought a sense of legitimacy to his rule. Obviously, if Padmé hadn’t died, Bail Organa wouldn’t have adopted Leia, and Owen and Beru Lars would’ve never raised Luke. The Rebellion’s two most important and iconic leaders would’ve been heirs to the Galactic Empire. What would have their views been like if they hadn’t been orphans, but raised by Darth Vader and a former Queen? The Skywalkers would have been well-positioned to be the initiators of a galactic ruling dynasty.
And while Darth Sidious was undeniably formidable, could he really take on three Force-sensitive Skywalkers (Anakin, Luke, and Leia)? Plus, Leia famously inherited her mother’s political prowess. Throw in Padmé’s own considerable diplomatic heft, and no rebellion would have been able to topple such a powerful and multi-faceted family. Perhaps not even Palpatine himself.
All of this to say, the galaxy was much better off for Padmé’s pure heart and sacrifice in the name of the greater good. She turned her back on the love of her life, as well as the safety and power Anakin offered her to do the right thing. We’re lucky she did, otherwise, the Star Wars universe would definitely be a much darker place.
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