Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Padme’s Sacrifice
I love Star Wars. Warts and all. I freely admit to bias when critiquing these movies. I enjoy re-watch after re-watch of these films (most of them, anyway), and I can disregard plot holes, poor dialogue, and bad acting in ways that I can’t with most other films. This is mostly, I imagine, due to the fact that I grew up with these films, and returning to this universe always feels like home.
And yes, even though I grew up with the original trilogy as a child of the 80s, I even enjoy and will defend the prequels, particularly with George Lucas’s final entry, 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith.” The epic scale, the imagination, and the operatic tragedy of Anakin’s fall to the dark side in Episode III mostly work for me. The film’s recent re-release for it’s 20th anniversary has given it a new appreciation, and from my certain point of view, it’s well deserved.
Admittedly the film does have its issues, and one in particular that is regularly criticized is Padme’s death towards the end of the film. After the Darth Vader duel on Mustafar, Obi-Wan brings the injured Senator to the asteroid Polis Mass. The medical droids there discover that she is carrying twins and quickly work to save the infants. However, Padme is fighting for survival, and they are unable to determine why they are losing Padme, simply informing Obi-Wan that “She’s lost the will to live.”
This seems out of character, to put it mildly. Padme was always a fighter, from resisting the Trade Federation invasion in the first film to protesting the Clone Army act in Episode II. In Sith, she passionately argues for diplomacy over war against the Separatists. And now, as her children are born, she is so distraught with Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side that she gives up? Giving up is the opposite of the heroic nature of her character and seems contradictory to everything we’ve known about Padme (not to mention it kind of makes her a terrible mother). It feels like a cheap and lazy way to write the character off.
Some fans have theorized that Palpatine somehow killed her, through some Dark Side of the Force superpower. That always seemed far fetch to me. If the Emperor has the kind of power to end life from across the universe, well, that changes the game completely. This always felt too far out of left field, and too easy.
Instead, I have an alternate take. (See what I did there?) Maybe her death was not a moment where she gave up, but instead where she gave all? Maybe her death is the most heroic moment in the entire trilogy, maybe even the entire saga. How, you may ask? Well, let’s start this discussion with another controversial prequel topic - the midichlorians.
Be Mindful of the Living Force
“Without the midichlorians, life could not exist and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force.” This is what Qui-Gon Jinn tells Anakin in Episode I, simultaneously explaining how the Force works on a scientific level and infuriating 99% of the Star Wars fanbase. And yes, I admit, the concept of midichlorians reduces the mystery and mystique of the Force and feels like a far too technical explanation that what we didn’t really need in the Star Wars universe. But it did provide Lucas with a unique, albeit, clunky way to explore deeper concepts of the Force and how it interacts with the universe.
In particular, it introduces the concept that the midichlorians can create life, a central theme that ultimately drives Anakin’s rise and fall in the prequel trilogy. In “The Phantom Menace,” it’s suggested that Anakin Skywalker, who had no father, was conceived by the midichlorians and thus could be “The Chosen One” who will bring balance to the Force. This belief convinces Qui-Gonn, and thus Obi-Wan, that Anakin must be trained as a Jedi. In “Sith” he learns from Chancellor Palpatine (a.k.a. Darth Sidious) that, through the Dark Side, midichlorians not only can create life, but prevent death.
As Anakin is haunted by visions of Padme’s death during childbirth, he is drawn to the knowledge of this power to cheat death. Yoda’s words to him provide no comfort - “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the force.”
Not an easy message to digest, especially for one who has already lost so much. It’s understandable for Anakin to reject the natural order of life, to become all powerful, to save people from dying, especially the people you love. But love has a way of corrupting one’s soul, turning into selfishness and possessiveness. Anakin clearly falls into this trap, and his determination to save Padme is less about her and more about him. His words throughout the film reflect this -
“I will not lose you the way I lost my mother.”
“Love won’t save you, Padme. Only my new powers can.”
“Just let me save Padme’s life. I can’t live without her.”
While his words may be well intentioned, they are focused on his feelings, his suffering, and less about her or even the child (children) she carries. To paraphrase his own words, he is only thinking inwardly, only about himself, like a Sith.
Compare this to Padme, whose life has represented selflessness in almost every way - her service as Queen of Naboo, then as Senator as she worked within the Republic government to stop the war and bring back diplomacy.
This brings me to my theory, starting with one assumption. Padme is pregnant, and to protect Anakin, she wears clothes that hide her pregnancy. This suggests that she is earlier in her pregnancy than later, particularly as she is unknowingly carrying twins. Maybe she’s five months? Six months? Either way, it’s safe to assume that her due date was still some time off.
When she confronts Anakin (now Darth Vader) on Mustafar before the climactic battle, the new dark lord force chokes her, out of anger for what he feels is a betrayal. This nearly kills her and, one can assume, threatens the life of the children she is carrying, perhaps even causing her to go into early labor.
“Medically, she is completely healthy,” the medical droids tell Obi-Wan. “For reasons we can’t explain, we are losing her. She has lost the will to live.” But droids can’t think, as Obi-Wan tells Dexter in Episode II, and don’t understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom. What if something else is happening here? What if, through lack of oxygen or early delivery, Padme was losing her children? What if, through her relationship with Anakin and by carrying her children, Padme gained some strength in the force? What if she tapped into the force, even if sub-consciously, to use the midichlorians to save her children?
The force is an energy field created by all living things, and like energy it cannot be created or destroyed. It can, however, be transferred. Padme was able to understand this and gain knowledge of the force because she understood what Anakin could not - that true love is selfless, true power is giving oneself to a greater good and to those you love. This is the overarching, universal theme of Star Wars. You see it when Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to become a greater teacher of the Force to Luke. You see the selflessness when scoundrel Han Solo braves the deadly cold of Hoth as he searches for his friend, and you see that selflessness returned when his friend risks all to save Han from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. And in the original trilogy’s grand conclusion it’s beautifully demonstrated when Luke Skywalker refuses to kill his father, instead surrendering his weapon and allowing himself to forgive, and even love, his father. And that love is returned when Anakin the Jedi, no longer Darth Vader, returns and saves his son from the Emperor, at the cost of his own life.
And yes, perhaps my theory is best confirmed by my least favorite Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker, a film I have many, many, many problems with (let’s just leave it at that for now). Both Ben Solo and Rey have the ability to “force heal,” transferring life energy that can alleviate injuries, but this requires sacrifice as this act expels some of their own life force. Thus, Ben Solo is able to do what his grandfather as Darth Vader could never do - stop death - because he was willing to give himself and make the ultimate sacrifice.
Perhaps Padme was the first to use this power, somehow connecting to the Force to transfer her life force to heal her children from a premature birth, but at the cost of her own life. “There is still good in him,” Padme tells Obi-Wan before her last breath. Even at the end she exudes the purity of Star Wars’ greatest lessons - forgiveness, selflessness, friendship, and love. Padme was not losing the will to live, but rather willing the force to save her children, sacrificing her life in order to bring a new hope to the galaxy.
