Padmé Amidala, queen and later senator of Naboo, has a death that is one of the weakest points of the Star Wars prequel trilogy in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. First appearing in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Padmé played a pivotal role in all three prequel movies, but more prominently in the first two. She was not only a queen and senator, but was actually a warrior and brave leader, choosing to fight on the front lines of action rather than just give orders.

Then, in Revenge of the Sith, Padmé takes much more of a back seat in terms of action. Most of that movie features Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various action scenes, leaving Padmé with the political side of the plot. In order to line up with the original trilogy, Padmé’s plot in the movie involves her eventual death – but the details about Padmé’s earlier, more action-packed roles make her death in Revenge of the Sith so much sadder.

Padmé Was A Lot More Ruthless In The Phantom Menace Than You Think

A Young Warrior Queen Of Naboo

Looking at The Phantom Menace earnestly, Padmé is a lot more ruthless than many may remember. During the climactic and multifaceted Battle of Naboo, she is a warrior, bravely leading her troops to recapture the royal palace. She only does this through making an agreement with the Gungans, who would use their grand army to distract the Trade Federation’s battle droid army while her infiltration took place.

The Gungan army’s battle in Naboo’s fields was very deadly, as well, with well over 500 Gungans losing their lives in the battle. This death was all for the greater freedom of the planet Naboo, so the movie does justify it, but it was all in support of Padmé’s plan to capture Nute Gunray. The most interesting thing about this plotting and scheming, however, is how much it reflects Naboo’s senator during The Phantom Menace – Palpatine.

Padmé’s Ruthlessness Even Parallels Palpatine Himself

Both Naboo Senators Cunningly Used Armies

George Lucas is all about poetry in his work, and recurring ideas and themes are a big example of that. This is why it seems like Padmé’s usage of the Gungan army in the Battle of Naboo is an intentional parallel to the way Palpatine used the Clone army only one movie later. Both leaders somewhat ruthlessly used a larger-scale conflict to distract from their more covert infiltration of an organization. Just like Padmé personally capturing Nute Gunray, Palpatine personally kills a lot of the Jedi Council.

This Makes Padmé’s Revenge Of The Sith Death Even More Disappointing

The Strategic, Cunning, Warrior Queen Dies Of Sadness

As such a cunning figure, Padmé’s death in Revenge of the Sith feels a lot cheaper. She loses a lot of her agency in the movie, and passes away during childbirth because she loses the will to live after losing Anakin to the dark side. The Padmé presented in The Phantom Menace definitely doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would die of a broken heart.

This death and overall arc for the character in her third movie felt like a disservice to Padmé looking at Revenge of the Sith alone. After noting her Phantom Menace similarities to Palpatine, but inverting them as strengths she could have used in some real action, makes it even worse. All of this combined with the fact that Natalie Portman is an incredibly talented actress makes Padmé’s death a missed Star Wars opportunity viewers will never forget.