Star Wars characters who got better after their appearance in the films
By Nik Edlund
Star Wars character No. 3: Padme Amidala
Padme Amidala was a bit of a wasted opportunity in the prequels. She was portrayed by Natalie Portman who never really seemed sure of what she should be doing with the character. At times she showed the spunk of Leia Organa, but other times she appeared frail and weak. She was often wooden emotionally and it’s a true wonder how she ever fell for Anakin Skywalker. For the most part, she was likable, but the fact she died of a broken heart was a horrible decision by George Lucas and that will never sit well with a legion of fans.
The Clone Wars was an opportunity to flesh out Padme’s character and they did just that. We learn she was every bit the fighter she showed in The Battle of Naboo and when she took on the Geonosians in Attack of the Clones. Padme was at the forefront of a ton of action, from infiltrating Ziro the Hutt’s layer to helping Mandalore in its civil war, to standing up for Ahsoka in court, Padme was always in the midst of what was going on.
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The length of this story also gave time for Padme and Anakin’s relationship to grow and seem more believable. They had many small moments between each other that when put together, built up a much more believable love story, than the rushed declarations of painful love that we saw in the prequels.
In the films, Padme was a bit of an uneven character. In The Clone Wars, we see she is a fierce warrior, defender of justice, tough negotiator, and we understand where Leia got her spunk and determination from.