George Lucas made a big mistake with Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
, but it unwittingly underlined one of his major themes with the prequels. Star Wars has always been political, and that was certainly true with the prequel trilogy. They began with a dispute over “the taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems,” and starred Natalie Portman’s Padmé as a high-ranking galactic politician serving in the senate. Padmé is well known for a powerful scene in which she proclaims that this is how democracy dies – with thunderous applause.

That is undeniably one of Padmé’s key moments in Revenge of the Sith. Surprisingly, though, many other Padmé scenes were cut – including an important one in which she laid the foundation for what would become the Rebel Alliance. George Lucas himself decided to ditch this scene, wishing to narrow the narrative focus in on Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side. It’s generally seen as a mistake, because it denied Padmé the sense of agency such a powerful figure really needed.

Cutting Padmé’s Scenes Proved No One Cared About Democracy

We tend to think of George Lucas as the ultimate auteur, making the movies however he wished, caring little for their reception. In reality, of course, Lucas still wanted to make a profit; it’s why he ditched the midi-chlorians plot after the reception to The Phantom Menace, telling one biographer that developing it would be “indulgent.” The same seems to have happened with the politics, because the focus on Anakin meant the politics of the Republic served as background – and key scenes were removed.

There’s something oddly meta about relegating politics to the background of an action-adventure story, even to the extent that a political figure like Padmé loses all sense of agency. The prequels show how a generation can become disillusioned with democracy, ceasing to value it, to the extent they cheer as Palpatine proclaims himself Emperor. Nobody cares about democracy, and so democracy dies; the same is subtly demonstrated in Lucas’ own editing choices. The focus is on action and adventure, with politics relegated to the deleted scenes.

This Proves An Important Point In Padmé’s ROTS Story

20 years later, Padmé’s story feels disjointed – as though she could have been, should have been, so much more. It’s particularly notable in Revenge of the Sith, where she watches powerlessly as the galaxy falls to tyranny, reducing to pleading to a husband whose ears are deaf to her cries. It’s heartbreaking to see – and yet, isn’t that the whole point? Padmé feels powerless, because she is; she is a politician, democracy is her power, and she has been stripped of it.

I don’t think this symbolism was necessarily deliberate on Lucas’ part. A genius storyteller, he nevertheless made stumbles, even with Revenge of the Sith – which I strongly consider the best of the prequels. Still, this perspective adds so much more depth to the story, making Lucas’ own mistakes take on fresh significance.