Warning! This post contains SPOILERS forReign of the Empire: The Mask of FearA newStar Warsprequel novel toAndorconfirms a core truth aboutPadmé Amidala, her death, and why it took nearly 20 years to start bringing down Palpatine’s reign. Originally the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala agreed to represent her home world in the Republic Senate once her term ended (and eventually married the Jedi Anakin Skywalker in secret). A political powerhouse dedicated to the ideals of freedom and democracy,The Mask of Fearreveals how and why Padmé’s death was so crucial for the Empire’s long-term success.
InRevenge of the Sith, Anakin was seduced to the dark side, serving Palpatine who quickly enacted his plan to eliminate the Jedi Order and turn the Republic into his very own Empire. Although the Senate’s applause following Palpatine’s decrees sickened Padmé, she had very little time to do anything about the blatant attack on freedom as her confrontation with her corrupted husband led to her tragic demise.However, it’s now been confirmed that Padmé’s death likely played a big part in the reasons why the Empire’s reign lasted for as long as it did in theStar Warstimeline.
Padmé Would’ve Been The Best Leader For The Rebel Alliance
Possessing The Core Strength of Both Bail Organa and Mon Mothma
Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fearby Alexander Freedis the first novel in a trilogy of books set during the Dark Times, taking place mere weeks afterRevenge of the Sith. As such, politicians in the renamed “Imperial Senate” are still trying to navigate the new status quo, how much influence they still have, and what it truly means to be part of an Empire where Palpatine has absolute power and control. Likewise, the book also showcases how the new Empire was affecting every part of normal life across the galaxy.
The new novel is predominantly focused on Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, who’d both been friends and allies to Padmé. All three had helped lead the coalition known as theDelegation of 2,000, petitioning Palpatine to give up his emergency powers at the end of the Clone Wars. Now, Bail is shown trying to idealistically avenge the Jedi by searching for evidence of the new Empire’s corruption and lies, while Mon does what she can to compromise among her fellow senators, introducing a new bill in the hope of maintaining the Senate’s ability to govern and keep Palpatine in check.
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While neither senator fully succeeds inThe Mask of Fear, they do meet near the novel’s end withSaw Gerrera(whose notoriety was already growing), envisioning the future and trying to game out what a long-term resistance against the Empire could feasibly look like. While this naturally leads to the formation of the Rebel Alliance nearly two decades later,the book also implies that neither Mon nor Bail alone was the best choice to lead a rebellion…but Padmé had been, as implied by Organa himself when he recalls his late friend:
“Poor Padmé, who had wielded Bail’s ideological fire and Mon’s master of politics. Padmé, barely more than a child herself, who’d given birth to Leia - the child who, day by day, was redefining Bail’s existence. Padmé who had been a monarch in her youth and, once she had matured, relinquished that power to participate in the subtler processes of democratic governance. If Leia inherited even half of her virtues, Bail would be proud.”
Mon holds similar sentiments about Padmé earlier in the novel, confirming that Amidala had shared her views on structuring legislation as well as Bail’s gifts at winning over public confidence.Padmé was the one who had helped unify them both, and one can only imagine how much stronger and sooner the Rebellion might have formed had she still been alive to help bring it into existence.
When Anakin Killed Padmé, He Killed The Galaxy’s Greatest Potential Rebel
Thankfully, Padmé Was Succeeded By Her Daughter
InRevenge of the Sith, Anakin tragically brought about Padmé death after choking her on Mustafar before losing his duel with Obi-Wan which leads to his need for prosthetics, life support armor, and a helmeted mask as Darth Vader. Combined with her broken heart, Padmé only had enough within her to give birth to Luke and Leia before she lost her life.However, it’s safe to say that Anakin didn’t just kill his own wife, but also the greatest candidate to lead the Rebel Alliance there possibly could have been…at least at the time.
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Thankfully, Bail’s hopes for his adopted daughter are proven true once Leia grows up, having been instilled with many of the same traits and gifts her mother once had in theStar Warstimeline. Sure enough,Princess Leia Organa embodied Padmé’s legacy, becoming a capable and effective leader of the Rebellion in her own right. However, it seems clear that getting the Rebellion off the ground to begin with likely wouldn’t have taken nearly as long had Padmé survived inRevenge of the Sith’saftermath.
Did Anakin Really Kill Padmé… Or Was It Palpatine All Along?
Palpatine Definitely Recognized The Political Threat Amidala Posed
It’s also worth noting that Emperor Palpatine himself recognized Padmé’s significance as a worthy rival who could threaten his rule politically in the Senate. She also had the potential to interfere in Anakin’s corruption. As such, eliminating Padmé was more than likely one of Palpatine’s priorities had Anakin not inadvertently killed her himself, and Legends novels like James Luceno’sDark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vaderconfirm as much.
The idea that Padmé would have posed such a clear danger to his Empire does support thelong-held fan theories that Palpatine may have drained Padmé’s weakened lifeforce, either to simply ensure her death or even to help revive Anakin as Vader. Regardless, the idea is that it would better explain her death beyond a broken heart. While there’s not a lot of evidence behind the aforementioned theory,it’s still interesting to think about how Palpatine would have tried to destroy Padmé post-Revenge of the Sith, while still keeping Darth Vader as his apprentice.
Luke Was Anakin’s Legacy… But Princess Leia Was Padme’s
Leia Represented Just As Much Of A “New Hope” As Her Brother
Serving with her father and becoming a member of the Imperial Senate with a political career of her own,Princess Leia was destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps as both a royal and a champion of democracy, having the willingness to speak out when others couldn’t (or wouldn’t). Becoming a key leader of the Rebellion after Bail Organa’s passing alongside Mon Mothma, Leia became the living legacy of her mother, while her brother’s journey to becoming a Jedi Knight tied him closer to their father’s.
“Thankfully, Padmé’s efforts and legacy lived on with her children, and specifically with Leia when it came to the arena of politics and active resistance to Palpatine’s power…”
Following the end of the Galactic Civil War, Leia became a senator once more in the new Republic Senate with Mon Mothma as its chancellor. However, it’s worth noting that Palpatine’s First Order didn’t truly emerge in the galaxy untilaftershe was out of politics following the public exposure ofLeia’s family history as the daughter of Darth Vader. Nevertheless, Leia recognized the rising galactic threat before most, hence her transition as a general for the Resistance she founded during the sequel trilogy.
One could easily argue that Leia Organa Solo’s evolution across theStar Warstimeline supports the idea that her mother would have indeed become a major leader of the Rebellion, had Padmé Amidala survived the events ofRevenge of the Sith. Thankfully, Padmé’s efforts and legacy lived on with her children, and specifically with Leia when it came to the arena of politics and active resistance to Palpatine’s power, something Padmé herself began even before the Clone Wars had reached their end.
Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear is on sale now from Lucasfilm Publishing.
Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious
The senator for Naboo, Palpatine rose to power and influence during the dying days of the Republic. In reality, his public persona was just a mask; he was really Darth Sidious, greatest of the Sith Lords, and he used his political skills and Machiavellian cunning to bring down both the Republic and the Jedi. Palpatine ruled his Galactic Empire for decades, until he was betrayed by his apprentice, Darth Vader. Even this wasn’t enough to stop the Emperor, however, as he was resurrected by his followers - only to be defeated once again.
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