How Padme Is The Main Character Of ‘The Phantom Menace’
While every Star Wars movie has an ensemble cast, everything still revolves around a single central character. In the original trilogy, this is Luke Skywalker. In the sequel trilogy, it is Rey. Things get a bit tricky in the prequel trilogy. While one can argue that Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith mainly center around Anakin Skywalker, things get a little interesting with The Phantom Menace. While Anakin plays an important role, the film is not really about him. It is not even about Obi-Wan Kenobi, another famous original trilogy character. While we see how he has changed, Obi-Wan does not particularly have a story arc in The Phantom Menace. He even disappears for a good portion of the second act of the movie. If we were to look at which character has the most development, we would have to say that everything revolves around a certain character. It is Padme.
In The Phantom Menace, Padme plays a crucial role in the story. After all, the villains wish for her to sign a treaty which legalize their occupation of her beloved planet Naboo. Our Jedi heroes Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi enter the story to mediate between Naboo and the Trade Federation. When negotiations fail, the Jedi must escort her to Coruscant so that she may request assistance from the Senate. She is the one who decides that they return to Naboo while the other heroes follow her direction. She is the key figure in uniting the native Gungans and the Naboo at the end of the film. It is clear that the main narrative of The Phantom Menace involves her. However, her portrayal in the film obscures her role, making it not apparent to the audience at first glance.
RELATED: The Best Musical Pieces From Each 'Star Wars' Movie: Part 1 – The Prequel Trilogy
Star Wars is not always the most conventional story. In A New Hope, we do not open up with our main hero, but with two droids. Luke does not appear until about fifteen minutes into the movie. However, the majority of the movie is told from Luke’s perspective. In The Phantom Menace, we hardly get to see the story through the eyes of Padme. There is not a single scene where the film delves into the character. What is her thought process? What is her opinion? After the heroes arrive on Tatooine, the film becomes “distracted” by the appearance of Anakin Skywalker, and we get to see the story from his point of view. Even though Padme makes the decision to repel the invasion of Naboo, we hardly sees her perspective in the conflict. She is the one who humbly begs the native Gungans for help. However, in the final showdown between the droid army and the Gungans, the camera focuses on Jar Jar Binks. Then, we shift the spotlight to the lightsaber duel between the two Jedi and the Sith Darth Maul. Even Anakin has his moment as he goes on to destroy the Federation’s Droid Control Ship. In the greater scheme, Padme is the driving force of the movie. On the other hand, the film does not treat her as such.
Execution and concept are two very different things. The Phantom Menace has a bit of an identity crisis in deciding who the main character is. While the overall story of a young queen defending her home planet indicates that it is about Padme, the audience will say otherwise. The Phantom Menace ends up being a story of two Jedi, a young slave from Tatooine, and a Gungan who tags along with them. It is a shame that her character is so underutilized, given how crucial Padme is to the plot of the movie and the rest of the prequel trilogy in general. After all, one can argue that she is the main reason why Anakin Skywalker turns to the Dark Side, and changes the course of the galaxy.
As the first entry in the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace brings an interesting concept, even if the execution is not what everyone expects. While the story is told from various different angles, Padme’s perspective is sadly very lacking. Seeing things through the eyes of the brave young queen will definitely enhance the movie.
READ NEXT: The Untold Story Of Grand Master Yoda