Star Wars: 5 things we want to be erased from canon instead of The Last Jedi

3.  The death of Queen Amidala

As we’ve already said, there are plenty of deaths that we would like to erase from Star Wars canon but none more so that that of Padmé Amidala. Han’s death furthered the plot and was necessary to show us the extent of Ben Solo’s monstrosity. Padmé’s death did no such thing.

Whilst Anakin’s vision of her death was instrumental in his turn to the Dark Side, her actual death was not. He wanted to protect her in the same way he wanted to protect his mother, but that wasn’t the Jedi way. In teaching Anakin to repress his feelings, the Jedi showed him the path to the Dark Side. Padmé didn’t need to die, and she certainly didn’t need to die of a “broken heart”. George, please.

If it wasn’t enough that the death of the only lead woman in the prequels wasn’t actually necessary, it’s also another massive continuity issue. Leia says in Return of the Jedi that she remembers her mother. We know Leia is extraordinary but for a newborn baby to actually recall the face of someone — that is a rare gift.

Again, Lucas is lucky that in cases like this he can simply say “Eh, because The Force”. But to that we echo the immortal words of Han Solo: “That’s not how the Force works!”.

Could Padmé not have married Bail Organa instead? Could she not have faked her death, changed her name and let her past turn into distant memory as she became part of a new family on Alderaan? This would explain why Leia could remember her. It would also mean that we wouldn’t have to see yet another powerful woman die because of the terrible actions of a man.

Alas it wasn’t to be. Padmé Amidala, always in our hearts.