a moment, one of the aspects of Padme as Queen Amidala that I liked is that she is surrounded by feminine power. Everywhere she goes, her handmaidens go with her. They are explicitly stated to do more than just her hair and make-up. The young women are her bodyguards. Her double Sabe is ready to die to protect her queen. Queen Amidala’s handmaidens are a fascinating concept that we should have spent more time with in The Phantom Menace instead of more Jar Jar scenes.

But as the films go on Padme is removed from her feminine support network. Attack of the Clones is better at it than Revenge of the Sith. Padme has good relationships with the doomed Corde, and her closest handmaiden, Dorme. The two women arebeen nice to see Padme taking action instead of largely waiting around her apartment for Anakin to stop by.

The pair exhibit many characteristics of abusive relationships. Whether this is intentional or not, Padme becomes far more socially isolated the longer her relationship goes on. She goes from being surrounded by handmaidens, to her one loyal living one, to being stuck in the middle of the lake country with a hormonal teenager.

Padme does have a handmaiden in Revenge of the Sith, Motee. But she only appears in the background of a senate scene—blink and you’ll miss her. Hell, I had to look up her name on Wookieepedia (According to the site, Motee is also in a romantic relationship with another handmaiden, Elle.) Motee even knows that her mistress is