Why Would Padme Love/Like Anakin?

There was a time a while ago in which I was asked the question: “why does Padme even like Anakin?” It seemed to me to be an obvious answer… he’s a Jedi, he’s cool, he’s really powerful, etc. However, when I really thought about it, it’s a very difficult question to answer. In the films, Anakin is portrayed as a jealous, arrogant, stubborn, and generally unlikable person. So that made me think about it for some time… what does Padme actually see in Anakin? To really answer this question, we need to look at the truest canonicity – the things we see in the films

Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker

 The best example of why she would like him is based on his personality from when he was a child. Padme meets Anakin for the first time while she was posing as a handmaiden of the queen’s. During this time, she goes into Mos Epsa with Qui-Gon Jinn (a city on the desert planet Tatooine… where Luke Skywalker is from). While in the city, they come across a junk dealer who happens to have a slave boy who is gifted in maintaining and fixing robots and electronics. In one of the first scenes, we see Anakin as he addresses Padme, “Are you an Angel?” That’s a pretty sweet line for a 10 year old kid… especially when he uses it on a 17 year old girl. The comment takes Padme aback, and you see her laugh. When you realize that he’s being genuine and that, as a child, he’s not looking to pick her up, it means a little bit more. The kid is honest to the extent that he can’t be dishonest. This is a feature we see in Anakin later in the films. Take, for example, Anakin’s exchange with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar. While the lava is crashing all around them, Anakin never once tried to deceive Obi-Wan to the point that he could take advantage and win the battle in cold blood… deception just isn’t part of who Anakin was.

Anakin built this!

 Knowing that deception isn’t part of Anakin’s meddle, we could argue that he didn’t try to use simple tricks on Obi-Wan because he was overconfident in his abilities; he didn’t perceive Obi-Wan as any threat. Well it turns out that confidence is an attractive quality in a person. In the case of Padme, she met Anakin as a boy who was going out pod racing for the first time. Without his confidence, he probably would never have tried the race… and he definitely would never have won the race. As with most professional sports, a major contributor to peak performance is having confidence in oneself. In the case of Anakin and Padme, little Anakin wasn’t showing off when he said that his pod racer would win… he was confident in his own, considerable abilities. I shouldn’t have to argue the merits of confidence when searching for a mate, but it’s a valid point to make: people are drawn to people who are confident. Most of us dabble in uncertainty for a lot of the time, which is why we find people who are certain about themselves and their decisions to be attractive. Being confident, Anakin had a personality that allowed him to be very outgoing. Anakin wasn’t only outgoing, however, he was willing to help others no matter the cost.

Apparently Anakin made this, too!

 Being willing to help others is a powerful way to attract friends. In the case of Anakin, he hardly knew the Jedi or the pretty girl he escorted, but he was willing to invite them into his hovel at no cost. Anakin immediately accepted these strangers and treated them as friends, a quality that can be extremely helpful when you want to get something done. It was during this time that we get to see how Anakin responds to his mother: he devotes most of his free time to helping her. Knowing that he’s a slave, we can figure that he probably doesn’t have much free time. Nevertheless, Anakin has spent plenty of time making droid helpers and random robots to help his mother with the daily chores and responsibilities so that she can have more time for herself. That kind of selflessness is a rare thing, and is another quality that people find compelling. What’s interesting to note is this: where was Anakin’s selflessness in the later films? There are plenty of opportunities where he could acquiesce to the requests of the Jedi Council, but instead we see his pride and arrogance take over and ruin a chance to mend ties with the other Jedi. In fact, the only people that Anakin seems to want to help are those that he calls his friends.

Anakin before the council

 This brings me to another positive quality in Anakin: Loyalty. In the first three films, we can see that one of the most outstanding qualities in Anakin is that he’s extremely loyal to his friends. In particular, there’s a scene in Episode III (during the opening battle sequence) where Anakin goes out of his way to save his friend Obi-Wan. While fighting Count Dooku, Obi-Wan gets knocked out. While he's unconscious, Palpatine attempts to appeal to the logical side of Anakin in saying that they should leave him, arguing that there isn’t enough time. Being that the audience knows that Palpatine is just trying to get Anakin to slide further toward the dark side, we understand why he would say this. However, to Anakin’s credit, he is extremely steadfast with his decision to save Obi-Wan. Furthermore, we see Anakin put the interests of his friends well before his own on other occasions. There is one instance in Episode II where Anakin tries to save Obi-Wan (and fails) which ultimately results in his being captured at the arena. By taking this action, Anakin has illustrated his dedication to his friend and mentor. So loyal is he, that he will gladly enter a no-win situation in order to try and save those he cares about.

Anakin and Padme captured!

So what happened to Anakin? Over the course of these three movies, we see Anakin more as a Jedi and adult than how he was as a kid. As I’ve just illustrated, he still retains many of the characteristics that make him a person to admire and want to be with. However, with being as skilled and confident as he is, Anakin ultimately develops other characteristics that take the forefront of his personality… characteristics that Palpatine is careful to manipulate. After being told he is the Chosen One from Prophecy for many years, and after excelling at all the tests given to him by the order, Anakin develops an ego. We see certain scenes where Palpatine tries his best to stoke the fires of Anakin’s pride… leading to arrogance. It certainly didn’t help that Anakin had an almost legendary fame in the galaxy, further separating him from his peers. For much of these films, we see Anakin as an arrogant, headstrong, and impetuous person. These qualities are not as desirable as the others, but they can be closely related given the proper context. It is my belief that most of these qualities were not observed by Padme in their relationship. In fact, there’s a brief series of scenes in Episode II where Anakin is chatting her up at some retreat in Naboo. It’s here that we see he is perfectly capable of being outgoing. Not only is he confident, he’s showing he’s intelligent and that he’s interested in her. These things all coupled together make a powerful combination that can be difficult to resist.

Naboo lake retreat... much suiting was done here

 Ultimately, I think it’s pretty clear how these two people ended up. While their lifestyles are certainly quite different, the pair of them have endured a lot together since they’ve known each other. Two people going through harrowing circumstances often end up being very close to each other. Beyond this, however, I’ve shown what Anakin is actually like. He was a boy from a backwater planet who ended up with some very admirable qualities. This, coupled with an innate talent for many things, makes him a very likable kid. It’s not surprising that, given their history together, Padme would find a person with these qualities attractive. Think about it, it’s all right there in front of us.

Disagree? Let me know in the comments below!

-Jack