Good evening, all! This blog will be a bit more lengthy than my previous ones, so please bear with me.

I've been meditating on Padme's role in ROTS, and I've concluded that though her significance loomed large, her actual role was minimal. In the following list, I have provided the scenes in which Padme appears, along with what I consider to be her strongest lines in each scene:

1. Scene - Padme's first appearance: "Something wonderful has happened, Ani. I'm pregnant."

2. Scene - Stands on the balcony combing her hair: "So, love has blinded you?"

3. Scene - Anakin tells Padme about nightmare: "I doubt the queen will continue to allow me to serve in the Senate and if the council discovers you're the father you'll be expelled."

4. Scene - Padme asks Anakin to request Palpatine to stop the war: "Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side?...What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists? And the Republic has become the very evil we've been fighting to destroy?"

5. Scene - Anakin says that he's found a way to save Padme: "I'm not gonna die in childbirth, Ani. I promise you."

6. Scene - 3-PO informs Padme that Anakin has returned to the jedi temple: *Padme bursts into tears*

7. Scene - Anakin returns to Padme after slaughtering the younglings: "I heard there was an attack on the jedi temple; you can see the smoke from here."

8. Scene - Padme's at the meeting with Bail Organa: "So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."

9. Scene - Obi-Wan tells Padme that Anakin's turned to the dark side: "I don't believe you! I can't!"

10. Scene - Right before Padme gets force-choked: "You're a good person; don't do this."

11. Scene - Padme gives birth: "There's good in him...I know there's still..." *dies*

In my POV, her dialogue left much to be desired in most of these scenes, and the character of Padme was not as strong as in the first two movies of the PT. In TPM, I recall her running around with her pistol...she was actively involved in a conflict (right before the Qui-Gon-Jinn/Darth Maul/Obi Wan battle).

Furthermore, in AOTC when she fought for her life in the arena, Padme once again sprung into action, effectively overcoming several beastly creatures who were intent on destroying her. BRAVO!

However, the role Padme played in ROTS did not inspire me to stand up and cheer. I concede that the lines from numbers 2, 4, and 8 of the above list are food for thought. And yet, I take issue with the way she reacted in the force-choke scene. I mean, her husband teamed up with a Sith Lord, betrayed the Republic, slaughtered a temple full of younglings, flagrantly flouts everything she ever worked for while she was in office, and then offers her a position next to him to rule the galaxy (his "new empire"), and all Padme said was: "You're a good person; don't do this...You have changed...You're breaking my heart, *snivel, snivel*."

This woman was a queen; the political representative of countless constituents, and has also taken the lead in several skirmishes. She was quite capable of being more powerful than she was in the aforementioned scene. Seeing as she was pregnant, I didn't necessarily expect her to pull out a pistol or physically battle for what she thought was right (the way she did in TPM and AOTC). Therefore, it was more important than ever for her strength of character to be expressed verbally. ROTS Padme simply didn't live up to my expectations in this regard.

I also take issue with Padme's statment in number 5: "I'm not gonna die in childbirth, Ani. I promise you." What kind of promise is that?!!! If women had control over that kind of thing, no woman would EVER die during childbirth!

OK, ladies and gentlemen, I believe I've sufficiently expressed my thoughts on this topic. In conclusion I would like to say that this review was in no way intended to reflect on Natalie Portman. I believe Ms. Portman actually did a fine job, considering the lines she had to work with. I simply believe that the character of Padme could have been written into the ROTS script to be a more formidable individual. So, there's my 2 cents, take it or leave it.

Thank you all for staying til the end of this blog. It has been a pleasure to have you!

G'night then!
*hugs and kisses*
-Tee