Padmé Amidalais absolutely one of the smartestStar Warscharacters, and arguably the single smartest in the prequel trilogy, and this stunning Queen Amidala cosplay proves it. Both the prequel trilogy andStar Wars: The Clone Warsconfirmed that Padmé is one ofStar Wars’best characters, not only because of her role inthe Skywalker familybut also because of her own character arc. After all, she managed to be Queen of Naboo at just 14 and then an influential senator for years.Part of what makes her among the best in particular is her incredible intelligence.
In the video posted byladylemaycosplayon TikTok, Queen Amidala can be seen walking with her handmaidens, seamlessly transitioning from her iconic red dress inStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menaceto her black dress also seen in the movie. This switch, along with the presence of her handmaidens, is representative of the trick Padmé pulled off inThe Phantom Menace, trading places with her handmaiden, Sabé, and fooling just about everyone.
This video really is the perfect reminder thatPadmé Amidala was among the smartest characters in theStar Warsprequel trilogy, if not the single smartest, and that doesn’t just come down to this decoy plan; she proved at multiple points just how brilliant and insightful she really was.
Padmé Doesn’t Get Enough Credit For Just How Intelligent She Was
This Handmaiden Swap Was So Much More Than Just A Trick
It’s well-known that Padmé used this decoy trick inThe Phantom Menace, as that’s how she went off-planet with Qui-Gon Jinn to save Naboo. Yet, she still doesn’t really get enough credit for just how genius this was. In fact, Padmé used this same plan again inStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, and it quite literally saved her life, as her decoy in that movie, Cordé, was sadly killed in a bombing of Padmé’s ship orchestrated by Count Dooku.
Clearly,this was a sincerely life-saving plan, and it’s something that Padmé and her handmaidens came up with themselves—notably, when they were just teenagers. It was also convincing enough that even Padmé’s closest guards and advisors didn’t realize when she and Sabé, or another handmaiden, had switched places. In particular, the canon Padmé trilogy of books, written by E.K. Johnston, goes into much greater detail about how the girls used hair, makeup, and clothing not only to pull off this swap but also to distract those around them to achieve their aims.
Even Beyond This Trick, Padmé Is Among The Smartest Star Wars Characters
The Jedi Could Have Prevented So Much Pain By Listening To Padmé
This handmaiden trick was far from the only brilliant Padmé moment inStar Warsmovies and TV shows, though. In fact,had the Jedi listened to Padmé inAttack of the Clonesin particular, they could have prevented many problems for themselves and the larger galaxy. Namely, Padmé knew it was Count Dooku who was behind the assassination attempts on her life. Yet, the Jedi refused to believe this possibility. If they’d dug into Count Dooku at the time and taken Padmé’s suspicions seriously, perhaps they could have uncovered some of Palpatine’s plot.
Similarly, inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, it is Padmé who asks Anakin whether the Republic they were fighting for no longer exists, which is precisely what has happened under Palpatine’s control of the Senate. Yes, Master Yoda is surely one of the smartestStar Warscharacters (and thus prequel trilogy characters) as well, but in both these cases, Padmé was evidently seeing something that even Yoda couldn’t see. This brilliantStar Warscosplay is therefore the perfect reminder thatPadmé Amidalareally was the smartest prequel trilogy character.
