Latest / Most Things Kenobi - A Star Wars Podcast / Episode 35: A Women on Star Wars Roundtable Discussion on Padmé Amidala

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Episode 35: A Women on Star Wars Roundtable Discussion on Padmé Amidala · Most Things Kenobi - A Star Wars Podcast

0:00
Hello. Then it's time for most things
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Kenobi. Shouldn't it be all things
0:05
Kenobi. Hmm.
0:20
Hi everybody. Welcome to another episode of
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most things Kenobi. A podcast about Obi-Wan Kenobi
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and all things Star Wars. I'm your host Lauren and I'm
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your host Leanne, and I'm Jenny. Yay!
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Special guest guest guest! Yes, absolutely.
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Yes, we have a really special episode today, we have a guest,
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our first official guest. This is our first interview and
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somehow we've managed to do this successfully so far.
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ER yes, fingers crossed. Yeah, all the way.
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But we have Jenny with us today from Jenny Marie Studios.
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She's an amazing artist on Instagram.
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And do you have a profile anywhere else or you mostly just
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on Instagram? I'm pretty much just.
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Yeah, Instagram, Jenny Marie studio.
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And I sell things currently through my Etsy, which is the
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same Jenny, Marie Studio. I haven't quite made it over to
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Twitter or I have a couple little tic tocs here and they're
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working. And that, but I just like to
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post pretty pictures. Pretty, pictures of you're very
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pretty art. You have amazing art.
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Yes, we've said it a thousand times, but it needs to be said,
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another thousand because your stuff is amazing.
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I don't know how you do. I don't understand artist
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because I'm not one and I don't know what it's like to have that
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kind of talent, but you translate some of the Star Wars
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scenes and other scenes from different fandoms if you will.
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So wonderfully on such a small canvas, you know, like a such a,
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I don't know how it's amazing. It's truly amazing.
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Thank you. Q II.
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Yeah, I don't know. I fell into it but I just yeah,
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I just love it. I-it's excited been a Star Wars
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fan since I was 12, 13 years old.
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So this is like I never in a million years would have
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believed that I would be able to do this and be able to actually
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sell them and make these as a grown-ass adults.
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Oh yes. Well and I love it.
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Well, this is the perfect segue because you've been working on
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Padme collection recently and today we To just do like, oh and
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all Padme episode where we do Roundtable about it because you
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and Lee Ann. And I all have very similar
2:27
experiences coming to love Padme because we didn't really start
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with loving her and it has grown over time, especially mostly, I
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think for me, Clone Wars, but I think for you to Liana is that
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where you started loving Padme to Jenny?
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Yeah I would say Clone Wars for sure when we just you know and
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it's funny because yeah you watch Clone Wars Oh, and then
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you go back and watch Phantom Menace and I'm like, I get those
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parts of her personality and I appreciate them more in the
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factual movies but yeah, when I first saw them I had zero
3:01
attachment to that. Yeah.
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So I think it was Clone Wars really fleshed it out.
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And, you know, and that's just the beauty of a show like,
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having the time to do that and she was able to get some
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justice. Like, yeah, I think the problem
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is is that she's an excellent character with excellent
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qualities. And I don't think that her Full
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potential was ever really brought out in the first three
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films first. 3, episode 1, 2 and 3.
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And then we really got to see more depth to her.
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I didn't mind her so much in Revenge of the Sith.
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I liked her the most, they're so interesting, but I don't even
3:38
want to get into attack of the Clones.
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It's just weird and like Anakin's like it may be my
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favorite character. My top three, at least he's
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right up there with Luke. I just Have never really have
3:51
been partial to Padme. I've read some fanfics that made
3:54
me like her even more because there's more depth to her that
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we get more depth in the Clone Wars and in stories that people
4:00
have written. And I mean you're reading the
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novel right now, right? The what's was it?
4:05
Yeah, Queens Peril. Yeah, I got the audio book at
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the hardcover book of the clean Shadow but then I decided to do
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cleans Peril first, which I guess is a prequel comes the
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events come before it and it's actually centered right around
4:17
the events of The Phantom Menace, which is interesting
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because it Kind of gives you like more behind the scenes of
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that movie. I've been literally takes place
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in the same time period. Hmm, time on I've got a couple
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chapters silent quite finished it yet.
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Yeah. I'm really loving, I think I
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realized I was actually trying to think about this like why
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why? I mean I know that Padme started
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initially growing on me, you know, and I've said this before,
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it's just recently having made friends who were part of the
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prequels area and like that's their Trilogy, the way, the
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original trilogy was ours and just like when I first
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Commissions, I did for a candle holder was a votive of Queen
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Amidala. And I remember when my friend
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asked me, she was almost, like, I know you might not be excited
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about this but could you do like she's just like this you may be,
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you know what? It's like.
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At least you didn't ask me to do charger but that's it.
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Okay. But I honestly like just
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listening that's where it started for me is because I just
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I didn't I didn't really think about Padme everite.
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I've been I've made my peace with the prequels out of And
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with them, but I don't really like, I was like, no.
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She's okay, she's quite Optus. I don't hate her.
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But yeah, when I met friends, that would talk about her and
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what an inspiration, she was to them at a young age and how
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influential that kind of character was.
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And again, I didn't really understand it at first, but it's
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softened me to like, okay, well, I want to explore this.
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I want to understand, but my love of hers grown genuinely.
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Like, now, if I genuinely, I'm not a fan of her, just because I
5:46
had friends that like her, and I'm like, okay, no.
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Now I she is And even though I just ordered some artwork for my
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apartment of her, she's made it onto the walls, Princess Leia,
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and some of my favorite characters of all time.
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And I think the reason for that is the time we're living in like
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Padme and you get a lot, get a lot more of this in the books
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and like her inner monologue and in the Clone Wars, she's just
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the type of politician, the type of person.
6:09
I feel like I'm just dying for in real life, with waves, state
6:14
of the world, with the craziness of our political system.
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I'm just her integrity and her Is genuine, passion and belief
6:23
in the effectiveness of democracy.
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And if anything, I mean, I've read things about her like she,
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she actually came closer to kind of foiling Palpatine than any of
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the Jedi did. And he almost several times, he
6:38
had to quickly move around to kind of get ahead of her and
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which never got that from her, you know, and you never would
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have really young all this development earlier on.
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So I think Think. Yeah, I think it's the
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timeliness of her character. Is just she's really endeared
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her to me. Well, it's interesting, you
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bring up the Palpatine. It's goes right in line with
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what we were saying in our last episode about how he had to get
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rid of her. And that's why we Lauren, and I
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think he drained, her of her life force to get rid of her.
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She was a problem since the beginning when they're from the
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same Planet. They're from the same
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atmosphere. If you will, not actual oxygen
7:14
atmosphere, but like political senatorial atmosphere, if you
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will, and yeah, she was Thorn in his side since day one.
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And not only that, he eventually Twisted, how he could use her to
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basically get Anakin more on his side.
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The whole things, just a shame, it's terrible because she was a
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young and Brilliant woman like he underestimated her.
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But then I think he kind of came because I mean, it's Palpatine.
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I mean, he in all the start, he is the master chess player at
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the end of the day. Absolutely.
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And yeah. Like when you guys, you know,
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your last podcast about that, you know, dying of a broken
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heart and I mean, Palpatine being involved is the only way I
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I can make peace with that whole.
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It just doesn't make any sense. That someone of that resiliency
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dying. Would you just get hurt?
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Just right? When her kids need her, the most
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it would be one thing if she died and then the kids.
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Like they somehow rescued the kids from her body.
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I mean, if she had passed as you know, but she was present and
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cognizant. As she was birthing the
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children. I don't think she would have
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gave up on them for one second. It's just doesn't fall in line
8:15
with what we know about her character whatsoever.
8:17
Yeah. Oh, she's losing the will to Is
8:20
and we don't know why I mean, like I could understand even if
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again in a totally different Universe where she wasn't
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pregnant wasn't carrying twins like maybe Anakin dying.
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Okay, she loses the will to live but yeah, it doesn't make sense
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with him leaving, but she's bringing life into this world
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and like that. I don't know.
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Again, at the end of the day, it was George Lucas needed.
8:40
This talk device to happen. And so she focused on a certain
8:44
part of that and like one of the I like ranted, on Laurens,
8:47
Instagram messages about 8:20. It's just he wanted that I think
8:56
he was so myopic wanting that which arguably is a great
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juxtaposition Vader rising and Padme falling you know and yeah
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an emperor telling him, you know, will you kill pain using
9:08
that to further manipulate Anakin and kind of put the nail
9:11
in the coffin so to speak. And I get that it's just but
9:15
George Lucas. Again, it was I hate using lazy
9:19
and George Lucas in the same. T is not lazy but it was a
9:21
little bit of lazy story writing.
9:23
Like I think he just and again, to be fair.
9:24
It is Anakin stories about Darth Vader but still man.
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Like yeah, other of Luke and Leia.
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I like padme's and important freaking character.
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She deserves more than a. She's a lose in.
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The will do that. If I don't know if it's almost
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like they're like I don't know. She's dying.
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You guys just figure it out. I don't know.
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She's tough. Like imagine Georgia is like I
9:45
just okay. Yeah you know we need to get
9:46
this shot. We're from special effects.
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I don't know. She's offended that I make it
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work. Make it happen.
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I don't know if you guys figure it out broken her.
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I don't know, she just needs to go like, well, we're still
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working. We're still working on
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Wikipedia, the people at Wikipedia to change that.
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It's the platform. I'll die on.
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I swear to God, I've been in talks with them.
10:07
Yeah, they're in my design, a petition, she will, they slid,
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they slid on into the DMS on Twitter.
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So I've been in touch with them literally.
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So we'll see but I love that. Now they're good, folks.
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They just have a typo in there. She didn't die of a broken
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heart. She died of helping syndrome,
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but it's a typo we have enough, right?
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That like, I don't know. I'm not a Star Wars like Lorex,
10:34
but there's so much these days. I can't keep up with no one
10:37
person can keep up with all of it, I guess.
10:39
But but isn't there? There's some?
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I mean, there's support of evidence, right?
10:44
I mean, I think there's comic story like something that set
10:46
like that Palpatine was do it, right.
10:48
It had something was actually liked.
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Calling her light Aura. Is that all just headcanon?
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I can't remember what you guys said, last timer.
10:54
I think it's officially just headcanon at this point.
10:57
Because yeah, the official explanation is that she really
11:00
did die of a broken heart. Which is so fucking and raging,
11:03
but we also ran polls. We ran a poll on Instagram and
11:07
on Twitter and they were split 50/50.
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People are like it was so close in each pole.
11:13
The people kind of like half the people think she did died of a
11:16
broken heart and a half thinks she didn't, I was disappointed.
11:20
I do wonder if some of it is, is it because they don't like the
11:23
characters? So, they automatically think,
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because I'm rooting for her or maybe just because it's
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technically, actually how she died.
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Yeah. According to the official
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statement, that is how she died. Yeah, I do, I just feel really
11:37
disappointed because there were, there are so many other ways to
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maneuver Padme into an untimely sad death.
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It felt like they just smashed it in there at the end and And
11:50
like, she and Anakin were never in the movies, I'll say, because
11:53
in Clone Wars, it's a little different, but in the movies,
11:55
she and Anakin are never that parallel on their plots there.
11:59
They're always kind of diverging from each other.
12:01
So to suddenly have him diverged again to the point where it
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breaks her heart, she dies of a broken heart.
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They didn't establish enough of a downfall.
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They literally didn't split their views Far Enough by the
12:14
end of Revenge of the Sith. Just that one scene where she
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says you're going down a path. I can't follow that.
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Was enough to like make her give up the will to live apparently,
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which is like so enraging to me because your life shouldn't
12:27
matter because you're with a partner, Bingo, your life
12:32
matters because you matter not cuz Hannah can loves you, you
12:36
know? Like yes.
12:37
So that plot line, it's very typical and romantic
12:41
relationships and film, but it's not a healthy relationship.
12:45
So yeah, that at the the whole thing about Padme just she was
12:50
Isn't done, right? I feel like all of Revenge of
12:52
the Sith. I like her.
12:53
I feel like Natalie Portman's performance is really good in
12:55
it, but also I feel like they just made her like barefoot and
12:58
pregnant wife back at the house. You know, instead of being the
13:02
like Senator who's always an orator on the floor of the
13:06
Senate fighting for democracy. Yes.
13:08
Well that's like so as you're saying that like I was thinking
13:11
in my head I'm like, so her love for Anakin is a strong defining
13:17
thing of her character. And I've you know, I've read
13:19
some Interesting. I also have had trouble, making
13:21
peace with that relationship because again, through my eyes I
13:24
see it as abusive, kind of like Anakin is unbalanced.
13:28
And I mean, even in even in Clone Wars the series, I mean,
13:31
the scene with, oh my gosh. What's his name?
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Where he has that jealous, outrage of blanket, on the guys
13:37
name, but oh, Rush Clovis, yes, that kind of thing, I needed,
13:43
like, that's insane, like, an abuse to really.
13:46
I mean, that's scary. And there's another scene.
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I remember being so pissed. That and Clone Wars actually
13:51
wear it. I think it's around the same
13:52
storyline or something where she's saying, how she's got like
13:54
a Senate voting to go to her something and keep makes some
13:57
comment or that's like literally essentially boils down to 0.
14:00
So that's more important than me.
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You love that more than me. And I just wanted to freaking
14:04
throw my remote at the TV screen.
14:06
But yes, again like that is Anakin is a villain.
14:10
He is an antihero Louisville. Not forget, I should be careful
14:12
here, Darcy. You know, he's becoming Darth
14:15
Vader. It the point is he's he's
14:17
allowed to for this training is supposed to have Like dark
14:20
moments. Okay, anyways, I'm getting a TD
14:23
here, but I gotta go back. But so so yes, her love for
14:29
Anakin is important to finding devastating to lose him to the
14:33
dark side, and at the same time though, her other primary love
14:36
passion in life, is democracy, is this?
14:40
So I could almost see a way where if they developed a little
14:42
more where she's actually viewing or seeing, you know, the
14:47
Republic fall that even that it was Both those things together,
14:51
literally seeing democracy crumble, the thing that she
14:54
cared about and loved most, and losing Anakin at the same time
14:58
and kind of just having maybe that be 2 again.
15:00
I still don't really buy it because I still think the core
15:03
of her character is Hope because hope.
15:05
Yes is positive. Like no, I would think she'd be
15:08
like all right I've got my twins.
15:10
Let's start building the Rebellion, like I could see her
15:13
being the one that formed the rebellion and like, you know,
15:16
literally bail took up that flag for her.
15:19
Yeah. Because she died.
15:20
She would have been the one to do that with bail at her side,
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because he stuck by her since day, one, basically, and there,
15:27
then after, you know, she died to raise her daughter, but she
15:31
actually has so much of her in her and Luke to, let's not short
15:36
stick Luke on the amount of padmé in him.
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They've got equal qualities of both but like you were saying
15:41
that and it made me realize why I had such a problem with Padme
15:44
in the beginning. And it's because in the like
15:47
will say when she was first introduced she wasn't she as an
15:50
instrument to further Anakin's character.
15:52
And I don't like any character that's used just to bolster
15:56
another or forward. The story of another, she
15:58
deserves to be her own woman because she is and then the
16:00
Clone Wars kind of built that a little bit more, gave her more
16:03
of a her own voice and her own passions and things that weren't
16:06
so connected to Anakin. But of course, they are forever
16:09
linked. But I have never liked their
16:11
relationship. Yeah, II, like the reason I like
16:14
Anakin as a character is because he's the most will say
16:17
multi-level multi-layered I understand but interesting
16:21
because of it character. He's got so many issues.
16:24
Good guy, turned, bad guy, turned good.
16:26
Guys, my favorite is my favorite formula, but he's got so many
16:30
problems that it makes his progression interesting.
16:34
And unfortunately Padme never had that.
16:36
She was just used to like, show that Anakin was this or show
16:40
that Anakin had these kind of issues, you know, anger issues,
16:43
impulsivity, you know, impassioned emotions and quick
16:46
to anger, that kind of stuff. That were the Clone because I
16:51
actually I didn't like a mannequin at all like when I
16:53
first saw the prequels but the Clone War is really.
16:55
I was like, okay. Now I now I get like, I
16:57
appreciate adamic a lot more with the development he got, and
17:00
I started to like it more like he had in the prequels piston
17:03
like him to get, I know he's supposed to turn into a Darth
17:05
Vader but I still felt like but your I'm still supposed to feel
17:08
differently about his character. I just love Darth Vader because
17:12
I've always felt he was misunderstood not defending him
17:15
or excusing him. But there's a psychological
17:18
aspect there that I thought was not being Picked up on as
17:21
heavily as it needed to be not excusing not defending just
17:25
psychoanalyze. They you're our resident.
17:28
Darth Vader apologist. I am it's.
17:31
It is what it is because I was thinking about padmé and Ahsoka
17:37
and like it's she's the daughter that Padme Anakin kind of raised
17:41
together if you will because yeah, having had such a
17:44
different influence on Ahsoka then Anakin did but you get to
17:48
see their parenting Styles or what?
17:49
Have been their parenting styles with Ahsoka and you can tell
17:54
Padme loved her to loved her and respected her you know.
17:58
Yeah more than just as a Jedi. Yeah.
18:01
And I mean that that's another quality and Pat.
18:04
So one thing I'm loving about Queens Peril which I've heard
18:08
kind of mixed things about people of mixed feelings about
18:10
the books, I've heard some like pad Mets, fans kind of want
18:13
other authors to really take her on and we're kind of but I don't
18:16
know for my intense again, just as like a character study, I
18:19
love this. Like because again you're
18:21
getting to know Padme just as she was elected.
18:24
She's 16 years old, like she's a teenager and learning about.
18:29
I mean, the way they kind of collect the handmaidens, kind of
18:31
reminds me of like Nick Fury getting the Avengers together.
18:34
Like oh, is that? So it's awesome.
18:38
I'm gonna have to read this book, I'm gonna audio book and
18:42
it's the audio book is narrated by the the woman that does her
18:46
voice in The Clone Wars. Oh my God.
18:48
Even better, whose fantastic. Eric at bringing pad made a life
18:51
in a different manner. I would say, I forget that it's
18:54
not Natalie Portman when I'm listening to her like she really
18:57
she's got it. Yeah, cat Tabor think?
19:00
Yeah, and the way this book. So again, like so many things,
19:04
like when I first saw The Phantom Menace that I just
19:06
didn't appreciate about Padme again.
19:08
Ice, just wife. All the characters is being is
19:10
very cardboard. Like, what they all talking like
19:13
this like there is no below but again where this like, other
19:18
materials kind of fix this. You know, been learning about
19:21
how the handmaidens are selected together and how they have to
19:24
find, you know kind of an official Royal voice so that
19:27
they can switch out with each other and not be discovered and
19:30
they really like so again Captain panaka goes and kind of
19:33
collects them like The Avengers. Like one of them is really good
19:35
with clothing and fabric and design.
19:38
One of them's, really good patients technology.
19:41
One of them is really good at they all have these different
19:43
qualities. Hmm.
19:44
I like the way that UK Johnson is written them.
19:47
It like, so, they're all these like, super Smart clever capable
19:52
young girls. They are girls 16 years old.
19:55
Again, they're smart clever like they're kind of defying those
19:58
stereotypes. But at the same time she does
20:00
right in the drama them kind of not getting along with each
20:03
other, kind of having like, little spots and stuff, but you
20:06
just really get such a heartwarming view of Padme.
20:10
And the way that she, you know, listens and she's like, she
20:14
doesn't have an ego about her because again, for her being a
20:17
leader, being being Queen, like this is I think she believes in,
20:21
it's not a title, she's not looking for Glory, she's not
20:23
looking to kind of, I don't know.
20:25
And so, the way that she kind of navigates, this and creates this
20:28
relationship with these five handmaidens, they almost turn
20:31
into this, like, organism like their one creature, and it also
20:34
kind of reminds me of like an animal scriber like an animal,
20:38
but like, in the wild, how an animal at my head like
20:40
camouflage to kind of make itself look bigger.
20:42
So the clothing and outfits, which, when I saw the movies I
20:45
saw was like, okay, well, of course, they give the female
20:47
character, the pretty outfits, and that's all we're going to
20:49
talk. Talk about but in these books
20:51
you learn like the work that goes into the costumes, the
20:54
purpose of them, how they make her appear larger than life
20:57
distracting the way that because of all the makeup, the costumes
21:00
they can switch out with these other five women and No One Ever
21:03
Knows who, how many there are, where they are?
21:05
It's a disguise and all these ways to kind of make up for what
21:09
a 16 year, old girl might lack in stature a respect.
21:12
You know how they're able through cleverness and Ingenuity
21:16
to grab around that and then just the unusualness again, you
21:19
know, we In a patriarchy. And but seeing this matriarchy
21:23
run that, I don't know. It's just really wonderful.
21:26
I'm really enjoying it. I was just going to bring up how
21:29
you I think you and I have talked about the handmaidens in
21:32
the Darth Vader comic number for of how Vader goes back.
21:36
I think it's sometime after Empire Strikes Back maybe Earth
21:39
before Empire Strikes Back. I can't remember.
21:41
But he goes back to padme's grave and the handmaidens are
21:44
there and will not. They confront him and say we
21:47
will not let you desecrate this grave.
21:49
You Have to get out of here. We know like you're a part of
21:53
her death, you need to get out of here like it's this whole
21:55
scene in the comics which I totally and utterly respect the
22:00
handmaiden stayed true to her even after death.
22:03
Like they were devoted to her and stayed near her grave as a
22:07
protection Force almost or they caught wind and went there.
22:11
I can't remember the exact details but the fact that they
22:13
even did that was totally respectable.
22:16
That's a kind of loyalty that again, comes from not just the
22:19
This is their job and like this is my king or my queen, like
22:23
that's a loyalty of like a deep respect for her and
22:27
understanding of her and like in the books I just feel like it
22:30
doesn't have a pretty good job of showing that, you know.
22:33
I'm showing why, why they become so loyal to her.
22:36
It's just really interesting. And again, something like, I
22:38
didn't, I didn't even understand what the handmaidens were.
22:40
When I first saw the movie, whose it makes me wonder if
22:43
George Lucas intended, that from the very beginning or not
22:46
because he's terrible terrible at writing women.
22:50
So to think that he had that much foresight.
22:53
Yeah, it's like love you George honestly who doesn't love him
22:57
because without him, none of this would even exist.
23:00
But like I think EK Johnson seems is a Johnson or Johnston.
23:05
I think it's Johnson. I have the book right here.
23:08
Hang on. Yeah, I would say George, Lucas
23:11
to give a he's good at setting up, awesome, female characters
23:15
like Leia's. Amazing pad me is amazing.
23:18
He's just name and not good at like really.
23:19
Seeing them through or keeping out he cut they always kind of
23:22
tend to just go blah blah like trickle out because his focus
23:25
is. Yeah, but he's good at setting
23:27
up a good strong character. It's Johnston.
23:31
It is Jeff. I have the Ahsoka book.
23:33
That's why I just went to reference.
23:34
So yeah well I would definitely see her as being more capable of
23:39
developing this kind of network of these handmaidens.
23:43
I love what you're describing like I love the idea of them
23:47
being able to swap out and they're kind of like this Odeon
23:50
guard that would give their life for her, which they have they,
23:54
some of them have died protecting her.
23:56
First of all, to be a young girl or a teenager seeing these
24:01
possibilities, you know in stories that maybe they didn't
24:04
have representation in sci-fi you know usually women are like
24:09
a sex pot in sci-fi. They're basically there to like
24:13
wear bikinis and have their boobs pop out and be like a
24:16
Temptation which is what I didn't like about Anakin and
24:19
padmé is Japan attack of the Clones and particularly in
24:22
particular because she's dressed like a temptress and she's
24:25
treated like a temptress and she keeps saying no and Anakin keeps
24:30
looking at her like he wants to like devour her and it's creepy
24:33
to have it turn and like have somebody like a woman develop
24:39
the handmaidens and Padme with a more realistic approach and make
24:43
them more than just a mouthpiece or a six piece.
24:47
It's like, it's so nice to see that.
24:49
And to have that available to young girls now, but also my
24:53
other point is, like, who have you?
24:55
It's 16, would have been a queen.
24:58
I'd have been terribly 16 and know what the fuck I was doing
25:02
when I was 16, when I was 16, I have no one wants me leading my
25:08
gosh, I have never been able to control my mouth and you have to
25:12
be able to control a lot more than just your mouth.
25:15
You have to have Poise and composure.
25:17
Yeah, in that role and she had it 16, get out of here.
25:21
That's means respectable be talked about that, too about how
25:25
she, so essentially, like by becoming Queen, like, I mean,
25:28
even changing her name. Like Padme is gone, Padme is no
25:32
more Padme, is now an anonymous scared and she talks about that.
25:36
Like one of the most important things is learning control,
25:39
controlling her emotions and having to learn to be stoic and
25:42
kind of just when she's in public.
25:45
And then there's a, you can let her hair down then when she's,
25:48
and that's what's so special about the handmaiden.
25:49
This is the handmaidens get to see both sides like herself and
25:52
her kind of political face. I would say, like I've made a
25:56
lot of peace with attack of the Clones.
25:57
I am genuinely loved a lot of attack of the Clones.
26:00
It's still creeps me out. I just can't help it.
26:03
Like the scene by the lake like the way he looks at her and
26:05
touch her shoulder, and it just makes me uncomfortable.
26:09
That dress is, it's a beautiful gown, the colors.
26:13
I mean, the dress is the hairpiece, the the gold piece in
26:17
her hair the way it's done. I mean, absolutely Beautiful.
26:20
But damn that. Back the black dress like and
26:25
the black dress, with the BDSM Notions to it.
26:28
Yes. Which is probably like one of my
26:31
favorite dresses of hers. It's so beautiful but at the
26:34
same time it's so like that scene is so uncomfortable.
26:38
It's so she keeps saying no and he keeps hearing yes.
26:42
And it really, really bothers really unnerving.
26:44
Yeah, weird. And I don't know if maybe other
26:47
authors like again, maybe he K writes about About this more in
26:50
the rest of the books but learning how intentional her
26:54
outfits are. There's so much thought that
26:57
goes into every piece of everything she wears true then.
27:00
So then it makes me think again like what is the purpose of
27:03
these dresses? And again goes back to making
27:06
you think it's just at the end of the day it's just George
27:08
Lucas. The focus is Anakin, here's
27:10
beautiful woman shows some more skin because it's showing Anakin
27:13
lasting everybody walk but he's I've made with like and I get I
27:17
personally will never I don't I don't Of that, attack of the
27:21
Clones romance. I sometimes I love watching the
27:23
movie, but I would literally kind of to zone out when they're
27:25
talking to each other and saying, really, they love each
27:29
other. It's just what I've to do for my
27:31
own mental health and we all need to make those decisions,
27:33
you know? Yes, yes.
27:34
Yes, I have read some interesting you know by a lot of
27:38
the Instagram accounts that I follow and stuff you know
27:41
someone and blanking out who posted it just something about
27:44
like, look at the end of the day it was written across the Stars.
27:48
Like this was a And Anakin and Padme, the force, declared it
27:52
because Luke and Leia needed to happen in the balance needed to
27:56
happen. And look, you know what?
27:57
I can be okay with that and then just say, okay, well, she's this
28:03
strong awesome character. And look, I consider myself a
28:06
strong person. I still have been in some really
28:08
shitty relationships that all my friends were like, what why are
28:12
you why? And it's like look it happens
28:15
and you know, chemistry is tough.
28:17
I don't get it. Any other thing that's Giving me
28:20
some peace about is Anakin is, he's creepy and awkward.
28:22
But, you know, he again with his upbringing on the desert being a
28:26
slave and then joining the Jedi Order, he hasn't talked to a lot
28:30
of women. Granted, it doesn't seem to have
28:32
a problem being super smooth and Anakin is just awkward around
28:36
women and he loves Padme and it's just I don't know, it'll
28:39
always be a little uncomfortable for me but I can I can be okay
28:43
and understand that they're looking at stood in the stars
28:46
because Luke and Leia and all of his just had.
28:48
Yeah. He's that At awkward, little boy
28:50
who had a crush on the older girl.
28:52
And that never really went away, you know?
28:54
It just a lot of his affection ended up turning into anger and
28:58
defensiveness, you know, especially with the Clovis arcs.
29:01
Yeah, well be it turned into possession.
29:04
Yes, and that, that's where I mean, that was essentially the
29:08
rule. I mean, that was the lesson in
29:10
the Jedi code, right? You can't possess anyone.
29:12
You can't. I mean, that's a lesson for all
29:14
of us, really. You can't make anyone do
29:16
anything, whether you love them or not.
29:18
They are their own person and he never Got that.
29:20
Yeah it's just steeped in loss. He was so afraid of losing you
29:25
know and so I get the motivation behind it but it comes off as
29:28
real awkward and creepy like yourself in the writing you know
29:33
of it all. Well Mike I just wanted like
29:36
that was the one thing again. Going back to this one episode
29:39
of Clone Wars. That I just I hated the scene
29:41
when she was again talking about like I can't remember the exact
29:44
date but somewhere important. Like again it was a senate
29:46
meeting something and him being so dismissive.
29:48
Like oh yeah, that's more important than me because Was
29:49
one of the one of the things I liked in Attack of the Clones.
29:52
Besides there's snappishly blah, blah, blah is the like, when
29:57
they're kind of bantering with each other, like what?
29:59
He's like, I'm giving up on, you know, trying to tell you or
30:02
like, oh like, you know, rob1 being like Padme.
30:04
Looks like she's on top of things.
30:05
Like that's like when Anakin makes those little jokes about
30:08
her. But in a really think that to
30:10
me, what is the view times in the movies where I like them
30:13
together, because it feels like Anakin loving something.
30:16
That is truly her like recognizing her strength and her
30:19
passion. And for this and like, all
30:21
right, like I've given up trying to like kind of not a submit
30:23
that just like, appreciating something that's real about her
30:26
and that makes me believe. Okay, that the love is genuine,
30:29
which again going back to that. So Clone Wars is like him.
30:32
You'd like that more than me is that's the opposite of that and
30:34
not appreciating. What is the essence of her and
30:36
what you know he should love about her I guess.
30:38
Mmm. Yeah that's why I kind of love
30:41
that episode of with Clovis. The first one, because they
30:45
start the episode with Anakin acting like his his duty is
30:49
more. Oughtn't than their
30:50
relationship. And she feels like a little
30:52
affronted by that and then when she does the same thing, he's
30:55
enraged. And so she was just giving him a
30:58
taste of his own medicine and like you could see that the
31:01
equity in their relationship is never fully there.
31:04
It's always like sliding back and forth like a pendulum one
31:08
feels powerful. The other one does it?
31:09
It's just kind of like I don't know how they ever felt safe in
31:13
their relationship together, honestly.
31:15
Because on top of, on top of their own like certain Is like
31:20
his tendency towards dictatorship and her love of
31:23
democracy. Yeah.
31:24
Like, there was always that secret, you know, they were
31:28
starting their relationship on Ally kind of where they couldn't
31:32
tell people that they loved each other.
31:34
That's always such a precarious place to start and it never goes
31:38
anywhere. Good.
31:39
Yeah, well although like I know, I can't remember if I read I
31:44
think I some commentary mentioned this though that which
31:46
again it you get more of this in the books that having that
31:50
secret relationship with Anakin because she has to split herself
31:53
with these tube and she's used to doing that.
31:55
It like it felt like something that she got to keep her hurt.
31:58
Like Anakin's really made it special because of that which I
32:03
was like okay like I kind of yeah I like that.
32:05
That's that's actually I don't think it's like a bad scenario.
32:09
I think it's like a very interesting compelling like
32:12
story because it's forbidden. Of its kind of forbidden love,
32:15
but that's always very compelling.
32:17
People, always want what they can't have.
32:19
So I think that's good storytelling.
32:21
It's just that like by the end of Revenge of the Sith where
32:23
they're kind of you were saying to, which I thought was so smart
32:26
that Leia kind of ended up in the similar situation in Return
32:30
of the Jedi where they've been building her up over these
32:32
episodes where she's the strong leader and then in Return of the
32:36
Jedi, she's in the gold bikini in a chain and like kind of
32:39
doesn't do very much in the whole episode.
32:43
I mean she killed John. Bar, which is fucking awesome in
32:45
her gold underwear but yeah, I mean, that's a feet right there.
32:50
Yeah, it was an interesting parallel.
32:53
You you pointed out there I would like to say that Leia.
32:57
It makes you appreciate Han a little bit because he there was
33:01
no doubt that he understood who Leia was, didn't make her
33:05
anything other than what she was.
33:07
Never once asked anything of her, that, you know, he knew his
33:10
place and he knew hers and respected her, I mean, he chided
33:13
her a little Yelp. Princess, you know, but it was,
33:15
it was always your mercilessly. Yes.
33:18
But, I mean it was never out of disrespect.
33:20
I mean, yeah, it was bad, scary Mutual.
33:23
Yeah. Yes.
33:24
And so, like, he always understood his place with Leia
33:27
and that her Devotion to the cause would always come first,
33:31
and, and you get that in a couple books, written about léa
33:34
léa Centric anyway, and that really makes me appreciate,
33:38
although her and Han didn't work out in Cannon II, do appreciate
33:41
their relationship because it was it was more mature.
33:44
In that respect, I think. Yeah, yeah, let's let them be
33:48
who they are. And yeah.
33:49
It was like and that's I guess going back to like what I'm
33:52
saying. Like George Lucas seems.
33:53
He knows how to write like set up a great female character,
33:57
like both Leia and Pat. I mean, lay, especially for the
34:00
1970s, I mean, she is incredible.
34:03
Like, I still, I mean like, a New Hope.
34:05
Leia is still my favorite. Somebody get this walking
34:08
carpet, out of my way, like, there's nothing better.
34:11
It's the reason why I love Star Wars is Cuz when, as a kid, when
34:15
I first saw it, she was just like I have never seen a
34:18
character like this. I immediately loved her, you
34:20
know, like so I can I can kind of get where the like you said,
34:24
Jenny the prequels are their original trilogy like to that
34:28
crew that they've you Padme in the same respect that I view or
34:32
that we view Leia. She was our first exposure to
34:34
something of a character of that caliber and I thought that was
34:38
so like, beautiful gown. Yeah, when I heard women talking
34:41
about that influence, her of her at that age, Like it almost made
34:45
me wish because I was 17 when Phantom Menace came out.
34:47
As like, I just, I was just old enough where I just didn't.
34:50
I was a snarky teenager, who loved the original.
34:52
It was two different but I almost wish I think.
34:54
If I'd been maybe twelve eleven going into my teens, I'll bet I
34:58
would have especially been clone wars and the rest of all that
35:01
Padme would have become that for me.
35:03
But yeah, he knows how to write them and both of them start out
35:06
like now when I watch Phantom Menace, even with the phantom
35:09
menace has writing issues and pacing.
35:12
And whatnot, think criticisms, I still Have I died?
35:14
Even loved her in that. Like her going to the guns and
35:18
the way she is the smart. And again with her, it's always
35:23
talk it out democracy before War democracy before violence, and
35:27
her recognizing that to win them over, is they need respect.
35:32
And they have felt seeing being able to perceptive enough to
35:35
understand what the issue was coming forward saying.
35:37
Okay. This is the time where I need to
35:38
be myself. Not a handmaiden and
35:41
orchestrating that treaty is he Luge and her.
35:45
Yeah, like some of her, a lot of her little quips, you know, the
35:47
way she kind of stands up to Qui-Gon and is like, no, I'm
35:50
coming. Like there's a lot.
35:52
There's actually a lot in The Phantom Menace of her when I
35:54
watch it. Now with all of the kind of
35:56
context I had that I genuinely love about her but again it just
36:01
she kind devolves a little gets pushed to the side and by
36:04
Revenge of the Sith like Lauren said, running around Barefoot
36:08
crying all the time and it's kind of the same in the original
36:11
trilogy that I hadn't really thought about that.
36:12
Literally. And I was listening to you guys,
36:13
too. Contrast and it was time the
36:16
same Lea starts out like really, you know, confident Cork and by
36:21
Return of the Jedi, she's gonna gold half-naked bikini locked
36:24
up, she still gets her moments. But now when I think back and
36:27
return the Jedi and I returned joys of my favorite Star Wars
36:29
movie love every minute of it, but she does even in that one
36:33
cuz she kind of gets pushed to the side a bit and granted fine,
36:36
it's Luke's story, it's not hers.
36:38
But I don't know. It's just kind of an interesting
36:40
parallel between those kind of pattern.
36:42
She kind of gets, like, replaced by Lando a little bit.
36:45
Yeah. Who I love?
36:48
I love Lando, but like once he comes in, he's like Han part 2
36:52
and like Leia becomes the support character than yeah.
36:55
He takes over kind of yeah, that's true.
36:58
Actually, he kind of takes over some of the kind of banter and
37:00
quit penis. Like Leigh is there we still
37:03
see, you know, interesting moments.
37:05
But by that point to she's wearing the the you walk the
37:09
dress in her hair's down and she does become a little more of
37:11
like the fragile princess. We're like, Empire Strikes Back.
37:14
She's like everybody out of the controls in her eye on.
37:17
Yes I love hold me you know and she gets a little bit of that
37:26
like yeah which again nothing wrong with showing feminine and
37:30
strength. Like I also got something.
37:32
I think I appreciated both these characters and padmé especially
37:35
is, we don't need every female character to be Black Widow.
37:39
This stoic, the man, the big, the guy's girl, the I mean
37:43
another Like one of my favorite characters was Mara Jade great.
37:46
I'd like a in from the Legends most and Mario kid and I still
37:50
freaking love Margie, but she in my memory, it's been a long time
37:53
since I've read that the thrawn trilogy, heir to the Empire and
37:56
all that, but she was more of like that black widow badass
38:00
stoic mysterious like badass and I gravitated to go towards those
38:07
characters. I think because I, you know, a
38:09
lot of us were raised to see, femininity equals weakness
38:12
feminine E equals. Yeah.
38:14
A lack of strength and to have a character like pad, man.
38:17
Have these character, we're getting more of now, you know,
38:20
more representation where like, Wonder Woman or something.
38:22
It's okay to show both compassion to cry.
38:25
Like what I like about p.k. Johnston's book is, there's a
38:28
little bit of teenage girl drama, which is fine.
38:30
I no longer need to see that as like a bad neck, cause I've been
38:33
conditional. That's that I don't like or like
38:35
the same way. The criticism that a sope got.
38:37
When she first came out. Oh, she's yeah.
38:40
This, she's an annoying Tina. It's like that's realistic.
38:43
They got to start. From somewhere as a teenager.
38:46
I think that's a fine place for them to start it.
38:47
We were all whiny bitches better knowing teenage boys are
38:53
freaking. I don't mean bitch as a woman I
38:55
mean bitch as in like we're all bitches men and women it's not a
38:59
not a gender specific term. We're all just whining.
39:03
How about that? I like it.
39:05
Yeah. So Jenny you have a pad made
39:08
drop coming. Is that true or are these
39:10
padme's you're working at commissions?
39:12
Yeah, I know this will be Be a drop.
39:15
And I finally, I'm really bad about dropped dates because I
39:19
don't know, I just always am insecure about being close
39:22
enough to actually finish them, but I decided I am going to drop
39:25
them. January 26, I wasn't soon what's
39:28
Wednesday. Yeah.
39:29
I feel like they're in a good enough spot that I can get them
39:32
finished in 10 days. It'll be the day after we
39:34
release this podcast. Oh, really perfect timing?
39:39
Perfect. Yeah, I just, I really wanted to
39:42
do this as just like, They've kind of exploration and focus
39:46
and celebration of her character.
39:48
I also had heard from like quite a lot of padmé fans with.
39:50
There's just not a ton of padmé merch, Padme stuff out there and
39:56
I just wanted to celebrate her. So, yeah, I'm doing a collection
39:59
of building 1010 votives. A couple of them featuring just
40:03
her gowns. Her I'm doing kind of like an
40:07
art hybrid kind of a firm like this.
40:09
Like gilded frame kind of celebrating her and then a
40:12
couple pieces with her and Anakin as well.
40:14
How exciting I'm on my own website very slowly but surely
40:18
like everything I do. But this will be on my Etsy
40:22
because I will not have my website done by so they'll be
40:25
dropping on. It's okay.
40:26
We'll make sure to will put a link to you in our show notes,
40:30
so people can find your website, your Etsy, at least, and your
40:34
Instagram. Yeah, and Instagrams, the best
40:36
place. That's where I usually will post
40:38
like countdowns I mean, people are interested in purchasing
40:41
them, I will. I post my Downs in previews of
40:45
things coming out and stuff like that.
40:46
All through Instagram. And like I said, well, I'll have
40:49
a website up soon. Well, and I could speak from
40:51
experience because I own several of your voters.
40:54
They are fucking gorgeous. I highly recommend people check
40:58
out your shop in by Steph. Yes, this was fun.
41:02
This is really fun. I loved it.
41:05
I enjoyed this so much so much and it's just it's so fun to
41:09
talk with just such like minded bands.
41:11
And yeah, we'll have more of these.
41:13
Kinds of episodes with you and others and maybe all of us
41:16
together, we've kind of tossed around the idea of having a
41:19
giant round table on topics, like all women.
41:21
So kind of fun to think about. So thanks for thanks for being
41:25
on with us. Oh, thank you so much for having
41:27
me cat down your Clarence. Did you hear him?
41:31
It's all right, so turning it over to all of you.
41:40
We would love to know what is your favorite Padme.
41:44
Or why do you love her or why do you not love her?
41:47
If that's the case, we would love to know.
41:48
So chime in, on our social media join us next week.
41:52
For an episode where we talk all about our savior?
41:57
Yes, our hero, our hero James Arnold Taylor.
42:02
The one and only voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, from clone wars
42:05
and the man who so graciously recorded our intros for us.
42:10
I mean, and shouted us out which we will talk about next week.
42:13
Yes, amazing. Yes, he deserves.
42:17
He deserves our love and support.
42:18
He's been so kind to us in particular and we just want to
42:22
dedicate an entire episode to him so we will do that next
42:25
week. Last week on the show, we
42:27
reviewed two short stories from the collection.
42:30
A certain point of view from Empire Strikes Back.
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And we got this wonderful comment, Echo base on Instagram
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who is an amazing artist by the way.
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Please, go check them out. Left us this awesome comment.
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I love love love. There is always another and have
42:45
read and reread it so many times.
42:47
It's such an in-depth, look at Obi-Wan and Anakin is
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relationship and the trauma and guilt he lives with.
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I couldn't agree more Echo base. I feel like everyone carries a
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Of complex emotions and its really interesting to, finally,
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see a story where he gives voice to that trauma.
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So, for anyone who hasn't checked out from a certain point
43:05
of view Empire, Strikes Back, we highly recommend it.
43:07
Especially the short stories there is always another and
43:11
disturbance. If anyone has any suggestions
43:14
for other books or Comics or video games or anything that you
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would like us to check out and review, please don't hesitate to
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let us know either on social media or you can always email us
43:24
at most things Kenobi at Dot-com, thank you so much for
43:28
joining us here on the most. Thanks Kenobi podcast.
43:31
Remember to follow us on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram.
43:33
And don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player.
43:36
Plus, you can always find us over at most things Kenobi.com.
43:40
So, until next time, my space to in May the force be with you
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always.