In Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Padmé (Natalie Portman) very quickly falls in love with Anakin (Hayden Christensen) and a dark theory aims to explain this occurrence that for so long has been hard to digest. The relationship between the dedicated career politician and the headstrong Jedi has always felt a little unusual based on what was seen in the movies. Their involvement with one another does contribute to Anakin’s journey towards the dark side and thus serves as a way to further the plot. Yet Attack of the Clones’ execution of their budding relationship has always been controversial considering the massive odds stacked against both Padmé and Anakin– not to mention the former’s sudden change of heart about the latter by the end of the movie.

There was no doubt that a young Anakin (Jake Lloyd) had a crush on Padmé in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. He spends most of Attack of the Clones pursuing the now Senator of Naboo from the moment they encounter each other again on Coruscant. Anakin’s advances on Padmé in the prequel movie in question are often cringeworthy and she makes it very clear, several times throughout, that she is not interested. But he persists, ogling her, touching her, kissing her, in a way that arguably hasn’t aged very well. Padmé makes her feelings known verbally and through her body language, but that doesn’t stop Anakin. In an interesting twist, as they believe their lives might be coming to an end, Padmé professes her love to Anakin and the final scene of Attack of the Clones depicts their marriage.

Related: Revenge Of The Sith: Why Anakin Didn’t Use Force Healing On Padmé

The Star Wars theory that Anakin mind tricked Padmé into loving him has been floating around for years. The idea is that Padmé was too level-headed to have possibly fallen in love with Anakin. In Attack of the Clones, Padmé may have planted the seed for him when she says, “Are you going to use one of your Jedi mind tricks on me?” Anakin says that it only works “on the weak-minded,” but that certainly doesn’t mean he couldn’t have tried. Consequently, there may be a more sinister explanation behind Star Wars central love story.

Why The Anakin Mind Tricked Padmé Theory Exists

Anakin and Padmé flirt in the fields of Naboo in Attack of the Clones

Padmé spent the better part of her life committed to her work as a politician. She knew that her views and Anakin’s often did not align in some of the most fundamental ways. He hints at his contentedness with a dictatorship and eventually goes on a murderous rampage on Tatooine following the death of his mother, Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August). Padmé knows all of these things about Anakin and yet she still ends up marrying him by the end of Attack of the Clones. In order to explain how Padmé fell in love with him, the Star Wars theory that Anakin mind tricked her into doing so emerged.

The theory itself is pretty dark, but so was Anakin’s pushy and uncomfortable approach to flirting with Padmé. Mind tricking someone can be used for good, like in the case of Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) telling the death stick dealer, Elan Sel’Sabagno (Matt Doran) to “go home and rethink” his life. But the mind trick can also be used for more sinister outcomes. For example, in Star Wars Rebels, Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) used the mind trick in a way that resulted in an Imperial walker pilot committing suicide. While the technique has often been portrayed as something that has minimal impact in the grander scheme of things, the truth is, Star Wars’ Jedi mind trick is dangerous and can really damage someone in a powerful way. If Anakin truly was as powerful as he claimed to be in Attack of the Clones, mind tricking someone of sound mind, like Padmé, could very well have been possible.

Who Jedi Mind Tricks Work On

Obi-Wan is offered deathsticks in a bar in Attack of the Clones

Anakin says that Jedi mind tricks only work “on the weak-minded” and that statement appears to hold up throughout the Star Wars canon. In the movies, mind tricks are used on Stormtroopers, drug dealers, and a variety of different species throughout the galaxy. However, some of these species are immune to the technique. For example, Luke’s Jedi mind trick fails against Jabba when he uses it in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon’s attempt to use the mind trick on Watto, a Toydarian, also didn’t work. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3, episode 6, “The Academy,” it was also revealed that people could train to resist being mind tricked.

Related: Clone Wars Hints Obi-Wan Knew About Anakin & Padmé Before Revenge Of The Sith

Padmé was definitely not weak-minded, but Anakin was also a very powerful Jedi. Even though she would have had a solid chance of resisting such a trick, if Anakin was determined enough, and based on his actions he certainly seemed to be, he may have been able to breach her mind even so. But throughout the Star Wars canon, the mind trick really does seem to only work on the weak-minded. Throughout the prequels, including in Attack of the Clones, Padmé had better chances at resisting the Jedi mind trick than most others that had the technique used against them.

Why Anakin Probably Didn’t Mind Trick Padmé

Star Wars Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala get married on Naboo.

With the release of E.K. Johnston’s novel Queen’s Hope, a little more insider information on how Padmé is feeling about her marriage to Anakin is revealed. The novel touches on how “her life had revolved around other peoples’ perception of her” and that she was looking forward to finally doing something for herself. Marrying Anakin is something she has clearly spent a great deal of time reflecting on and isn’t quite the hasty decision that Attack of the Clones makes it out to be. In Queen’s Hope, it’s made clear that Padmé is in love with Anakin. However, Sabé does bring up Padmé’s questionable decision to marry him based on his track record, so at least Star Wars is acknowledging the strangeness of it all.

Lastly, Padmé isn’t weak-minded. She is one of the strongest characters in the Star Wars franchise, leading her planet through war at the age of 14 as their Queen, handling an eclectic array of diplomats as a Senator, and carrying twins through one of the most tumultuous times the galaxy has ever seen. Padmé may have made a questionable decision in marrying Anakin despite all the red flags, but saying she was weak-minded as well only further undermines her character.

This dark Star Wars theory is plausible, but given the recent release of Johnston’s Queen’s Hope, a novel that heavily comments on Padmé's relationship with Anakin, it doesn’t seem to be holding up as well as it once did. Regardless, the theory does make the awkwardness between the two in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones a little more understandable. Perhaps the only logical way to explain Padmé’s love for Anakin is to say that love doesn’t always manifest itself in such a logical way.

Next: How Phantom Menace’s Panaka Later Betrayed Padmé (& Almost Did Leia)