Padmé Amidala survives multiple assassination attempts at the beginning of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, but the political reasoning behind them is complicated. Born Padmé Naberrie and elected the Queen of Naboo at a young age, Amidala (a royal surname) later represented her home planet in the Galactic Senate, where she proved to be an important figure in the politics of the Clone Wars and the burgeoning sentiments of rebellion against the Galactic Empire.

Her two brushes with death on Coruscant rob Padmé of many of her compatriots, but they also lead to a number of Attack of the Clones' most important plot points, such as Anakin growing closer to Padmé after being assigned to protect her, and Obi-Wan discovering the existence of the clone army. The actual assassination attempts themselves are quickly forgotten, so their full significance is left a bit oblique.

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In the lead-up to the Clone Wars, Padmé vocally opposed of the creation of an army in response to the Separatist threat. However, in addition to the ostensible goal of defense, Darth Sidious required an army in order to execute Order 66, exterminate the Jedi, and create the Empire, making Padmé an obstacle. Bounty hunters specifically were employed for the task to distance the elimination from the large political bodies involved, and Zam Wesell, the bounty hunter responsible for the two attempts seen in the film, was potentially chosen in part for the shapeshifting ability that would allow her to be even more covert. In addition to the machinations of the Sith Lord, members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were also involved; the Trade Federation, for instance, had a vested interest in Padmé's assassination.

Senator Palpatine and Padme Amidala

Partially by choice and partially by coincidence, Padmé often found herself in such dangerous circumstances, and the factors that led to Zam Wesell's attacks were not isolated. Negatively, Padmé initiated the Vote of No Confidence against Supreme Chancellor Valorum that ultimately allowed Palpatine to come to power. But this same actively idealistic outlook also led to her playing a large part in the foundation of the Rebel Alliance in the waning years of the Clone Wars, alongside Bail Organa and Mon Mothma.

Although Obi-Wan and Anakin quickly capture Zam Wesell, the obfuscated motives and numerous parties involved makes the assassination plot somewhat cluttered in a way that is often a point of criticism toward the prequels. However, much like Obi-Wan's pseudo-noir mystery plot which finds him chasing the ghost of Sifo-Dyas, the political danger that Padmé faces in Attack of the Clones adds an element of mystery and intrigue that differentiates the tone of the prequels from the other two Star Wars trilogies, even if it is never quite fully realized.

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