Why did Padme Ignore So Many Red Flags with Anakin?

The relationship between Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker will go down in history as one of the most awkward pairings in galactic history. But at the same time Padme and Anakin have a lot of similarities that also makes them the perfect for one another.

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[oaksmanor]

Padme saw red flags but red is her favourite colour.

[christinehancock]

Going to guess, and see if how it lines up.

Padme fell in love with perhaps the first honest person she'd ever met. For all Anakin's red flags and flaws, he was extraordinarily sincere most of the time, and there was nothing he wanted from Padme. Anakin only wanted to love her.

Padme was raised in the halls of power and politics. Everyone she knew wanted something from her: money, votes, loyalty to this party or that, political influence. No relationship came without some condition, except for Anakin.

So yes, she was willing to overlook the forest of red flags because this was the only person she knew who wasn't trying to trade political favors from her. He just wanted to love and be loved (at least at the start, he did get extremely possessive if her toward the end).

[penitentialarts]

Padme made the same error that a lot of young women do. She mistook arrogance, which is born out of fear, for confidence. They may look the same at times, but are on opposite sides of the emotional maturity spectrum.

[TheRibottoStudios]

This is actually something I didn't even think about until the Clovis Arc. "YOU don't have a say in this!" Is a HUGE red flag of a controlling partner. She even told him after his beating of Clovis that she didn't know who he was anymore. And yet she still stays and even has his children. Wild.

[leoroemer]

It starts with a single shared crisis. Anakin has been ripped away from his mother, Padme has been ripped away from her home. Their lives are in danger, and they're both very lonely. They're also both idealists - they both believe they have the power to ensure peace on the galaxy and undo the cruelty of slavery.

[BengalSW]

“I can fix him”
It’s as simple as that LMAOO

[VioletMaeve]

I don't think she ignored them, Padme being the kind caring soul she is to her allies and friends, this is about as realistic and the story that conveys here that Lucas wanted to show that feeling of acceptance. That "Okay, you have flaws. But that doesn't mean you are a bad person." I know its a meme now but the "I can fix him" is real with Padme and Anakin. Padme is Anakin's better half to ground him in reality, only if he was around her more during the Clone Wars. He did say that her messages help him cope within the war.

[Hurtlock]

"We all remember what it was like dating that girl with the family with the lake house and the beach. Hanging out with her alone in nature."

You know who your core audience is? Yes we all remember.

[mortalitydoesstuff]

I think the reason Padme ultimately stuck with Anakin despite his actions towards the raiders who kill his mom is twofold. One, because she sees that in this moment he is genuinely remorseful of his actions (not that it's any less fucked as a result but I digress), and two, because she sees to have an almost viewer-like level of awareness of how Jedi actually operate in regards to emotions, which is that they're never actually taught how to regulate them in favor of just shoving them down until they explode, and that if he could somehow find some peace within himself and learn to regulate that Anakin really did have a good heart

Why she stayed with him after everything else though is just beyond me

[PrestonSikes]

"I can fix him" - Padme Amedala

[joshuagtz]

Anakin: "I killed them all! Not just the men, but the women! And the children too!"
Padmé: *I can fix him*

[Kubinda]

Why did Padme Ignore So Many Red Flags with Anakin?

1) Padme was in love. Love makes people ignore flaws.
2) Like you've said, Padme had no normal childhood since she was a child political prodigy. This isolated her from her agemates which is something she and Anakin had in common.
3) Padme knew Shmi as a kind good woman and the Tuskens - whom Cliegg described to Padme as vicious animals - kidnapped her and tortured her for weeks which resulted in her death. And while Anakin massacred them, he was also regretful about it so it's not like he was a unfeeling psychopath. Padme could've not that incorrectly interpreted it that Anakin made a mistake due to the extreme circumstances which he wouldn't repeat. So it's not like Anakin massacred innocent villagers just for fun.
4) Anakin had beaten up Clovis but a) Clovis wanted to kiss Padme against her will, b) Clovis was willing to fight Anakin which is insane since he's a senator and Anakin a force sensitive trained soldier, c) Padme kind of created the situation since she went on de facto date with Clovis, d) Anakin could've heard about/seen women get raped and/or forced upon when he was a young slave so his protective instincts kicked in when he saw Clovis trying to force himself on Padme.

[wojciechgrodnicki]

It's a vicious galaxy full of hidden dangers. Anakin is intelligent, deadly, and loyal.

[th_century_Ghost]

I'm not condoning Anakin's actions but come on Allen, the Tusken raiders did a little bit more than "Raiding his mother's retirement home".
They kidnapped his mother from her actual home, tortured her for who knows how long; then they murdered the party that tried to rescue her, cut off her husband's leg, and watched her slowly die being chained up in a desert tent.
Now, again... I'm not condoning Anakin's actions, but after being taken from his mother, then having nightmares that shes dying, only to find her and watch helplessy as she actually dies in his arms; that would drive anyone over the edge.
Not to mention, were not even taking into account that he was EXTREMELY powerful.
Most people would say they wouldn't have done what he did but then again, none of us has access to the power that Anakin had. Do you honestly think that the majority of people wouldn't do EXACTLY what Anakin did if they did have that power?
Its like that quote by Abraham Lincoln, "Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man's character give him power."
Just as you said in your previous video, Allen, most people think that they would have sided with the Jedi but most would actually cave to the Empire; its the same thing here.
Most people would have done exactly what Anakin did if they had his power and they knew no one would know or care about a tribe of Tuskens.

[charlessaint]

Palpatine and Vader's relationship was incredibly toxic. Both are constantly trying to undermine each other. Palpatine was sending people to kill Vader and conducting tests on Darth's loyalty. While Vader was making clones to kill the Emperor and allow him to usurp Palpatine's authority.

[ochiofbestoon-_-]

I said it once I’ll say it again I love how he’s able to incorporate real world issues into Star Wars and reminding us at the end of the day we’re all just human

[Wackaz]

I think people tend to forget that when you are infatuated by someone, you naturally tend to overlook the red flags. This is no different for Padmé - they're in the honeymoon stage, and before you know it, they now have kids on the way. However, Padmé is intelligent, rational - we see as such in Episode 1 (she is the protagonist, after all) - and above that, caring, kind, open-minded and wholehearted, which in tandem, show a combination of acceptance and authentic love, embracing Anakin for all his flaws and darker, uglier secrets; this brings her to her demise, but we all know this isn't the fault of Anakin's, nor hers, it's fault of their society, his religion, and the institution that upholds these two social establishments, that told them they can't be together. George Lucas presents this story in a Shakespearean fashion, a clear modern embodiment of his great plays from Romeo & Juliet to Hamlet, which is cogent, dialectic and diagetic with the operatic presentation, tone, dialogue, acting, music and thematics of the dramatic, romantic tragedy that is the Prequel trilogy.

[mlascelles]

The first major Anakin red flag we saw was THAT grin he gave after she told him he was making her uncomfortable. What tf was the direction on that?! Obviously he was destined to turn evil, but that look would make any sane person grab the nearest weapon

[cptndunsel]

"When you are wearing rose-tinted glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."

[wedgeantillies]

The main problem, is that Padme and Anakin's relationship crashes and burns is because it is supposed to as it that typical Romeo and Juliet, type of romance, doomed to end in tragedy for all concerned, one way or another. Plus as they as separated for majority of the three years they are married, due to the clone wars and only have brief time together, they are always jumping from one crisis to another and never have any time to create a solid and loving relationship, that might have survived the weight of the various issues unresolved that eventually destroyed it. Alongside the insidious influence of Sidious further rocking the boat at the same time.