How Force Remnants Taught Leia of Padme (and What It Means for Episode IX)

Star Wars fans love to ask questions. They love to explore the galaxy from different angles, and at times over analyze things because of that desire for knowledge. There are a hundred answers per question, depending on who you ask and when you ask them. Nonetheless, there is one question that fans have just never been able to successfully answer. How does Leia remember her birth mother, Padme Amidala/Naberrie?

Princess-Leia-with-Padme-and-Sabe (1)

Thanks to Count Dooku, we may now have that answer. In the new audio drama, Dooku: Jedi Lost, the Jedi Order sends a contingent of Jedi and Jedi initiates to the planet of Serrano, the home planet of one young Jedi, Dooku. While it makes sense that he would feel a connection to the planet itself, the Force doesn’t seem willing to stop there. Dooku sees a mysterious girl and feels an unexplainable connection to this individual. Come to find out this mysterious girl is actually Dooku’s sister, Jenza.

For Dooku, this is a turning point because this connection/attachment to his sister would be the cause of him leaving the Order. In the larger mythology, this may solidify a theory that answers some of Star Wars most burning questions. It would seem that the Force, in its infinite and undefinable wisdom, leaves remnants, tendrils if you will, that connects individuals with something that memory might forget. 

In Return of the Jedi, Leia inexplicably remembers her mother. She speaks of here being “very beautiful. Kind, but sad.” In Revenge of the Sith, though, Leia is removed from her mother right before she dies. It, on the surface, makes no sense that she would remember anything about her. Unless that is how the Force works. 


Venturing back to Empire Strikes Back, Luke lands on Dagobah and says, “There’s something familiar about this place, like something out of a dream.” Yoda chose to reside there in major part because of the planets strong concentration of the Force, so it would make sense that Luke would feel that power. However, being familiar and feeling strong are not the same. Once again, it would seem that the Force is working in its mysterious ways. 

A major theme in the sequel trilogy is how the past can shape the future. This is true across time and galaxies. Even though, “Let the past die, kill it if you have to,” may be the coolest line to come out of The Last Jedi, it is not the thing viewers should take home. Remember that Kylo Ren, our current villain and resident misdirected soul, is the one who delivers this line, and the rest of the film proves him wrong. The past is, in fact, extremely important. 


In the short story Master and Apprentice, from the collection “From A Certain Point of View”, Force “ghost” Qui-Gon speaks of how the Force is outside of time and space. It is all things at all times. The World Between Worlds episode of Rebels gives a practical example of this, as Ezra walks through the pathways hearing quotes audiences are familiar with from across the saga. The Force is all times and outside of time, and thus it knows all things. Thus, it can provide those connected with it to something that their memory could not possibly retain. 

Already Rey and Kylo have broken barriers of time and space by touching hands across the galaxy. With the mystery surrounding both their backgrounds, the potential is there for these Force remnants to be a driving factor, and it would make the appearance of a similar happening in Jedi Lost more prophetic than lucky. After all, in my experience there’s no such thing as luck.

4 thoughts on “How Force Remnants Taught Leia of Padme (and What It Means for Episode IX)

  1. Thank you for your research and insights here. Very helpful. I’ve wondered myself about Leia’s comment on her vague memory of her mother, while Luke had none. This makes sense.


      1. Genetics and those that study it say knowledge can be passed down on a cellular level….if metachlorines and dna can be passed down that would explain it


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