#seriously Shmi Lives fics could get milage out of this drama

[windona]

I kinda wish more works would dive into the fact that Padme didn't free Shmi.

It's a major theme of the Prequels that most of the major actors with power are concerned about grand change and huge swaths of population: planets, the whole galaxy, to the detriment of the individual. Jedi aren't supposed to care about individuals but the galaxy as the whole. Padme is focused on her planet and then the Republic, etc.

The most any major character from the Republic did to free Shmi in the movies was Qui-Gon attempting to barter for both of them, and he ended up backing down to only free Anakin.

Going strictly by the movies, who freed Shmi? The Lars, a family of farmers who had no grand power. Yet they did what Jedi and politicians were unwilling to do.

And going strictly by the movies, Padme was surprised by the fact Anakin hadn't contacted his mother or felt unable to check on her, and the fact they went to Wattoo shows they assumed he still owned her. Padme hadn't considered Shmi.

This also ties into the OT. Luke, who was raised by the Lars, does consider going to risk his life to save one person worth it. He's not going for the sake of the galaxy or the Force. But he ends up saving everyone because he cares about one person.