Shmi Skywalker Lars

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Shmi Skywalker Lars

Shmi Skywalker Lars was ahumanfemale who lived inslavery on theplanetTatooine during thelastyears of theGalactic Republic. She gavebirth to ason whom she namedAnakin Skywalker. In32 BBY, her son was discovered byJedi MasterQui-Gon Jinn, who found the boy to be unusuallystrong withthe Force. He learned through Shmi that there was no father involved in Anakin's conception, leading Jinn to believe that Anakin was conceived by themidi-chlorians. With Shmi's support, Anakin was taken by Jinn to theJedi Temple onCoruscant and presented to theleaders of theJedi Order as theChosen One—the one who was destined to restore balance to the Force, according toJedi prophecy.

After Anakin left Tatooine to begin hisJedi training,Watto sold Shmi toCliegg Lars, amoisture farmer, who later freed and married her. Her chance to see Anakin one last time came when, in the waningdays of theSeparatist Crisis, Shmi wasabducted and subjected totorture by a legion ofTusken Raiders in22 BBY. By then, her son had returned to Tatooine as a JediPadawan after experiencingnightmares of her pain. Having seen her son again, Shmi told him she was complete but died in his arms. Unable to prevent his mother'sdemise, Anakin gave into thedark side of the Force and massacred the Tusken Raiders, including their women and children, and buried his mother at theLars moisture farm. Shortly after Shmi's death, her son went on to become aJedi Knight, and ageneral in theGrand Army of the Republic during theClone Wars. The loss of his mother created in Anakin a strong desire to save his loved ones from death, which ultimately pushed him to becomeDarth Sidious'Sith apprentice,Darth Vader.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Born on an unknownworld,^[9] Shmi Skywalker andherparents were captured bypirates and forced intoslavery when she was just a young girl^[10] in66 BBY.^[11] She lived a difficult life^[10] and was taken fromstar system to star system in the servitude of several masters,^[9] as the pirates were uninterested in having an extra mouth to feed unless she could provide an essential service to them. Skywalker never spoke about the fates of her parents, if she knew what became of them.^[12] Before she was bought by theHutts, Skywalker was once sold in a market similar to theZygerrian slave market her sonAnakin Skywalker wouldvisit during theClone Wars.^[13]

Skywalker observed that although slavery was outlawed by theGalactic Republic, theRepublic's laws were unenforceable in theOuter Rim Territories where people had to survive on their own.^[7] Eventually, Skywalker was enslaved to^[14] and grew up on^[8] theOuter Rim world ofTatooine during the lastdecades of theRepublic Era. She gained an affinity for working on machinery.^[14]

Mother of the Chosen One[]

At some point,^[7] perhaps by the will ofthe Force,^[14] the very energy created by all living things that bound theuniverse together,^[15] Skywalker mysteriously became pregnant.^[14] Without a man having fathering her child,^[7] it was believed to have been conceived within her by themidi-chlorians.^[16] In41 BBY,^[11] she gave birth to a son, Anakin Skywalker.^[7][1] Hisblood contained over twenty-thousandmidi-chlorians, surpassing theJediGrand MasterYoda and all other Jedi inthe galaxy, an uttervergence in the Force.^[7] The boy was theChosen One,^[5][7][14] whose destiny was prophesied to bring ultimate balance to the Force itself by destroying theSith,^[14][17] the ancient enemies of theJedi Order. Indeed, an ancientJedi mystic foresaw^[17] that the Sith would be destroyed by a child who was born of no father.^[18][17] Though unable to explain or understand how the pregnancy occurred,^[7] Skywalker ultimately chose not to question it and loved her son regardless.^[19] Upon giving birth however, Skywalker was initially afraid, but was relieved to find that her son was a normal and typical infant. She also kept the true circumstances of his birth a secret from others, knowing no one would believe her or would be afraid of such unnatural circumstances.^[20]

Working for Watto[]

Shmi and Anakin lived with other families in communal quarters during their time enslaved by the femalecrime lordGardulla the Hutt.^[12] Gardulla lost them in abet with theToydarianjunk dealerWatto, who employed Anakin's skills in mechanics at hisshop. While Watto could be a harsh and demanding master, he still furnished them with ahome inMos Espa'sslave quarters.^[7] Despite their poverty, she made Anakin and herself a good home through her tireless effort. When Watto did not need Shmi, he allowed her to gain a modest living cleaningcomputer memory devices. She made a small part of their house into a workstation, which possessed just enough of the tools and equipment to properly work.^[19] In addition, Shmi and her son also owned a few personal possessions including an antiquatedprotocol droid namedC-3PO and apodracer, both of which Anakin built himself.^[7] In a rare showing of kindness, Watto also gave her anaeromagnifier. Kept in her work station, the gift was for the hard work she did.^[19]

Often, however, Watto was unkind, understanding that nothing could stop him from doing what he wanted because Shmi had nothing valuable to trade, besides her son whom she would never trade. Thus, Watto took advantage of this frequently, requiring the boy topodrace, much to Shmi's dismay. During one race, she watched in horror as Anakin crashed once again, but was surprised when he had not been thrown from hispodracer for once. Watto approached her, yet again dismissing her concerns that Anakin could be seriously injured before flying off. She made her way down to the racing pit where she reunited with Anakin and saw that his legs had become twisted from the crash. While she knew that Watto would pay to ensure that Skywalker's legs recovered, Shmi held onto her son's hand to comfort herself. Before the rustic, yet effective,medical droids made Anakin unconscious to work on his legs, Anakin promised he would always be with her, yet Shmi privately wish he would one day leave her for a better life.^[21]

Despite the horrors in which Anakin grew up, Shmi still tried to give him a normal and stable childhood. She taught him how to fix things and fend for himself, since the Republic was never there for her. She taught him that he deserved more than slavery. Most of all, she taught him compassion. On hard nights, Shmi would tell Anakin the Tatooine myth of thesun-dragon. The sun-dragon was a beast who lived inside the core of a star, guarding everything it treasured. It could survive through the hardest circumstances because it had the biggest heart inthe galaxy, able to protect anything and everything it loved. Shmi told this story to her son to remind him thathe was the sun-dragon. She never wanted Anakin to doubt in himself and the power of his love for others. Anakin recalled this story many times as an adult when he needed to remember what should guide him. It was something he kept close and told very few other people.^[22]

Shmi also tried to treat Anakin whenever she could. Most of the food they were able to acquire resulted in very bland dishes, but on the rare occasions when Shmi had extra things to barter with, she took Anakin out to the food markets in Mos Espa. In particular, she would take Anakin to a food vendor that soldfranikhad, a meat dish common ondesert planets.^[22]

One day, she had woken Anakin from a dream where he was a Jedi and freed her. She appreciated his good natured ambition, but warned him against attracting the wrong kind of attention by being doing altruistic deeds. Then anOtoga-222 maintenance droid came in and warned them both of the work Watto wanted them to do while he was gone. The Toydarian needed Anakin to go to theMos Eisleyspaceport to pick up a shipment. By night, Anakin had come home and was going to bed. Shmi asked him if he stayed out of trouble, to which he lied and said he had.^[23]

Parting ways with her son[]

Oneday, Anakin returned home with a legion of castaways, including theJedi MasterQui-Gon Jinn, theQueen ofNabooPadmé Amidala, disguised as ahandmaiden, theGunganJar Jar Binks, and theastromech droidR2-D2, who were seeking shelter from asandstorm. While Shmi and her son had initially believed that these off-worlders had come to free the enslaved people, they quickly learned that the castaways had become stranded on Tatooine after theirNaboo Royal Starship'shyperdrive was damaged during adiplomaticmission tothe galacticcapital,Coruscant. Unable to secure a replacement with onlyRepublic dataries on hand, they were grounded. When Anakin offered to help Qui-Gon and the other castaways obtainmoney for thehyperdrive by winning the upcomingBoonta Eve Classic podrace, Shmi initially disagreed with the idea. However, she relented when Anakin recalled her words on helping others.^[7]

While Anakin repaired hispodracer, Qui-Gon inquired about the boy's father. Shmi explained that while she carried and raised him, he didn't really have a father. Later, Qui-Gon tested Anakin's blood and discovered that he was particularly strong withthe Force. Due to his high concentration ofmidi-chlorians and the peculiarity around his birth, Qui-Gon believed that Anakin was the prophesiedChosen One.^[7]

The following day, Qui-Gon challenged Watto to a wager, knowing that Watto never turned down the chance to gamble. He put Anakin's podracer against Shmi and Anakin's freedom, but Watto did not see the worth in surrendering two enslaved beings for just one podracer. Qui-Gon and Watto eventually settled on just Anakin's freedom should he win the race. Shmi along with the off-world visitors then attended the Boonta Eve Classic. Despite the extremely high risks, Anakin won the race, and Watto had no choice but to honor his promise to emancipate Anakin.^[7]

Following the race, Shmi and her son embraced each other with Shmi, expressing pride in her son's achievements. After securing Anakin's earnings from Watto, Qui-Gon informed Shmi that he had freed Anakin and offered totrain him as aJedi. Anakin asked if Shmi would be going with them, and was heartbroken when Qui-Gon broke the news. Putting her own feelings aside and knowing that this was the path Anakin needed to take, Shmi was able to convince Anakin to leave without her by explaining that her place and future were on Tatooine. Anakin was moments away from leaving with Qui-Gon when he ran back to his mother. Terrified that he would never see her again, Shmi reminded him that as long as he believed in his heart that they would reunite one day, then they would see each other again. Anakin made a solemn vow that he would return and free her someday. Adjusting his pack on Anakin's back, she told her son to be brave and to not look back, before he left with Qui-Gon to prepare his new life.^[7]

Later, Shmi was walking through the spaceport whereJira told her to keep her head up. She told her that Anakin was in a better place, but Shmi already knew that. In her house, C-3PO held onto the idea that Anakin would one day return. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She opened the door to see aTusken Raider, she immediately closed the door to prevent it from getting in. The Tusken kept the door open using agaderffii stick and held ablack melon through the door. She backed up as the Tusken entered her home, with C-3PO informing her of what a black melon offering represented. She knew what it was, and asked why the Tusken had come. C-3PO translated a story the Tusken Raider told of Anakin freeing him from slavery. As the Tusken left, she held the melon in her hands. Her son had returned like C-3PO said he would, in a way. C-3PO stated that he would come back in more than just stories, but that didn't matter to her, she had dreamed that he would become a Jedi and he was already on his way doing so.^[23]

Emancipation, captivity, and death[]

A decade before theoutbreak of theClone Wars,^[4] Watto's gambling habit left him to be essentially broke and destitute, leaving him no choice but to sell Shmi.^[24] The path to her freedom started when amoisture farmer namedCliegg Lars met Shmi and fell in love with her.^[4] Manipulating Watto into a gambling game that the Toydarian lost,^[8] Lars purchased and freed her,^[4] in approximately27 BBY,^[11] and the two eventuallymarried.^[4] Shmi became a loving step-mother to his son,Owen Lars. C-3PO also lived with them.^[24] Upon her release, Shmi also helped theWhite Suns liberation movement that focused on freeing Tatooine's enslaved people, using her mechanical and technical talents to build a device that could locate and remove thetracking chip forced into all enslaved beings. The device was made out of kitchen equipment and saw its first use on Shmi herself and succeeded, but subsequent uses on others showed it needed to be perfected.^[8]

Approximately four years after the Invasion of Naboo, Padmé sent her handmaidenSabé to rescue as many people from slavery as she could, including Shmi. Unfortunately, Sabé's efforts went in so many wrong directions, because it enlisted help from so many untrustworthy sources. Watto had seemingly disappeared along with Shmi, and when Sabé asked of her whereabouts, they could only tell her that she had been sold. When passing through Shmi's former residence, she noted a sign on the door that was likely a mark of the local liberation movement;^[25] in truth, it was indeed the mark of the White Suns.^[8]

By the end, Sabé's efforts led her to buy the freedom of over twenty-five individuals, reporting back to Amidala that among the freed beings were Anakin's old friends,Kitster Banai andWald. Undeterred, Amidala asked Sabé to continue her efforts to free more people on Tatooine, although she soon needed to leave to help Amidala in theGalactic Senate. Although Amidala and Sabé remained unaware of her fate,^[25] Shmi had a quiet yet happy life at theLars moisture farm^[24] in Tatooine'sJundland Wastes,^[4] spending many happy years together with her husband as farmers.^[14] However, she spent many nights with an ache in her heart, looking at the stars, as she was worried about where Anakin was and his well-being.^[24] Onemonth before the Battle ofGeonosis, Shmi was out gatheringmushrooms that grew on themoisture vaporators, when a group ofTusken Raiders kidnapped her and took her to theircamp. Cliegg assembled arescue party, involving about 30 participants, and Cliegg himself, but the Tusken Raiders gained the upper hand and slaughtered most of Cliegg's party, with Cliegg'sleg being severed in the process. Believing Shmi to bedead and unwilling to risk any more lives, Cliegg aborted the mission.^[4]

However, Shmi was still alive but had been severelytortured and brutalized. Meanwhile, her son Anakin, now 19years of age and aPadawan underJedi KnightObi-Wan Kenobi, sensed her distress through Force-inducednightmares. Anakin immediately set off to Tatooine to find and save her withSenator Amidala accompanying him. After meeting with Watto, Anakin and Amidala arrived at theLars familyfarm and learned about his mother's fate after Anakin left for Coruscant: freedom, marrying Cliegg and becoming stepmother toOwen Lars, and her kidnapping. Despite Cliegg' advice, Anakin traveled into the wilderness to find her. He eventually found the Tusken Raider camp.^[4]

After infiltrating the camp, he found thetent where Shmi was being held. There, Anakin encountered a bound and emaciated Shmi, who was near death. Right before her death, she managed to tell her son that she was proud of him and that she loved him. She was complete after seeing her son and died in his arms. Shmi's death threw Anakin into a fit of rage, and he took his first step into thedark side of the Force when he avenged his mother by killing every Tusken Raider at the encampment, including the women andchildren.^[4]The following morning, Anakin returned to the Larsmoisture farm with his mother's body. Shmi was mourned by both her son Anakin and husband Cliegg, as well as Amidala, Owen, and his girlfriend,Beru. They all attended herfuneral,^[4] where Beru servedblue milk andcheese to everyone after.^[26]

Legacy[]

Shmi's death had a profound effect on influencing Anakin's journey to the dark side. Prior to his mother'sburial, Anakin told Amidala that he regretted not being strong enough to save his mother. He also vowed that he would one day become so powerful that he could learn to stop people from dying. Then Skywalker confessed to his role in killing the Tusken Raiders to avenge his mother's death.^[4] Skywalker's guilt about not being able to prevent Shmi's death made him susceptible to theSith LordDarth Sidious' efforts to win him over to the dark side.^[18]

During the Clone Wars, Anakin experienced aForce vision of Shmi on the planetMortis, where he had been put through a series of tests by three powerful beings known as theForce wielders who wanted to determine whether he truly was the Chosen One. In reality, theSon, one of the Force wielders who embodied the dark side of the Force, had assumed the form of his late mother. The false Shmi told Anakin to give up his love for Amidala, whom he had secretlymarried shortly after the Battle of Geonosis, saying that he did not truly love her and that she waspoison to him before transforming into the Son.^[27]

By18 BBY, Obi-Wan, who lived inexile on Tatooine afterOrder 66,^[18] had gone to Shmi's grave to apologize for losing her son.^[28] Some time after this, it was presumed that Owen and Beru buried Shmi and Cliegg's tombstones in order to safeguard Shmi's grandsonLuke Skywalker, who was placed in their care.^[29] Years later, Obi-Wan left toys for Luke, next to her sandblasted tombstone for Beru to find.^[30]

When Anakin, now theSith LordDarth Vader, attempted tobleed akyber crystal to create his ownred-bladedSith lightsaber, thecrystal fought back by showing him a series of visions. One of these involved Anakin returning to theLars homestead with Shmi's body in his arms.^[31]

Shortly after theBattle of Fortress Vader, Vader entered aportal created byDarth Momin and saw visions from his past, which manifested his fears and dark thoughts. Upon entering the portal, Vader was able to see his pregnant mother and a spectral appearance of Sidious behind her, resounding words that Shmi said to Qui-Gon about Anakin having no father before passing to the next part of his visions.^[32]

In3 ABY,^[11] shortly afterinforming Shmi's grandson Luke Skywalker about his parentage, Darth Vader returned to the Lars moisture farm. While exploring the farm's remains, theforensics droidZED-6-7 remarked that Shmi's death at the Tusken Raiders hands was among the records that indicated the generations of animosity between the Tuskens and moisture farmers.^[29]

In35 ABY,^[33] following theultimate destruction of Darth Sidious and theFinal Order, the JediRey journeyed to the Lars homestead on Tatooine, burial site of Shmi Skywalker. Once there, the formerscavenger laid to restthelightsabers of Luke Skywalker and histwin sister,Leia Skywalker Organa Solo, the grandchildren of Shmi who were birthed by Padmé Amidala. The Skywalker bloodline ended with the deaths of Leia and her son,Ben Solo, however Rey—thegranddaughter of Darth Sidious—chose to adopt their surname to honor the Skywalker family.^[12]

Personality and traits[]

Shmi Skywalker Lars was a peaceful, selfless, compassionate, and kind person. She loved her son Anakin immensely and was willing to sacrifice herself in order to let Anakin have the possibility of a better life.^[7] During her time under Watto, Shmi still had hope that she would eventually be free, but she accepted her lot in life and had joy in her relationship with Anakin, cherishing their modest life in the Slave Quarters Row.^[19]

Cliegg claimed that Shmi was the best partner a man could ask for, as he was deeply affected by Shmi's death at the hands of the Tusken Raiders.^[4]

Skills and abilities[]

Shmi was skilled at mechanical repairs,^[6] much like her son Anakin.^[4] She was also known for her maintenance and survival skills.^[6] After marrying Cliegg Lars, she learned how to work the Lars family's moisture farm.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

Shmi Skywalker was portrayed by Swedish actressPernilla August inStar Wars: Episode IThe Phantom Menace andStar Wars: Episode IIAttack of the Clones.^[7][4] She reprised her role as Shmi in theThe Clone Warsseason 3 episode "Overlords."^[27]

In1998, it was announced that Anakin Skywalker's mother would be named Shmi and that August would portray her. When theoriginal trilogy wasrereleased in theaters and VHS to commemorate the twentieth anniversary ofStar Wars: Episode IVA New Hopethe year before,Star Wars Trivial Pursuit was released to coincide with this. The limited-edition game contained a sequestered pack of questions that served as a preview of the first new trilogy installment, two of which divulged those bits of information.

In one of the first drafts ofThe Phantom Menace, her name was Shmi Warka.^[34] Shmi's death in Skywalker's arms was theorized byVanity Fair to be based on DirectorGeorge Lucas's own experiences with his mother Dorothy Lucas, who, throughout his childhood, was often bedridden with a sickness that may have been pancreatitis.^[35]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First
• LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Exit from Endor"(In flashback(s))
• William Shakespeare's The Clone Army Attacketh: Star Wars Part the Second
• William Shakespeare's Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge: Star Wars Part the Third(Mentioned only)
• LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III(In flashback(s))
• LEGO Star Wars Battle Story:Father Son Time on the officialLEGOYouTube channel(backup link)(Vision)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources[]

Notes and references[]