Tag: Fixing the Prequels: RotS

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So here’s a new wrinkle on things….

On a discussion board at TheForce.net, there’s a thread devoted to positive articles about the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. And wouldn’t you know it! My “Fixing the Prequels” posts get a mention!

And then it gets a little strange. Seems that at least a couple of fans over there don’t think I love the Prequel Trilogy enough. I can remember this happening two other times since I started writing those posts, and it always feels a bit odd to encounter folks who take me to task for insufficient Prequel-love. It’s almost always the other way ’round, and in all honesty, we’re talking about a world in which “You like the Prequels!” is a shorthand for “You’re a dummy and you have no idea what you’re talking about and we can remove you from any discussion of movies at all!”

So, what’s the basis for my insufficient Prequel-love? One person says this:

The Byzantium Shores fella is a bit peculiar, in that he includes the PT in his 50 favorite films list, yet proceeds to eviscerate all three of them via rewrites.

I don’t think I’d change a frame of my fifty favorite movies–that’s why they’re my favorites. They absorb and envelop me, without discernible imperfections. (I’ve never watched The Maltese Falcon and thought, “Gee, this Bogart/Lorre exchange is a bit on the dry side. I know what’ll spice it up!”)

And then another replies thusly:

Oh, yes. I find that a bit strange and a little distasteful, as well.

“I love this film, but I’d change this, and this, and this, and this, if I could!”

It’s somewhat like saying, “I love my girlfriend, but if this were different, and this, and this, and this, she’d be heaps better.”

Some love.

Uh-huh. OK. I see what you’re getting at here…but…well, I’m sorry, but this is just dumb.

The idea being expressed here is that if you really really really and truly truly truly love something, that means that you can never think it’s flawed in any way. To love something is to be of the belief that it is perfect. I don’t think I’m unfairly reading these two quotes, either — the first person says that his “favorite” films work on his “without discernible imperfections”. And then the second person agrees with that goofy bit about “I love my girlfriend but….” nonsense.

First of all, if what I do in those posts can be described as “eviscerating” the movies, then I hope these folks never watch the Red Letter Media guy in action. Or pretty much read any randomly selected article about the Prequel Trilogy, ever. “Eviscerated”? I went out of my way to point out nearly each and every thing I loved about those movies in those posts, some of which were big things and some of which were tiny moments that got ignored by the haters. Many of my tweaks are just that: additional lines of dialog added into scenes I leave otherwise intact. I don’t even counsel the removing of the infamous “I don’t like sand” line from Attack of the Clones. I said it many times while writing those posts: my goal wasn’t just to highlight the bad but to also shine the light on the good, of which there is a lot in those movies.

More importantly, though, is this business of “loving” the movies. I would hope that when we talk about how I “love” my wife and how I “love” a movie, we’re talking about two different notions with the word “love”, because otherwise, it’s just creepy. But let’s unpack that a little anyway, shall we? Because the fact is, I love my wife despite some real flaws, and I know that she loves me despite some gaping holes in my character. Love does not render one blind to flaws or imperfections. Love means that the flaws and imperfections are not enough to derail the love itself. That these two don’t seem able to grasp this is rather distressing.

I’m reminded of something Leonard Bernstein once wrote, in an essay about Gershwin. He cast this particular essay as a dialog between himself and a friend (a Broadway producer, if memory serves), and at one point, Bernstein lists a lot of flaws in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He takes the work to task for basically being a collection of tunes stitched together with cadenzas and other kinds of rather unconvincing transitional material, and he sounds rather harsh in doing so, prompting the other guy to remark, “Wait a minute: you’ve performed the Rhapsody any number of times and have also recorded it on several occasions. Don’t you like it?”

“I adore it,” Bernstein replies.

“Then how can you take something you adore and riddle it with holes?”

Bernstein then says, of the Rhapsody in Blue, that despite its glaring flaws he adores it because “What’s good in it is so good that it’s irresistible.” And that is generally how I feel about the Prequel films: they are flawed. They are bumpy and uneven. They have moments that fall flat, They even contain scenes that are downright bad. But you know what? I still love them. I love the Prequel Trilogy because what’s good in them is so good it’s irresistible.

I love a teenage figurehead queen deciding that she’s not going to be the easy target for the bullying Trade Federation. I love the slightly rogue quality in Qui Gon Jinn. I love that the Jedi never realize there’s even a threat until way too late. I love how Palpatine hides in plain sight and executes his plans almost in full view. I love that Anakin’s fall from grace is brought about by his desire to clutch tightly on things he loves, almost echoing what Leia Organa would later say to Grand Moff Tarkin: “The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” I love that Anakin’s wrong choices will frequently mirror choices his own son will face decades later. I love planetwide cityscapes and battles in the rain with bounty hunters. And I love that a Gungan ne’er-do-well finds redemption on the battlefield, even if his arc is somewhat mishandled by too many trips to the comedic well.

I love a lot of other things about the Prequel Trilogy, and I don’t have to pretend that its missteps aren’t real to still find them, on balance, to be engaging, fun, and moving films that draw me in emotionally every time I watch them.

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Fixing the Prequels: Finale

The Fixing the Prequels series was never, as I’ve noted many times throughout, a project for me to complain about the much-hated films. My goal was always to acknowledge the Prequel Trilogy’s very real problems by suggesting ways they could have been overcome whilst preserving the main story, while also arguing that the films are often much, much better than their reputations have developed. I intended this series to end a long time ago, and my hope was that as time went by, the Prequels would gain a bit in the main estimation of pop culture. I never expected them to become beloved, but I hoped that their many good qualities would look better from a distance, and the angry and often obnoxious rhetoric about them whenever they were brought up would become less toxic.

This, sadly, has not happened.

The tone regarding the Prequel Trilogy has remained as belligerently hostile as ever, with seemingly every discussion of Star Wars that comes up either devolving into, or at least involving a substantial detour, into “Why the Prequels were awful” and “Why George Lucas is the worst thing ever” and all the other boring memes, like “Lucas needed someone to tell him ‘No’” and the always-dreary appeals that all the best thinking about the Prequels was ever done by the noxious Red Letter Media guy. Even the sale of Star Wars to Disney, with the subsequent rejuvenation of the franchise with a new trilogy of films plus a number of spin-off movies, ended up with a lot of cheering that “Hooray! Finally we get Star Wars that has nothing to do with George Lucas!” and “I wonder if they’ll completely ignore the Prequels!” and so on.

To this day, while I understand a lot of the criticism these three films have received, I’ve never understood the outright hatred of them. Their mere existence serves to dredge up a fairly ugly side of fandom every time they arise in conversation. I just end up shrugging and saying “Oh well”, all at the same time avoiding a lot of Star Wars discussion, because I just tire of saying the same things, over and over again.


Episode VII has a title. Let's mark the day by bitching about THE PHANTOM MENACE! #StarWars


Anyway, I have some final thoughts on things regarding the Prequels and Star Wars in general, so I thought I’d gather them in one place as an epilogue to this series in general.

Midichlorians

Might as well start here. I touched on the midichlorians in several places throughout the series (here and here, mainly), and my view on them has generally not changed at all. I see the midichlorians as an error on George Lucas’s part, but not from a philosophical standpoint but rather from a storytelling standpoint. I’ve never bought into the notion that by introducing midichlorians as some kind of “mechanism” for the Force, Lucas undermined the mysticism of the original trilogy. The problem is that there just doesn’t seem to have been any story reason to introduce them. The midichlorians add absolutely nothing to the narrative. They’re just kind of “there”, gumming up the works. There’s a very vague implication in Revenge of the Sith, when Palpatine tells Anakin that Darth Plagueis was able to influence the midichlorians to “create life”, that somehow he is responsible for Anakin’s “virgin birth”, but that’s all we have to go on. It’s my understanding that one of the “Expanded Universe” novels actually did something with that concept, but I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter now anyway, as the whole “Expanded Universe” has been swept beneath the rug. The very base suggestion seem to be that the Force somehow noticed that it was out of “balance”, and that it therefore influenced the midichlorians to bring forth a specially powerful being to restore that balance. This, though, also is never really dealt with or stated outright, so the midichlorians remain what they always were: a vexing idea that seemed to have no real reason to be there in the first place.

The “Balance” of the Force

This, too, was a vexing concept that was never really discussed. The prophecy was that someone would bring “balance” to the Force, and it was pretty much assumed by everyone that Anakin was the “Chosen One”. Oddly, though, it was never really discussed at all just how the Force was out of “balance” in the first place. The Jedi seemed to assume that “balance” would mean the destruction of the Sith, but…we’re talking balance here, right? Equal measures of yin and yang, not all the way one way or the other. I suspect that what Lucas had in mind here was that a thousand years of the Jedi maintaining peace and justice in the Old Republic led to a calcified, entrenched group of Jedi who were pretty much so set in their ways as to never budge. This is hinted at a number of times in the Prequels, what with the Jedi’s surprise that the Sith could have returned without being noticed and other similar markers along the way. Not until Revenge of the Sith does Yoda note that they might have misread the prophecy all along.

The general implication is that Anakin must play his role, turning to the Dark Side and destroying the Jedi so that they might rise again, stronger and wiser. Metaphorically, Anakin is like the forest fire that clears the forest of dead brush that is choking off new growth, and that “balance” is not restored until Anakin personally destroys Emperor Palpatine, at the cost of his own life. With their deaths, Governor Tarkin’s words from A New Hope come true, as the last remnants of that earlier time are, at last, “swept away”.

All this plays into my notion that Lucas probably should have played more strongly with the angle that the Jedi were not in their prime at the time of their fall, but were actually succumbing to ruin and rot without ever realizing it. For years I’ve thought that the Jedi were roughly analogous to the Knights Templar, who also retreated so far into their own arrogant self-assurance that they too did not realize that their end was at hand almost until the moment the attacks came and they were tied to the stakes and the firewood at their feet lit.

No “signature” ship

Now here’s a criticism of the Prequel Trilogy that does not come up as often as some others, but it’s one that actually does have real resonance with me: there is no single ship that appears throughout the Prequels, no one ship to signify the Prequel era and tie the films together.

In space opera, ships are important. In fact, ships become characters themselves. In Star Trek, each iteration of the Enterprise has been a beloved part of each show or movie. Firefly fans, like myself, can’t imagine the show without Serenity. And in the Original Star Wars trilogy, the Millennium Falcon is as iconic as it gets. When Luke and company defeat Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, the real moment of triumph is not when Jabba’s sail barge explodes, but rather when we cut to space right after, and the Millennium Falcon soars to space again.

The Prequel Trilogy has no single ship to tie everything together and serve as a backdrop for the adventures within, and that’s a problem that I just couldn’t solve in this series, given my intent on keeping the main story of the Prequels intact. The closest we get is that a chrome-hulled Naboo cruiser appears in each film, but it’s a different ship each time. There isn’t one ship to serve as the backdrop for all the adventures; there’s no single ship that is the scene of victories and heartbreaks. Ships matter in space opera, and while there are a lot of neat ships in the Prequel Trilogy, none of them becomes a home to the story. A great ship is a character in itself, and the absence of one definitely hurt the Prequel Trilogy’s sense of inhabitability. There was never a really strong sense of returning to a familiar place, as there often was in the Original Trilogy when we saw the Falcon, or even Luke’s X-wing or the bridge of a Star Destroyer.

Palpatine’s “Long game”

This is, to me, an underrated aspect of the Prequel Trilogy. I remember after The Phantom Menace, people complaining about the fact that Palpatine/Sidious is exerting all that energy to get a treaty signed to make Naboo subservient to the Trade Federation, and pretty much the exact opposite happens – and yet, Palpatine still wins. Why did he care, then?

I suspect that he actually didn’t care. Not really. Whether the treaty got signed or not never really mattered; what he was doing was sowing discontent in the very fabric of the Republic. He was creating tension that he could then use to his advantage, giving rise to a notion of the Republic as increasingly faulty and unable to function. Whether or not Naboo fell in line or somehow managed to get off the hook was never of major concern, which suggests that Palpatine was actually a genius at adapting his plans and spotting opportunities while everyone else was merely reacting to day-to-day events. Consider: Palpatine was scheming the creation of the Clone Army a full ten years before a need for such a thing was even recognized. That’s a pretty big thing.

This, in turn, suggests that Palpatine’s eventual fall was due to his eventual failure to keep adapting to circumstances. As Luke Skywalker would eventually say, “Your overconfidence is your weakness,” and this turns out to be exactly right. The Palpatine of the Prequel Trilogy would never let a bunch of sentient teddy bears destroy his precious defense shield! The Palpatine of the Prequel Trilogy was never overconfident.

The nature of the Sith

The films never really make much clear about who the Sith are or what they were doing. The implication is that they are basically the Dark Side equivalent of Jedi, but some history would have been called for at some point. What was the “revenge” they were seeking? What were they trying to accomplish? The films didn’t really address any of this at all, which I always found slightly vexing. Some of this was eventually explored in Expanded Universe stuff, but again, the Expanded Universe has been wiped clean, so…I guess we still don’t know. (Maybe they could take the step of only erasing Expanded Universe stuff past Return of the Jedi, but even then, it’s still disappointing.)

Whither Star Wars?

Where does Star Wars go from here? I expect that Disney is going to try making it into a mega-franchise not unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will be interesting. Star Wars is going to end up looking very different each time out, I suspect. Will it be too much? Probably not for me, but I do kind-of worry about losing something along the way: the sense that Star Wars was about a single story. I’d hate to see Peter Jackson start making all manner of “Middle Earth” movies, about anything and everything he can think of, once The Hobbit is done. But even so, it’s a big Galaxy, with lots of stories to be told. Maybe one day The Empire Strikes Back will be joined, at long last, by another Star Wars film none of whose action takes place on Tatooine!

I’ll be there, whenever there’s a new Star Wars film to be seen. Will I have the same connection to Star Wars as it continues to unfold? I don’t know. I’ll see the movies, but there’s a very real sense in which my Star Wars ended when Revenge of the Sith came out. What comes now will be fun to watch (I hope), but it really feels like what’s coming is the next generation’s Star Wars, not mine. I hope they play nicely with the old toys. And if they find grand space opera to their liking, I’ve got one for them!

With that, I think I can safely, and finally, call Fixing the Prequels complete. This has been fun, and at long last, I can end with this:


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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part eleven)








Previously:

ten
nine
eight
seven
six
five
four
three
two
one



And now we come to it: the final scenes of Revenge of the Sith.

Most of what I would change here would be to touch up the emotional undercurrent of everything that’s going on, and to address a few issues that have given some people (but not me) pause over the years. Largely, though, I tend to be of the view that the entire second half of this film is extremely good across the board, and close to pitch-perfect in spots.

When we left off, Obi Wan had just confronted Padme with the truth of what’s happening to Anakin. Here Padme decides to try to intercede before things fall apart too badly, and she gets in her ship and flies off to Mustafar. She has a stowaway on board, though: Obi Wan.

The scene that unfolds on the Mustafar landing platform is, to my mind, one of the most underrated scenes in the entire Prequel Trilogy. I suppose that by this point in the film, people’s minds are long made-up about this entire exercise, so it might not even matter how good a scene George Lucas turns in at this point. But anyway, for what it’s worth, I love just about everything about this scene: the hellish red pall over everything, the smoke and ash in the air, Natalie Portman’s capturing of Padme’s desperate attempt to talk Anakin away from his path of hatred, Hayden Christensen’s efforts to make it all sound so reasonable and then his whip-like shift to rage when it fails, and Ewan McGregor’s grounding of Obi Wan, trying to reassert a kind of parental control over Anakin even though he knows it’s going to fail.

There’s also an interesting call-back to The Phantom Menace. Remember in that film, during the duel at the end, the bit with the cascading force-fields that separated the combatants? Qui Gon Jinn knelt and meditated, while Darth Maul paced back and forth like a caged animal. Here, when Anakin feels Obi Wan’s pressure, he begins doing the same thing. Anyhow, I would only make a few very minor changes to any of this:

PADME: Oh, Anakin!

ANAKIN: It’s all right, you’re safe now. What are you doing out here?

PADME: I was so worried about you. Obi-Wan told me terrible things.

ANAKIN: What things?

PADME: He said you have turned to the dark side . . . that you killed younglings.

ANAKIN: Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me.

PADME: He cares about us.

ANAKIN: Us??!

PADME: He knows . . . He wants to help you.

ANAKIN: Is Obi-Wan going to protect you? He can’t … he can’t help you. He’s not strong enough.

PADME: Anakin, all I want is your love.

ANAKIN: Love won’t save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that.

PADME: At what cost? You are a good person. Don’t do this.

ANAKIN: I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother! I’ve become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of and I’ve done it for you. To protect you.

PADME: Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can. [An addition here] You wanted to teach our child to use the Force!

She holds up his original lightsaber, his Jedi weapon. ANAKIN ignores it.

ANAKIN: Don’t you see, we don’t have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be.

[Now, this is fascinating right here. Anakin appeals to Padme in a very bizarre way: “Join me and we shall rule the galaxy as husband and wife.” That he thinks this can possibly work at all is a testament to how screw-up Anakin is. There is no way that Padme would ever choose to become a dictatress. The other interesting thing here is that in twenty-whatever years, Anakin will make the same offer to his son: “Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.” It fails then, too. For all the parallels between Anakin’s path and Luke’s, it’s telling that at the key moments, Luke is clearly also his mother’s son.]

PADME: I don’t believe what I’m hearing . . . Obi-Wan was right. You’ve changed.

ANAKIN: I don’t want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don’t you turn against me.

PADME: I don’t know you anymore. Anakin, you’re breaking my heart. I’ll never stop loving you, but you are going down a path I can’t follow.

[Padme’s line here, “You’re breaking my heart”, sometimes comes in for ridicule. I suppose I can kinda-sorta see where that’s coming from, but my general impression here is that Lucas is delving full-bore into his folkloric approach to storytelling. In fairy tales and stories based on them, such as Wagnerian operas, people are always dying of broken hearts.]

ANAKIN: Because of Obi-Wan?

PADME: Because of what you’ve done . . . what you plan to do. Stop, stop now. Come back! I love you.

ANAKIN: (seeing Obi-Wan) Liar!

PADME turns around and. sees OBI-WAN standing in the doorway of the Naboo Cruiser. 

PADME: No!

ANAKIN: You’re with him. You’ve betrayed me! You brought him here to kill me!

PADME: NO! Anakin. I swear … I …

ANAKIN reaches out, and PADME grabs her throat as she starts to choke. 

OBI-WAN: Let her go, Anakin.

ANAKIN: What have you and she been up to?

OBI-WAN: Let her go!

ANAKIN releases his grip on the unconscious PADME and she crumples to the ground. The lightsaber in her hand, his old one, rolls beneath the ship. OBI WAN notes this, and then returns his gaze to ANAKIN. 

[Here I would have played up her choking, made it appear a lot more violent, a lot more visceral, than it appeared in the finished film. Maybe, instead of letting her crumple to the ground, Anakin could even throw her against the ship’s hull. More physical injury here might blunt the “She dies of a broken heart?!” criticisms.]

ANAKIN: You turned her against me.

OBI-WAN: You have done that yourself.

ANAKIN: You will not take her from me.

ANAKIN throws off his cloak. 

OBI-WAN: Your anger and your lust for power have already done that.

OBI-WAN flings off his cloak.

OBI-WAN: (continuing) You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now . . . until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.

They circle each other until OBI-WAN is near PADME. He places his hand on her. 

ANAKIN: Don’t lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, justice, freedom, and security to my new Empire.

OBI-WAN: Your new Empire?

ANAKIN: Don’t make me kill you.

OBI-WAN: Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic … to democracy.

[Here is where I would add something.]

ANAKIN: Your allegiance will destroy you.

OBI-WAN: Anakin, this isn’t how it has to be! Come back with me! It’s not too late for you. Help me destroy Palpatine and make things right!

ANAKIN: You don’t understand–

OBI-WAN: Anakin, I’ve raised you, taught you! This isn’t who you are, this can’t be who you are! Come with me! It’s the only way.

ANAKIN turns to face him, and there is real pain, real conflict on his face. But then he looks at the slumped form of PADME and hardens again.

ANAKIN: You don’t know the power of the Dark Side…the true nature of the Force. Palpatine is my master now.

OBI-WAN’s face falls. He knows what is about to happen.

OBI-WAN: My allegiance is to the Republic, Anakin.

ANAKIN: If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy.

OBI-WAN: Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.

(ignites his lightsaber)

ANAKIN: You will try.

And with that, the last battle begins. The duel between Obi Wan and Anakin really must be watched multiple times to see all its subtleties, the bits of strategy involved, and the way the setting itself plays into the duel. As they fight through the mining installation, they have to contend with the radiating heat, chunks of lava flying every place, and eventually, they wind up on the rivers of lava themselves. All of this is very intense, and it’s quite simply the most emotionally involving action sequence in the entire Prequel Trilogy. There is literally nothing I don’t love about this fight – well, maybe “love” is the wrong word, I “admire” it – from the intense look of business on Anakin’s face as he tries to kill Obi Wan when he has him pinned to the table, to the way Obi Wan barely keeps his balance as he crosses a thin length of pipe, to the way their fight disrupts the installation’s functioning in the first place.

What surprised me, though, when the film came out was that George Lucas intercuts the Obi Wan versus Anakin fight with a battle between Yoda and Palpatine. When I first saw this, it felt slightly wrong to me, but I got used to it over successive viewings. Obi Wan’s duel with Anakin is the Main Event of the Prequel Trilogy, so why intercut it with something else? Well, in terms of storytelling, I don’t think that Lucas had a choice. Palpatine is the main villain, after all, the big one, and Yoda is known to be one of the greatest of all Jedi. The notion that they would not confront one another simply doesn’t stand up, so confront one another they must. Lucas wisely doesn’t provide nearly as much footage of their battle as he does of Obi Wan’s, but he knows that there is simply no way that Yoda can vanish from the scene in the Old Republic era without at least attempting to deal with things.

And frankly, I wouldn’t change much of anything there, either. It’s interesting to me that the battle starts in a nondescript-looking room, a boring office, which then turns out to be a chamber underneath the great Republic Senate itself, as their battle takes to the central rostrum as it begins to rise up into the larger chamber. When Palpatine begins using the Force to hurl Senate debate pods at Yoda, the symbolism is hard to miss: he is quite literally destroying the mechanism of the Republic’s government.

The main change here that I would make is that I would make clear, in the end, that Palpatine has defeated Yoda. Yoda holds his own for most of the fight, and then when he flees, it needs to feel like he has been truly defeated, that he simply was not strong enough to win this fight. I would have Palpatine take control, landing blow after blow after blow, even as he gleefully cackles his way through the fight. That is one touch I love, the sheer glee that Palpatine shows as he finally unmasks himself in front of Yoda, his hatred of whom he has been burying for years.

Here’s what I think should have happened at the end of Yoda’s battle with Palpatine: Not only does he lose, but he loses very badly. Maybe he even takes a lightsaber blow…but when he flees, there is no question that he has to flee. Only by scurrying through a Star Wars equivalent of a Jeffries Tube can he survive. He has to look worn out, devastated.

And I would not have him rescued by Bail Organa. I would have Yoda flee Coruscant alone somehow. He could flee somehow to the Jedi Temple, dark and abandoned and smoldering, and wander alone through its halls, before finding a ship and flying away from Coruscant himself. Why? Because the Yoda at the end of Revenge of the Sith doesn’t quite match up to the Yoda we meet in The Empire Strikes Back. That Yoda doesn’t hold out much hope for things. He doesn’t think that Luke is going to be worth anything, he seems to have pretty much given up and has to be talked into training Luke by Obi Wan’s ghost. So in my view, Revenge of the Sith must end with Yoda almost broken. So he would fly away from Coruscant unseen by anyone at all, his destination unknown.

Back to Obi Wan and Anakin. Lucas wisely keeps this fight going, and going, and going. This fight isn’t shown in short bursts, like the Luke-versus-Vader battles of the Original Trilogy, or like Qui Gon and Obi Wan versus Darth Maul. There is nothing exhilarating about this fight, nothing exciting in the sense of an exciting action sequence. Instead, this fight will end everything and set the stage for everything to come in the Original Trilogy. It’s a deeply sad battle, as every single attack, every blow, every moment just cements the fact that these two men, friends for years, will be enemies for the rest of their lives. The two fight with differing styles: Obi Wan is trying to figure out the landscape, how to use it to his advantage, how to keep the fight going until he can spot a serious advantage. Anakin, on the other hand, is relentless. In this moment he just keeps coming and coming and coming, never questioning the need to fight, never backing away. There are moments when Anakin seems on the verge of defeat, only to manage another gigantic Force-leap, another acrobatic moment of evading doom. Thus we come to their final exchanges before the end:

OBI WAN: I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you.

ANAKIN: I should have known the Jedi were planning to take over!

OBI WAN: Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!

ANAKIN: From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!

OBI WAN: Then you are lost!

Simple, brutal dialogue there. Words shouted in anger over flumes of molten rock as these two onetime friends prepare to find out which one is going to kill the other. I’d change the dialogue a bit, though:

OBI WAN: I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you.

[Before I continue, I really like this line and the sad way that Ewan McGregor delivers it. You can hear his sadness, but even more, his resignation that it’s over. Anakin is gone, his friend is now a Sith, and only one course remains. Here is when all thought of redeeming Anakin dies, and when Obi Wan realizes that in some way, he has played a role in allowing all of this to come to pass.]

ANAKIN: I should have known the Jedi were plotting against the Republic!

OBI WAN: Anakin, look around you! The Jedi are all dead, and the Republic fell because of Palpatine!

ANAKIN: He did what he had to do to save everyone. And I will serve my master.

OBI WAN: Then you are lost!

Anakin’s inability to recognize that the thing he swore to protect has now been destroyed, with a great deal of help from himself, just might be the key tragedy in Anakin’s conversion to the Sith. That’s how far gone he is at this point.

At this point in the battle, both Obi Wan and Anakin are tired and spent. Obi Wan is desperate for one more move, and he makes it, finally being able to leap to high ground on the side of a river of lava, and there he warns Anakin that he has the high ground and thus stands at a significant advantage right now. It might be hard to figure out, but this is actually a pretty interesting callback to Obi Wan’s battle with Darth Maul, when he managed to use the Force to propel himself up and over Darth Maul. He sees Anakin about to attempt the same thing, so he knows what move to make, and when Anakin leaps, he makes the move, dropping down and slicing Anakin’s legs off. Ouch. I’m not sure what result Obi Wan expected by warning Anakin not to attempt anything; was his plan to capture Anakin? Let Anakin commit the Star Wars version of seppuku? Not sure, but it’s not that big a deal.

Anyhow, here’s where I would make one fairly big change:

OBI WAN and ANAKIN continue dueling as their respective platforms come close to one another…and then in a spectacular leap, ANAKIN jumps from his across a wide gap of flowing lava to land on OBI WAN’s platform. The platform wobbles dangerously but stays upright, and ANAKIN presses OBI WAN in very close combat. ANAKIN holds nothing back, delivering a blinding series of attacks that tax OBI WAN’s ability to parry them to the limit. The outcome seems clear, and with one massive slash, ANAKIN sends OBI WAN’s lightsaber flying, where it lands in the lava river and immediately combusts. ANAKIN barely pauses to run OBI WAN through, and OBI WAN leaps backward, desperately flinging himself across the lava to land miraculously on dry ground. He pushes himself to his feet, weaponless, as ANAKIN swings his platform around.

ANAKIN: This is the end, Master.

OBI WAN prepares himself….

ANAKIN: I will hunt down the rest of the Jedi and destroy them. You were a Master once, but your time is at an end.

ANAKIN lifts his lightsaber high over his head. OBI WAN looks up…the landing platform is nearly directly overhead. He makes a motion with his right hand.

ANAKIN: Prepare to meet your destiny!

On the landing platform, underneath the ship, the lightsaber that PADME dropped twitches and then rolls away, dropping over the side. Down below, ANAKIN leaps in his last attack on OBI WAN. OBI WAN drops, holding his right hand up to snatch ANAKIN’s original lightsaber from the air. In one smooth motion, he ignites the weapon and uses it to cut off ANAKIN’s legs and left arm below the elbow. ANAKIN shrieks and tumbles in a heap to the black sand, where he starts to slide down toward the lava. He lashes out with his one remaining appendage, his already-mechanical right arm. His glove begins to scorch, as does the syntho-flesh beneath it, revealing the structure of his mechanical hand. ANAKIN screams. OBI WAN retreats and deactivates the lightsaber.

OBI WAN: You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would, destroy the Sith, not join them. It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in Darkness!

ANAKIN’s lower extremities, what is left of them, are beginning to smoke.

ANAKIN: I hate you!

OBI WAN: You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.

ANAKIN: I…hate….

ANAKIN cannot finish, as his lower body catches fire. Now he can only shriek in agony as the flames begin consuming him.

OBI WAN: I loved you, Anakin.

The flames reach ANAKIN’s head, and his shrieks become more and more terrible and pathetic. He reaches up with his remaining arm, partially to try to attack and partially a reach for help. OBI WAN can watch no more and starts back up the hill, leaving ANAKIN to burn.

EXTERIOR: Landing platform

OBI WAN arrives back at the ship, where C-3PO awaits him at the bottom of the ramp.

C-3PO: Master Kenobi! We have brought Miss Padme on board. She is hurt very badly. We must leave this dreadful place!

OBI WAN: Start up the ship, 3PO.

C-3PO: Will Master Anakin be joining us?

OBI WAN: No, he won’t.

OBI WAN strides up onto the ship. He is walking slowly, painfully.

C-3PO: Oh dear….

C-3PO follows OBI WAN on board. Behind them, the mining installation is starting to succumb to the lava blasts. The ship’s ramp closes and the engines begin to glow.

INTERIOR: Naboo ship – cabin.

OBI WAN leans over PADME as a concerned R2-D2 whistles sadly nearby. PADME is very weak. An oxygen mask is on her face.

PADME: Obi Wan….

OBI WAN: Relax, Padme. Save your strength.

PADME: Anakin…

OBI WAN: Shhhh….

PADME: Anakin…why?

She lapses into unconsciousness. OBI WAN looks at R2.

OBI WAN: Stay with her.

He exits.

A special shoutout to the next shot, which has an exhausted and overwhelmed Obi Wan slumping into the copilot’s chair as C-3PO flies the ship away from Mustafar. The music at this point in the film is very sad and bleak, in keeping with what has happened.

In the film, at this point Anakin is somehow still alive, and Palpatine arrives to rescue him. I’d change this slightly by having the resident droids of Mustafar intercede, collecting Anakin and putting him on a stretcher. I would assume that they have some kind of programming for if a human handler gets into trouble. The main problem here is that the sudden arrival of Palpatine makes it seem as if Mustafar and Coruscant are right next door to one another. Still, I love the imagery Lucas used here: the closeup of the fine, ash-like sand as Anakin’s machine hand tries to drag the rest of his body up the slope. It’s pathetic and sad, but it also shows the drive that Anakin still possesses, which he will channel over the next twenty years as Darth Vader.

What’s left is mainly wrapping everything up, isn’t it? Palpatine’s rescue of Anakin from Mustafar is intercut with Obi Wan’s arrival at some medical station with Padme. I wouldn’t have Yoda there, but virtually everything else in this entire sequence works for me. I would have the medical droids work to save Padme from the injuries Anakin inflicted upon her, but I would still keep the sense that what is killing her is her broken heart. A lot of people have complained about this over the years since the film came out, but it’s never bothered me in the least. First of all, dying of a broken heart is a very common thing to happen in mythic storytelling; it happens all the time in opera. Second of all, it happens in real life. Yes, I would have Padme be grievously injured, but I would also have the medical droids flummoxed because her injuries should be survivable…but aren’t.

The birth sequence, intercut with Anakin’s conversion into a cyborg, is in my opinion nearly perfectly done in the film. This entire sequence is visually stunning as it switches from the gentle lighting of Padme’s maternity room to Anakin’s droid-run facility, starkly lit and with no hints of warmth at all as the droids attach things to Anakin’s body with almost no regard for his comfort. When the mask is lowered over Anakin’s face, the transformation is complete, and the moment is very troubling. I love the POV shot as the mask is positioned, and there’s a tiny shot of Anakin’s face, the last time we see his eyes, and his eyes widen with fear just as they disappear from view. The mask is pressed into position and there is a hissing sound as the air is sucked out, Anakin is sealed within, and aside from whatever rare moments he takes to himself inside his meditation chambers, his face will not see the light of day again until he is near his own death.

Meanwhile, Padme names the babies “Luke” and “Leia”, begs Obi Wan to save Anakin, and then she dies. Again we cut to Anakin, who is now fully Darth Vader. For some reason this scene always gets made fun of, but it’s never bothered me. I like how Palpatine lays the guilt for Padme’s death right at Anakin’s feet. It’s the masterstroke that will keep Anakin stoked toward the Dark Side for many years to come, this knowledge that he destroyed the love of his life himself. It amazes me that Palpatine is often able to use the truth to get what he wants. Nothing he says here is a lie: “In your anger, you killed her.” He is stoking the same old guilt in Anakin’s heart, which guarantees that Anakin will never embrace his own heart again. As Anakin screams that infamous ”Nooooo!” (which I have never had a problem with anyway), Palpatine grins evilly in the background.

Now, Obi Wan and Bail Organa have to return Padme’s body to Naboo, whereupon they must have the discussion as to what should happen with the children. Remember, in my version, Yoda’s whereabouts are unknown….

Interior: Alderaan cruiser – hold.

OBI WAN and BAIL ORGANA watch through a window as Padme’s coffin is taken away by Royal Naboo Guards.

BAIL: We have heard nothing from Master Yoda.

OBI WAN: Yoda lives. More than that, I do not know. I will find him, in time.

BAIL: I have made arrangements to adopt the girl. My wife and I have been talking about children for some time. She will have a good home and she will be loved.

OBI WAN: I will take the boy to his family on Tatooine.

BAIL: We’ve just learned that Anakin Skywalker is still alive…as Darth Vader. You don’t think he will find his son?

OBI WAN: He’s Darth Vader now, not Anakin Skywalker. He’ll never go back there. There’s nothing for him on Tatooine anymore. Luke will be safe.

BAIL: I must go to pay my respects to Senator Amidala’s family. Will you join me?

OBI WAN looks outside at the gathering funerary procession and shakes his head.

OBI WAN: It’s best that no one knows I am here.

BAIL: Very well.

BAIL turns to go, and then stops and faces OBI WAN again. He steps in closer so he won’t be overheard by anyone.

BAIL: This is not the end, you know. The fight will continue.

OBI WAN nods, and BAIL leaves. OBI WAN walks into a tiny cabin where LUKE and LEIA are asleep. He sits down beside them, and dabs a cloth to one of their mouths.

OBI WAN: The Force is strong in your family. Perhaps one day….

VOICE: (from the air) Obi Wan.

OBI WAN: What…Qui Gon?

VOICE OF QUI GON JINN: Obi Wan. All is not lost. I have things to teach you…many things…about the true power of the Force….

OBI WAN is stunned.

A very common complaint about Revenge of the Sith that I’ve never understood is that it’s dumb for Obi Wan to take Luke to Anakin’s own family, because then Anakin will find Luke, and that it’s doubly dumb to not even change Luke’s name. This has always sounded dumb to me. The Lars family isn’t Anakin’s family. His only connection to them is that his mother married Cliegg Lars, and now she is dead. Under what possible circumstance is Darth Vader going to drop by the Lars homestead for a visit? The complaint makes absolutely zero sense to me.

I do like withholding the idea that Qui Gon has somehow managed to live on as part of the Force until this moment, too, when it seems that the Dark Side stands completely triumphant over everything. Obviously I have Yoda disappearing into apparent exile, so I have to have Qui Gon personally manifest himself to Obi Wan. There is dialog in the original scripts which indicates that Lucas originally intended to have Qui Gon’s voice be heard again, but obviously that never happened. I don’t know if it was because Lucas decided not to do it or because Liam Neeson refused to do the voice work, but in my version of Revenge of the Sith, that happens.

At this point I would cut to:

Exterior: Space – Dagobah.

A tiny ship emerges from hyperspace and approaches the swamp planet.

Exterior: Dagobah – swamp.

The ship descends and lands in a clearing by the side of the swamp. As its engines cool and go dark, the ship opens, and YODA emerges. He moves slowly, perhaps limping. He walks out onto the land and looks across the swamp, to a tiny hut made of mud. YODA breathes out a deep and heavy sigh, and then he turns to his little ship and lifts his hand. The ship levitates, and then YODA uses the Force to move it to the middle of the swamp, where he releases it, allowing it to sink. Then he begins hobbling in the direction of the hut as his ship sinks into the water.

I remember how enigmatic Yoda is when we first meet him in The Empire Strikes Back, how ambiguous he is. His refusal to train Luke, his deep skepticism – it’s almost as if he has given up on the very idea of a new hope at all. That’s what I would hope to convey here: that Yoda is hiding not so much to rise again, but because he’s failed and genuinely doesn’t know if there is anything else he can do.

After this, all that’s left is the last arranging of the pieces: First, the burial of Padme. This is a beautiful sequence, again intercut with Vader and Palpatine. Padme’s funeral is extremely well-done, ending on the little wooden pendant in her hand, the one made for her by a young Anakin. I would change the last shots of Vader and Palpatine, though: I’d keep Palpatine on the bridge of the Star Destroyer, but I’d ditch the construction of the Death Star, and instead have him looking over the beginnings of the Imperial Fleet, with the first real incarnations of the Star Destroyers. Then I’d cut to Darth Vader, somewhere on some planet, confronting a straggler Jedi Knight and destroying him as a couple of stormtroopers look on. This seems to me more likely: first of all, I’m not sure what to make of the apparent suggestion that the first Death Star took twenty years to build; was the second one built at the same time, or was it one of the greatest “rush jobs” in Galatic history?

Also, I think we need to see Darth Vader in some kind of action, in the armor, looking like the classic Darth Vader. Obi Wan later tells Luke that Darth Vader “helped the Emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights”, and it seems to me that seeing him do just that might be a good place to leave him. He has no regret by this point; he has given himself fully to the Dark Side and is content to do evil.

In the original script, Lucas included Yoda’s arrival on Dagobah here; he later cut it on the basis that it doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know. Still, I’d show it. There’s little better sense of how far the Jedi have fallen than to show Yoda’s final destination, as far from the glorious marble of the Jedi Temple as you can get.

And then, at the end of it all, two sequences I wouldn’t change at all: Bail Organa arriving at home on Alderaan and presenting their adoptive daughter to his wife, and Obi Wan turning young Luke over to Owen and Beru Lars. That ending brought the entire Star Wars saga full-circle…and that’s where everything ends.

If there was a better way to end the story, a better final shot to look upon before the final smash to the credits, I can’t imagine what it is. There is “A new hope”, and he’s growing up right there…until his own saga can begin.

Another thing I like is that there is no dialogue in the film at all after the final scene in the ship’s hold. Lucas relies on his images and his music to bring it all together

With that, we reach the end of Revenge of the Sith. I will have one more post in this series, tying everything together and addressing a few issues that apply to the Prequels as a whole and thoughts on this entire project, which ended up taking longer than I ever expected. Tune in, Star Warriors!

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part ten)

Previously:

nine
eight
seven
six
five
four
three
two
one


So! When last we left off, Anakin had finally stopped wandering around the pitcher of Palpatine’s Kool-Aid and just picked it up and drained it in one swallow. What’s left now is the ramifications of the great attack on the Jedi, who never saw it coming, never realized, never had any idea of the danger they were in – the danger they themselves walked into.

Much of the rest of the film is nearly perfectly done, really. The entire third act of Revenge of the Sith, starting with Anakin’s turn and the attack on the Jedi, is utterly great, and this entire portion of the film is one reason it always pains me to hear people dismiss the entire Prequel Trilogy in one go, as if there was nothing of value to be found within it. Well, there is; there’s a great deal, and this is where George Lucas’s hand is the most steady. There are very few major changes I’d make to all this; just little things here and there to clarify or tighten things up slightly.

Where I’d left off, Anakin had just reached the most distasteful part of his duty in cleansing the Jedi Temple: the slaying of the younglings. We’d cut at this point to Padme in her apartment – as I’ve written it, arriving home after trying to fly to the Temple – where she looks out across the cityscape and, in one of the film’s many haunting images, sees only the smoke-and-fire shrouded haze of the Jedi Temple in the distance.

INT: Coruscant – Padme’s apartment.

PADME enters, where she is greeted by C-3PO.

C-3PO: Senator! We’ve had some problems–

PADME: What happened here?!

She sees the shattered glass everywhere.

C-3PO: Master Anakin had to make a rather dramatic exit. It seems something is amiss at the Jedi Temple. Could that be why?

PADME looks out the window, across the cityscape. In the distance, shrouded by flame and billowing red smoke, is the Jedi Temple. Horror overtakes her.

C-3PO: He’s quite resourceful for a human being…I’m sure he’ll be all right.

PADME breaks into tears.

At this point Bail Organa arrives at the Temple:

EXT. CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-LANDING PLATFORM-PRE-DAWN

The Jedi Temple is on fire. Large plumes of smoke billow toward the sky as BAIL ORGANA lands his Speeder on a Jedi Temple platform. FOUR CLONE TROOPERS stand guard at the entrance to the Temple. They lower their guns as BAIL gets out of his Speeder and walks toward them.

BAIL ORGANA: What’s going on here? What’s happened to the Jedi–

CLONE SERGEANT: There’s been a rebellion. Don’t worry, sir, the situation is under control.

The CLONES bar the Senator from entering the Temple.

BAIL ORGANA: But the Jedi–!

He tries to push through, but the CLONES lift their weapons and aim them at BAIL.

CLONE SERGEANT: It’s time for you to leave, sir.

BAIL ORGANA: And so it is.

BAIL reluctantly heads hack toward his Speeder. Suddenly, several SHOTS RING OUT. BAIL turns and sees a ten-year-old Jedi, ZETT JUKASSA, fighting the CLONES. The YOUNG JEDI cuts down several CLONES, including APPO, before he is overrun and shot.

BAIL ORGANA: No!

He starts forward, but the CLONES fire on him. He dives back into his speeder and takes off, only barely managing to regain control of his craft before crashing.

CLONE SERGEANT: Let him go! Stop firing! He’s a Senator!

Now we cut to Utapau:

EXT: Utapau – underwater – caves.

A group of CLONE TROOPERS on speeder bikes fly over the water, searching.

CLONE TROOPER: No one here, sir. He must be dead.

CLONE TROOPER #2: Let’s get back.

They fly off, and when they’re gone, OBI WAN KENOBI pops up from beneath the surface, his rebreather device in his mouth. He climbs up onto the rocks and looks himself over; he is bruised and bleeding in several places but not seriously wounded. He draws his lightsaber and attempts to ignite it, but it is waterlogged and fizzles. Stowing his rebreather back into his belt, he begins climbing up and out.

[This bit echoes back to my TPM series, in which Obi Wan had some trouble early on with a waterlogged lightsaber. Meanwhile….]

EXT: Kashyyyk – beach – battleground – night.

A group of CLONE TROOPERS is searching through the remains littering a battlefield on the beachhead.

CLONE TROOPER: No sign of him, sir. Just dead Wookiees.

CLONE SERGEANT: Proceed to the east. He must be here somewhere.

EXT: Kashyyyk – hillside overlooking the beach.

Two Wookiees, TARRFUL and CHEWBACCA, arrive on the hilltop, where TARRFUL lets down YODA from his back. YODA waves his hand, using the Force to toss aside a pile of vegetation that had been concealing a small emergency ship.

YODA: Thank you. Fear for your planet’s safety I do. A dark time is upon us. Goodbye, Tarrful and Chewbacca!

The two WOOKIEES howl in reply, and YODA boards his tiny ship and flies up and away from the planet.

INT: YODA’S SHIP.

YODA: Emergency channel, activate.

EXT: Coruscant – docking bay.

BAIL ORGANA lands his speeder near his ALDERAANIAN CRUISER, where he hops out and throws his cape over his shoulders. Two OFFICIALS approach.

OFFICIAL: Senator?

BAIL ORGANA: I have business offworld. Emergency business in the name of the Senate.

OFFICIAL: Very well.

He strides past them to his ship, whose thrusters are warming up.

INT: Alderaanian cruiser – corridor.

BAIL ORGANA is met at the entrance by CAPTAIN ANTILLES.

ANTILLES: Senator? What’s going on?

BAIL ORGANA: I don’t know. Did you get a Jedi beacon?

ANTILLES: I did. It’s a complete mess over there. The Clone Troopers are going wild. I’m not sure anyone’s really in command.

BAIL ORGANA: That will change soon. This is just the beginning. Get us into space. As soon as we’re out of Coruscant’s transponder range, activate that beacon and get us to Polis Massa.

ANTILLES: Polis Massa?

BAIL ORGANA: You heard me. Hopefully we can stop a few Jedi from walking into this catastrophe.

EXT: Coruscant – sky.

The Alderaanian Cruiser lifts off and leaves Coruscant.

[Now, did anyone besides me get really excited at the sight of that ship and the familiar white corridors?]

EXT. UTAPAU-SINKHOLE WALL-LATE DAY

OBI-WAN hides from a group of CLONE TROOPERS.

CLONE CAPTAIN: Start loading your men on the ship.

CLONE TROOPER: Yes, sir.

OBI-WAN tries to sneak back to the secret platform, down a flight of stairs.

EXT. UTAPAU-SECRET LANDING PLATFORM-LATE DAY

OBI-WAN makes his way out of the cave and onto General Grievous’s secret landing platform. He runs to the Starfighter and climbs into the one-man ship. The Starfighter takes off and disappears into the sky.

EXT. UTAPAU-SPACE

OBI-WAN flies away from the planet Utapau in General Grievous’s tiny Starfighter.

INT. GENERAL GRIEVOUS’S STARFIGHTER-SPACE

OBI-WAN activates the controls on the Starfighter. He punches in several coordinates and codes. A BEEPING SOUND is heard. It quickly speeds up until it is a steady tone. OBI-WAN speaks into his comlink.

OBI-WAN: Emergency Code Nine Thirteen … I have no contact on any frequency. Are there any Jedi out there? . . . anywhere . . .

A BURST OF STATIC is heard- and a FUZZY HOLOGRAM image appears.

BAIL: (hologram) . . . Kenobi . . .

OBI-WAN: (continuing) I’ve locked on. Repeat.

The FUZZY HOLOGRAM image comes into focus, and it is BAIL ORGANA.

BAIL ORGANA: Master Kenobi??

OBI-WAN: Senator Organa! My Clone Troops turned on me … I need help.

BAIL ORGANA: We have just rescued Master Yoda. It appears this ambush has happened everywhere. We’re sending you our coordinates.

OBI WAN: Acknowledged.

BAIL’s hologram fades. OBI WAN settles back for a long flight.

OBI WAN: What is happening?!

The ship here, General Grievous’s starfighter, is an odd ship indeed. I’ve never been able to decide if I liked it or not. It’s got this old-car-from-1959 vibe to it, almost as if Lucas is paying a visual homage of sorts to American Graffiti.

Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Anakin checks in with Padme:

EXT: Padme’s apartment – speeder dock.

A speeder arrives, and ANAKIN jumps out. PADME comes running out and throws her arms around him.

PADME: Oh Anakin, I was so worried! What’s happened at the Temple?

ANAKIN disengages from her embrace.

ANAKIN: It’s as I always feared. It’s why the Jedi have been shutting me out. They were planning to strike against the Chancellor and take control of the Republic.

PADME: What?!

ANAKIN: They tried it, Padme. They really tried it. They failed.

PADME: I can’t believe it!

ANAKIN: I was there. I saw it all. Master Windu tried to assassinate the Chancellor.

PADME: Is…is he….

ANAKIN: Windu is dead. As are most of the rest of the Jedi. They’re traitors, Padme. I always sensed something wrong with the Order….

PADME: What about Obi Wan?

ANAKIN: If he’s not already dead, he’s a traitor too.

PADME: You can’t believe that!

ANAKIN shakes his head.

ANAKIN: I don’t know what to believe, really. I’m afraid for Obi Wan. I pray he is not a part of this plot.

PADME stares at him as he goes inside. There is something very different about him now that she can’t quite put her finger on. She follows him to the fireplace, where he stops and looks into a mirror. The reflection staring back is dark, distorted.

ANAKIN: I’m sorry about your window. Obi Wan and I are bad for your windows….

PADME: Anakin.

ANAKIN: I have to leave now. I’ve been given a very important mission.

PADME: By who?

ANAKIN: Chancellor Palpatine. At least one Jedi is still loyal to him. He has intelligence that the Separatist leaders are on Mustafar. I’m going there to end this war once and for all.

He steps forward and takes PADME’s hands.

ANAKIN: Soon it will all be over, my love. No more war, no more Senate, no more Jedi order telling us who we can be. Soon we’ll be in your Lake Country…just you and me and our child…I will teach him how to use the Force.

PADME: Or her.

ANAKIN: Or her. We’ll make a new Order, free of Jedi poison.

PADME: Anakin….

ANAKIN: I will return. When I do, it will all be better. You’ll see.

He puts something down on the end table. It is his old lightsaber.

ANAKIN: It’s all right. I have a new one. This one is for my son. Or my daughter.

He kisses her, and then he leaves. PADME is deeply disturbed. She knows that something is terribly, terribly wrong.

One thing lost, slightly, in the finished film is Anakin’s failure to recognize that in the end, he is largely just a pawn in everything. He’s still trying to maintain some semblance of control over his destiny, and his realization of how badly he’s lost it comes far, far too late. He still thinks that a happy ending is possible, a happy ending where he goes off and lives with Padme and teaches his kid about the Force. Anakin is swirling down the rabbit hole now.

We cut now to Bail Organa’s ship, where Obi Wan rejoins Yoda. One tiny nitpick I have with this sequence is that there isn’t enough discussion along the lines of “What the hell just happened to us?!” So, here’s my version:

EXT: Space – Alderaanian Cruiser.

OBI WAN flies his stolen starfighter into the Alderaanian cruiser’s landing bay.

INT: Alderaanian cruiser – corridor.

OBI WAN emerges from the landing bay to meet YODA and BAIL ORGANA.

YODA: Hurt you are, Obi Wan.

OBI WAN: Not badly, Master. What happened? We had the battle won, and then my own clone troopers fired on me!

YODA: Betrayed, you were, along with all the Jedi. Controlled from outside, the clones are. The Dark Side….

BAIL ORGANA: I saw thousands of clone troopers attacking the Temple. That’s why I had my Captain steal a transponder. I had hoped more would answer the call.

OBI WAN: Are there no others?

YODA: None who have answered. Perished, or gone into hiding, they have.

BAIL ORGANA: The Temple is now sending a signal for all Jedi to return. It says that the war is over.

OBI WAN: A trap. Darth Sidious is behind this, isn’t he?

YODA: Indeed he is…and unmasked now is he.

OBI WAN: Who is he?

YODA: Mind your thoughts, Obi Wan. Power over the armies of the Republic?

OBI WAN: Palpatine.

YODA: Hidden from us, the entire time. Weak we became. See him, we did not.

OBI WAN: But if Palpatine is a Sith Lord, then Anakin is in grave danger!

Yoda nods.

OBI WAN: We have to go back!

YODA: Beyond saving, your apprentice may be….

OBI WAN: We have to try…and besides, we have to deactivate that signal from the Temple. Any stragglers going back will be captured and killed.

YODA: Agree, I do…but beware your feelings, Obi Wan. More to reveal, the Dark Side has.

It makes sense to me that Obi Wan would be worried about Anakin, who it turns out has been left in the very thick of things. He doesn’t know yet, he hasn’t even begun to suspect. Has Yoda? Possibly. I suspect he would. He knows that the Sith come in pairs, after all.

And what’s Anakin up to? He’s arriving on Mustafar, which is one of my favorite planet settings in all of Star Wars. Seriously, look at this:

That’s amazing. It’s just brutal hellscape from one horizon to the other. Inside the mining facility, the sniveling Separatist conspirators are all together in one place, and Darth Sidious tells them (via hologram) that his new apprentice, Darth Vader, will take care of them. And sure enough, he arrives just a bit later (as Bail Organa arrives back on Coruscant, with Obi Wan and Yoda, just in time for the Chancellor’s special session of the Senate). Anakin/Vader’s entrance here is just perfect. He walks in, face shrouded by his hood, and gestures the doors closed. It’s truly chilling. The Separatists have absolutely no idea what’s about to happen to them, and why would they?

This entire next bit is thrilling, as we intercut between Palpatine’s speech to the Senate, in which he rallies public opinion against the Jedi and support for his having won the war to justify declaring himself Emperor, Obi Wan and Yoda’s infiltration of the Temple, and Anakin’s brutal slaughter of the Separatist leaders. Lots of amazing visuals here, from Yoda throwing his lightsaber into a clone trooper’s heart, to Palpatine’s messianic proclamation, to Anakin’s final, devastating turn. There’s such a brutal finality to Anakin’s actions here, particularly when Nute Gunray, the Trade Federation leader whom we met way back in the opening scenes of TPM, is protesting that Sidious promised them all peace…and Anakin cuts him down in midsentence.

Of particular interest is Obi Wan and Yoda finding the dead younglings. I would relocate this to the library, in keeping with the previous entry.

INT: Jedi Temple – library.

OBI WAN and YODA enter…and find the bodies of the slain younglings. OBI WAN looks as though he is going to be sick.

OBI WAN: Not even the younglings survived?

YODA: Not cut down by blaster fire. Lightsaber wounds, these are.

OBI WAN: Sidious has a new apprentice, doesn’t he? Who could it be?

And cut to Anakin, killing the Separatists and enjoying it.

Yup…Anakin has gone well and truly around the bend.

Other things I like in this sequence? Well, Padme’s line about “So this is how liberty dies – with thundrous applause.” Palpatine didn’t take over the Republic; instead, he made it want to go where he wanted it. That’s how it works, a lot of the time.

The only major change I’d make in all this is this next scene, when Obi Wan watches the security recordings and learns the truth.

INT: Jedi Temple – security and computer center.

YODA keeps watch as OBI WAN works with the computers.

OBI WAN: That should do it. I’ve recalibrated the message to warn Jedi to stay away.

YODA: A long time it will take for them to discover the change. Come. Go, we must.

OBI WAN: No.

He turns to another console with a large viewscreen.

OBI WAN: We have to learn what we’re facing.

YODA sighs.

YODA: Only pain you will find, I fear.

OBI WAN turns on the screen and plays the recording. It is hazy at first, a scene of chaotic destruction as CLONE TROOPERS surge into the Great Hall, blasting Jedi. But then, in one corner, a glimpse of something…a red light, flashing back and forth.

CLONE TROOPER: Form up behind Lord Vader!

OBI WAN: Lord Vader? Focus here.

He touches the screen and the scene shifts to center on the red light. It focuses…the red light is a lightsaber, flashing with dizzying speed, its wielder shrouded in dark robes. OBI WAN watches for a moment as YODA stands near, staring at the floor, shaking his head.

OBI WAN: Freeze image!

The screen freezes on a shot of the SITH APPRENTICE.

OBI WAN: No….

It is unmistakably ANAKIN.

OBI WAN: No! It can’t be!

YODA: Screen off.

The monitor goes dark.

OBI WAN: Anakin…no!

YODA: Feared this, I did.

OBI WAN: You never said anything!

YODA: Hope for Skywalker, I had. Hope that was misplaced. Much failure here. Much of it, mine.

OBI WAN: We pushed him into Palpatine’s arms!

YODA: A Sith he is, now. And destroyed they must be.

OBI WAN: I will confront Palpatine. I cannot attack Anakin. He is–

YODA: Anakin he is, no longer. The young man you knew is dead. Only this creature remains. Darth Vader he is now.

OBI WAN: I can’t do it!

YODA: You must. Not strong enough to confront Sidious are you, and only two are we.

OBI WAN: I don’t even know where he is!

YODA: You will.

And, it turns out, he does….

INT: Coruscant – Padme’s apartment – day.

OBI WAN meets with PADME.

PADME: The Chancellor is a Sith Lord?

OBI WAN: He deceived us all.

PADME: Is there hope?

OBI WAN: Little…but we have to act. [pause as he gathers his courage] Padme…where is Anakin?

PADME: You need him to defeat the Chancellor!

OBI WAN: No…Anakin is in grave danger.

PADME: From the Sith?

OBI WAN: From himself.

PADME: I don’t understand.

OBI WAN: This is so hard to say…but…Anakin isn’t in danger from Palpatine’s apprentice. Anakin IS Palpatine’s apprentice.

PADME recoils.

PADME: What?

OBI WAN: Anakin has joined Palpatine. He has joined the Sith.

PADME: He wouldn’t–

OBI WAN: He has turned to the Dark Side, Padme, I’m sorry, but it’s true. I have seen the security recordings from the Temple assault. Anakin led the Clone Troopers. He helped slaughter every Jedi there.

PADME: No!

OBI WAN: Including the younglings.

PADME: No! He wouldn’t do that! You’re wrong! You’re wrong….

She sits on the couch, stricken with horror and grief. She knows it’s true. OBI WAN joins her.

OBI WAN: Padme…I must find him.

PADME: (through tears) You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?

OBI WAN cannot answer ‘Yes’….

OBI WAN: He is…a grave threat. To the Republic…to you…to himself.

PADME is exerting every bit of control she can muster, and still, her cracks are showing. Finally she shakes her head.

PADME: I can’t. I don’t know where he is.

OBI WAN sees that she is lying, but he doesn’t press her. Instead he rises and walks toward the exit, stopping on the threshold.

OBI WAN: Anakin is the father, isn’t he?

PADME cannot reply.

OBI WAN: I’m so sorry.

He leaves, and he is barely out the door before Padme breaks down…but only for a moment. OBI WAN flies off, and PADME looks across the room to the table where ANAKIN’s old lightsaber rests. She gets up, walks over to the table, and picks up the lightsaber.

PADME: C-3PO? Call Captain Typho. I need my ship.

INT: Mustafar – mining complex.

PAN THROUGH the complex, across the bodies that still lay where they fell when ANAKIN struck them down, and finally to ANAKIN himself, standing at an overlook, surveying the hellish planet. His eyes are crazed, and a tear rolls down one cheek.

This scene, the bit between Obi Wan and Padme, is one of the best in the entire Star Wars saga, and I only change it to reflect my own previous changes. The scene is brilliantly acted by Ewan MacGregor and Natalie Portman, from his refusal to actually say that he needs to go kill Anakin, to her denial of what she’s hearing but the look on her face which makes clear that she knows how true it is. And that cut to Anakin, standing on the overlook with his dead behind him…the look of insane rage, leavened with the single tear…that’s pretty amazing, and it’s all tied together by John Williams in one of the saga’s most compelling bits of scoring. The music for this scene, starting with Obi Wan’s arrival at Padme’s apartment, can be heard here, at the 2:24 mark:


This is music of grim realization. As you listen to it, you can hear all the dark pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

And that’s where we’ll stop. Next time…it all ends.

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part nine)

previously:

eight
seven
six
five
four
three
two
one


OK, this is long…quite long. But necessary, because this is when we finally get to the meat of the whole thing.

At the end of last entry, Mace Windu had placed Anakin Skywalker under house arrest for the crime of MWJ (Marriage While Jedi). And now, Windu is on his way to force the Chancellor from power, not knowing – and having refuse to hear from Anakin – that Palpatine isn’t just the Chancellor, but also a Sith Lord. Anakin knows that Mace Windu is walking into disaster, and that he’ll need help if he is to take down a Sith Lord. What will Anakin do? Here we go!

I like the interplay of Anakin and Padme looking across the Coruscant cityscape to one another, but Anakin’s decision to defy Windu and go join the arrest of the Chancellor comes a bit out of the blue. We know why he’s feeling so tortured, but even so, there’s nothing that really establishes it; we have to tease it out from what we know of the story at that point. We have Anakin and Padme looking at each other across the skyline (well, looking toward one another, anyway), and then Mace and friends arrive to arrest the Chancellor (knowing that he is possibly a Sith Lord), and then Anakin takes off.

So I change all this to remove Mace Windu knowing of Palpatine’s Sith status, and to establish Anakin’s rage at Windu for basically having kicked him out of the Jedi. Anakin is starting to spiral out of control, now. In the film, the sequence of events feels incomplete, so my goal is to connect the dots a bit.

Again, I’m doing this without a lot of comment — I’ll just present my rendition of events. Enjoy — revisiting this terribly sad and emotional sequence was quite rewarding!

EXTERIOR: Planets – battle montage.

The various battles continue, with OBI WAN, YODA, PLO KOON, and other JEDI leading the fight against the battle droid armies.

INTERIOR: Coruscant – Jedi temple – Great Hall.

MACE WINDU stands with three other JEDI as he confers with a fifth, a young-looking JEDI WOMAN named GALINDA.

(“Galinda” is just a placeholder name, obviously. Go with it, folks!)

WINDU: We are going to confront the Chancellor and force him to stand down from his office.

GALINDA: Understood.

WINDU: If he refuses, we’ll be forced to act against him. Palpatine has many friends in the Senate. It will be your job to take a contingent of Jedi to the Senate and enforce our decision.

GALINDA: The people won’t like it, Master Windu.

WINDU: We are acting in their interest. Democracy must be restored, even if by force. You have your instructions.

GALINDA: I will await your signal.

WINDU: May the Force be with us all.

GALINDA bows as MACE WINDU and his other three JEDI turn to go confront the CHANCELLOR.

INTERIOR: Coruscant – Senate building – observation deck.

PADME sits with BAIL ORGANA, MON MOTHMA, and several others.

MON MOTHMA: All reports are that the war cannot go on much longer.

BAIL ORGANA: That may be true, but if so, we don’t yet have enough support in the Senate to stand against the Chancellor.

MON MOTHMA: I wonder what the Jedi think of all this….

The political talk goes on, but PADME is not listening quite attentively. Her hand absently massages her own belly, and she finds herself looking past her comrades, to the great glass windows overlooking the city.

INTERIOR: Coruscant – PADME’s apartment.

ANAKIN kneels on the floor, meditating. He is trying to achieve peace, but is having little success.

ANAKIN: Calm…at peace…passive….

His eyes are twitching, though, and he is beginning to sweat.

ANAKIN: Padme….

INTERIOR: Coruscant – Senate observation room.

PADME’s attention is increasingly focused on the great cityscape. We see that she is looking in the direction of her apartment building.

INTERIOR: Coruscant – Padme’s apartment.

ANAKIN’s meditation is growing more and more intense. He begins hearing VOICES:

PADME: Anakin! Please!

YODA: Death is a natural part of life…Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy….

PALPATINE: He even learned to stop those he loved from dying….

MACE WINDU: You are no Jedi…The boy will not be trained.

PALPATINE: Your destiny does not lie with them.

PADME: Anakin! Please!

OBI WAN: Let her go, Anakin!

PALPATINE: Anakin!

MACE WINDU: Anakin!

QUI GON JINN: Anakin!

OBI WAN: Anakin!

PADME: Anakin!

ANAKIN snaps back to the present and blinks his eyes. He is very sweaty now. One last voice sounds in his mind:

PALPATINE: Only with my help, with my power, will you be able to save Padme.

ANAKIN rises to his feet and starts toward the door, but the JEDI move to intercede. He raises his hand to do something with the Force, and they ignite their lightsabers. ANAKIN gestures to a large sculpture and raises it with the Force, and the JEDI move into defensive position…but instead of hurling it at the JEDI, ANAKIN hurls it through the glass window, smashing it wide open. Then he runs and leaps into the open air, the sky of Coruscant.

C-3PO: Oh my!

EXTERIOR: Coruscant – twilight – sky above city.

ANAKIN plunges through the air and lands atop a speeder, whose DRIVER reacts with astonishment. ANAKIN jumps into the speeder alongside the driver.

ANAKIN: The Senate building. Jedi business.

The DRIVER jabbers something, but obeys.

INTERIOR: Senate building – Chancellor PALPATINE’s office

PALPATINE sits at his desk, calmly reviewing reports. We HEAR the outer door slide open, and PALPATINE looks up from his work and smiles.

PALPATINE: Master Windu! It is good to see you, my friend. I assume you bring news. Has Master Kenobi defeated General Grievous?

MACE WINDU enters, with the three other JEDI.

WINDU: He has, Chancellor. The Separatist forces are on the run and will be dealt with. For all intents and purposes, the war is over.

PALPATINE: Indeed? Many people may still die while the Separatists are on the run. Be mindful of assuming too much.

WINDU: Jedi are always mindful.

PALPATINE: And this news could not be trusted to your preferred messenger, Master Skywalker?

WINDU: Skywalker is…indisposed. An internal Jedi matter.

PALPATINE: Pray you handle it more delicately than your prior treatment of him, Master Windu. Now what brings you here?

The three other JEDI shift to form a defensive formation behind WINDU.

WINDU: It is time to restore proper governance to the Republic, Chancellor. You have promised to set aside your special powers and leave office when the war ended. That time is now.

PALPATINE: Is it?

WINDU: We are prepared to make a move to encourage the Senate to stand with us.

PALPATINE: I was not aware of any public mandate granted the Jedi.

WINDU: You will step down, Chancellor. You will step down now.

PALPATINE rises.

PALPATINE: Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?

WINDU: You will step down.

PALPATINE: You have no authority.

WINDU: The Senate will do our bidding.

PALPATINE: I am the Senate!

WINDU: Not yet!

WINDU ignites his lightsaber, as do the others. PALPATINE stares at WINDU.

PALPATINE: You would raise a weapon against the elected leader of the Republic?

WINDU raises his lightsaber.

WINDU: Step down, Chancellor.

PALPATINE: It’s treason, then.

A lightsaber snaps into PALPATINE’s hand, and he surges over his desk as his ignites it.

JEDI: He’s armed! He’s a Sith!

PALPATINE’s red-bladed lightsaber cuts down two of the JEDI almost immediately, and with shocking skill for a man his age, takes on a duel with the last JEDI and WINDU at the same time. In seconds he cuts down the third JEDI, and turns to face WINDU.

WINDU: Sidious.

PALPATINE: Only now do you understand.

EXTERIOR: Coruscant – night – Senate building.

The speeder that ANAKIN commandeered arrives, and Anakin barely waits for it to stop before leaping out and onto a speeder platform. He races inside, knocking over several DIGNITARIES in the process.

INTERIOR: Palpatine’s suite.

The fight between PALPATINE and MACE WINDU continues. PALPATINE is clearly the most lethal opponent WINDU has ever faced, but even so, WINDU is hardly an easy target for PALPATINE, and the two cause considerable damage to the suite in the course of their deadly battle.

Meanwhile, ANAKIN is racing through the corridors toward the Chancellor’s office.

The battle enters the Chancellor’s main office, where PALPATINE and MACE WINDU circle each other, blades clashing with tremendous speed and force. We see PALPATINE sense something in a tiny glance to one side, toward the door, which is followed by a tiny smile. And then WINDU begins to get the upper hand…or is PALPATINE letting him?

ANAKIN enters just as WINDU forces PALPATINE behind the great desk and forces him to drop his lightsaber. PALPATINE uses the Force to throw something at WINDU, but WINDU deflects it, sending it through the great window, smashing it open. Wind begins howling through the office as PALPATINE stumbles and backs against the edge of the precipice.

PALPATINE: Anakin!

WINDU: Skywalker! Help me!

WINDU tosses ANAKIN his lightsaber, which he still had clipped to his belt. ANAKIN catches it…but does not ignite it. Not yet.

PALPATINE: Anakin, I told you this would happen! The Jedi are taking over the Republic!

WINDU: Don’t listen to him, Skywalker! He’s a Sith Lord! He’s been a Sith Lord all along!

ANAKIN stands still.

WINDU: I will end this, Chancellor. Your plans are at an end, and you are under arrest.

PALPATINE: No. No, you will die!

PALPATINE blasts WINDU with Force lightning, which forces WINDU back.

PALPATINE: The Jedi are finished!

WINDU: Never!

WINDU manages to block the lightning with his lightsaber and force PALPATINE back until the Chancellor slumps back, breathing heavily.

WINDU: You are a traitor.

PALPATINE: No, you are the traitor! Anakin, you can see what is happening!

WINDU: Help me, Skywalker, and you will be a Jedi again.

PALPATINE: You will never be one of them, Anakin.

WINDU: Don’t listen to him, Anakin!

PALPATINE: They know about Padme, but they can’t help you save her! They will take her away from you!

WINDU: Enough of this!

WINDU steps forward for his final attack. PALPATINE tries to resist, but seems to be fading. WINDU moves in closer and closer…the flashes of the blue lightning reflect off ANAKIN’s face as he looks from PALPATINE to WINDU and back again…WINDU’s lightsaber blade gets closer and closer and closer to PALPATINE’s throat….

PALPATINE: I can’t hold out much longer….

WINDU: It…is…over!

WINDU raises his lightsaber for the final stroke, but then another lightsaber ignites and intersects his. ANAKIN has stepped in.

WINDU: Skywalker! What are you doing?!

ANAKIN’s eyes are wide and full of fear as he faces WINDU.

WINDU: You are a traitor as well!

WINDU’s words harden ANAKIN’s expression as he defends himself against WINDU’s attack. The duel is brief but furious, and WINDU almost wins when he strikes ANAKIN on the shoulder. The blow is only glancing, though, and ANAKIN becomes enraged and attacks with renewed and terrible vigor.

PALPATINE: Yes! Let the hate flow through you!

ANAKIN barely hears him as he pushes MACE WINDU back to the window. WINDU can barely keep up with ANAKIN’s onslaught, and then ANAKIN strikes, severing WINDU’s right hand. WINDU’s saber tumbles into the abyss and WINDU himself shrieks in agony.

And then PALPATINE springs to life, not quite so wounded as before:

PALPATINE: Power! Unlimted…POWER!!!

PALPATINE unleashes a torrent of Force lightning to dwarf everything he threw before, and in seconds it is over: MACE WINDU, one of the most powerful Jedi ever, is flung to his death.

PALPATINE: So die the first traitors.

A look of horror takes over ANAKIN’s face.

ANAKIN: What have I done?

ANAKIN turns to face PALPATINE, now looking more the frightened child than anything. He holds up his lightsaber, but his hand is trembling.

ANAKIN: Don’t…don’t move…you’re under arrest….

PALPATINE: Stop this foolishness, boy. Your choice is made. Your destiny awaits.

PALPATINE steps forward. His face has contorted into a grotesque and evil mask which he now conceals beneath the folds of the hood of a robe he pulls onto his shoulders.

PALPATINE: You can never be a Jedi now, even if you wanted to. My power awaits. Take it! She will die if you do not. Search your feelings, my young apprentice!

ANAKIN lowers his lightsaber…deactivates it…drops it to the floor.

PALPATINE: You know she will die. You are her only hope. And I am yours.

ANAKIN sinks to his knees.

ANAKIN: I pledge myself to you, Lord Sidious.

EXTERIOR: Kashyyyk – battle – command center.

YODA is listening to a report when he suddenly seems to sense something, looks away, and then returns to the moment.

INTERIOR: PALPATINE’s office.

PALPATINE: You swear to learn what I have to teach you?

ANAKIN: I swear.

EXTERIOR: Utapau – battle.

OBI WAN is climbing back onto his six-legged mount when he, too, senses something amiss. But he, too, dismisses the quick feeling….

INTERIOR: PALPATINE’s office.

PALPATINE: Do you swear that you will stand against enemies of the Republic, no matter who they may be?

ANAKIN: I will stand against them, Master.

PALPATINE: Good! Then rise, my new Sith apprentice. Rise…as Darth Vader.

ANAKIN rises. His face is grim. He has turned.

PALPATINE: And now, Lord Vader, it is time for your first duty…if your feelings are clear.

ANAKIN: They are clear, my master.

PALPATINE grins and laughs. His laughter echoes as we cut to:

INTERIOR: PADME’s apartment.

PADME’s speeder arrives and docks; PADME and R2-D2 emerge, and C-3PO approaches.

C-3PO: Miss Padme! I’m afraid we’ve had some excitement….

PADME: What happened here?

She runs into the apartment and sees that the window has been smashed open.

C-3PO: I believe Master Anakin may be in some trouble.

R2 beeps with concern.

INTERIOR: Jedi Temple – Great Hall.

Jedi Master GALINDA has organized all the JEDI of fighting ability, several hundred strong, in the Great Hall.

GALINDA: We have not heard from Master Windu. Soon we will move on the Senate anyway.

EXTERIOR: Jedi Temple – concourse.

ANAKIN walks across the concourse toward the Temple entrance.

PALPATINE: (offscreen) The Jedi Order’s attempt to seize control must be stopped.

ANAKIN: (offscreen) I will stop it.

GALINDA and several other JEDI emerge from the temple and run toward ANAKIN.

GALINDA: Skywalker? But Master Windu said….

Her attention is caught by the marching contingent of CLONE TROOPERS, easily a thousand strong, marching onto the concourse behind ANAKIN.

PALPATINE: offscreen Traitors to the Republic cannot be tolerated. Do what must be done. Show no mercy, for they have earned none.

ANAKIN: offscreen I will show them no mercy. I will do what must be done.

GALINDA ignites her lightsaber, as do the other JEDI. ANAKIN’s expression does not change one bit as he ignites his…but now, he carries PALPATINE’s red lightsaber.

EXTERIOR:  UTAPAU-TENTH LEVEL-LANDIXG PLATFORM-DAY 

The battle between the CLONES and the DROIDS rages throughout the sinkhole. OBI-WAN rides up to CLONE COMMANDER CODY. 

OBI-WAN: Commander, contact your troops. Tell them to move to the higher levels. 

CLONE COMMANDER CODY: Very good, sir. 

CLONE COMMANDER CODY starts to move away, then remembers something and returns to OBI-WAN. 

CLONE COMMANDER CODY: (continuing) Oh, by the way, I think you’ll be needing this. 

He hands OBI-WAN his lightsaber, and the LIZARD rears up. 

OBI-WAN: Thank you, Cody, I’ve always had the most trouble with dropping this. Now let’s get a move on. We’ve got a battle to win here! 

CLONE COMMANDER CODY: Yes, sir! 

OBI-WAN and the LIZARD ride off down the wall of the giant sinkhole.

EXTERIOR: GALAXY – BATTLE MONTAGE.

Another MONTAGE of JEDI leading CLONE TROOPERS into battle.

On Kashyyyk, YODA looks increasingly disturbed.

INTERIOR: Coruscant – Jedi temple.

ANAKIN is methodically butchering his way through the JEDI, with the CLONE TROOPERS backing him up. The scene is hellish as JEDI after JEDI falls. They Force-throw large objects at him, but he flings each aside.

INTERIOR: Palpatine’s office.

PALPATINE presses a button, and COMMANDER CODY’s holographic image appears.

CODY: Chancellor?

PALPATINE: Commander Cody. Your time has come.

CODY’s posture changes, as PALPATINE’s voice and words trigger something in him.

CODY: I obey, sir.

PALPATINE: Execute Order sixty-six.

CODY: It will be done.

PALPATINE grins evilly as CODY’s image fades.

PALPATINE: Die, Jedi fools, die….

EXTERIOR: Utapau – tenth level.

CLONE COMMANDER CODY gestures to a nearby Clone Trooper. 

CLONE COMMANDER CODY: Blast him! 

The battle rages all around OBI-WAN. DROIDS and CLONES are everywhere. OBI-WAN is riding on a LIZARD, cutting down DROIDS as he races across the battlefield. Suddenly a volley of laser blasts from behind him knocks him and his LIZARD off the wall of the sinkhole. He looks around just in time to see his CLONE TROOPS are firing on him. OBI-WAN falls hundreds of feet to the bottom of the water-filled sinkhole.

EXTERIOR: MYGEETO-DAWN 

The sky slowly awakens on the crystal world of Mygeeto. A battle rages. Clone troops battle the droid armies across a long bridge. KI-ADI-MUNDi uses his light saber to deflect enemy fire. CLONE COMMANDER BACARA (1138) exits a Gunship near the entrance to the city. He rallies his TROOPS to attack the city, then gets a message on his comlink. He stops and moves to one side as a HOLOGRAM OF DARTH SIDIOUS appears on the comlink in the palm of his hand. He moves further into the shadows. 

DARTH SlDIOUS: Commander 1138 . . . 

CLONE COMMANDER BACARA: Yes, sir. 

DARTH SlDIOUS: Your time has come. Execute Order Sixty-Six. 

CLONE COMMANDER BACARA: It will be done, My Lord. 

DARTH SIDIOUS fades, and the CLONE COMMANDER snaps the comlink closed and looks to the main plaza of the city, where KI-ADI-MUNDI is leading the charge. The clones stop. KI-ADI-MUNDI turns around and is blasted by clone fire. He’s killed before he can defend himself. 

EXTERIOR: FELUCIA-FOREST-DAY

A column of CLONE WALKERS marches across the forest floor. The STRANGE CALLS of the alien forest creatures of FELUCIA suddenly stop. The Jedi AAYLA SECURA and her CLONE TROOPS brace for an ambush. 

AAYLA: Steady. . . . steady . . . 

They all look around for signs of the enemy. CLONE COMMANDER BLY moves up behind the Jedi. BLY blasts AAYLA in the back. The OTHER CLONES fire on her as she hits the ground. Another Jedi, BARRISS OFFEE, is cutting down a patrol of DROIDS when a CLONE WALKING TANK and SEVEN CLONE TROOPERS round a corner and blast the Jedi away. 

EXTERIOR: KASHYYYK-MEETING HALL-DAY 

YODA drops his gimer stick, clutches his chest, and rests against a wall. 

EXTERIOR: KASHYYYK-EDGE OF VILIAGE-DAY 

The battle appears to be over. WOOKIEES stack destroyed Droids while CLONES assess the damage to their equipment. A Jedi, LUMINARA UNDULI, talks with EIGHT CLONE OFFICERS standing in a circle around her. Suddenly they reveal their hidden pistols and blast her before she can react.

The Jedi QUINLAN VOS is riding on top of a CLONE TURBO TANK. The main cannon of a second tank slowly swings to point right at him and a COUPLE OF CLONES. The cannon fires, and QUINLAN VOS and the CLONES disappear in a huge EXPLOSION. 

INTERIOR: CATO NEIMOIDIA-COCKPIT CLONE FIGHTER-DAY 

The CLONE PILOT watches a hologram of DARTH SIDIOUS. 

DARTH SIDIOUS: Execute Order Sixty-Six. 

CLONE PILOT: It will be done, My Lord. 

INTERIOR: CATO NEIMOIDIA-JEDI STARFIGHTER-DAY 

PLO KOON heads his ship toward a battle on a landing platform. 

EXTERIOR: CATO XEIMOIDIA-JEDI STARFIGHTER-DAY 

The FOUR CLONE PILOTS with PLO KOON drop back and blast him out of the sky. 

EXTERIOR: SALEUCAMI-FOREST 

Three Speeder Bikes race through the forest. A Jedi, STASS ALLIE is in the lead. The TWO CLONES following her drop back and blast her, causing her to crash in a huge EXPLOSION. 

INTERIOR: CORUSCANT-CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE-NIGHT 

DARTH SIDIOUS stands alone in his private office, illuminated only from a hologram projector beam from above. A small HOLOGRAM OF COMMANDER GREE stands in front of him. 

CLONE COMMANDER GREE: Yes, My Lord. 

DABTH SIDIOUS: The time has come. Execute Order Sixty-Six. 

EXTERIOR: KASHYYYK-MEETING HALL BALCONY-DAY 

A vista of waterways, high green mesas, and giant tree cities serves as a backdrop for the fierce battle, CLONES AND WOOKIEES against TRADE FEDERATION DROID ARMIES, with treaded tank-like vehicles. CLONE COMMANDER GREE holds his comlink. 

CLONE COMMANDER GREE: It will be done, My Lord. 

CLONE COMMANDER GREE snaps his comlink shut. 

YODA watches from the balcony. The battle rages as CLONES and WOOKIEES attack DROIDS coming across the water on CORPORATE ALLIANCE TANK DROIDS. CHEWBACCA and TARFFUL stand on either side of the Jedi Master as he watches the battle below. CLONE COMMANDER GREE and ONE OFFICER walk onto the balcony toward YODA. YODA stands looking over the battlefield below. When they are close enough, the CLONES reveal their weapons and fire. But faster than the CLONES can reveal their weapons, YODA ignites his lightsaber, leaps in the air, and beheads both CLONES. CHEWBACCA and TARFFUL fire their weapons as more CLONES enter the hall. The Wookiees call out to YODA to follow them. CHEWBACCA picks YODA up and carries him away. 

EXTERIOR: CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-NIGHT 

A JEDI is surrounded and gunned down by CLONE TROOPERS. Many fires are burning in the Temple.

EXTERIOR: Coruscant – sky – night.

A speeder flies through the air.

INTERIOR: Coruscant – sky – night – speeder.

PADME sits in the speeder, reviewing some documents, when something outside catches her eye. They are flying by the Jedi Temple, where fires are visible and smoke is rising into the air.

PADME: What is happening at the Temple? Pilot!

CLONE PILOT: There is danger, Senator. I am now ordered to escort you home.

PADME: But the Temple–

CLONE PILOT: My orders are from the Chancellor, My Lady.

PADME starts to say something else, but sits back and says nothing.

INTERIOR: CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-NIGHT 

ANAKIN walks through the Jedi Temple, where he finds and kills SHAAK TI without so much as breaking stride.

INTERIOR: CORUSCANT – JEDI TEMPLE – LIBRARY – NIGHT.

ANAKIN enters the library. He is immediately attacked by JOCASTA NU, the elderly but fierce librarian, who wields her lightsaber with dance-like grace that does not avail her at all as ANAKIN runs her through and Force-tosses her body aside. Then he deactivates his lightsaber and walks through the library, coming at last to stop before one of the busts of Jedi long-gone: the bust of QUI GON JINN. He stares up at the bust for a moment.

INTERIOR: Utapau – water cave.

The cave is filled by a lake whose surface is smooth until OBI WAN suddenly emerges from beneath the surface. He removes his breathing apparatus from his mouth and pulls himself up onto a rock, where the creature he’d been riding has just died. OBI WAN rubs its neck one last time.

OBI WAN: What is happening?

INTERIOR: CORUSCANT – JEDI TEMPLE – LIBRARY – NIGHT.

ANAKIN still stands before QUI GON JINN’s bust, his back to the camera.

YOUNGLING: (offscreen) Master Skywalker?

ANAKIN does not move. We now see that there are several dozen YOUNGLINGS here, where they have come to hide.

YOUNGLING: Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?

ANAKIN stares up at the face of QUI GON JINN.

PALPATINE: (voiceover) You must destroy them all, even those too young to understand why their destiny is at hand.

A single tear runs down ANAKIN’s cheek as he finally looks down from QUI GON’s kind and unchanging expression.

ANAKIN: (voiceover) I will do what must be done. It will be a kindness, releasing them from the clutches of the Jedi.

ANAKIN turns to face the YOUNGLING and steps forward, out of the frame, leaving only the bust of QUI GON JINN, which reflects the red light of ANAKIN’s lightsaber as he reignites it.

YOUNGLING: Master?

We HEAR the characteristic sound of a lightsaber in motion, and then cut away….

And that’s where we’ll stop. From here on out, it’s all downhill. I love the way Lucas composed the entire scene once Anakin had fallen: the betrayal and destruction of the Jedi is masterfully done, with all those amazing battles on stunning planets that we’ve never seen before, accompanied by some of John Williams’s finest work. One thing that bothers me is that the music from Anakin’s first march on the Temple is tracked in from Episode II, which always strikes me as odd – it seems to me that moment screams out for the first big sounding of the Imperial March with Anakin as Vader.

I also always thought that Anakin should have made the switch to a red lightsaber here, which I rectify. Ultimately, though, this sequence has to show that while Anakin has made the choice to allow the dark path to dominate his destiny, he is still maintaining some semblance of who he was. He hasn’t completely gone yet…maybe.

Next time, the ramifications of Anakin’s betrayal become clear. Tune in, Star Warriors!

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part eight)

Yeah, we’re doing this. And this time, we’re gonna finish it. (I mean, this time as in, this time restarting this series. I’m not finishing it in one post.)

previously:

seven
six
five
four
three
two
one


When last we left, long long ago, Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi had parted for the last time, as friends. Obi Wan was off to Utapau to look into the rumors of General Grievous’s location, while Anakin was still stuck on Coruscant, not really doing much of anything except keeping and eye on Chancellor Palpatine, who is continuing to sow distrust of the Jedi in Anakin’s heart. It hardly helps that the Jedi themselves are already planning to take over the Senate and depose the Chancellor, seemingly for benevolent reasons.

This has always been, for me, the most interesting part of Palpatine’s plan for the Jedi. He is not going to conquer them directly; he is setting them up so they have only one move available, and all the while they believe they are the ones calling the shots, so when he springs the trap, it will be all the more stunning to them. Palpatine isn’t just making up all that stuff about the Jedi not trusting him and planning to seize power: all of that is true. But Palpatine is also able to make Anakin believe in him and doubt the Jedi, which is made easier because the Jedi so clearly don’t trust Anakin to begin with.

Ultimately, then, the Jedi downfall is their own fault. The hanged themselves; all Palpatine did was give them the rope.

To the actual movie. This is make-or-break stuff, here. Anakin is about to finally fall to one side, or the other. I’ll be taking a bit of a different approach here: instead of detailed examination of the actual script, I’ll just reference the script and quote it when I absolutely have to. But for the most part, I’m just going to lay out my various fixes, because for the most part…well, this is the part of this film that I’m having the most trouble with “fixing”, because I’ve always greatly admired it and felt that George Lucas never really got enough credit for it.

So on we go. Mainly I’m going to be trying to highlight story beats that are there in the original film but are often missed (maybe because Lucas didn’t highlight them strongly enough), and there is one story element that I would add, for reasons I get into below.

When last we left off, Obi Wan Kenobi was surging into battle against General Grievous, and lots of other battles were taking place as well. The Jedi Council was having a secret discussion as to what they would have to do about Chancellor Palpatine once the war is over, and Anakin – the most powerful of all Jedi – is just hanging around, taking messages to the Chancellor.

In the film, we cut from the Jedi Council talking to Anakin walking into the Chancellor’s office. I’d make a small insertion here to draw out the contrast:

EXTERIOR: Space – Utapau – Battle Montage.

We tour five or six planets on which battle rages, with the JEDI leading CLONE TROOPERS into war. We see OBI WAN, PLO KOON, and others in action, ending with YODA.

Sudden cut to:

INTERIOR: Coruscant – Night – Palpatine’s office.

ANAKIN stands in a corridor between PALPATINE’s main ceremonial office and his smaller office where PALPATINE sits at a computer desk, studying maps as he confers with COUNCILLORS via hologram. ANAKIN can’t quite hear what is being discussed, and he clearly struggles with this obvious waste of his talents and time. He wanders from one large sculpture, and tries to look interested in a stone carving that dominates an entire wall.

PALPATINE: Yes, thank you.

The holograms fade.

PALPATINE: Anakin?

ANAKIN breathes a sigh of relief as he finally joins the CHANCELLOR.

PALPATINE: My apologies, Anakin. Affairs of state aren’t always adventurous.

ANAKIN: I bring news, Chancellor. The Council wants you to know that General Kenobi has engaged General Grievous.

PALPATINE: Ah. Well, let’s both hope he is up to the challenge.

ANAKIN: He will be.

PALPATINE: I’m sure he will. His skills are well-known, after all. Still…a shame that the Council chooses to use their best warrior as a messenger. They could have sent a droid with that news. You should be out there, partaking in the great adventure!

ANAKIN: A Jedi doesn’t crave adventure.

PALPATINE: No, I suppose not. After all, the Jedi are known for their avoidance of temptations. It’s one of the things that keeps the people of the Galaxy from ever really trusting them. Fortunately you have managed to avoid falling into that trap.

ANAKIN: I don’t know what you mean….

PALPATINE: Yes, you do. There are things in your heart other than being a Jedi and focusing all your attention on the Force. You don’t see the Force the way the Jedi do, Anakin. You see the Force as a tool to do things…great things…things that will help the ones you love.

ANAKIN stands.

ANAKIN: I should return to the Council.

PALPATINE also rises.

PALPATINE: Have you thought about what I told you? About the ability to stave off death?

ANAKIN: It’s impossible. It’s…not the way of things.

PALPATINE: Who is to say the way of things? The Jedi, with their focus on only one aspect of the Force? Anakin…let me help you.

The words hang there. PALPATINE stares at ANAKIN, refusing to back down. He’s committed now.

ANAKIN: How can you help me? You can’t teach me this power.

PALPATINE: I can help you find it.

ANAKIN is slowly beginning to realize as they move into the dark corridor, the one with the stone carving. PALPATINE begins to slowly circle ANAKIN as he talks.

PALPATINE: You live in fear, Anakin. You live in fear that the ones you love will die and you will be powerless to stop it. But you needn’t be powerless. There is greater power in the Dark Side of the Force than anyone can possibly imagine.

ANAKIN: Dark side? How do you know of the Dark Side?

PALPATINE: I had a mentor too, once. He took a curious young boy and taught him many, many things. After he died I continued learning. If one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the narrow and dogmatic view of the Jedi. Think how useful my knowledge would have been to you earlier…your arm might not be that of a droid…your mother might still be alive.

ANAKIN: I couldn’t have saved Mother….

PALPATINE: You know you could have. And you know you can save Padme, if only you are powerful enough. And you never will be, unless you become my young apprentice.

ANAKIN: Apprentice?

PALPATINE: The Jedi will never let you achieve your true potential. You must know this. Your destiny lies upon a different path. Join me, Anakin. Join me and I shall complete your training. You will wield the power of the Force in greater measure than anyone in history. Learn the Dark Side–

ANAKIN ignites his lightsaber.

ANAKIN: No! Stay away from me. You’re a Sith Lord – no, you’re THE Sith Lord! Darth—what was it?

PALPATINE: Sidious.

ANAKIN: I’ll never join the Sith.

PALPATINE: Won’t you?

ANAKIN: Never.

Silence as ANAKIN holds his lightsaber blade up, in the ready-to-strike pose.

PALPATINE: Would you really strike? I am defenseless.

ANAKIN: A Jedi doesn’t use the Force for attack….

PALPATINE: A lesson Count Dooku learned well, wouldn’t you say?

ANAKIN raises his lightsaber.

PALPATINE: Think, Anakin. You know that things are amiss. Who has trusted you more, the Jedi? Or me? Who has taught you more? The Jedi? Or me? I would entrust you with power like you have never known, like no one has ever known. The Jedi use you as a message boy. Master Windu has never trusted you. You know this to be true.

ANAKIN: Stop….

PALPATINE: Your destiny does not lie with them. It lies with me. Search your feelings.

ANAKIN: I…I am a Jedi….

PALPATINE: You are angry.

ANAKIN: The Jedi don’t give in to anger….

PALPATINE: I can feel your anger. It gives you focus. Makes you stronger.

ANAKIN stands there, his lightsaber up. PALPATINE returns his gaze. Then ANAKIN lowers his weapon and deactivates the blade.

ANAKIN: I won’t kill you.

PALPATINE: But will you give me to the Jedi, knowing that they plan to take power? Knowing that I hold the key to saving Padme from the fate you know is coming for her? And what then? A pat on the shoulder? You still won’t be a Master. You will still be on the outside, looking in. You will never be a Jedi, Anakin. Not truly. You know this.

PALPATINE sighs and turns to walk to his office.

PALPATINE: I will not flee. I have no need to flee. You must do what you feel is right, of course.

PALPATINE disappears into his office, leaving a clearly disturbed ANAKIN.

I change this scene to put a lot more emphasis on Anakin’s growing sense of distrust of the Jedi, and his growing sense that they distrust him. But the whole way it plays out – the silence of the scene, the way Ian McDiarmid varies his voice to show when he’s being the Chancellor and when he’s letting it all hang out as a Sith Lord, and Anakin’s confusion as to what to do – has always been one of my favorite things in this movie.

Next we cut to Obi Wan’s battle with General Grievous, which I wouldn’t change at all. It’s great how it ends with Obi Wan using a blaster and then tossing the “uncivilized” weapon aside. But when we return to Coruscant, Anakin tells Mace Windu that Palpatine is a Sith Lord, and Windu orders Anakin to stay behind while he and some others go to arrest the Chancellor. This leads to a visually gorgeous scene as Anakin, waiting in the Jedi Council chamber, looks across the city to the building where Padme lives, and she looks back. His pain is evident, and he finally gives in and goes to try and assist Windu in such a way that will leave Palpatine alive to help Anakin save Padme.

It’s here that I would make maybe the biggest changes:

(Just after Obi Wan’s fight with Grievous)

INTERIOR: Coruscant – evening – PADME’s apartment.

ANAKIN enters the apartment, looking for PADME. But she isn’t there, and C-3PO greets him.

C-3PO: Oh! Master Anakin. It is good to see you.

ANAKIN: Hello, 3PO. Is Padme here?

C-3PO: No, I’m afraid she isn’t.

ANAKIN turns to leave.

C-3PO: But there is another visitor waiting for you.

ANAKIN turns to see MACE WINDU enter. His expression is grim.

ANAKIN: Master Windu!

WINDU: Skywalker. Interesting that you would come here, instead of back to the Temple.

ANAKIN: I…I had business with the Senator.

WINDU: You’re a Jedi. There is nothing pertaining to Senator Amidala which falls under the mandate of your current assignment. But you’re not here for official business, are you? Or Jedi business.

ANAKIN is caught, and he knows it.

WINDU: Attachment is forbidden by the Jedi code. Did you really think we wouldn’t find out about your marriage?

ANAKIN: Master…I have news…about the Chancellor.

WINDU: The Chancellor will no longer be an issue. Master Kenobi has destroyed General Grievous, and the Separatist forces are falling apart on all remaining fronts. The war is as good as over. Now, the Jedi and I will force the Chancellor to step down.

ANAKIN: Master, you must listen to me!

WINDU: I never trusted you, Skywalker. I allowed Yoda to talk me into allowing your entry into the Jedi Order. I should never have done that, but I can atone for that mistake now. You are hereby expelled from the Jedi. Your rank is stripped, and until the Council can deliberate on your permanent status, you are under house arrest.

ANAKIN: Master, no!

ANAKIN starts to reach for his lightsaber, but WINDU raises his hand, and ANAKIN’s lightsaber flies from his belt to WINDU’s hand. Then WINDU snaps his fingers, and three JEDI enter.

WINDU: Keep him here.

WINDU starts toward the exit.

ANAKIN: You can’t take on the Chancellor!

WINDU looks at ANAKIN one last time, and then leaves, without another word. ANAKIN remains behind as the three JEDI each take up position at one of the exits.

And…we’re going to leave off there. I had set this up earlier, though; it seems to me that Mace Windu learning of Anakin’s secret marriage would be the perfect thing to make him act on his distrust for the young Jedi, and it’s that lack of trust that plays a huge role in Anakin’s tipping over the brink into Darkness. Plus, Windu’s refusal to listen to Anakin’s attempts to warn him about the Chancellor play into the tragic fall of the Jedi, adding to the many, many ways their doom is self-inflicted.

I’d keep going, but this entry is pretty long, and the scene is about to unfold. So next time, Anakin finally fulfills his destiny, to the unfortunate chagrin of all concerned. Tune in, Star Warriors!

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part seven)

previously:

six
five
four
three
two
one


Diving right back in with both lightsaber blades ignited…or something like that. Anyway, when last we left, Palpatine had engineered Anakin Skywalker’s elevation to the Jedi Council, but the Council, angered at Palpatine’s machinations, denied him the traditional promotion to Jedi Master that usually is part and parcel of a seat on the Council. Anakin is then asked to report to the Council on the Chancellor’s dealings, which he is not comfortable doing. Then Palpatine revealed to the Jedi the location of General Grievous, forcing them to take action; he suggests that Anakin be given the assignment of going after Grievous, and again annoyed by Palpatine’s machinations, the Council gives the job to Obi Wan. So, thanks to Palpatine, Anakin’s already troubled relationship with the Jedi Order is now simmering, he’s been left behind on Coruscant to do nothing while the war enters its most critical phase, and Palpatine reveals to Anakin a Sith legend about the power to defeat death.

The die is pretty much cast at this point. Palpatine has sown the seeds of Anakin’s discontent with the Jedi, he has sown the seeds of Anakin’s temptation for power he can’t get with the Jedi, and he has sown the seeds of Anakin’s desire for action. Well done, Palpatine! All he has to do now is keep pressing.

At this point in the film, we cut from the start of the battle on Kashyyyk to Obi Wan departing Coruscant for the Utapau system, so he can investigate the report that Grievous is there. In the script, however, two scenes happen before that: a scene in which Obi Wan visits Padme, and another in which Padme meets with the Senators who are concerned over the Chancellor’s continued acquisition of power. I won’t quote either of those scenes, because they really don’t add much to the story, and I’m glad that Lucas cut them from the finished film. They’re OK, but hardly essential.

Instead, Obi Wan bids farewell to Anakin:

EXT. CORUSCANT-CLONE LANDING PLATFORM-DAY

ANAKIN and OBI-WAN walk onto a landing platform overlooking a docking bay where THOUSANDS OF CLONE TROOPS and armored weapons, tanks, etc., are being loaded onto a massive REPUBLIC ASSAULT SHIP.

ANAKIN: You’re going to need me on this one, Master.

OBI-WAN: Oh, I agree. However it may turn out just to be a wild bantha chase.

OBI-WAN starts to turn and leave.

ANAKIN: Master!

OBI-WAN stops and ANAKIN walks over to him.

ANAKIN: (continuing) Master, I’ve disappointed you. I have not been very appreciative of your training . . . I have been arrogant and I apologize . . . I’ve just been so frustrated with the Council. Your friendship means everything to me.

OBI-WAN: You are strong and wise, Anakin, and I am very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know. And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be, and you have saved my life more times than I can remember. But be patient, Anakin. It won’t be long before the Council makes you a Jedi Master.

OBI-WAN starts down the ramp, then turns back.

OBI-WAN: (continuing) Don’t worry. I have enough clones with me to take three systems the size of Utapau. I think I’ll be able to handle the situation . . . even without your help.

ANAKIN: Well, there’s always a first time.

OBI-WAN laughs.

They talk for a few more minutes before ANAKIN watches OBI-WAN depart.

ANAKIN: Obi-Wan, may the Force be with you.

OBI-WAN: Good-bye, old friend. May the Force be with you.

OBI-WAN heads down a ramp toward the waiting Republic cruiser.

This is a nice little scene that I’ve always liked. The way the film ends up playing out, this is the last time Anakin and Obi Wan are together, as friends and comrades, before things go terribly awry. This, to me, only highlights the awful tragedy of what’s about to unfold, because it so completely takes the Jedi, and Obi Wan among them, by surprise. Their undoing comes from within, and they never saw it coming. I’d make an addition here, though:

As the Republic cruiser lifts away from the platform, Anakin turns to depart as well, when a Clone trooper approaches him.

TROOPER: Master Skywalker? The Chancellor is requesting you right away.

Anakin sighs.

ANAKIN: Very well.

Next is some nice banter and stuff as Obi Wan gets ready to investigate Utapau for General Grievous. No need to quote that stuff, but it’s another little character moment that I like. Real camaraderie has grown between Obi Wan and the clone troopers, at least a few of them. It’s another example of the Jedi’s complete lack of awareness of the tragedy to come.

Meanwhile, the following transpires in the script but not in the film. I’d restore it:

EXT. CORUSCANT-CITYSCAPE-CHANCELLOR’S TRANSPORT-DAY

The Chancellor’s Transport races through the city and heads for the Senate Office Building landing platform. Waiting on the landing platform is a LONE JEDI. The Transport lands, and CHANCELLOR PALPATINE emerges with FOUR ROYAL GUARDS and MAS AMEDDA. The FOUR ROYAL GUARDS move off in another direction as PALPATINE greets ANAKIN, who has been waiting for him.

PALPATINE: Well, Anakin, did you see your friend off?

ANAKIN: He will soon have Grievous’s head.

PALPATINE: We can only hope the Council didn’t make a mistake.

ANAKIN: The Council was very sure in its decision.

They exit the landing platform.

INT. CORUSCANT-SENATE OFFICE BUILDING-MAIN HALLWAY-DAY

They enter the main hallway of the Senate Office Building. They pass SEVERAL SENATORS, including REPRESENTATIVE JAR JAR BINKS from Naboo.

JAR JAR: Helloo Annie. Good en to see yousa . . .

The Gungan waves to Anakin.

ANAKIN: Hi, Jar Jar.

JAR JAR: Oopsin da Chancellor!! So sorry, Your Highness, sir.

Anakin turns back to the Chancellor. [None of this appeared in the movie, but I would not restore the Jar Jar bit. Nothing against Jar Jar, but it’s just a pointless bit.]

PALPATINE: There are rumors in the Senate about Master Kenobi. Many believe he is not fit for this assignment.

ANAKIN: Not fit? Why would anyone think that?

PALPATINE: They say his mind has become fogged by the influence of a certain female Senator.

ANAKIN: That’s ridiculous. Who?!?

PALPATINE: (slyly) No one knows who she is … only that she is a Senator.

ANAKIN: That’s impossible. I would know.

PALPATINE: Sometimes the closest are the ones who cannot see.

ANAKIN becomes worried.

PALPATINE: (continuing) Idle Senate gossip is rarely true and never accurate. I’m sure your Master will do fine. But you and I both know they should have sent you.

In the script, the deleted scenes paint a picture that Palpatine is trying to drive wedges all over the place: between Anakin and Padme, between Anakin and Obi Wan, between Anakin and the rest of the Jedi. I’d keep a very small bit of it – this bit, to be precise:

PALPATINE: Well, Anakin, did you see your friend off?

ANAKIN: He will soon have Grievous’s head.

PALPATINE: We can only hope the Council didn’t make a mistake.

ANAKIN: The Council was very sure in its decision.

PALPATINE: As they always are. Master Kenobi is capable, but you and I both know they should have sent you. Well, since the Council has decided that you are to watch me and report on my doings, you can have the pleasure of watching me meet with one group of Senators after another.

ANAKIN: Anything important?

PALPATINE: From this faction? No. Just jockeying for power when the war comes to an end. It’s all very silly…the usual business about taxation and trade routes….

ANAKIN looks bored as PALPATINE continues discussing statecraft.

Next, in the film, Anakin has another vision of Padme’s childbirth, but this one is a bit different:

INT. POLIS MASSA-MEDICAL CENTER-DREAM

PADME calls out in pain. OBI-WAN is near her and softly speaks to her.

OBI-WAN: Save your energy.

PADME: I can’t!

OBI-WAN: Don’t give up, Padme. Don’t give up . . .

That’s interesting in that he’s now seeing Obi Wan as involved somehow, as being present at the birth of Padme’s children, and not himself. This is a pretty interesting vision because that’s the one that ends up playing out, but in this context, it starts feeding into Anakin’s anxieties.

The next scene is where we really start to see some of Anakin’s internal turmoil. The scene as is works OK, but I’d still re-tool it:

INT. CORUSCANT-PADME’S APARTMENT-LANDING ROOM-DAY

ANAKIN snaps awake from the dream.

ANAKIN: No!

He is on the couch, where he had dozed off. He hears the sound of an approaching and slowing speeder, and he stands as PADME climbs out of the speeder that has just halted outside. C-3PO had been piloting.

PADME: Thank you, Threepio.

She smiles when she sees ANAKIN; they embrace and kiss.

PADME: I didn’t expect you.

ANAKIN: I had some free time, I guess. Chancellor Palpatine is in his daily meditations, and the Council doesn’t seem to think I’m to be allowed to do anything else.

PADME: It’ll be all right. You don’t always have to be on the front lines.

ANAKIN: I’m a Jedi. Yes, I do.

PADME lays down her parcels and pours a glass of water.

PADME: If you’re with the Chancellor, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m part of a group of Senators who are meeting with him tomorrow about reducing the scale of executive power once—what is it?

ANAKIN: I sense someone familiar . . . Obi-Wan’s been here, hasn’t he?

PADME: He came by this morning.

ANAKIN: What did he want?

PADME looks at him for a moment. ANAKIN seems tense.

PADME: He’s worried about you. He wanted to talk about you before he left.

ANAKIN: Did you tell him about us?

PADME: No! But…I think he suspects. Maybe. We can trust him, though!

ANAKIN: He’s a Jedi.

PADME: You can’t trust a Jedi? Anakin, listen to yourself!

ANAKIN: You’re right…I just feel…weak. Like I’m not useful to anyone. And I shouldn’t feel that way. I’m the most powerful of all the Jedi, but I’m stuck here.

PADME tousles his hair.

PADME: Here’s not such a bad place to be.

ANAKIN: You know what I meant.

PADME: I know, but why worry about it? You said that you’re going to leave the Order when the baby comes, anyway. Is that still what you want?

ANAKIN: I want you. More than anything.

He puts his hand on her belly.

ANAKIN: I have to know that you’ll be safe from whatever is in my nightmares. I have to stop it.

PADME: Anakin, I’m sure you’re worried about nothing.

ANAKIN: I don’t think so. The Force shows me what will happen–

PADME: What might happen.

ANAKIN: I won’t let this happen, Padme. I won’t let you die.

They embrace and kiss again…not noticing the PROBE DROID outside their window.

INT. JEDI TEMPLE – MEDITATION ROOM.

MACE WINDU sits in the meditation chamber by himself, looking at holographic footage of ANAKIN and PADME kissing. Then he looks at a report on a computer screen, and shakes his head.

My purpose there is to get a lot of stuff in play: Padme’s ongoing involvement in what will become the Rebellion, Anakin’s anger at the Jedi and how it’s starting to color his perceptions of the Order itself, and his continued fear of losing his loved ones. And the fact that for all Anakin’s worrying about Obi Wan finding out about his marriage, it’s Mace Windu who knows.

Next comes the arrival of Obi Wan Kenobi on Utapau, his discovery of General Grievous there, and the start of that battle. This is one of my favorite parts of the movie, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. Not one bloomin’ thing. This entire sequence is just cool, from Obi Wan’s landing on Utapau (the music does this really cool rendition of the “Force Theme”), and then his jumping on the back of some beastie to ride, and then his confrontation with General Grievous which serves as a diversion as the clone troopers attack. I love this entire sequence. It’s just terrific.

Back on Coruscant, though:

INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI WAR ROOM-EARLY EVENING

KI-ADI-MUNDI, ANAKIN, YODA, MACE, CLONE COMMANDER CODY, and AAYLA SECURA talk via holograms.

CLONE COMMANDER CODY: Master Windu, may I interrupt? General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous, and we
have begun our attack.

MACE WlNDU: Thank you, Commander. Anakin, deliver this report to the Chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his
intentions.

ANAKIN: Yes, Master.

ANAKIN leaves the room. COMMANDER CODY’s hologram disappears.

MACE WINDU: I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from
office.

MACE WiNDU: That could be a dangerous move … the Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition . . .

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: . . . and replace the Congress with Senators who are not filled with greed and corruption.

YODA: To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Hmmmmm. . . . great care we must take.

Interesting! The Jedi are scheming to put matters right if the Chancellor does not leave his office after the war ends. I’d clarify this scene just a bit:

INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI WAR ROOM-EARLY EVENING

KI-ADI-MUNDI, YODA, MACE, CLONE COMMANDER CODY, and AAYLA SECURA talk via holograms. ANAKIN enters.

MACE WINDU: You’re late.

ANAKIN: I’m sorry, Master Windu. I was detained.

MACE WINDU: Indeed.

ANAKIN and MACE WINDU exchange glances, but nothing is said.

CLONE COMMANDER CODY: Master Windu, may I interrupt? General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous, and we have begun our attack.

MACE WlNDU: Thank you, Commander. Anakin, deliver this report to the Chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his intentions.

ANAKIN: Yes, Master.

ANAKIN leaves the room. COMMANDER CODY’s hologram disappears.

YODA: It has come. The last battles of the war, these are.

MACE WINDU: I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.

YODA: Manipulated by Darth Sidious, you believe he is?

MACE WINDU: That’s the most likely way of it.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: If Chancellor Palpatine does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office.

MACE WINDU: That could be a dangerous move … the Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition . . .

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: . . . and replace the Congress with Senators who are not filled with greed and corruption.

YODA: To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Hmmmmm. . . . great care we must take.

I think it needs to be shown that the Jedi are on the right track, but they are also one step behind, which ultimately ends up destroying them. This is an important point and a subtlety that I think often gets lost amongst Star Wars commentators: the Jedi in the Prequel Trilogy are not at their best. Indeed, they are a slow-moving train wreck. Here they are planning to act to restore the Republic’s democracy, but Palpatine will be able to use that very plot against them.

And that’s where we’ll stop. Next time, Anakin – who has been teetering on the brink – finally tips. Or…is he pushed? Hmmmmm…tune in!

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part six)


previously:

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OK, time to dive straight back in. Huzzah!!!

When last we left off, the various forces in Anakin Skywalker’s life were starting to use him as a pawn in their own various games. This was starting to have the effects we might expect, as both sides are using Anakin against the other – but Palpatine is doing it more constructively and in a way that is more likely to further his own goals. What always interests me is that of all the adult figures in Anakin’s life after Qui Gon Jinn’s death, the one who is most consistently encouraging of Anakin is Palpatine. He’s done an awful lot of heavy lifting to set Anakin up for his eventual fall.

And that brings me to an interesting speculative question: has Palpatine been planning Anakin’s seduction for twenty years?

I’m honestly not sure. On the one hand, Palpatine has shown enormous flexibility in his plans. He didn’t get bogged down when the Jedi and Queen Amidala defeated whatever his scheme for the Naboo blockade was – which seems to imply that he didn’t really care about that, one way or the other. The entire goal there was to simply get the game board arranged in such a way as to leave him in as powerful a position as possible. Mission accomplished, obviously. His plans seem so reactive, though: could he really predict Darth Maul’s defeat? Or Count Dooku’s? Likely not…but maybe so. Maybe he has been on the lookout himself, for the most powerful possible Jedi to turn. Maybe he set those earlier apprentices as ones that were doomed to defeat, and maybe he always had a backup plan ready to go for when the next one died. Palpatine has clearly been playing the long game.

And that brings us to the next scene in the film, which is one of the key scenes in the entire Star Wars saga. In this scene, Palpatine smoothly and even gracefully decides to dial it up with respect to his attempts to ingratiate himself with Anakin. He already knows that Anakin sees him as a father figure, because Palpatine has been his greatest source of consistent encouragement. Obi Wan is a teacher figure, not a father figure, and anyway, they are too close in age for Anakin to really take him completely seriously as an authority. As for the rest of the Jedi, they have made crystal clear that they’ve never really trusted Anakin, even before Mace Windu comes right out and admits it (albeit privately). Palpatine knows that Anakin is predisposed to hear him out, so now he decides to appeal to Anakin’s personal pressure points.

So here’s where Anakin joins Palpatine at the Coruscant Opera House (red text indicates material not in the final film):

INT. CORUSCANT-GALAXIES OPERA HOUSE-NIGHT

ANAKIN lands his speeder and exits.
ANAKIN runs up the stairs at the Galaxies Opera House.
ANAKIN runs through the hallway and enters Palpatine’s box, where the CHANCELLOR is sitting with Mas Amedda and Sly-Moore, watching the Man Calamari Ballet doing “Squid Lake.”

ANAKIN: You wanted to see me, Chancellor.

PALPATINE: Yes, Anakin! Come closer. I have good news. Our Clone Intelligence Units have discovered the location of General Grievous. He is hiding in the Utapau system.

ANAKIN: At last, we’ll be able to capture that monster and end this war.

PALPATINE: I would worry about the collective wisdom of the Council if they didn’t select you for this assignment. You are the best choice by far … but, they can’t always be trusted to do the right thing.

ANAKIN: They try.

PALPATINE: Sit down, (to his aides) Leave us.

ANAKIN sits next to PALPATINE. The Chancellor leans over to him.

PALPATINE: (continuing) Anakin, you know I’m not able to rely on the Jedi Council. If they haven’t included you in their plot, they soon will.

ANAKIN: I’m not sure I understand.

PALPATINE: You must sense what I have come to suspect . . . the Jedi Council want control of the Republic . . . they’re planning to betray me.

ANAKIN: I don’t think . . .

PALPATINE: Anakin, search your feelings. You know, don’t you?

ANAKIN: I know they don’t trust you . . .

PALPATINE: Or the Senate . . . or the Republic . . . or democracy for that matter.

ANAKIN: I have to admit my trust in them has been shaken.

PALPATINE: Why? They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn’t they?

ANAKIN doesn’t say anything. He simply looks down.

PALPATINE: (continuing) They asked you to spy on me, didn’t they?

ANAKIN: I don’t know … I don’t know what to say.

PALPATINE: Remember back to your early teachings. Anakin. “All those who gain power are afraid to lose it.” Even the Jedi.

ANAKIN: The Jedi use their power for good.

PALPATINE: Good is a point of view, Anakin. And the Jedi point of view is not the only valid one. The Dark Lords of the Sith believe in security and justice also, yet they are considered by the Jedi to be. . .

ANAKIN: . . . evil.

PALPATINE: . . . from a Jedi’s point of view. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power. The difference between the two is the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That is why they are more powerful.

ANAKIN: The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inward, only about themselves.

PALPATINE: And the Jedi don’t?

ANAKIN: The Jedi are selfless . . . they only care about others.

PALPATINE smiles.

PALPATINE: Or so you’ve been trained to believe. Why is it, then, that they have asked you to do something you feel is wrong?

ANAKIN: I’m not sure it’s wrong.

PALPATINE: Have they asked you to betray the Jedi code? The Constitution? A friendship? Your own values? Think. Consider their motives. Keep your mind clear of assumptions. The fear of losing power is a weakness of both the Jedi and the Sith.

ANAKIN is deep in thought.

PALPATINE: (continuing) Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis “the wise”?

ANAKIN: No.

PALPATINE: I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life … He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.

ANAKIN: He could actually save people from death?

PALPATINE: The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

ANAKIN: What happened to him?

PALPATINE: He became so powerful . . . the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. (smiles) Plagueis never saw it coming. It’s ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.

ANAKIN: Is it possible to learn this power?

PALPATINE: Not from a Jedi.

There is a lot to unpack here. But first, just in terms of a movie scene, it’s fantastic. The effects are there in the strange opera/ballet being performed in front of them, but for the most part, the scene is just two actors sitting and talking. Ian McDiarmid just nails it here, making Palpatine sound so fatherly, so wise, so warm – and yet, the whole time he is in complete control. Notice how subtly he is able to appeal to Anakin’s single greatest fear, without even mentioning it or saying something like “I know that you are afraid of losing Padme”. He just slides into this story about Darth Plagueis, casually dropping the bit about defeating death into the mix as if it’s never occurred to him that Anakin might have a vested interest in that bit.

And then there’s the intimation that Plagueis was killed by his apprentice, with the clear implication being that Palpatine himself was that apprentice. But most interesting is that line about Plagueis using the midichlorians to create life.

Which brings me back to the oft-derided midichlorians.

The main basis on which the midichlorians are loathed by Star Wars fandom is that by positing their existence, George Lucas has tried to make a scientific basis for what was originally a completely mystical concept.

The problem with that way of thinking is that it is incorrect.

Here is how Ben Kenobi defines the Force, the first time we hear about it, in A New Hope:

The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

And here is what Qui Gon Jinn says about midichlorians, when we learn about them in The Phantom Menace:

Midi-chlorians are a microscopic lifeform that reside within all living cells and communicates with the Force…We are symbionts with the midi-chlorians…Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force.

According to the fans, the two explanations are contradictory. But I don’t think that they are. Not really. There is nothing in the latter that negates anything in the former. It does add a level of complexity, but so what?

George Lucas has always been heavily influenced by Asian thinking, and not just film making styles, either. There is a great deal in the mysticism of the Star Wars films that is completely compatible with Asian mysticism – Taoism, Buddhism, and the like. When I add that to the mix, I think I see what Lucas is getting at with the midichlorians. They’re not an attempt to graft some kind of pseudo-scientific technobabbly hogwash onto what was already a perfectly-good bit of magic. What they are is an expression of a deeply Asian idea, in the way Eastern thinkers have always seen the divide between science and mysticism very, very differently than we do in the West.

In the Asian view of things, science and mysticism are one. I can’t help but think that Lucas’s thinking here is heavily influenced by the types of ideas you’ll find in books like The Tao of Physics and The Dancing Wu-Li Masters. And the idea isn’t entirely incompatible with the more poetical passages of the works of Carl Sagan, who advanced the notion that life is not something separate from the Universe, but rather an emergent property of the Universe. In this formulation, the midichlorians are therefore not some new entity thrown in for no reason, but simply the lowest level at which the interactions take place.

That’s what makes this scene interesting, because the notion – barely even hinted at – is that Darths Plagueis and Apprentice (we assume it’s Sidious) did something that caused the midichlorians to start a new biological process in the womb of Shmi Skywalker. I’ve never been sure of what to make of this, because it’s a fascinating idea that, in the context of the movies, goes absolutely nowhere. The Sith use the Force to create a living being? The implications here are utterly fascinating (did they know where Anakin was? Did they have no idea and were just waiting for him to show up? Did they create a possible hundreds of potential Sith just to see who came to the fore?), and yet, Lucas goes nowhere with it. I don’t know if he just threw it in there for the EU authors to do something with, or what.

This is why I continue to hold to my belief that the midichlorians are not a conceptual error. They are a story error. The midichlorians are the gun on the mantelpiece that never goes off. So, all things being equal, I’d excise their mention here entirely, and just leave the midichlorians the way I left them way back when I fixed TPM.

Still, I do love this scene. Palpatine has shown remarkable restraint, waiting until he knows that Anakin is already starting to feel a certain amount of disillusionment with the Jedi to start to sow some more seeds of discontent. And he does it so interestingly, couching his temptations in Anakin’s sense of morality. Villains they may be, but the Sith genuinely believe that they are the good guys.

So in the next scene, Anakin gets to present his new intelligence to the Jedi Council, in addition to Chancellor Palpatine’s suggestion that he be sent to deal with General Grievous. Of course, the Council seems rather pouty about the whole thing, and they are now in the position of seemingly denying anything just because Palpatine suggested it.


EXT. KASHYYYK-DAY

A WOOKIEE CATAMARAN flanked by WOOKIEE HELICOPTERS approaches the tree housing the HOLOGRAM AREA.

90 INT. KASHYYYK-HOLOGRAM AREA-DAY

YODA and various JEDI speak via hologram. The discussion includes OBI-WAN, MACE, AGEN KOLAR, YODA- KI-ADI-MUNDI and PLO KOON.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: (holo) Palpatine thinks General Grievous is on Utapau. We have had no reports of this from our agents.

MACE: (holo) How could the Chancellor have come by this information and we know nothing about it? We have had contact with Baron Papanoida and he said no one was there.

ANAKIN: A partial message was intercepted in a diplomatic packet from the Chairman of Utapau.

YODA: Act on this, we must. The capture of General Grievous will end this war. Quickly and decisively we should proceed.

OBI-WAN: Does everyone agree?

All the JEDI concur.

ANAKIN: The Chancellor has requested that I lead the campaign.

They all look at ANAKIN a bit disturbed.

MACE: (a little peeved) The Council will make up its own mind who is to go, not the Chancellor.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: Yes, this decision is ours to make.

ANAKIN is embarrassed and becomes sullen.

YODA: A Master is needed, with more experience.

MACE: Given our resources, I recommend we send only one Jedi . . . Master Kenobi.

ANAKIN: He was not so successful the last time he met Grievous.

OBI-WAN throws ANAKIN a dirty look.

ANAKIN: (continuing) No offense, my Master, but I’m only stating a fact.

OBI-WAN: Oh no, you’re quite right, but I do have the most experience with his ways of combat.

YODA: Obi-Wan, my choice is.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: I concur. Master Kenobi should go.

YODA: I agree.

All the JEDI concur.

MACE: Very well. Council is adjourned.

ANAKIN is angry.

MACE: (continuing) Obi-Wan, prepare two clone brigades as quickly as you can. If this report is true, there’s no telling how many battle droids he may have with him.

91 INT. KASHYYYK-HOLOGRAM AREA-DAY

YODA gets out of his chair and walks to the edge of the platform.

CLONE COMMANDER GREE: The droids have started up their main power generators.

YODA: Then now the time is, Commander.

CLONE COMMANDER GREE: Yes, sir.

The battle begins.

92 EXT. KASHYYYK-BEACH HEAD-DAY

A WOOKIEE CHIEFTAIN lets out a roar as the Wookiee army rushes to face the DROID ARMY. CORPORATE ALLIANCE TANK DROIDS race across the water against the WOOKIEES and CLONE TROOPERS on the beach. DROID GUNSHIPS provide air support, while a SPIDER DROID emerges from the watery depths. A brave WOOKIEE places an explosive on a SEPARATIST TANK and jumps off just before the TANK EXPLODES. From the Hologram Area, Yoda observes the ongoing battle.

I like the bit there in which Anakin takes a shot at Obi Wan’s Jedi fighting skills (not included in the film, obviously). But the main thrust of this scene is that the Council is going to resist what they see as Palpatine’s machinations, unaware as they are that Palpatine’s true purpose is to keep the Council pushing Anakin to be as resentful as possible. They play right into Palpatine’s hands, over and over and over again. What might have been, had they decided to just let Anakin have that assignment?

One last note: I love the Thai-influenced design of the planet Kashyyyk. Getting to finally see that planet is a nice reward. (No, we did not see it on the Holiday Special. That did NOT happen.)

And that’s where we’ll stop for this time. Stay tuned to see Anakn get closer and closer to Darthiness!

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part five)

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Again, it’s been a while since we did this, and I’ve been lax for mainly the same reasons: work on other projects, and the continued calcification of the view that the Prequel Trilogy is utter garbage. It seems that the only way to get commentary about the PT noticed online is to simply find some way to repackage the same, tired, old “The PT sucks and Lucas is a hack!” narrative. But for the sake of completeness, I suppose I should tilt at this windmill until I’m done…which is what I’m going to do. (I’ve already written several of the next posts in this series.) Perhaps a re-energizing of Star Wars fandom in the wake of the franchise’s transition in ownership from George Lucas to the hands of the Disney folks will lead to a re-evaluation of the Prequels…which might lead to a discovery of this blog series. A guy can dream, can’t he? So on we go!

When last we left off, we had completed the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine and were heading into the political part of the story. In my version, Anakin has already told Padme that when their child is born, he will leave the Jedi order; but Palpatine has already started his plotting, beginning with invoking some ancient law to appoint Anakin directly to the Jedi Council (which Anakin interprets to mean that he will, at long last, be made a Jedi Master). Meanwhile, Padme has been approached by several Senators who have strong concerns about the direction Palpatine is leading the Republic.

So: at this point in the film, Anakin stands before the Council after his appointment. It doesn’t go as well as he hopes. (Red text indicates material not in the film; blue text indicates stuff I’m adding on my own.)


INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-HALLWAY OUTSIDE COUNCIL CHAMBERS-DAY

ANAKIN stands pensively (I’d have him pacing, actually.) in front of the Jedi Council Chambers. The door opens.

83 INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-COUNCIL CHAMBERS-DAY

ANAKIN enters and stands in the middle of the room. He is surrounded by the Jedi Council MACE WINDU, EETH KOTH OBI-WAN, YODA, the HOLOGRAMS of PLO KOON and KI-ADI-MUNDI.

MACE: Anakin Skywalker, we have approved your appointment to the Council as the Chancellor’s personal representative.

ANAKIN: I will do my best to uphold the principles of the Jedi Order.

YODA: Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not. Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine.

ANAKIN: I understand.

MACE: You are on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master.

Anakin reacts with anger.

ANAKIN: What? ! How can you do this?? This is outrageous, it’s unfair . . . I’m more powerful than any of you. How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?

[I’m glad that Lucas excised that one sentence, there. It really makes Anakin sound whiny and entitled. The focus instead should be on the idea that just being on the Council should make him a Master, not on his power.]

MACE: You are powerful, and you have accomplished a great deal. No one here questions this. But it is the Council’s decision who becomes a Master, not the Chancellor’s, and there is no dusty ancient law in any book that he can use to make it so. Take a seat, young Skywalker.

ANAKIN: Forgive me, Master.

ANAKIN goes and sits in one of the empty chairs. Everyone is embarrassed. KI-ADI-MUNDI WHO APPEARS AS A HOLOGRAM, speaks.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: We have surveyed all systems in the Republic, and have found no sign of General Grievous.

YODA: Hiding in the Outer Rim, Grievous is. The outlying systems, you must sweep.

OBI-WAN: It may take some time . . . we do not have many ships to spare.

MACE: We cannot take ships from the front line.

OBI-WAN: And yet, it would be fatal for us to allow the droid armies to regroup.

YODA: Master Kenobi, our spies contact, you must, and then wait.

Kl-ADI-MUNDI: What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?

MACE: It is critical we send an attack group there, immediately!

OBI-WAN: He’s right, that is a system we cannot afford to lose. It’s the main navigation route for the southwestern quadrant.

ANAKIN: I know that system well. It would take us little time to drive the droids off that planet.

MACE: Skywalker, your assignment is here with the Chancellor, and Kenobi must find General Grievous.

YODA: Go, I will. Good relations with the Wookiees, I have.

MACE: It is settled then. Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. May the Force be with us all.

ANAKIN is disappointed.

So Anakin had thought that Palpatine’s action would instantly elevate him to the highest levels of the Jedi order…but that’s not at all how things worked out. I really like this development and always have – with this one move, Palpatine has managed to drive the already-existing wedge between himself and the Council a little bit deeper, and he has managed to position Anakin right in the middle. He knows that Anakin will find the Council’s actions insulting, and what’s more, he clearly already knew that the Council would refuse to elevate Anakin to Master. Palpatine is planting seeds with the deftness of…a Sith Lord!

What happens next:

INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-MASSIVE MAIN HALLWAY AND ALCOVE-LATE AFTERNOON

ANAKIN and OBI-WAN walk through one of the massive Jedi Temple hallways. ANAKIN is furious.

ANAKIN: What kind of nonsense is this, put me on the Council and not make me a Master!?? That’s never been done in the history of the Jedi. It’s insulting!

OBI-WAN: Calm down, Anakin. You have been given a great honor. To be on the Council at your age . . . It’s never happened before. Listen to me, Anakin. The fact of the matter is you’re too close to the Chancellor. The Council doesn’t like it when he interferes in Jedi affairs.

ANAKIN: I swear to you, I didn’t ask to be put on the Council . . .

OBI-WAN: But it’s what you wanted! Your friendship with Chancellor Palpatine seems to have paid off.

ANAKIN: That has nothing to do with this.

OBI-WAN: Anakin, regardless of how it happened, you find yourself in a delicate situation.

ANAKIN: You mean divided loyalties.

OBI-WAN: I warned you there was tension between the Council and the Chancellor. I was very clear. Why didn’t you listen? You walked right into it.

ANAKIN: The Council is upset I’m the youngest to ever serve.

OBI-WAN: No, it is not. Anakin, I worry when you speak of jealousy and pride. Those are not Jedi thoughts. They’re dangerous, dark thoughts.

ANAKIN: Master, you of all people should have confidence in my abilities. I know where my loyalties lie.

OBI-WAN: I hope so . . .

ANAKIN: I sense there’s more to this talk than you’re saying.

OBI-WAN: Anakin, the only reason the Council has approved your appointment is because the Chancellor trusts you.

ANAKIN: And?

OBI-WAN: Anakin, look, I am on your side. I didn’t want to see you put in this situation.

ANAKIN: What situation?

OBI-WAN: (takes a deep breath) The Council wants you to report on all of the Chancellor’s dealings. They want to know what he’s up to.

ANAKIN: They want me to spy on the Chancellor? That’s treason!

OBI-WAN: We are at war, Anakin. The Jedi Council is sworn to uphold the principles of the Republic, even if the Chancellor does not.

ANAKIN: Why didn’t the Council give me this assignment when we were in session?

OBI-WAN: This assignment is not to be on record. The Council asked me to approach you on this personally.

ANAKIN: The Chancellor is not a bad man, Obi-Wan. He befriended me. He’s watched out for me ever since I arrived here.

OBI-WAN: That is why you must help us, Anakin. Our allegiance is to the Senate, not to its leader who has managed to stay in office long after his term has expired.

ANAKIN: Master, the Senate demanded that he stay longer.

OBI-WAN: Yes, but use your feelings, Anakin. Something is out of place.

ANAKIN: You’re asking me to do something against the Jedi Code. Against the Republic. Against a mentor . . . and a friend. That’s what’s out of place here. Why are you asking this of me?

OBI-WAN: The Council is asking you.

Hoo-boy. When I really think about it, the clarity of Palpatine’s plan really crystallizes nicely here. The Jedi don’t trust Palpatine, but he gives them a golden opportunity to have someone watching him very closely. Palpatine is banking on the fact that Anakin perceives the Council as not trusting him, when in fact, they apparently do – or enough of them to think it’s advisable to ask this of him. Palpatine knows that Anakin does not trust them, even if Anakin hasn’t yet figured this out. He’s playing on the fact that Anakin must be well aware of the Council’s long-standing suspicion of him and his abilities, going all the way back to when Qui Gon Jinn presented him to the Council as a young boy.

And thus Palpatine lays the trap for the Jedi, which they walk into, fully aware even as they do it. Is Palpatine worried about Anakin reporting his doings to the Jedi? Perhaps…but he suspects that, when it finally comes time to make the choice, Anakin will choose him instead. It’s almost as if, after years and years and years of careful plotting and reacting to events, Palpatine is finally ready to go “all in”. I’ve always thought this all very well-constructed on Lucas’s part.

Next comes a scene that demonstrates, for me, the thin line that the Jedi are walking (and they are not walking it particularly well):

INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI GUNSHIP-DAY

YODA, MACE, and OBI-WAN ride in the GUNSHIP as it heads for the Clone landing platform. Mace and Obi-Wan are sitting.

OBI-WAN : Anakin did not take to his assignment with much enthusiasm.

YODA: Too much under the sway of the Chancellor, he is. Much anger there is in him. Too much pride in his powers.

MACE: It’s very dangerous, putting them together. I don’t think the boy can handle it. I don’t trust him.

OBI-WAN: He’ll be all right. I trust him with my life.

MACE:I wish I did.

OBI-WAN: With all due respect, Master, is he not the Chosen One? Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force?

MACE: So the prophecy says.

YODA: A prophecy . . . that misread could have been.

OBI-WAN: He will not let me down. He never has.

YODA: I hope right you are. And now destroy the Droid armies on Kashyyyk, I will. May the Force be with you.

The GUNSHIP lands and the ramp lowers. YODA exits the GUNSHIP. MACE and OBI-WAN stand and give him a brief bow then take off in the GUNSHIP.

Again: hoo-boy. It’s like the Jedi see that something very bad is looming out there if they keep doing things this way, and then they just keep on doing things that way. This facet of the Jedi’s eventual fall – the way they brought a great deal of it on themselves, just by being clueless about things at really bad times – is an element I’ve always wished that George Lucas would have brought forward much more strongly. The Jedi fall is, to me, lines up almost perfectly, by way of metaphor, with that of the Knights Templar. If you’ve never read up on the history of the Templars, check it out…and for a good time, mentally substitute the word ‘Jedi’ for ‘Templar’ as you get close to the end.

But meanwhile: Mace, Mace, Mace, you ignorant slut. The key question here is pretty obvious: if you don’t trust Anakin – and it’s clear that Windu is not alone in his lack of enthusiasm for him – then why on Earth are you entrusting him with such a task? If you all feel that Anakin’s friendship with Palpatine is something to be concerned about, why do you not only tacitly endorse it but openly encourage it by giving him such an assignment? Even Obi Wan, who knows Anakin best and trusts him the most, thinks that Anakin is too close to Palpatine. None of the Jedi actions here really make sense, and to me they illustrate what’s most interesting about the Prequel Trilogy: that the Jedi by this time aren’t even close to being the Jedi Order in its prime. They are disastrously close to something bad happening, and while they know it’s there, they have no real idea where the threat is coming from. Right now they don’t trust Palpatine, but that he actually is the threat has not yet entered their minds.

In terms of this scene, though, I’d add something:

OBI-WAN : Anakin did not take to his assignment with much enthusiasm.

YODA: Too much under the sway of the Chancellor, he is. Much anger there is in him. Too much pride in his powers.

MACE: It’s very dangerous, putting them together. I don’t think the boy can handle it. I don’t trust him.

OBI-WAN: He’ll be all right. I trust him with my life.

MACE:I wish I did. There’s something at odds about young Skywalker. He is powerful and he has done many great things, but his thoughts and feelings are not focused on his Jedi duties.

OBI-WAN: What do you think he’s focusing on instead?

MACE: I do not know.

This will play into something a little later on, pertaining to Anakin’s eventual fall from grace.

Meanwhile, Anakin goes home to Padme, and it’s clear that the pressures on Anakin are starting to take a toll on him there, too.

EXT. CORUSCANT-PADME’S APARTMENT-VERANDA-SUNSET

Padme’s Speeder pulls up to the landing platform. CAPTAIN TYPHO escorts PADME onto the veranda, where TWO HANDMAIDENS (ELLE and MOTEE) are waiting. PADME turns to CAPTAIN TYPHO.

PADME: Thank you, Captain.

CAPTAIN TYPHO: Rest well. My Lady.

CAPTAIN TYPHO gets back into the Speeder, and it disappears into the cityscape. The HANDMAIDENS, Motee and Elle, approach PADME as the SHADOW OF A FIGURE moves in the background. C-3PO is standing nearby.

PADME: I’ll be up in a while.

MOTEE: Yes, my lady.

C-3PO stands, confused, as the HANDMAIDENS turn and exit.

C-3PO: Is there anything I might do for you, my lady?

PADME: Yes, make sure all the security droids are working. Thank you, Threepio.

The golden droid turns and exits.

PADME stands and watches the sunset. The SHADOWY FIGURE moves toward her. She senses something.

ANAKIN: Beautiful, isn’t it?

PADME jumps and turns around.

PADME: You startled me.

He sits next to her on the bench.

ANAKIN: How are you feeling?

PADME: He keeps kicking.

ANAKIN: He?! Why do you think it’s a boy?

PADME: (laughs) My motherly intuition.

She puts his hand on her belly.

ANAKIN: Whoa! With a kick that strong, it’s got to be a girl.

They laugh.

PADME: I heard about your appointment. Anakin. I’m so proud of you.

ANAKIN: I may be on the Council, but . . . they refused to accept me as a Jedi Master.

PADME: Patience. In time, they will recognize your skills.

ANAKIN: They still treat me as if I were a Padawan learner. . . they fear my power, that’s the problem.

PADME: Anakin . . .

ANAKIN: Sometimes, I wonder what’s happening to the Jedi Order . . . I think this war is destroying the principles of the Republic.

PADME: Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side?

ANAKIN: (suspicious) What do you mean?

PADME: What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?

ANAKIN: I don’t believe that. And you’re sounding like a Separatist!

PADME: Anakin, this war represents a failure to listen . . . Now, you’re closer to the Chancellor than anyone. Please, please ask him to stop the fighting and let diplomacy resume.

ANAKIN: (growing angry) Don’t ask me to do that, Padme. Make a motion in the Senate, where that kind of a request belongs. I’m not your errand boy. I’m not anyone’s errand boy!

PADME: What is it?

ANAKIN: Nothing.

PADME: Don’t do this . . . don’t shut me out. Let me help you.

ANAKIN: You can’t help me . . . I’m trying to help you.

They look in each other’s eyes.

ANAKIN: (continuing) I sense . . . there are things you are not telling me.

PADME is startled at this.

PADME: I sense there are things you are not telling me.

PADME smiles. ANAKIN is a little embarrassed.

PADME: (continuing) Hold me . . . like you did by the lake on Naboo, so long ago . . . when there was nothing but our love … No politics, no plotting … no war.

Here we have another example of a scene that works better as written than as eventually shown in the finished film, which means that it’s another case of overzealous editing. Basically we cut to the middle of a discussion of politics, with no preamble or set-up, which just doesn’t work very well at all. During this whole part of the movie, I remember thinking, “Wow, does anybody ever just sit and talk in these? Is it all politics, all the time?” And I can see that Lucas wanted to get the running time under control, but really – you’ve got to let a story breathe at times.

So I’d pick up the scene earlier and make a couple of tiny additions:

EXT. CORUSCANT-PADME’S APARTMENT-VERANDA-SUNSET

Padme’s Speeder pulls up to the landing platform. CAPTAIN TYPHO escorts PADME onto the veranda, where TWO HANDMAIDENS (ELLE and MOTEE) are waiting. PADME turns to CAPTAIN TYPHO.

PADME: Thank you, Captain. I’m sorry I’m so late. There were some informal meetings after the official business ended.

CAPTAIN TYPHO: You don’t need to explain to me, My Lady. Rest well.

CAPTAIN TYPHO gets back into the Speeder, and it disappears into the cityscape. The HANDMAIDENS, Motee and Elle, approach PADME as the SHADOW OF A FIGURE moves in the background. C-3PO is standing nearby.

PADME: I’ll be up in a while.

MOTEE: Yes, my lady.

C-3PO stands, confused, as the HANDMAIDENS turn and exit.

C-3PO: Is there anything I might do for you, my lady?

PADME: Yes, make sure all the security droids are working. Thank you, Threepio.

The golden droid turns and exits.

PADME stands and watches the sunset. The SHADOWY FIGURE moves toward her. She senses something.

ANAKIN: Beautiful, isn’t it?

PADME jumps and turns around.

PADME: You startled me.

He sits next to her on the bench.

ANAKIN: How are you feeling?

PADME: He keeps kicking.

ANAKIN: He?! Why do you think it’s a boy?

PADME: (laughs) My motherly intuition.

She puts his hand on her belly.

ANAKIN: Whoa! With a kick that strong, it’s got to be a girl.

They laugh.

PADME: I heard about your appointment. Anakin. I’m so proud of you…What is it?

ANAKIN: I may be on the Council, but . . . they refused to accept me as a Jedi Master.

PADME: Patience. In time, they will recognize your skills.

ANAKIN: They still treat me as if I were a Padawan learner. . . they fear my power, that’s the problem. And they’re angry that the Chancellor used that law in the first place. So I’m in the middle, while everything falls apart.

PADME: Anakin . . .

ANAKIN: Sometimes, I wonder what’s happening to the Jedi Order . . . I think this war is destroying the principles of the Republic.

PADME: Have you ever considered that we may be on the wrong side?

ANAKIN: (suspicious) What do you mean?

PADME: What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?

ANAKIN: I don’t believe that. And you’re sounding like a Separatist!

PADME: Anakin, this war represents a failure to listen . . . Now, you’re closer to the Chancellor than anyone. Please, please ask him to stop the fighting and let diplomacy resume.

ANAKIN: (growing angry) Don’t ask me to do that, Padme. Make a motion in the Senate, where that kind of a request belongs. I’m not your errand boy. I’m not anyone’s errand boy!

PADME: What is it?

ANAKIN: Nothing.

PADME: Don’t do this . . . don’t shut me out. Let me help you.

ANAKIN: You can’t help me . . . I’m trying to help you.

They look in each other’s eyes.

ANAKIN: (continuing) I sense . . . there are things you are not telling me.

PADME is startled at this.

PADME: I sense there are things you are not telling me.

PADME smiles. ANAKIN is a little embarrassed.

PADME: (continuing) We can’t let this war come between us. Not when we’ve both lost so much!

She steps into his embrace.

PADME: Hold me . . . like you did by the lake on Naboo, so long ago . . . when there was nothing but our love … No politics, no plotting … no war.

ANAKIN returns the embrace, and for a second, his expression is at peace…but then, C-3PO enters.

C-3PO: Oh! I am sorry, Master Anakin, but you have a message. The Chancellor is requesting your presence.

ANAKIN sighs.

ANAKIN: I don’t want to go.

PADME: You have to. You still have your duties.

ANAKIN: But who am I serving?

She kisses him, and they hold each other for just a moment longer.

EXT: CORUSCANT – SKY OUTSIDE PADME’S APARTMENT

Unbeknownst to them, a probe droid is hovering nearby, its camera focused on them as they complete their embrace and part, with ANAKIN walking away.

INT: CORUSCANT – JEDI TEMPLE – COUNCIL CHAMBERS – NIGHT

MACE WINDU sits alone in the Council chamber, watching a holographic feed of what the probe droid is viewing: ANAKIN and PADME embracing. MACE leans back in his chair and turns to stare at the Coruscant skyline, deep in thought.

It’s probably pretty obvious where I’m going with that last bit. George Lucas made quite clear that the real wedge, the final break, between Anakin and the Jedi would center upon Mace Windu. Here I’m drawing that out even more. He has suspicions about Anakin, and now he’s actively pursuing them.

That’s where I’ll stop here. Next time, we come in as Palpatine starts to make his move to lure Anakin away from the Jedi. Tune in!

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Fixing the Prequels: Revenge of the Sith (part four)

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Aaaaand again, it’s been ridiculously long for an installment of this series, for which, again, my apologies. But this time the reason is different, aside from the fact that time, as always,, continues to occasionally get away from me. No, this time I’ve genuinely been vexed with how to fix the part of Revenge of the Sith we’re now entering.

This part of the film – the political part – is the most problematic. After a slam-bang first forty minutes or so, the film has to spend half an hour or so going set-up for the last hour, which will include, as we well know going into this one, all manner of grim stuff happening. As a well-established lover of all things Star Wars, I don’t dislike this part of the movie, but I do have to admit that structurally, this is the weakest part of Sith. It’s mostly a lot of talking, and I’ve really had trouble figuring out what to do here.

So part of what I did was reconnect myself with the entirety of the Star Wars saga by rewatching, over the course of six consecutive Sundays, all six movies (in their proper order: ANH, TESB, RotJ, TPM, AotC, Sith). And while I’m on that subject, I highly recommend doing precisely this! When watched in fairly close quarters like that, the emotional beats of the entire story become a lot more clear. And as fas as this blog series goes, the rewatch more than served its purpose, because it crystallized for me a few things about this movie:

1. There are times when George Lucas chooses to linger when he should move.

2. Conversely, there are times when Lucas moves when he should linger a bit!

3. The film doesn’t contain quite enough politics.

4. The film doesn’t quite connect the dots strongly enough with regard to Anakin’s temptation.

Again, these observations are meant more mildly than they might sound. I think that Sith is a fantastic experience, but it could have been even better had the Problem Portion worked just a bit better. The problem here, I think lies in the talky nature of the material and the fact that a lot of the talk is, well, rather stilted and expository in nature. So, what to do?

Well, there are two possible ways we can go. We can add more action in order to give the impression of plot movement by having things explode. I didn’t want to do that because you have to justify action, and I don’t see how to do that and retain what we need of the political material without resulting in a hugely bloated movie, so I’m prepared to stick with the action in the film that exists. That leaves the other option, which is to make all that talking more interesting in itself.

And how do we do that? Well…and given some of my recent postings, I can’t believe I’m saying this…but we need to take a lesson here from Aaron Sorkin.

I may have spent lots of time ripping the guy recently, and for what I feel are entirely justifiable reasons, but if there’s one thing we can learn from the fairly consistent success of Aaron Sorkin’s scripted films and shows, it’s that lots of talking need not be boring. At his best, Sorkin was able to make the corridors of politics a deeply fascinating place. That’s what needs to happen with Sith…maybe not in Sorkin’s style, obviously. I don’t want characters answering every yes/no question affirmatively with “Yeah”; I don’t want people referring to “the thing” or “this thing” or saying “I’ve gotta go do a thing”; I don’t want Anakin complaining to Obi Wan that the Jedi Council has just “screwed me with my pants on”. But more dynamic conversation, more quickly applied, is certainly called for.

So! When we left off, Anakin had started having nightmares about Padme’s death in childbirth, and in an act of total responsibility that I find pretty impressive (especially as no one seems to notice it), Anakin took his problem to Yoda, who then helpfully told him basically, “Death happens. Let it and don’t be sad when it does.” Yoda’s advice is, shall we say, not all that useful.

So now we start getting into some politics. What is the aim here? Well, we have to show Anakin’s increasing ties to the Chancellor eroding his confidence in the Jedi. We also need to establish that the Chancellor is slowly but surely acquiring enormous amounts of power, to the alarm of the Jedi. This story isn’t just the fall of Anakin Skywalker, it’s about the seizure of power by the Sith and the fall of the Jedi order. Now, in the original script and in some deleted scenes, the seeds of what will eventually be the Rebel Alliance are sown, but none of this made it into the finished film, on the basis that those scenes slow things down too much (and this is not a point without merit). Finally, it seems to me that at least a bit of light needs to be shone upon the exact relationship of the Jedi to the Chancellor and Senate, and on the public in the Galaxy’s view of the Jedi. How to do all this? Read on!

Just after Anakin’s scene with Yoda, he runs to get to a war briefing by Obi Wan, and he gets there late. I would add a little bit, in blue, and what didn’t make the film in red:

INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-BRIEFING ROOM-DAY

ANAKIN rushes into the Briefing Room. By the time he reaches the Chamber, the last of the Jedi are leaving. Only OBI-WAN remains at the front of the lecture hall. He is shutting off some holograms and electronic charts and maps.

OBI-WAN: You missed the report on the Outer Rim sieges.

ANAKIN: I’m sorry, I was held up. I have no excuse.

OBI-WAN: In short, they are going very well. Saleucami has fallen, and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity.

ANAKIN: What’s wrong then?

OBI-WAN: The Senate is expected to vote more executive powers to the Chancellor today.

ANAKIN: What powers?

OBI-WAN: The Chancellor wishes the authority to commission more clones from Kamino, and to appoint regional governors to directly control Republic affairs in their territories.

ANAKIN: Well, that can only mean less deliberating and more action. Is that bad? It will make it easier for us to end this war.

OBI-WAN: Anakin, be careful of your friend Palpatine.

ANAKIN: Be careful of what?

OBI-WAN: He has requested your presence.

ANAKIN: What for?

OBI-WAN: He would not say.

ANAKIN: He didn’t inform the Jedi Council? That’s unusual, isn’t it?

OBI-WAN: All of this is unusual, and it’s making me feel uneasy. You’re probably aware that relations between the Council and the Chancellor are stressed.

ANAKIN: I know the Council has grown wary of the Chancellor’s power, mine also for that matter. Aren’t we all working together to save the Republic? Why all this distrust?

OBI-WAN: The Force grows dark, Anakin, and we are all affected by it. Be wary of your feelings. The Council isn’t concerned about your power, Anakin. But they are concerned about how close you are to Palpatine.

I add the little bit enumerating the specific powers being voted upon because I generally think it’s best to be more specific when you can.

Now, in the movie, we cut right to Palpatine’s office, and Anakin and Palpatine are slowly walking around the enormous room, having a discussion. Only about half of it shows up in the film, though:

INT. CORUSCANT-CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE-DAY

ANAKIN stands with PALPATINE at his window overlooking the vastness of Coruscant. Several buildings have been destroyed. A brown haze hangs over the landscape.

PALPATINE: Anakin, this afternoon the Senate is going to call on me to take direct control of the Jedi Council.

ANAKIN: The Jedi will no longer report to the Senate?

PALPATINE: They will report to me . . . personally. The Senate is too unfocused to conduct a war. This will bring a quick end to things.

ANAKIN: I agree, but the Jedi Council may not see it that way.

PALPATINE: There are times when we must all endure adjustments to the constitution in the name of security.

ANAKIN: With all due respect, sir, the Council is in no mood for more constitutional amendments.

PALPATINE: Thank you, my friend, but in this case I have no choice . . . this war must be won.

ANAKIN: Everyone will agree on that.

PALPATINE: Anakin, I’ve known you since you were a small boy. I have advised you over the years when I could … I am very proud of your accomplishments. You have won many battles the Jedi Council thought were lost . . . and you saved my life. I hope you trust me, Anakin.

ANAKIN: Of course.

PALPATINE: I need your help, son.

ANAKIN: What do you mean?

PALPATINE: I fear the Jedi. The Council keeps pushing for more control. They’re shrouded in secrecy and obsessed with maintaining their autonomy . . . ideals. I find simply incomprehensible in a democracy.

ANAKIN: I can assure you that the Jedi are dedicated to the values of the Republic, sir.

PALPATINE: Nevertheless, their actions will speak more loudly than their words. I’m depending on you.

ANAKIN: For what? I don’t understand.

PALPATINE: To be the eyes, ears, and voice of the Republic . . .

ANAKIN thinks about this.

PALPATINE: (continuing) Anakin . . . I’m appointing you to be my personal representative on the Jedi Council.

ANAKIN: Me? A Master? I am overwhelmed, sir, but the Council elects its own members. They will never accept this.

PALPATINE: I think they will . . . they need you more than you know.

As I watched all six movies, I noticed that George Lucas – even in TESB and RotJ, the ones he didn’t direct – likes to join scenes with conversations already in progress (good example: in ANH, after Ben rescues Luke from the Sandpeople, we cut to Ben’s home and Luke is saying, “No, my father didn’t fight in the wars, he was a navigator on a spice freighter.”). A lot of the time it works, but there are a couple of times – most notably the fireplace scene in AotC — where it doesn’t. This is another such example. I suspect that the scene was cut as is to keep it short and simple, but sometimes short and sweet isn’t so great. Interestingly, this scene as written openly addresses something I wondered about while rewatching the PT: the relation between the Jedi and the Republic. This scene strongly indicates that the Jedi are virtually an independent body, and very rigid in guarding their independence. And that, frankly, seems a tad important to me.

I’d like to establish all this, but I wouldn’t do it this way, with a simple Anakin-and-Palpatine in the office thing. Instead I would replace this whole scene with a longer sequence:

EXTERIOR: Coruscant – Senate building – dusk.

The sun is setting behind the great Senate building.

INTERIOR: Senate chamber.

The Galactic Senate is in session, with PALPATINE presiding from his center rostrum. A SENATOR FROM MALASTARE has the floor.

MALASTARE SENATOR: We have heard the reports from the Jedi that their offensive is pushing back the Separatist armies, but if that were true, how could General Grievous have launched such a devastating attack against the very heart of the Republic? How can we trust the Jedi reports of success when they just barely avoided utter failure in our own skies? Malastare moves that an immediate investigation into this affair be undertaken!

PADME: This is outrageous!

The Senate pod from Naboo floats out into the debate space, bearing PADME and JAR JAR BINKS.

PALPATINE: The Senator from Naboo.

PADME: The Jedi have served the Republic with honor for a thousand generations! If we question them now–

MALASTARE SENATOR: This failure was theirs. The Force did not warn them of the attack, did it? This war grinds on and on, and now, look about you! A third of this body is vacant, and a third of these Pods stand empty because their systems have joined the Separatists! The Jedi are failing us. Chancellor, I serve official notice that Malastare is introducing an amendment to place the Jedi Council under the direct authority of the Chancellor and the Senate!

PADME: No! You can’t–

She is drowned out by the shouts from every Senator in the building as the entire place erupts with fierce debate.

MAS AMEDDA: Order! Order in the Senate! Order!

Through all this, PALPATINE shows almost no reaction, even when he meets PADME’s gaze.

INTERIOR: Senate building – Shuttle bay.

PALPATINE is walking toward his personal shuttle, with MAS AMEDDA and his councilors behind him.

MAS AMEDDA: Will you schedule a vote on the Malastare amendment?

PALPATINE: I shall hold that off as long as I can, but eventually the Senate will force the issue…ah, Anakin!

ANAKIN rises from his seat outside the shuttle.

ANAKIN: Chancellor. I was told you wished to see me.

PALPATINE: I do. Come.

He takes ANAKIN aboard the shuttle.

INTERIOR: Chancellor’s shuttle – continuous.

PALPATINE and ANAKIN sit down inside the shuttle as it departs for the Chancellor’s office building.

PALPATINE: These Senate sessions become harder and harder to control. Odd, with fewer and fewer Senators.

ANAKIN: I watched it on the screen. The Jedi Council will not easily submit to being placed under Senate control, no matter what law they pass.

PALPATINE: I agree, which is why I wished to speak with you. I’d heard that Malastare was planning to propose that amendment, but I’d hoped those rumors were false. Perhaps what I have in mind will ease the Senate’s concerns somewhat.

ANAKIN: Sir?

PALPATINE: I need your help, son. I need you to become the eyes and ears of the Republic.

ANAKIN: I don’t follow–

PALPATINE: The Republic has faced times like these before, Anakin. The Jedi Council’s independence was not always taken for granted. I have decided to invoke a very old statute and make a direct appointment to the Jedi Council.

It starts to dawn on ANAKIN….

PALPATINE: I wish you to be my personal representative to the Jedi. They will resist, but I have the right. Of course, by their own by-laws, this will force them to do what they should have done years ago, and make you a full Jedi Master.

ANAKIN: A Master?! Sir…I am…I don’t know what to say….

PALPATINE: You need not say anything. In fact, if the Council’s reaction is what I expect, you may not even wish to thank me. But the Republic needs you, Anakin. More than you know.

EXTERIOR: Sky above Coruscant.

The Shuttle arcs toward the Capital building.

INTERIOR: Senate building – corridor.

PADME is walking with several other SENATORS.

PADME: We have to start working to assemble a coalition that will back the Jedi Council. We can’t have these divisions in the middle of a war–

A young SENATE PAGE approaches, bows, and hands PADME a slip of paper, which she unfolds and reads.

PADME: Thank you.

The PAGE runs off.

SENATOR: We will not vote to obstruct the Jedi.

PADME: Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a meeting….

She nods a farewell and then heads off down another corridor.

INTERIOR: Senate building – Observation room.

The observation room is near the top of the Senate building itself, overlooking the mighty expanse of the Coruscant city. PADME enters and is greeted by SENATOR BAIL ORGANA and several other SENATORS, including a tall and regal-looking WOMAN.

PADME: Senator Organa? Why are we up here instead of one of our offices?

BAIL ORGANA: Greetings, Senator Amidala. I believe you know the others.

PADME: Yes, good to see you all. (to the WOMAN) You’re newly elected?

WOMAN: Just last month. I am Mon Mothma.

PADME: Oh yes. Of Chandrila. A pleasure, and my apologies – I usually get around to welcoming new Senators more quickly. But why are we up here?

BAIL ORGANA: These observation rooms are informal locations.

PADME: And not subject to Senate guidelines for official business. I think I understand.

MON MOTHMA: Those of us here have concerns about some things that are happening in the Republic, and we think that you may share some of those concerns.

PADME glances from face to face in the room. Something about this seems harmless, and yet deeply significant. She knows that a line is about to be crossed….

PADME: Go on.

The point here is to show a number of things: that the Jedi are facing opposition not just from the Chancellor but from the Senate as well, to get the bit in there about Palpatine intruding upon the functions of the Jedi Council while seeming reasonable about doing so, and to show what is probably the moment when the Rebel Alliance is born.

It really struck me how skillfully Palpatine played the Jedi Council and Anakin and everyone else, when I rewatched the films. He just doesn’t seem all that unreasonable in doing some of the things he does, before he unmasks himself. Of course, a part of that is the amazing performance of Ian McDiarmid, whose performances as Palpatine in the Prequels are, to my mind, criminally underrated. He gives Palpatine a kind of fatherly gravitas that is utterly convincing and all the more chilling when it starts to become clear what he’s up to.

And that’s where we’ll stop. The galactic politics continues next time! Excelsior!

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