Plot points in the Star Wars Prequel trilogy I liked that other people didn’t.

[Messianic_Monk]

Anakin and Padme’s relationship.

I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how stupid their relationship was. How everything Anakin did seemed kinda creepy and angsty and how Padme seemed to give in and look uncomfortable at the same time. Then there were all the romantic scenes that people thought were cheesy and completely un-Star Wars. While it was a pretty big departure from the original Star Wars formula I have to appreciate that they were willing to take risks in this department. The scenes were necessary to develop their relationship.

As someone who has been in a dysfunctional relationship I can relate to what I see here. There is nothing normal about Anakin and Padme. Anakin spent the first half of his life as a slave and was born with talents beyond imagination. He has never gotten to have a childhood. Padme has spent most of her life in isolation due to her role in politics so she’s never really been around boys nor is she aware on how to act or what is normal behavior. This makes her pretty vulnerable. These two people are not normal. Their interactions shouldn’t be normal. And yes, the way they fall in love for each other shouldn’t be normal either. Yes, there is intense passion but also angst and uncomfortable mannerisms. More or less, their interactions didn’t seem that much different than what I went through.

There were 2 parts I found kinda ridiculous about their relationship, though. 1) The scene where Anakin massacred the village of Tusken Raiders. He then proceeds to tell Padme what he did in great detail. While necessary for Anakin’s turn to the dark side…come on. Would anyone realistically stay with a mass murderer? I get it…they killed his mom…but does that rationalize killing the women and the children too? And is Padme really okay with this? I guess her rationalization could be “well…they’re not human I guess.” I would go out on a limb to say that if I massacred a village full of human-like people (even IF they killed my mom) and I told that girlfriend what I did I’m sure she’d probably leave me. Going out on that same limb, if she revealed THAT to me I’m sure I’d probably leave her. Jussayin. Maybe it would be different if they were humanoid…I dunno I’ve never been in that situation. Still kinda ridiculous, though. 2) Their meetup in the Phantom Menace. I’m sorry…but this made their romance SO AWKWARD. Maybe it was supposed to add to the angst of their relationship? But I’ll let this quote from Screen Rant share my feelings on this: “And he and Queen Amidala are going to have kind of a mother son dynamic going on. And in the next movies they’re going to bang.” Need I say more?

The politics of the prequels.

For a kid this might be boring, but I was heavily invested in the politics of the prequels. It made the story very interesting. It was very much a commentary on how democracy (or in this case a Democratic Republic) falls and becomes a dictatorship. First, a tragedy happens that dethrones an ineffective leader. Then, a populist leader arises to take his position. Next, a conflict arises that motivates people to give the populist leader more power than he should have. And finally, the conflict is exploited to the highest degree so the leader can take away all the rights and make himself supreme over all. Greece…China…Rome…etc. So many nations experienced this. It is so AMAZING how Palpatine pulled ALL the strings and had not only plans, but tons of contingency plans just in case those plans fell through. It makes his rise as a villain so intimidating because he seems to know EVERYTHING. He really seemed unstoppable. If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew Palpatine would be the emperor I honestly would’ve been so sad because as Palpatine he is so likable. That is why populist leaders can be so dangerous. They’re supposed to be likable. That’s how they exploit you to get what they want…and make you believe that it’s in your best interest.

Anakin’s sudden turn to the dark side.

I have seen a few people roll their eyes at how Anakin went from killing Mace Windu to save Palpatine to killing all the younglings in the span of a few minutes. Some people I’ve met think that this is unrealistic. But to me I can see it. Anakin was conflicted for so long…the Jedi had lost their way and were disrespecting him coupled with the fact that Palpatine was the only one who seemed to take interest in Anakin’s troubles. When Anakin finally had to make a choice…he chose to side with Palpatine and assisted Palpatine in “killing” him. It still wasn't easy. Look at the despair on Anakin’s face. His screws had completely fell out of his head…he went insane. Do you know the massive PTSD someone has from killing someone in self defense? Imagine killing someone out of impulse. It can push people to do insane things. Couple this with the fact that now Anakin probably thinks he can never go back to the Jedi…Palpatine is all he has. So an insane PTSD-ridden man with nothing to lose has now pledged himself to a power thirsty psychopath. That is a recipe for unpredictability.

Padme’s death.

I’ve seen some people complain that her death was kinda stupid. Now that I know what “broken heart syndrome” is…I am actually completely okay with the explanation “she has lost the will to live”. Her death is not surprising at all. In one day she saw the execution of the Jedi through order 66, the fall of democracy, her husband turn to the dark side and his attempt to murder her…and now she has to give birth to two children. That is a lot of adrenaline for the body to be high on. In fact…if it goes too far your heart can just stop beating.

The Jedi’s stupidity

A lot of people find it ridiculous that the Jedi could not see any of this coming. But to me…with the story that Lucas was trying to tell…it only makes sense. The Jedi wanted to prevent the Sith from rising so they avoided anything to do with the dark side (with the exception of Mace Windu). And in doing this, became so caught up in how good they were that they were so susceptible to simple manipulation. They’re too caught up with themselves and stuff on the outside that they are not paying attention to what is going on within. The turning of Count Dooku to the dark side should have been their wakeup call…but they were too caught up with themselves to understand it. They became more dogmatic. In some ways it’s kind of a commentary on the Church’s “character arc” in a more secular society. Even down to Count Dooku kind of being like Martin Luther.

Yoda going into exile

A lot of people are confused about Yoda’s going into exile and I can kind of understand it (some parts of it were not very well explained) but I had my own view on it. What I saw was a battle between two evenly matched force users. Yoda could’ve gotten the upper hand but ultimately got out of position in what was somewhat chance. You look at the look on Yoda’s face when he shoots Palpatine’s force lightning back…he was channeling the dark side. He hesitated and retreated because he had broken the Jedi code. Not only that…but to me he looked like he realized his time had come. He had been at this so long…it was inevitable that eventually he’d no longer be able to be the Jedi warrior he once was. And now his time came…at the worst possible time for the Republic and the Jedi. Couple that with the fact that he channeled the dark side and broke their dogmas…he exiled himself.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I’ve seen some people complain that it’s stupid that Darth Vader screamed "no" at the end of Revenge of the Sith…claiming that Darth Vader would not say something like that. I’d like to point out that Anakin was JUST stuffed into the suit. He’s not going to just BECOME Darth Vader by putting on the suit. He’s still the emotionally unstable and vulnerable person he was when he was outside of the suit. Some time needs to pass between ROTS to ANH in order for him to become the intimidating war mongering enforcer of the Star Wars Original Trilogy. He still hasn't severed some of the emotional attachments that keep him from being an effective Sith.

Those were my two cents on the prequel trilogy. I happen to like the trilogy a lot more now that I'm older (and have the DISASTROUS sequel trilogy to compare it to). I'm not saying that it's perfect...especially the Phantom Menace. And there are some silly plot points and bad dialogue...but it is nowhere near as bad as some people say it is.

[Shamalien]

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